Chapter 425

• “I’ll miss you while I’m gone,” he says, smiling softly and bringing our foreheads together, the water from the shower still trickling over his hair and causing rivulets to run down his cheek onto my breasts in an almost mesmerizing pattern.
• “We haven’t slept apart since you told me you loved me,” I whisper shyly.
• “It’s been intentional.” He gazes at my mouth, a finger coming up to trace my lips slowly. “Don’t clam up on me, dolcezza. We should be talking about this.” He sees my expression tighten and backs off, my external bristle and cold mask connecting. Our eyes meet, and I catch his indulgent frown. “Okay, but we will talk about this at some point. The baby coming is inevitable. I know your instinct is to shut down and blank it, but I’m not going to let you, not over this.” The stubborn set to his jaw and raised eyebrow tell me he means it.