like I was irresponsible, or like I’d sleep with anyone to get their business.”
“That’s not fair.”
“No.” My voice hardened. “It’s not fair. This is your fault, Jack. I had a plan to announce the pregnancy. A plan you ruined. You shouted it to anyone who would listen to get yourself out of jail.”
“Not true.”
“You’re out of control, Jack.” I pushed away from him. “You used the baby to get out of trouble.”
He held his arms out. “That was the reason we had it.”
Oh, God.
I didn’t think anything could hurt worse than the humiliation of getting fired.
This was agony.
Was I that big of an idiot?
“That was a bad reason to have a baby.” I couldn’t scream, couldn’t yell. I just fell numb and exhausted and into a state of sheer disbelief. “I love this baby, Jack. I want him! I want to raise a child and be a mother and experience that joy.”
“You don’t think I want to be a father?”
I shook my head. “You want whatever benefits you. So you can do as you like without any consequence. I can’t save you, Jack. Nothing we do, no stories we leak, nothing will ever help you shed this selfish image. It’s not PR that hurts you. It’s yourself.”
“Kiss.”
“You need to decide if you can be a real man, or if you want to run around like a child, pouting when you don’t get your way.”
“Kiss—”
I couldn’t handle the nickname. I nearly covered my ears.
My heart broke with each passing second, and I had no idea how much longer I could endure the stare of a man who hurt me so much.
“I defended you!” I said. “I told Jolene you were a good man, sweet and caring. And now this?” My voice dropped. “You don’t even care about the baby.”
One step too far.
Jack got angry.
Really angry.
His expression darkened, and I swear he shifted, seething with strength and pulsing with rage. He grabbed my hand, ignoring me as I resisted him pulling me to the stairs.
Jack wound me in his arms when I dared to fight. Profanity did nothing. I pounded on his shoulder, but he was too strong to care what I did. I expected him to drop me at the bedroom with an order to pack my things.
Instead, he plunked me in the hall before the unused bedroom. He kicked the door open.
And a nursery erupted in light.
Jack stood behind me, his voice unshaken.
“I’ve been working on this the nights you weren’t staying here. It’s not done yet.”
My stomach flipped.
The room painted in soft yellow with brand new, top-of-the-line and designer equipment tucked inside. He filled it with cribs and changing tables, dressers and rocking chairs, mobiles and enough pillows, blankets, and plush animals that the baby would never touch the carpet when he or she learned to walk.
Rivets decals plastered on the walls, and Jack rummaged through a drawer already full of onesies. He pulled one out, showing me the little, custom-made baby outfit with the Rivets’ logo and his number on the back.
“I’ve been buying things all month. Probably more than a baby needs.” He opened the closet, jammed packed with toys and diapers and more baby clothes. So much stuff it looked like he emptied out an entire store. “I wanted to surprise you. I wanted…”
I touched the crib, swallowed as more tears blurred my vision. “The walls are yellow?”
“We hadn’t talked about learning the gender.”
“Do you want to find out?”
He shook his head. “No. It’s exciting to find out when they’re born. I thought that sounded fun. So, in case you went for it, I picked something neutral for the room.”
Tears burned my eyes again. The relief that flooded through me was enough to nearly knock me down. I didn’t know what to say. I stroked the crib, imagining a little baby sleeping while we watched him.
“It’s all lovely, Jack.”
“Move in with me.”
My fingers clenched the crib. Jack slipped to my side.
“We hadn’t talked about where the baby would be…kept.” He waved a hand. “I have a lot of room. We can keep the little guy here. Together.”
“Together?”
“Yeah. You know. It’s easier that way.”
It really wasn’t. My chest tightened, but I didn’t know if my head or heart would burst first. I swallowed, wishing I could just say the words, ask what I needed to ask.
But I couldn’t. Wouldn’t. Not if anything we revealed would jeopardize raising the baby. Admitting something he didn’t share would only make it awkward, frightening, and too complicated.
So I nodded instead. “That