Page 85 of Knot Her Beta

“I love you.” The words leave me before I can second-guess them.

Her lips twitch. “I know.”

I huff a laugh. “That wasn’t the response I was hoping for.”

“I know.” She reaches up to cup my jaw. “Because I love you, too.”

The flutter beneath my ribs surges so hard it steals my breath. For months, I wondered if I waited too long. If apologies would never be enough. If I’d broken what we were building beyond repair.

But Emily didn’t give up on me, even while she worked through the hurt I caused.

“I’ve wanted to tell you that for a while,” she admits quietly. “It just never felt like the right moment.”

“I think this one’s pretty good.”

“It’ll do.” I lean down to steal one more quick kiss before stepping back.

“So...” I smooth the wrinkles from the front of my shirt. “The Wright Pack invited you and Jared to join…”

Emily lets out a slow breath. “They did.”

“And?”

“We’re leaning toward yes.”

Relief unwinds a knot inside me.

“But...” she continues, “Jared and I don’t want to make that decision by ourselves.”

I frown in confusion.

“We want all four of us to sit down first. You, me, Jared, and Grady,” she says. “If we’re going to build a family together, then I don’t want any of us deciding things that affect everyone else without talking about them first.”

That sounds just like her.

Practical.

Thoughtful.

Determined to include everyone.

“I think Grady would appreciate that.”

“I hope so.” She reaches for her lunchbox, then hesitates. “He’s had enough people deciding his future for him.”

A comfortable silence settles between us as she unwraps her sandwich and offers me half.

As I accept, a thought occurs to me. “Have you told Grady yet?”

She cocks her head as she chews.

“About the pregnancy.”

She almost chokes and swallows hard. “No.”

I raise an eyebrow.

“I didn’t want the first thing he heard after coming home to be...” She gestures at her stomach. “About this.”