Slipping my hands in my front pockets to keep them from grabbing her and kissing her into submission, I make my way to her car as she gets out. Of course she looks amazing in her fancy jeans, silver flats, and pink zipped hoodie. No makeup, maybe just some gloss on her lips.

I’m dying. How the hell do I leave her?

“Hi.” I smile.

She shuts the door and shoves her hands into the pockets of her hoodie, shoulders high, chin tipped down. “Hi.”

“I was just getting ready to pull out. Good timing. I’m surprised you’re out of bed.”

She glances up at me, wearing something between a smile and a cringe. This isn’t good. I don’t like that look. It’s the nice-knowing-ya look.

“I figured you’d leave early, and I didn’t want to miss you because …” She draws in a slow breath.

My chest aches. She’s telling me goodbye, but not a for-now goodbye. A forever goodbye.

“There are words to be said before you go.”

“Words …” I echo her, trying to mask my defeat, trying to pretend that I don’t know exactly what she’s going to say. I shouldn’t have lied about Mo. It was impulsive and risky. I just needed to know if I mattered to her anymore. I needed to see if there was even a twitch of jealousy.

“Just your words? Do my words no longer matter?” Tension bleeds into my voice. I can’t help it. I can’t hide my desperation.

“Nope.” She shakes her head, staring at her feet. “Your words don’t matter. My words are the only words that matter. They are the final words. And you can choose to accept them or not, but it changes nothing.”

“Jesus, Ave …” I step closer, unable to stop my hands from grabbing her face, forcing her to look at me as I rest my forehead on hers. “Don’t do this.”

“I have to,” she whispers, reaching for the zipper to her hoodie, pulling it down slowly.

What is she doing?

I pull away just enough to see her better.

Fuck me …

She keeps her gaze down as I read her white T-shirt with black lettering.

Congratulations, you knocked me up.

Baby feet are stamped on the belly of the shirt.

Teary blue eyes glance up at me. “I’m sorry.” Her bottom lip quivers. “I know what you’re going to say. We should have—”

“Shut up.”

She swallows hard, blinking once to release the tears. I hate the fear in her eyes.

“This …” Emotions strangle my words. “This day. This. Very. Moment …” I thread my fingers through her hair, forcing her to look at me with her tear-drenched face. “It’s the greatest moment of my life.”

“I’m scared,” she whispers.