Free Cautious (Sequel to Disastrous) by E.L. Montes

much.”
    “Because I accept your family? Of course I do.”
    “That, and because I know one day you’re going to make an amazing
mother.” He reached down and planted a kiss on my lips. Those words caught me
off guard. An amazing mother? Marcus and I hadn’t discussed the loss of our
baby since that day in the parking lot—the day I told him about the miscarriage.
Hearing him say I would make an amazing mother hit me hard. “Are you okay?”
    Blinking, I focused on him again. “Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine.” I
turned and continued prepping Elle’s healthy tray, and then we made our way
back into the living room.
    ***
    “Marcus, Elle fell asleep. Maybe you should lay her down
in my bedroom. We can sleep out here.” Marcus nodded, grabbed Elle, and carried
her off into my room.
    We had watched two of the three movies, much to Marcus’s
displeasure. As the screen played, my mind drifted off into another direction
during the movie. I was there physically, sitting beside Marcus as his arm was
draped around my shoulder. I even nodded a few times when Elle made a comment
about a character and laughed when she did. Still, mentally my mind was engaged
with thoughts that Marcus had brought back to life.
    Of course, I hadn’t forgotten about the miscarriage. It was a
subject that I had learned to tuck away in the back of my mind and no longer think
about it: an out-of-sight, out-of-mind type of ordeal. When it had been brought
back to surface, it felt as if I had been smacked head first into a concrete
wall—a throbbing pain that was so brutal I couldn’t recover from it.
    The miscarriage was not the only memory that flashed through my
mind throughout the night. I thought about everything that had happened prior to
and following the miscarriage, about the way my life had evolved within a few
short months of knowing Marcus, and how a brief random meeting at Club21
started it all. If I had met him at his office instead, would we have still
fallen in love? Would we have followed the same exact path that led us to where
we are now? Would we have suffered with the constant arguments, the lies, the
betrayal, and the heart-aching memories of losing one another? Would it all
have been the same?
    My mind ran back through how it had all played out: finding the
file in his office with the information about my brother, the miscarriage, and the
pain and confusion I dealt with for weeks from loving someone who I hated at
the same time. I hated that I fell madly in love with him so quickly and when I
wanted to be angry with him I couldn’t because he had a power over me that no
one ever had.
    You can’t help who you fall in love with. Yet I had fallen in
love with a man that most women would run away from. Even after finding out
about it all—his lifestyle, his involvement with the mafia, his knowledge of my
brother’s death, and the constant lies—I fell in love with this man who had
turned my world upside down in such a short period of time. No matter how hard
I tried, I couldn’t stay away, and I would never walk away again.
    “Mia, come here.” Slightly turning my head, I stared at Marcus
sitting on the sofa. I hadn’t heard him walk back into the room. Absentmindedly
I stood, making my way toward him as the vision of him became a blur. The tears
building up in my eyes forced me back to reality. I desperately tried to fight
them from running down my face. I strained, held my breath, hell, I even
focused on the collar of Marcus’s shirt, but it all failed. By the time I
reached him, the tears wouldn’t stop.
    Marcus pulled me in to sit on his lap. I positioned myself so
that I was straddling him. With my head lowered, I fidgeted with my fingers.
Tilting his head aside, he ducked under so that he could get a better look at
me. I chanced a quick glance his way. Marcus had a worried look in his eyes,
“Baby, what’s wrong?” he whispered.
    “Nothing.” My throat was low and hoarse.
    With the tip of his fingers, he lifted