Vendetta by Capri Montgomery

Thena had been together for a while now; a baby was bound to happen sooner or later.
     
    He shook his head. “Baby, I’m happy. I want a family. I want a child, and I want it with you. You’ve made me happy…don’t doubt that.”
     
    “Are you sure, Thomas? Are you really sure? Because there’s not a week that goes by that you don’t remind me that you can’t commit to us, to our relationship, until you get Sabian.” Her face and eyes held the look of hope unspoken.
     
    “I’m positive, Thena. I want this. I want you.” He hadn’t realized he kept constantly reminding her of his lack of desire to have attachments—commitments. Clearly he had been doing just that. And for three years she handled it like a Marine when she wasn’t one. For three years she listened to him tell her, constantly remind her, of why they weren’t married and would probably never be married. It was a miracle she hadn’t kicked him to the curbside months ago. He wouldn’t have wanted to stick around for that kind of constant reminder. “I want this.” He felt compelled to say again, and he would say it as often as he needed to in order to set things right.
     
    A sigh of relief escaped her. “I’ve been trying to figure out for weeks how to bring this up with you. I knew I would have to eventually, but I just…I thought if I kept busy with everything else then maybe I would figure it out.”
     
    “Don’t ever think you have to be afraid to tell me anything. I love you. You’ve made me the happiest man in Boston tonight. I’m going to be a dad.”
     
    She laughed. “Yes, you are.” She placed her hand over her stomach and he placed his hand over hers. Tonight he had gotten life changing news—twice. He knew he had to tell her about what he had to leave to do, but right now he just wanted to sit back and think about being a father to their child. A smile graced his lips. He had something to come home to before, but now…wow, this was amazing. He wanted a family of his own. He wanted a wife and a child and now he was going to have one—a child at least because he and Thena had yet to set a date for their wedding…technically they weren’t really engaged. He had never officially asked her. He had implied that they would get married after he settled things, but he had yet to get down on bended knee and ask her.
     
    “What are we hoping for? A girl or a boy?”
     
    “Hmm…I could see us having a little boy who will grow up to be just like his dad,” she smiled. “But I can also see us having a little girl. She can have your gorgeous blue eyes.”
     
    “Your nose,” he tapped her on the tip of her nose. “And your beautiful brown skin.”
     
    She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. From her seated position the move was awkward at best. He lifted her and positioned her so that her legs straddled his waist and then he pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her body and gently stroking her back. “Maybe we can have both.”
     
    “Twins don’t run in my family,” she told him. “At least not that I know of…maybe somewhere down the line there could be a set of twins but if there are any I don’t know about them.”
     
    “Mine either. So if we don’t have twins we’ll keep trying until we have at least one of each.”
     
    She laughed. “Um…no…that sounds like I’ll have ten kids while we try for one gender. No thank you. Two is enough.”
     
    “Four,” he bargained.
     
    “Three,” she countered. “And that’s my final offer.”
     
    He laughed. “I’ll take it, but that doesn’t mean I won’t keep pushing for more. Think of all the fun we’ll have making four…or six.”
     
    “Hey!” She pulled back and slapped his shoulder. “No way. Four…maybe, but six…no way.”
     
    “Okay, four it is.”
     
    “Seriously, you’re crazy, but you’re right; it would be nice. Our children would be so loved. They’ll grow up with both of us too.” She sighed. “I want us