Collision Force (29 page)

“I love you,” she whispered.

“Thank God,” Cole said, squeezing her in his arms.

“I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you about the baby,” she whispered, looking away.

He rested a hand on her naked stomach, and she met his eyes. “It doesn’t matter.”

The baby moved and his hand followed, making soothing circles that shot a shiver down her spine. Andi cuddled closer. “You’re not scared? It’s a big thing to spring on a person.”

“I came here today to ask you to marry me. That decision was made before I even left my place. The baby shocked the hell out of me, yeah, but it changes nothing.”

She bit her lip to stave off tears. God, she hated the pregnancy hormones. She rested her hand next to his on her tummy. “Want to see the first ultrasound?”

“I don’t want to miss another moment,” Cole breathed. He swallowed hard against the lump in his throat, but it didn’t dissipate.

She slipped from the bed and he watched her naked body. God, she was stunning. Never had he thought he would
ever
be sexually attracted to a pregnant woman, but as Andi leaned slightly to dig in a bag on her dresser to get the DVD and her breasts swayed, his cock stirred. He wanted to run his hands all over her again. Taste her skin. Lavish attention on the place where
his
child grew. She and the baby were his. Ethan was his, too.

His family
. His heart thumped.

Smiling at him over her shoulder, he had to restrain himself from grabbing her.

“Can you hand me that remote?”

“Sure.” He tossed it to her from her nightstand and scooted to the end of the bed, wrapping an arm around her when she sat beside him.

Andi kissed his cheek then leaned into him. She turned the TV on and an image popped up on the screen.

Cole froze.

Sure, he’d seen those little printouts of a little white blob with a black background and a ruler on the side. Cass had sent him both Kelsey’s and Lacey’s, but this was different.

Movement on the screen ensnared him. His vision blurred as he fell in love all over again. When was the last time he’d cried? It didn’t matter.

Andi squeezed his hand. Cole couldn’t speak as love and wonder settled over him like never before in his thirty-three years.

A tear made its way down his cheek and she wiped it away. “I’m sorry it was my fault you missed this,” she whispered, looking down.

When he guided her face back up, her eyes were misty and his heart clenched. “I didn’t miss it. I’m seeing it now and that’s all that matters. And I’ll be by your side next time. I love you.” He kissed away her tears. A slight smile curved her lips and Cole tugged her into his arms.

“I told Dr Hayes I don’t want to know the sex. I want to be surprised, is that okay?” Andi said, tucking her face against his neck. Her warm breath tickled him and a shiver slid down his spine.

“That’s the best kind of surprise. I just hope he has your eyes.”

She lifted her face. Her lopsided grin made him smile. “Or she.”

Cole acted like he had to think about it, cocking his head to the side, and Andi poked him. “Okay, okay. Or she.” He chuckled and rubbed his pec. “That hurt, ya know.”

Her grin widened and he laughed as she kissed the spot with a loud smack.

“I still hope
she
has your eyes. And freckles, she has to have freckles,” he said, caressing her cheek.

She laughed. “What if he or she has your eyes and no freckles?”

“Then we’ll get it right next time.” Cole kissed her nose.

“Next time?”

“No more kids?” he asked.

Andi shrugged. “I hadn’t thought about it. I didn’t know you’d come back for me.” Her eyes flashed with pain and he kissed her hard.

She was it for him. A real family, a wife, two kids…maybe more. Forever. “You’re not a single mother anymore.”

“I’m glad.” Her smile was watery and his stomach somersaulted.

“Tell you what,” Cole said, winking. “No matter how many kids we have, let’s never stop doing what it takes to make them.”

She laughed and shook her head, but he pulled her onto his lap and fused their mouths. Andi straddled him, his hard cock pleasantly trapped between them as their bodies touched in all the right places.

“Again?” she breathed against his mouth, wrapping her arms around his neck and rocking in his lap.

Cole moaned. “Yes.”

“I love you, Cole Lucas,” Andi whispered as she lowered herself onto him.

“Colliding with you in that hallway was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

She kissed him in answer. Forever was getting a damn good start.

