“Tru, is everything okay?” My mum’s worried tone comes on.

“Yes, everything’s fine. Great, in fact.” I run my tongue over my dry lips. “Is Dad still there?”

“I’m here,” he says.

“Okay. Jake’s here too, and, um, we’ve got some news. We’re, um…we’re having a baby.”

There’s utter silence. For a really long time.

Then my dad breaks it.

“That’s great news, honey. Really, really great news. Isn’t it, Eva?” I can practically feel him elbowing my mum to respond.

“Cómo pudiste permitir que esto suceda?”

My face heats and prickles.

“Que esto suceda? Let this happen, Mama?” I repeat in English, as I don’t want to hide anything about this conversation from Jake. “I didn’t let anything happen. We didn’t intend to get pregnant, obviously. But it’s something that has happened, and we are both extremely happy about it. I was hoping you would be too.”

“We are happy,” my dad insists.

“Mama?” I press.

“Are you going to give the band up, Jake?” she asks him directly.

“No, he’s not,” I say before he gets a chance to speak.

She sighs loudly. “So he will be on the road touring, and you will be home alone in America with a baby.”

“No,” Jake butts in before I get another chance to speak.

Probably a good thing because I’m so bloody rattled right now.

“We haven’t worked out the fine details yet, Eva, but Tru won’t be home alone with the baby. I’m going to be the biggest part of our baby’s life. I won’t have my child raised the way I was.” The harshness of his tone surprises me, but I can’t blame him. “I see your concern, really I do, but it won’t be that way. I will always be here for them both. I don’t want you and Billy to worry.”

My mum is silent for a tense moment.

“I want you to be happy about this, Mama. This isn’t like you and Dad on the road. Jake’s life is different—”

“Yes, it’s bigger than your father’s ever was. Jake is busy and in demand, and his life is pressured. Look at what happened the last time things got hard for him. He was back on drugs and you found that girl in his bed. You were brokenhearted.”

“Mama!” I cry, devastated she’s bringing that back up.

“Enough, now, Eva,” my dad says. “You know what happened.”

It’s another tense moment of silence, as tears make their way down my cheeks.

“I know I’ve screwed up in the past and let Tru down,” Jake says, breaking the silence. “Trust me, no one knows that better than I do.” His voice is hoarse and it hurts me to hear. “But it won’t ever happen again. I know what I stand to lose, believe me. I love Tru very much. She’s everything to me, and I want her happiness as much as you do.”

I reach out and caress his cheek.

I turn back to the phone. “I thought you of all people would understand this, Mama.” I rub the tears from my face. “That you would be on my side and support us in having this baby.”

I hear her sharp intake of breath. “I am on your side, Tru. I’m always on your side.”

“So then be happy for me…for us. You’re going to be a grandma, and Dad a granddaddy.”

The moment of silence is soft, not sullen. That’s when I know I have her.

“How far along are you?” she asks, her voice wavering a little.

“Six weeks.” A smile bites my lips. “I have some pictures. I can scan one into the laptop and e-mail it to you.”

“I’d love that.”

“Okay,” I say, wrapping the call up. “I’ll scan it in soon and e-mail it over.”

“Tru.” She pauses. “I’m happy for you…for you both.”

Tears prick my eyes. “Thanks, Mama. I love you.”

“Love you,” Mama says.

“And me!” Dad calls in.

I chuckle past the lump in my throat. “Love you too, Daddy.”

“Oh, and make sure Jake doesn’t smoke near you now that you’re pregnant,” Mama starts in, “and you’ll need to start taking prenatal vitamins. No caffeine or seafood…”

“I got it covered, Mama.” I smile. “Don’t worry.”

“Okay, we’ll see you soon.”

We all say our good-byes, and Jake ends the call. I fall back against the sofa.

“Bloody hell, that was stressful,” I mutter, driving my fingers over my aching scalp.

Jake lies back beside me. “You can’t blame her. She worries because she loves you, and I can see where she’s coming from. In her eyes, I’m not exactly ideal husband or father material.”

“Well, she’s wrong.” I turn my face to his and trace my finger over his full lips.

“That may be, but I have to prove it to her.”

“You don’t need to prove anything to anyone.”

“I do. To both your mom and dad. I want them to trust that I can take care of you both.” He runs his fingers over my tummy.

“My dad trusts you. He thinks the world of you.”

“He likes me, Tru. We get on great. But I don’t know about trust, especially not with his little girl.”

“Well, I trust you, and that’s what counts.” I take hold of his hand, bringing it from my stomach to my mouth, and kiss it. “Do you want to call your mum and Dale?”

He shakes his head, chuckling. “No, I think we need a break after that.”

“You think she’ll be difficult like Mama was?”

