Page 48 of Cartel Devil

He scoops me onto his lap and wraps his arms around me. I nestle against him and close my eyes. He kisses my forehead over and over as he strokes my arm. I lift my chin to kiss his neck before closing my eyes again. His cologne fills my nostrils, calming me further. I’d love nothing more than to snag one of his shirts to sleep in. I’d be out like a light every night if I had it. Better than lavender or chamomile.

My phone buzzes and vibrates, but I don’t want to sit up. Joaquin saves me from having to when he tightens his left arm around me and reaches for the coffee table with his other. He turns off the phone and sets it on the sofa beside me. Unfortunately, it’s inevitable that I have to get up since the test is sitting on my bathroom counter.

“Do you want me to wait here?”

I shake my head. “I need you to come with me.”

I meet his gaze, and I see his relief. He doesn’t want to be left out. We head to my half bathroom, but when we get to the doorway, I pause.

“Wait until I’ve picked it up and am standing next to you. Then turn on the light. I don’t want to see the result before you.”

I don’t know why that’s so fucking important to me. Maybe I don’t want to be alone in the knowledge for even a second.

“Thank you.”

I peer up at him, and I sense he wants to know at the same time too. I think…it would hurt his feelings if I knew before him. It takes me a moment to work through that revelation.

I step into the bathroom, knowing roughly where the end of the counter is from the dim light behind Joaquin. I find the stick and turn toward him.

“I have it.”

He flicks the light on, and we stare at the results. Neither of us says anything for a moment before looking at each other in the mirror.

“I’ll support whatever you want to do, Tre.”

“I—I—don’t know yet.”

It’s the truth as we both look down at the results in the mirror. Joaquin wraps his arms around me from behind, and we stand in silence. It’s not awkward. Just the opposite. It’s as though he’s transferring his strength to me via osmosis. After at least two minutes, I inhale and pull away. We head back into the living room where we sit together.

Chapter Eleven

Joaquin

This was not how I planned my day when I woke up.

Work out and breakfast with the guys.

Go to Alejandro’s housewarming party.

Check some properties under development in Jackson Heights, our Colombian enclave in Queens.

Work out with the guys again.

Dinner.

Bed.

That’s how the day was supposed to go. Finding out my one-night-stand-turned-girlfriend is pregnant wasn’t even on the bingo card. I didn’t make my declarations about wanting a future with her because we thought she might be pregnant. I wanted to do that from the first night. Then I wanted to do it at the dinner, but we know how that went. I hoped to pull her aside at the party and talk to her, but my huevos shrank up inside me when I saw her. Then I overheard that conversation… And well, here we are.

A positive pregnancy test.

“Joaco—”

“Sí. Sorry. Yes.”

My mind reverts to Spanish in high-stress moments. It was my first language, and I still speak it daily. Maybe retreats is a better word than reverts.

“Are—are you—okay with this?”