Epilogue

Andi pulled into the driveway with a sigh. She eased her cumbersome body out of the car, smiling when the baby moved. She only had six weeks to go, and she couldn’t wait until the pregnancy was over. Being pregnant in a Texas summer sucked.

She glanced to the right, spotting Bella and her boyfriend on the porch swing next door. “Bella, where’s Ethan?” she called.

“Cole insisted he had things under control, so I left about two,” Bella said, coming to the porch steps.

The teen was doing well, all things considered, after the ordeal with Carlo Maldonado. She’d agreed to testify against him without protest, and was seeing a counsellor. In the long run, she’d be fine and Andi was more than relieved, she was proud of her.

Bella and Natalie were excited about the new baby. In just a few days they were hosting a baby shower. She’d told them not to make a big deal about it, but of course, she’d been disregarded. There’d be tons of people there.

She waved to Matt. He called a hello, and she flashed a smile. He was a good kid. He’d rushed to Bella’s house the night she’d been taken by Carlo, just as frantic as Nat about her.

Matt had definitely scored cool points when Bella had told Andi about the virgin conversation she’d had with Carlo. The boy respected her—hopefully he’d keep that up.

She waved goodbye to the young couple and headed up her steps, biting back a yawn. Andi was still working, but on light duty, not leaving the station much. Her shifts were mostly normal business hours and she was out of the on-call rotation until after the baby was born, so that was a relief. But the guys at work were killing her with their overprotection, her husband and partner, of course, leading the charge. She couldn’t even get up to pee without interrogation and some male freaking out.

Cole and Jared Manning were getting along now that their mutual posturing and ‘guy stuff’—according to Cole—had passed. He’d been over to their house a few times for dinner, and Andi was getting to know him better, too.

They were too much alike, so she had to bite her tongue when her husband complained about him, but so far, so good. They’d be great friends…eventually. The few cases they’d worked had gone well, so at least they could be professional.

Their current case had finally broken the night before, but Cole and Jared had literally been up all night. He’d just pulled in the driveway when Andi had been on her way out that morning. He’d have the chance to get some much needed sleep, since Bella had Ethan all day in the summer, as he and Jared had been working overnight for a few weeks, and both had been sleep deprived.

Over the past two and a half months, Cole had been settling in well, both with her and Ethan, and at work. Chief Martin was already bragging about him, and she’d heard him
say Antioch wasn’t
so
bad
after all.

Andi grinned. She loved him so much, and couldn’t imagine her life without him. When she thought about Iain, she could finally smile. The sadness and grief had faded. She missed him from time to time—she always would—but her first husband would have wanted her—them—to be happy. It wasn’t something she’d convinced herself of to feel better, it was just who Iain had been as a person.

He would have
wanted
Ethan to grow up with a man to guide him. Cole was proving to be one hell of a dad to her son. She had no qualms that he would be just as fantastic with his own child, and any others that they might have.

The baby moved and Andi rubbed the spot, smiling. Cole wouldn’t treat Ethan differently from his own blood, and it only made her love him more.

Closing the door, she listened hard. Silence descended as she put her gun away and headed into the living room. The scene before her made her heart stutter.

Ethan was asleep in Cole’s arms on the couch, nestled against his chest. Both husband and son were snoring softly. She couldn’t help the smile that curved her lips.

Her son’s favourite book was upside down on the floor, as if it had fallen there. She laughed. Ethan never made it through the whole story when they read at night. Looked like Cole couldn’t last this afternoon, either.

Andi brushed Ethan’s curls out of his face—too long again—and kissed the top of his head. She caressed Cole’s stubbled cheek and leant down as best she could to kiss his forehead. Both her boys were perfect.

Cole’s eyes fluttered. “Hey.” His tone was heavy with sleep.

“Hey.”

Her husband shifted on the couch, sitting up and making room for her to sit with them as he cuddled Ethan closer. He threw his free arm around her then pressed a kiss to her lips.

She leaned into him, giving a contented sigh.

“What time is it?” Cole asked.

“Almost four. I left early.”

“Everything okay?” His steel eyes widened, more alert.

