Tyler probably wouldn’t mind.
Tyler broke the kiss slowly, his breathing ragged. Then he slid his hands over her shoulders, down her arms, and linked his fingers around hers.
“Come on. We do need to talk.”
“I know.”
Even though Kristie didn’t really want to talk right now. Allowing Tyler to lead the way, they went into the next room. Tyler sat down first, tugging Kristie onto his lap. Kristie squealed, almost falling onto him.
“What are you doing?”
“What’s wrong with you sitting on my lap?”
“Maybe not a good idea right now.” Kristie shifted off his lap. “Talk first, Tyler. I can’t concentrate like that.”
Tyler sighed.
“Okay, fine.” He shifted around to face her. “I just wanted to apologise to you for being a dick towards you. About asking you to do this.”
Kristie blinked. She hadn’t expected this.
“You’re apologising for getting me pregnant. What does that mean?”
“Well…” Tyler muttered under his breath and sat back, rubbing his hands over his face. “Fuck, I’m screwing this up already.”
“Just be blunt. You’re good at that.”
“You want that?”
“You’re making me nervous, so it’s best that you get it out now.”
“Okay. Fine.” Tyler lowered his hands, his eyes piercing. “I love you, Kristie. And the big idiot here didn’t realise it.”
It took a moment for the words to sink in. Even then, Kristie wasn’t even sure he had said them. She shook herself.
“Okay, I don’t know what to say to that.”
“You wanted me to be blunt.”
“Probably not that blunt. Maybe explain yourself first.”
“I will.” Tyler rubbed a hand over his bristled jaw. “My desire to become a dad is true enough. It’s what I’ve wanted for a while. Like I said before, finding someone who I can see carrying my kids has been tough. Trusting doesn’t come easy to me.”
“I’ve noticed,” Kristie murmured.
“Can you let me get through this?”
Kristie pressed her lips together and nodded. Tyler carried on.
“Then I came to Middlesex, and I met you. Shortly after, I started seeing you differently to others. I found myself desiring you. And I could see you carrying my child. It was an image I couldn’t get out of my head.”
Kristie wanted to say something to that, but she didn’t think she could without sounding like an idiot. And it looked like Tyler wasn’t about to be stopped.
“Given my relationships in the past, the thought of asking you on a date felt like it was going to end in disaster. You were too sweet and lovely to be tainted like that. I knew it would end up badly between us if we did date.” He took a deep breath. “But I couldn’t get the image of you pregnant out of my head. There was no one else but you I wanted to have my kid.”
“So, you asked me to carry it with no strings attached,” Kristie murmured.
“Yes. And I did it pretty badly. As Steve pointed out, we did it without thinking about the aftermath.” Tyler looked a little ashamed. “The two of us didn’t need to tell anyone our business, but it would have affected everyone around us. And I didn’t want to pressure you into becoming a co-parent after you said you didn’t want to be a parent. Things were getting out of control, as were my feelings for you.”