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

thoughts, and I stopped talking. I don’t even know what we had been discussing, but it was something lighthearted and unimportant. As the shock soaked into me again, and I struggled to comprehend and accept it, my gaze dropped to her stomach.
    I couldn’t see any signs of pregnancy yet, except I was sure her breasts were larger, straining against the white button-down blouse she wore under the jacket she had removed. I had the strongest urge to reach over and unbutton it, to feel for myself and see the changes. My cock twitched in my pants, but that reaction faded when I contemplated why her breasts were larger.
    My baby was inside her, a baby I’d sure never intended to give her, and one I was doubtful that she wanted. Under the circumstances, it must have been the last thing she had anticipated, and I was surprised she hadn’t decided to abort. On the tail of that thought came a rush of relief that I wouldn’t have expected. I was pro-choice and supportive of a woman’s rights to make that decision, but when it came to my child, I found myself fiercely glad that she hadn’t terminated.
    The silence lengthened, and I was aware of her staring at me in confusion, but I couldn’t seem to bring order to the chaos of my thoughts. “You’re pregnant,” I said stupidly. She nodded at me like I was a special snowflake before taking another bite of chow mein. I couldn’t help a small smile that suddenly turned into a huge grin. “I mean you’re having a baby.”
    She looked either amused or exasperated, and I thought perhaps a mixture of the two. “Yes, that’s usually how it progresses.”
    I frowned. “Usually? Is something wrong?”
    Gabriella looked surprised. “No, not at all. I had an ultrasound at eight weeks when I saw the midwife for the first time. Would you like to see the picture?” She made the offer in a shy fashion, clearly uncertain how I would respond.
    “Yes.”
    She stopped eating long enough to reach into the bag she had brought with her, seeming to know right where she was looking, because it took her no time at all to pull out a little black and white picture that she handed to me.
    I took it with trembling hands, unreasonably nervous at the first sight of my child. I looked down and saw a squiggly little blob of white on black. “That’s a baby?” I asked doubtfully. Then I feared she might interpret my question as an expression of disbelief, or an accusation that she was trying to scam me.
    Fortunately, she must have realized I was just uneducated about such things, because she started laughing. “That’s what the midwife tells me, but I have to admit it doesn’t like much like a baby to me either. I expect to see a lot more at the next ultrasound.”
    “When will that be?” I was already mentally clearing my calendar.
    “At twenty weeks, so seven weeks from now.”
    I nodded, reaching for my phone to input the data. “Do you know the exact time and date yet?”
    Hesitantly she gave it to me, looking confused.
    After I put it in, I nodded. “I’ll take you.” Seeing the apprehension in her expression, I dialed it down a bit. “I mean I would like to come along, if that’s okay?”
    Slowly, she nodded. “Yes, that would be nice. I mean if you want to. You don’t have to feel obligated to—”
    I glared at her before she could finish that sentence. “I’m obligated simply because half of my genetic material made up our child. You’re not forcing me to do anything, so please stop acting like you are. I know it wasn’t planned, and I’m sorry you ended up in the situation, but now that we’re in this, we’re in it together. Okay?”
    She gave me a thoughtful look before she nodded. A second later, her stomach rumbled, and I reached for the trash can nearby as a precaution. Apparently, it was just signaling the need for more fuel, because she started eating again. Finally, I picked up a container of sweet-and-sour pork and tried to focus on eating as the shift in my