“Absolutely. Just wanted to get home to you guys.” Andi patted his cheek. “You should have let Bella keep him and gotten more sleep.”

Cole shook his head. “I wanted to hang with him. I feel like I haven’t seen you guys in forever. Besides, she’s leaving for camp tomorrow, she’ll be gone for the rest of the summer, remember? That counsellor gig. I told her to go pack.”

Ethan roused, yawning as he rubbed his eye with a small fist. “Mama,” he said when he noticed her, flashing a sleepy smile. He threw himself at her and Andi caught him up, hugging him tight and laughing.

“Ethan, careful,” Cole admonished.

The little boy leaned against her and she ruffled his hair. “He’s fine. But thanks. I’m more worried you didn’t get enough sleep.”

“I got enough, babe,” he told her, caressing her cheek. “Besides, me and Ethan had guy stuff to do.”

“Yeah!” The four-year-old agreed.

He put his hand up and Ethan slapped him with a loud high-five. Andi laughed.

“But we missed you.”

“Yeah, Mama.” Ethan pushed up to his knees and kissed her cheek.

“I missed you guys, too.”

Cole flashed his dimples. He still made her heart race, and that would never change.

Her son splayed his small hands against her stomach and looked down. “Hello, little brother,” he announced.

“Was this one of the
guy things
you had to do?” Andi asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Cole grinned. “I’ll never tell.”

She rolled her eyes and cupped her son’s face, meeting his big blue eyes. “Ethan, you might have a little sister instead, is that okay?”

“Like my Bells?”

“Yes, a girl, like Bella. You’d have to protect her. You’re her big brother.”

“Boys are better,” Ethan said, nodding seriously.

When Cole laughed, Andi glared at him.

“I didn’t tell him that, I swear.” He put his palms up in surrender and shook his head, fighting another grin.

“Daddy,” Ethan said, scrambling off the couch. “I wanna play blocks.”

Andi’s heart skipped a beat, as it always did when her son said that word.

“Go for it, buddy,” Cole said, his lips curving in a tender smile.

They’d left the choice up to Ethan as to what he would call Cole. He’d asked if Cole was going to be his dad the very day he’d come back into town. She’d cried, of course. Pete had beamed, and Cole’s eyes had been a bit misty.

Ethan had called him Daddy from the moment he’d got a
yes
to his question.

“I guess I’ll have to address that later with him,” she grumbled, and her husband chuckled, earning another glare.

Cole yanked her closer and kissed her. “I love you.”

She smiled. “I love you, too.”

“You know I wouldn’t mind having a daughter, anyway.”

“I know,” she said, putting her hand next to his on her tummy when he followed the movement of their very active baby.

“I wish you’d call it quits already. Pete and I agree.”

“Cole,” Andi warned. “I worked up until the week before Ethan was born.” Did they really have to go over this
again
? “Dr Hayes says we’re both healthy, and there’s no problem with me working. I’m stuck at a desk, for God’s sake. That’s bad enough.”

He didn’t say anything, but he glowered.

“I don’t want to argue with you,” she whispered.

Cole’s expression softened. “I know, babe. I’m not trying to argue. Just expressing my opinion.”

“For the
thousandth
time,” she muttered. “Besides, with the
whole
detective squad on your side, what do you have to worry about? I can’t even get my own damn decaf. I get
escorted
to the bathroom.
They practically have the paramedics on standby. You’d think this was my first baby.”

“I wouldn’t complain about being waited on hand and foot, if I were you. And this is
my
first baby. So I’m bound to be a little neurotic.”

“That’s one word I’d have never described you with.” She bit back a laugh.

“Hmmm… Well, some things can change a man,” Cole said, gazing into her eyes.

“For the better?” she asked, her heart flipping.

“For the better.” His lips hovered over hers, his warm breath tickling before his soft kiss. “I wasn’t alive until I met you and Ethan,” he whispered.

“I was only half alive, I think. Until you came along and showed me it wasn’t wrong to love again.”

Cole held her close, like he would for the rest of his life, and Andi snuggled into him. Ethan called them to look at what he’d built. Andi and Cole exchanged a smile as they watched their son play.