Watch Over Me

Gwen’s head was spi

Dominic got to his feet, looking completely exhausted and pale, but his eyes were filled with emotion. He stopped just inches away from her and took both of her hands in his. “I used to think I was a cool person. Nothing ever shook me. I’m the original ‘Plan B man.’ Then you came along, and I just lost it. I prayed that Mac and Ava would finally get their head out of their asses and be together because I had wanted you from the begi

Gwen felt tears begin to flow from her eyes as she heard the words that she never thought she’d hear from a man other than her father. She knew at that moment that every heartache in her life had led her to this moment—to Dominic, who loved her unconditionally and who was surely meant to be the father of her child.

His eyes were now watery, as well, as she turned her head to kiss his palm. “So, you’re saying this is all Gage’s fault?”

He looked embarrassed as he said, “The only excuse I have for listening to him is that I was terrified of screwing up and losing you. I was constantly second-guessing myself and Gage always seemed to be around at those times. Hell, when a man’s desperate, everything starts to sound like a lifeline.”

“You might want to rethink that the next time.” She winced, causing them both to laugh before she sobered. “I love you, too, Dominic. I was so drawn to you after our first night together that I was ru

Dominic pulled back only to lower his hand and place it reverently over her stomach. “I was surprised at how disappointed I was when I got your text that you weren’t pregnant. I mean I’d never allowed myself really to believe that it would happen. But then when the possibility was gone—I had a hard time coming to terms with it. I didn’t say anything to you about it because I didn’t know how you were feeling and I was afraid of pushing you farther away.”

“I was sad as well,” Gwen admitted. “I knew I should probably be relieved because I hadn’t pla

“Kandi?” Dominic asked, looking dumbfounded.

“I saw the text she sent you, about Charleston,” Gwen blurted out. “She said she had something for you and Gage and were you going to be back in Charleston.”

“Baby, I have no idea what you’re talking about. I haven’t spoken with Kandi since I ended it. Plus, why would I see her in Charleston? I never saw a text from her. Hell, she’s not even in my contact list anymore.”

Gwen dropped her head against his chest and confessed to seeing the message from K and deleting it. “Then who is K?” she asked hesitantly.

“K? Just the letter, right?” When she nodded, he began laughing. “Babe, that’s the owner of the department store in Charleston that we’ve been setting up security for. She has some long name, but everyone calls her K. She is a seventy-plus-year-old sweetheart who cooked for Gage and me when we were there. That’s probably what she was talking about. She wanted me to let her know when we would be back so she could cook us another meal.”

“Oh,” Gwen whispered, completely embarrassed. “Can we please forget everything I just said and pick up where we left off?”

Giving her a soft smile, Dominic hugged her to him tightly and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “You got it. As for your being scared, we’ll take it slow, baby. I have no idea what I’m doing, either, but I don’t think we have to have all of the answers right now. We’ll move in together, get married, and make a life and a family together.”

“Whoa,” Gwen stuttered in surprise as she pulled back. “This isn’t the nineteen fifties, and I’m not looking for a shotgun wedding simply because I’m pregnant. A lot of people have children together without being married.”

Dominic gri

Gwen could feel the heat steal over her cheeks as he reinforced his statement with a grind of his hard length against her core. His cocky statement might not be so far-fetched because she was biting her tongue to keep from moaning “Oh, yes,” right then. She couldn’t imagine ever being able to say no to him.

Maybe they were starting their life together completely backward—putting the cart before the horse, as some would say. However, as Dominic kissed a line down her neck, whispering words of love and desire, Gwen had to believe that some of the best-laid plans were the ones that were—well, not pla

Epilogue

It had taken Dominic exactly a month to wear her down and convince her to move in with him. Then it took him another couple of months after that to propose to her.

Even though she’d been expecting it, Gwen could still remember how surprised she’d been when he asked her to marry him. They had invited both of their families up to Myrtle Beach for Thanksgiving. She had wanted to wait until she was through her first trimester before telling everyone about the pregnancy. Of course, that had proved to be impossible. Dominic had practically been bursting at the seams to tell his family and there was no way that she could keep the news from Wendy. And most of Dominic’s friends already knew, so in the end, they’d gone ahead and shared the news, trusting that all would be well.

Wendy had been thrilled, and her mom and dad, although more than a little surprised, seemed happy for her as well. Dominic’s family had been over the moon. His sister, Meredith, had been back to visit several times. She was desperately hoping for a girl in the family since she had two boys. She claimed all the testosterone was giving her hives and the women needed to level the playing field in the Brady family.

Their apartment had been beyond full with both families. They had just sat down to Thanksgiving di