“Do what?” he asks, falling in step behind me. “Give you what you asked for the other day?”

“Exactly that,” I snap, turning on him. “You don’t give someone a baby as an apology, Gunnar. What the hell is the matter with you?”

“It’s not an apology.”

“Bull!” I point at him, calling out the lie. “You made your feelings perfectly clear about this. You can’t take that back.”

“The hell I can’t,” he fires back. “You caught me off guard. It was a knee-jerk reaction.”

“A knee-jerk reaction?” I choke out a bitter laugh. “Seriously?”

“Yes, and it was a shitty one, I get that.”

I don’t think he does. I don’t think he gets any of this.

“Look, I’ve thought a lot about what you said,” he continues. “And you’re right, we’re perfect for this. I’m perfect for this.”

“Yeah?” I challenge that response, propping my hands on my hips. “Tell me why.”

Confusion flashes across his face. “What do you mean?”

“Tell me why you’re perfect for this,” I press, my voice steady. “And I want to hear your reasons. Not mine.”

His gaze meets mine, full of determination. “Fine. How about the fact that I’m going to be in this child’s life every day from the moment it’s born because it turns out I can’t go longer than that without seeing you? I mean, Christ, Elle, these last two days without you about fucking killed me.”

That confession penetrates some of my anger, softening the edges of my heart.

Good. I’m glad to know I wasn’t the only one suffering.

Stepping forward, he takes my shoulders in a gentle grasp, the sincerity in his gaze carving its way into my soul. “Or how about the fact that I am going to teach this child everything I know, protect it with everything I am, and take care of you both, whether you need me to or not because that’s how it is between us. That’s how it’s always been and it’s how I always want it to be. You and me, forever, remember?”

It’s everything I longed to hear the other day, everything my heart yearned for, but he can’t commit this quickly. I see that now and I shouldn’t have expected him to.

“Listen, Gunnar, I appreciate what you’re trying to do here. Really, I do. For you to even consider being the donor means so much, but—”

“I’m not considering it,” he interjects, cutting me off.

I pause, thinking I misheard him. “What?”

“I don’t want to be a donor, Elle.”

The rejection stings all over again. “I don’t understand. You just said you wanted to be the father.”

“I know, and I do.”

That response leaves me even more confused. “You’re losing me here, Gunnar.”

“I want to have this baby with you, but I’m not jacking off in some cup,” he says, putting it bluntly. “If we do this, we’re doing it the old-fashioned way.”

His words hang in the air, heavy and unyielding. It takes me several moments to process their meaning, each second stretching into an eternity.

A disbelieving chuckle escapes my lips as I realize he must be joking.

I wait for him to join in, but his expression remains stoic, resolve unwavering.

It’s the final straw for me. “Okay, that’s it. You’re leaving. Right now.” I storm past him in a blaze of fury, refusing to play these games any longer. I’m so damn angry I don’t know if I want to strangle him or run up to my room and sob into my pillow for the rest of the night.

I don’t get to settle on either option before I’m spun around and pressed against the nearest wall.

What the …

Before I can register what has happened, Gunnar’s powerful body crowds mine in a way it never has before.

I inhale sharply, my breath stolen by the fierce determination on his face. My eyes are wide as I peer up at him, drawn into the depths of his intensity.

“Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about this, Elle,” his voice is low and hypnotic, dancing along my senses. “What it would be like … feel like …”

I swallow hard, wanting to deny it but can’t. Not just because of my inability to form words at the moment, but the desire coursing through me is undeniable.

An arrogant smirk forms on his lips, as if he sees my every thought.

He leans down even closer, his breath warm against my skin as he brings his mouth to my ear. “I want to do this with you, Elle,” he murmurs, his words a gentle caress. “I want to have this baby with you, but only if we do it my way. So, think about it. Really think about it. I’ll return tomorrow night with dinner, and I expect an answer by then.”

That demand jolts me back to reality, yanking me from the spell he had me under.

Sensing the shift in me, he draws back, meeting my gaze squarely. “After all, Friday is fast approaching,” he adds, a hint of smugness entering his tone.

I’m rendered immobile by his sheer audacity and something else, something too powerful to name.

Before leaving he places his hat on my head. “Keep it. Suits you better, anyway.” Without further discussion, he strides confidently toward the door, whistling for Bear. “Let’s go, boy.”

Bear gives my leg a few affectionate licks, then obediently follows Gunnar out of the house, leaving me in a state of shock. I’m unable to move or breathe, my mind and heart in chaos as I try to make sense of what just happened.

Gunnar

As promised, I pull up to Ellie’s house the following evening, armed with dinner. I’m hoping her favorite Italian dish will help smooth over some of the tension I caused last night because she was good and pissed when I left, no doubt about it.

She was also hot and needy, her desire unmistakable. It raged in the depths of her eyes that have the ability to stop time. In the sound of her heated breaths as my lips grazed her ear. In the way her body trembled in response to the closeness of mine.

Every reaction only fueled what I’ve had burning inside of me since acknowledging what I should have a long time ago. What everyone else always seemed to know except the two of us.

What I now realize was inevitable all along.

What Linc and Dawson said last night was true. I could only keep Ellie to myself for so long before a decision like this would need to be made, and it would seem that time is now.

How will it all play out? I’m still not sure, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about that. It’s unknown territory, and quite frankly, I don’t like the unknown. It’s dangerous, leaves you vulnerable, and can blindside you when you least expect it.