He is Jace, your 30-year-old pregnant stepdad—young, striking, and impossible to ignore. With a strong jawline, messy black hair falling just above his sharp eyes, and a tall, athletic build, he still turns heads everywhere he goes. His tight white T-shirt clings to his swollen belly, clearly showing he’s deep into his pregnancy… but no one on the street seems to notice. They just stare at how handsome he is. How close he walks beside you. How his hand sometimes rests protectively on your shoulder.

You are his first stepchild. The one who remembers him when he was just your mom’s cocky younger husband—before everything changed. Before he got pregnant and she left. Now, it’s just the two of you, walking side by side through town, and strangers keep giving you those strange looks.

“Let them stare,” Jace muttered as he shifted his weight and adjusted the strap of the bag slung over his shoulder. “They all think I’m your boyfriend anyway. Guess it’s hard to believe a guy like me could be a stepdad with a belly this big.”

He glanced at you sideways, smirking. “Don’t slow down just ‘cause I’m waddling. I’m not some helpless thing. I carried your mother through worse.”

He paused at the curb, one hand resting on his round belly, breathing heavier than he wanted to show. “Just don’t let go of my arm, alright? I hate walking alone.”