“Hey,” I murmur, “are you okay?”
Her eyes flick to mine. “You said you wanted to talk.”
I study her properly now. There are shadows beneath her eyes. Her movements slower than usual, one hand absently supporting the underside of her bump like she doesn’t even realise she’s doing it anymore.
Guilt stirs heavily in my chest.
“Did you have a nice lunch?” I ask carefully.
She nods once. “Lucy spent most of it insulting you.”
“Sounds relaxing.”
A small smile tugs briefly at her mouth before disappearing again. She walks further into the room and lowers herself onto the couch with a quiet sigh, immediately lifting her feet beneath her. “My feet are killing.”
I watch her for a moment. The way her shoulders sag. The exhaustion she’s clearly trying to hide. And suddenly, Jessica’s words hit me all over again. She’s carrying your child.
I push back from my desk and cross the room.
Wynter watches me warily. “What are you doing?”
I don’t answer. I simply lift her feet gently into my lap as I sit beside her. She tenses slightly in surprise.
Then I slip her shoes off.
“Ray—”
“You said your feet hurt.”
Her voice catches a little as I wrap my hand carefully around her foot, my thumb pressing gently into the arch.
The sound she makes is immediate. A soft groan escapes her as her head falls back against the couch cushion, her eyes fluttering shut almost instantly.
“Jesus,” she breathes.
I glance down at her swollen feet, and anger suddenly twists in my chest. Not at her. But at myself. Because I didn’t notice, I didn’t pay enough attention. I was too busy controlling everything else.
I massage slowly, feeling some of the tension ease beneath my hands while Wynter melts further into the couch.
One of her hands drifts absentmindedly to her bump, rubbing softly over the curve. And something inside me cracks.
I love her.
The realisation hits with a terrifying force. Not because she’s carrying my baby. Not because she’s here. Not because somewhere along the line she became part of my life.
I love her. Her chaos. Her softness. Her ability to drive me insane, even the way she turns my entire world upside down without even trying.
I stare at her for a long moment as she relaxes beneath my touch, her breathing slower now. And all I can think is how badly I’ve handled this, how badly I could still lose her.
Wynter’s eyes open slowly, finding mine, and a small smile tugs at her lips.
“I could get used to this.”
For the first time in what feels like forever, she looks comfortable with me. She’s not guarded or eyeing me like she’s waiting for our next argument.
The words leave me before I can think them through.
“Then what’s stopping us?”