“No, but right now all I can think about is getting you naked and finishing what we started before. I seriously need to get inside you after listening to you get all fiery, talking in angry Spanish like that.”

Laughing, I say, “The food will be here soon.”

“We’ve got time,” he says, taking hold of my legs, pulling me down the couch. He kneels between them and sets to work on removing my jeans and panties, while I remove my top and bra.

Jake takes his T-shirt off, and then we’re skin on skin, as he rests his chest against mine.

I wind my fingers into his hair, bringing his mouth to mine. I hook my leg around his hip as his hand slides down my thigh, gripping my butt, and he kisses me like he’s starved for me, his tongue plunging into my mouth, deep and hard. His hands take mine, above my head, pinning them to the cushion.

I grind my pelvis into him, groaning in his mouth.

Then the doorbell rings.

“Motherfucker,” he growls heavily into my mouth. “Can’t a guy get a moment with his girl here?” He grumbles, getting up to answer the door.

I start to sit up to retrieve my clothes. “Don’t you dare move,” he commands. “I want to come back here and find you exactly as I left you.”

“And how’s that?” I ask, resting my arms on the back of the sofa and my chin on my arms, looking across at him. God, he looks so totally hot right now. Abs rippling down to his low-slung jeans. My tattoo inked around them. His hard-on so very visible through his jeans, like his cock is straining to get out of them and into me.

“Naked and waiting to be fucked.” He grins, walking backward.

“Sí, señor.” I salute.

He groans, grabbing his cock through his jeans, then turns and heads for the door.

I lie back down on the sofa so whoever’s at the door won’t see naked me sitting here.

I hear the door open, then Henry’s voice. The door closes, so I sit up just as Jake walks back into the living room with a bag containing our lunch in his hand.

“You want to eat now?” he asks, totally insincerely.

I shake my head. “I want you to get your hot ass over here and use that huge penis of yours on me.” I bite down on my grin.

Jake puts the bag of food down on the side table and advances toward me like a panther moving in on its prey.

“With absolute fuckin’ pleasure,” he says, vaulting over the back of the couch, landing on his feet between my legs, he gets down to his knees, and down to business instantly.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

I look around at the Christmas decorations adorning the restaurant and I get that giddy, excitable feeling I always get this time of year. Now it’s a million times amplified, because this Christmas will be Jake’s and my first Christmas together in years, and our first as a couple. A couple who’s having a baby.

We’re having a baby! I’m still excited about it, if you didn’t guess.

It’s also Jake’s birthday on the twenty-third of December. He’ll be the grand old age of twenty-seven. Like our Christmas, this is the first birthday together in twelve years, so I’m making sure it’ll be a good one.

That’s why I’m out for dinner tonight with Stuart and Carly: we’re planning a surprise birthday party for Jake.

I considered spending his birthday with just the two of us, but we have so many people coming for Christmas, that it just seemed right to share his day with everyone we love.

Carly has become a really good friend since I hired her company to decorate our house. She is doing an amazing job. We’re halfway through the decorating, but Carly assures me it will be finished in time for Christmas, thank God. I can’t think of anything worse than a house full of people in a half-decorated house.

My mum and dad are coming for Christmas. I’m so excited to see them; it’s been way too long.

Simone is coming for Christmas too. She’ll be staying at Denny’s place, but they’re coming over to ours for Christmas dinner.

We’ve also got Tom coming, and Zane too. Apparently Zane isn’t close to his family in New York, so I told Jake to invite him. I can’t bear to think of anyone alone at Christmas, let alone people I care about.

I invited Smith and Carly too, but they’re heading back home to Tennessee after Jake’s party.

Of course Jake’s mum, Susie, and his stepdad, Dale, are coming.

Jake knows none of this. He knows everyone is coming for Christmas, but he thinks everyone is getting in on Christmas Eve.

It’ll be nice to see Susie again. I haven’t seen her since Paul’s funeral in Manchester. And I haven’t seen Dale since I was fourteen.

She was over the moon when we called and told her I’m pregnant. Hers was the complete opposite reaction from my mum’s.

I think she’s relieved and happy that Jake is finally settling down. That he’s found his happiness.

Everyone else was stoked about the baby too. Stuart flipped, in the best possible way. Simone went all crazy too. But the most touching reaction was Vicky’s. When I told her I was pregnant, she started crying real, happy tears. I was Skyping with her, and I could see the genuine emotion. It set me off crying too.

I owe Vicky a lot. If it wasn’t for her landing the interview with Jake, we wouldn’t be together now. I have everything in the world to thank her for.

I was hoping Vicky would come for Christmas too, but she already has plans with her family. But I’m making sure I’ll see her real soon.