Holy. Mother. Of. God.

Gavin blinked, swallowed hard, and slowly dragged his hand from her nape. He’d always known how to handle Emily. Shit, he was placed on the earth to do just that. But the woman before him was losing it. Thinking fast, he tossed his hand through his hair and took a shot at the only thing he thought might calm her. “Sit down on the floor with me.”

Teary eyes wide, Emily furrowed her brows. “What? You want me to sit on the floor with you in a store?”

Gavin sat cross-legged on the maple floor and motioned her down. “Emily, we almost had sex on the hood of my car on the side of a road in Mexico. Sit.”

Shocked, Emily nervously glanced at shoppers looking at Gavin as though he’d lost it. But she’d always known he was a tad bit crazy. After a few seconds, she sank to the floor, sitting cross-legged in front of him.

He twined his fingers through hers. With caring eyes and a warm smile, he softly kissed her lips. “Hey,” he whispered.

A weak smile lifted her mouth. “Hey.”

“My name’s Gavin Blake, and I’m going to school you on babies, okay?”

Emily nodded, looking down at their hands. “You’re trying to get me to stop bugging out.” She brought her gaze back to his, her heart melting. “Aren’t you?”

“I am, and I will. Give me five minutes. Good?”

She bit her lip, focusing on his eyes. “Okay.”

Pulling her hands into his lap, Gavin sighed in relief. She was already coming down a notch. “First: Babies are easy to hold. They… trust right away. They know you’re there to take care of them. The moment you see him, Emily, you won’t be able to help it. Your arms will automatically know what to do. I guarantee you’ll never want to put him down. You’re so caring and nurturing. It’ll come naturally to you.” He leaned over and placed another slow kiss on her lips. “Okay?”

She nodded, trusting him.

“Two: When he cries, he’s only crying for a few reasons. Either he’s hungry, tired, sick, colicky, needs to be burped, needs to be changed, or wants to be held. Or in your case, you’ve dropped him and he’s in severe pain, or you didn’t know how to change him and he’s been lying in a pissy, shitty diaper all day.”

Emily popped a brow. “I thought you’re attempting to calm me down?”

He chuckled and stroked her cheek. “My point is, you’ll know why. You’re going to know why because you’re his mother. You’re going to live and breathe for him. You’re going to learn how to burp and bathe him. You’re going to learn how much ointment is the right amount. He’ll never starve, because you won’t be able to take his crying anymore, and you’ll probably wind up shoving too many bottles in his mouth.”

Emily shook her head and giggled.

Gavin leaned in inches from her face, his eyes focused on hers. “And he’ll never hate you. He couldn’t. You love everything around you so easily, which makes you too easy to love. He’s going to feel that. Believe me, he will.”

Emily swallowed. “You think so?”

“I know so, doll. It’s impossible not to fall in love with you.”

And there, sitting on the floor with the man she couldn’t live without, the man who showed her what it felt like to really be loved, Emily was no longer afraid of becoming a mother. Instead, she drowned in the fact that not only did the man sitting with her believe in her strengths and was in love with her every weakness, but another little man would soon be equally as in love with her.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Emily pulled open the door to a midtown Starbucks, welcoming the air-conditioned setting from the summer heat. She immediately spotted Olivia, who’d jumped up from her chair as though it were set ablaze. Emily squeezed through the lunchtime crowd, excited to see her friend. The last several weeks had been nothing short of chaotic, so their time together became limited at best. With a little over a month until she was due, Emily’s schedule danced around weekly doctor’s appointments, Lamaze classes, and purchasing any last minute baby items she and Gavin could think of.

Smiling, Emily approached Olivia and dropped her purse onto the table. As soon as she went to pull Olivia in for a hug, Emily noticed her friend didn’t at all appear her usual self. “What’s the matter?” Emily scanned Olivia’s worried expression.

Olivia hesitated, the lines of her frown deepening. “I have to talk to you.”

“All right,” Emily drawled, her nerves spiking. She’d never seen Olivia look so panicked. Pulling a chair out from the table, Emily sat. Her head spun over every possible thread of bad news her friend could dish out.

Olivia settled into a chair and slid a Venti drink across the table. “I ordered you an iced chai latte. I figured it’ll help calm your nerves after I tell what I found out.”

Emily’s heart dropped. “Liv, what the hell’s going on?”

Olivia nibbled on her thumb nail. “Just promise me you won’t get mad at me.”

“What?” Eyes wide, Emily shook her head. “Don’t get mad at you? What did you do?”

“Em, just promise me you won’t get pissed.”

Emily crossed her arms, her stomach twisted in knots. “Okay, Olivia, even though you haven’t told me what I shouldn’t be pissed about, I promise I’ll try not to get pissed. Is that good enough for you?”

Olivia slowly nodded and blew out a puff of air. “I…” She paused, glanced around, and swiped a hand through her hair. “I called the Maury Povich show and—”

“You what?” Emily gasped, her eyes wider. “I told you not to call them, Olivia. How could you do this to me? Like it’s not embarrassing enough not knowing who the father is, you want me to air my shit on national television?” Emily stood, yanking her purse from the table. “We’re not doing it.”

“Emily, wait!” Olivia jumped to her feet, following Emily toward the exit. She grabbed Emily’s arm and whipped her around. “You’re not listening to me. There’s more.”

“More?” Emily questioned, her brows furrowed. “What, did you tell them what positions I like during sex? Maybe you went as far as letting them know I made out with Candice Weathers at the graduation party while I was drunk?” Without waiting for a reply, Emily pulled her arm from Olivia’s grasp, turned on her heel, and continued weaving through the crowd.

“Emily!” Olivia called. “There’s another paternity test available, and it’s noninvasive.” Emily skidded to a stop. With her lips parted and shock running through her system, she turned around. “It’s true,” Olivia continued. “It’s a simple blood test. You don’t even have to go on the show, and you guys can have the results in less than ten days.”

Emily swallowed, her heart pounding faster. Olivia started for the table and Emily followed. Feeling as though she’d been sucker punched, Emily dropped her purse, pulled out a chair, and stared at Olivia. “Tell me what you know,” she breathed, trying to calm down.

“I’m sorry I called the show,” Olivia whispered. “It was going to be a joke. I wasn’t even gonna give them your real names. I had Olive Oil for you, Popeye Rodriguez for Gavin, and Norman Bates for Douchecock. I figured I’d put the tickets in a card since you wouldn’t let us throw you a shower.”