Tied To You by Kit Tunstall, Kit Kyndall Read Free Book Online

and soothing, as were his fingers when they stroked over my forehead.
    “I had guessed that, Gabriella.”
    I gave him further points for not asking if it was his. Of course it was his, but I suppose most men would have questioned it anyway. After all, we’d only spent one night together three months ago. I could have slept with anyone between then and now. I hadn’t, and I appreciated he realized that.
    “I’m sorry I didn’t use protection that night. I guess I just assumed you were taking the pill, and I wasn’t really thinking at all.”
    I managed a wan smile. “Like I said, I don’t take unnecessary medication. I tried the pill as a teenager to regulate my periods, but it gave me awful side effects. I didn’t even think about this as a consequence until my period didn’t come. By then, I had no idea how to get hold of you. You wouldn’t believe how many guys there are with the first name Mickey in this city.” I managed to interject a hint of teasing in my tired tone.
    “And I’m not even a Mickey.” He shook his head, looking disgusted. “I’m sorry. The very least I should have done was leave my business card or some way for you to get hold of me. I thought it would be better for both of us if we just left things as they were, so I owe you another apology. More than one.”
    I took his hand, squeezing gently. “Let’s just ease off the apologies, okay? The important thing is we reconnected, and now you know about the baby. I don’t know what kind of role you would like, and I’m open to letting you decide that. If you don’t want anything to do with us, that’s your choice. You can have visitation, if you’d like. Of course, I’m sure you’ll need some time to think about it to decide what you want to do.”
    His brow furrowed, and he looked angry. “I don’t need any time to think about it. I know what I’m going to do. I’m going to marry you and help raise our baby.”
    I almost rolled my eyes. His words struck a chord in me, and I wanted to embrace them, but there was no way I was going to let him sacrifice himself for a loveless marriage just to help raise our child. I deserved better than an obligatory spouse. “We aren’t getting married, Mickey…Mykael. People don’t get married just because they’re having a baby these days.”
    “I do.”
    “Then you’re going to have to marry yourself,” I said tartly. “I’m not going to marry someone I’m not in love with just because we screwed up and didn’t keep your sperm from meeting my egg.” He scowled down to me, the full weight of his personality weighing on me, and I could see he was probably a fierce attorney.
    “You’re going to marry me, and that’s the end of it.”
    I laughed harshly, shaking my head. “I’m not going to marry you, and that’s the end of it. If you want to marry me, then you have to do this the old-fashioned way, like most people. We’re going to have to date and see if we have anything in common before we even think about jumping into something as permanent as marriage.”
    “Gabriella,” he said in a warning tone.
    “Mykael,” I said in the same tone, though I let my frustration show more clearly. “Stop badgering me and feed me some lunch. I’m starving.”
    His eyes widened, and my words must have distracted him. “But you just threw up everywhere.”
    “Not everywhere. I just happened to throw up everything in my stomach. Ergo, it’s empty again, so I have to fill it up. Being pregnant is messed up, and right now I’m starving. In two hours, I’ll probably throw it all up again. In the meantime, past the Mushu pork.”
    ***

Mykael
    I watched in shock at the sheer amount of food disappearing between her plump pink lips. I had no idea how she could eat like that considering she had just lost everything in her stomach less than twenty minutes before. It must have had something to do with being pregnant, as she had said.
    Pregnant. The word made me pause, almost stumble in my