The moment I step into his line of sight he stiffens, which takes me aback because I don’t think he knows that I know he kissed Josie.

“Hey,” I say as I approach him.

He leans forward and rests his elbows on his thighs as he rubs his palms together. “Why didn’t you text me back this weekend, Frannie?”

I bite my lip to keep from lashing out. I don’t want to be the cause of a relapse. So instead of saying anything, I stand there and allow the silence to wrap around us.

Tyke stares at me for a long moment, gauging my reaction. When I don’t reply, he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “Were you ever going to tell me, or were you hoping I would go away and never find out?”

My mouth gapes open, but I quickly shut it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You don’t, huh?” Tyke stands and reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a slender piece of plastic. “Then tell me what the fuck this positive pregnancy test was doing in your trash.”

The breath whooshes out of me, and I clutch my chest as the guilt sets in. “You broke into my cottage?”

“Don’t try to change the fucking subject.” When I still don’t answer, he raises his voice. “Tell me!”

I knew I should’ve told him, but I had my reasons for keeping quiet. “Why would I? You don’t want a baby, remember?”

“Don’t give me a bunch of bullshit, Frannie. It was wrong of you not to tell me, and you know it. I told you if something happened, we’d deal with it together. If you ever expect a relationship between us to work—”

A sarcastic laugh bubbles out of my throat. “What makes you think I want anything to do with you now?”

“You don’t mean that.” Pain flickers over his face.

It’s a low blow, but he needs to know that he hurt me and that I can never trust him again.

I square my shoulders as I fight back tears. “Why wouldn’t I? It’s obvious you don’t care about me, so why would I want a relationship with you?”

Two long strides and he’s in front of me, gripping my shoulders as I try to turn away, but he pinches my chin between his thumb and forefinger and forces me to look at him. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I care more about you than anything else in this world right now. Frannie . . .” He swallows hard and places his hand on my stomach. “I need you. Don’t break my heart. Give me a chance to be a good man to you—to both of you.”

I close my eyes and let the tears stream down my face. It takes a moment before I have the courage to look at him again and remain strong. “Then why would the blackmailer send me a picture of you kissing Josie?”

I fully expect him to break into a string of excuses on why his lips were locked on another woman, but he doesn’t do that. Matter of fact, he does something that startles me.

He laughs.

I stare up at him with a perplexed expression because I’m positive he’s lost his ever-lovin’ mind. “Why are you laughing? It’s not funny.”

He wraps his arms around me and pulls me into his chest. “Oh, Frannie. Is that why you’re mad at me?”

I push my hands against his chest, attempting to shove him back a bit, but without much luck. “Yes. That’s exactly why I’m upset. Explain yourself.”

His shoulders relax a bit. “She kissed me out of nowhere. I shoved her off and told the bitch to take a fucking hike. Whoever is snapping pictures and videos of us was obviously spying again and caught that.”

He wipes a tear off my cheek with his thumb. “I’d never hurt you like that. When I told you that you were special to me, I meant it. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away about that kiss.”

I wrap my arms around his neck and inhale his scent. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away that I was pregnant. It was wrong of me.”

He hugs me back and whispers in my ear, “No more secrets, okay? From now on, we handle everything together.”

“Speaking of everything, I finally got a response from the blackmailer.”

Tyke pulls back. “Did they send demands?”

I nod. “They want two million dollars, in cash, by Friday.”

“Fuck,” he says. “That’s a lot of fucking money to keep a goddamn video from hitting the web.”

“Tell me about it.”

He sighs. “Looks like you’ll be hitting the road with me after the video goes viral.”

I furrow my brow. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not giving anyone that much money to keep the fact that I’m with you a secret. I don’t give a fuck if the world knows that I’m in love with you. I suppose you’ll be jobless when Dr. Shepherd sees it, so you’ll have plenty of time to come with me on the road.”

My eyes widen at his admission. “You . . . you love me?”

He leans in and presses a soft kiss to my lips. “Yes. You and this baby are my world now. I won’t let anyone hurt you. Trust me to do right by you. We’ll take out this asshole together.”

My heart does a double thump in my chest. Tyke Douglas just told me he loves me. Tears streak down my face as I envision a life without darkness—one filled with light. I can picture him holding me in his arms as we stand over a crib and watch our baby sleep. God, it seems so farfetched, but damn if I don’t want it to be true. This could be my shot at happiness.