Read Soft Serve Sweetie (Plus Size Romance 2) for Free Online Page B

friend.” 
    Zane was speechless.  All he could do was shake his head as Gabriela pressed on.
    “Shortly before their deaths, a guy in Cherry’s biology class had taken an interest in her.  She really liked him.  I think she was falling in love with him.  But after her parents’ fatal accident, he dumped her. As it turned out, he had only been using her.  She had been doing his schoolwork for him.  Through her grief, she could barely do her own work.  When she was no longer useful to him, he moved on to some other gullible girl.”
    Zane growled, “What a bastard.”
    Gabriela placed a hand on his arm.  “Now you have a better understanding of Cherry.  Yes, she is only twenty-one but has suffered a lifetime of rejection and loss.  I am sure that is why she has not opened herself up to you.  She is afraid of the pain that always comes with loving someone.  She has survived much heartbreak.  She is so strong, yet so fragile.  I want her to be happy and loved.  You are her destino— destiny .  Tell me where she is, Señor.  I will go to her and convince her to come home to you.”
    Zane closed his hand over Gabriela’s.  “I appreciate the offer, but it’s my place to go get my woman.  Please make yourself at home while I’m gone.  I know Cherry will be thrilled to see you.”
    “Sí, I will wait for both of you here.”
     
    AS HE HAD A month ago, Zane careened into the parking lot of Pete’s Ice Cream Parlor.  He jumped out of the car, leaving the door open and the engine running.  When he burst through the door, Pete threw his hands in the air. “God! Not you again! Cherry’s in the can, puking her guts up.  She’s the reason you’re here, right?”
    “You better know it,” he said, making his way to the restroom. 
    Zane knew he should wait for her to come out, but he knocked on the door anyway.
    He heard the toilet flush and a weak, feminine voice say, “For God’s sake, Pete.  Give me a minute.”
    “Cherry, it’s Zane.”
    She didn’t answer.  There was the sound of running water and a paper towel being torn from a dispenser.  When the door finally opened, he sucked in a breath of concern.  Cherry looked pale and tired.
    She wobbled a little, and he reached out to steady her.  “Are you okay, honey?” he asked, wrapping his arm around her waist.
    She offered him a weak smile.  “I’m fine.  I think I must have caught the stomach bug that’s been going around.  You know, the one Knox had.”
    Remembering Gabriela’s dream, Zane cocked his head to the side. “I don’t think it’s possible for him to have had the kind of sickness you’re having.”
    “And what kind would that be?”
    “I don’t know.  A baby-Barrett virus, maybe?”
    “Oh, Zane,” she cried, crumpling against his chest in a puddle of tears.  “It’s true.  I’m pregnant.  What are we going to do?”
    He kissed the top of her head and soothingly caressed her back. 
    When she had cried herself out, he gently held her away from him so he could look into her beautiful blue eyes.  “You’ve made me the happiest man on earth, Cherry.  I want this baby.  Hell, I want to make a half-dozen babies with you.”
    “You do?”
    “Sure.  But I have one condition.”
    “You always do.”
    He tenderly cupped her cheek.  “I want our children to have my name.  Marry me, Cherry.  I love you.”
    Her smile was bittersweet and tugged at his heart.  “Zane, there’s so much you don’t know about me.  I’m afraid.  I—I—”
    “I know more than you think I do, sweetheart.”
    “What do you know?” she asked, her eyes filling with tears again.
    “I know there are no guarantees in life.  Loving always involves the risk of losing, but it shouldn’t keep us from doing it.  I know how hard it is to lose someone you love.  My dad was a cop.  He was shot and killed in the line of duty when I was a senior in high school.  After his funeral, I told my mom I was going to join the