Logan looked back at Claire’s sister. He’d been so absorbed in the sight of Claire that he’d forgotten Sophie had been directly behind him. She nodded and rushed forward to give Claire a hasty hug and kiss. “What do you want me to pack?”
“Just some clothing and a toothbrush,” Claire instructed. “I’ve been meaning to pack my overnight bag, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet.”
“Don’t worry,” Sophie said softly. “I’ll take care of everything and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
When Sophie was gone, Logan focused on Claire again. “Why do they want to keep you overnight?” His heart caught in his throat. If anything happened to either Claire or their child, he didn’t know what he’d do.
“To monitor me,” she said, interrupting his grim thoughts. “I was having contractions, but the doctor says I’m not ready to go into labor yet. They’re doing everything they can to keep the baby where it belongs for now.”
Labor. Oh Christ. Just the word was enough to make him feel sick, lightheaded, as if he was about to pass out. And he wasn’t even the one who had to experience it firsthand.
“Ouch,” Claire said, scrunching up her nose.
He looked down and realized he’d been clasping her hand tightly. Too tightly. He released her and raked a hand through his already wildly disheveled hair. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
“It’s okay. I’m worried too.”
The urge to take her in his arms filtered over him strongly. She looked so small and helpless, lost in her tent of a hospital gown, eyes shimmering with a fear that matched his own. He loved her so desperately that it physically hurt whenever he saw her and knew that she was beyond his reach. She was seeing another man now. He might be the father of her child, but he had lost the right to reach out to her, to touch her, to comfort her as he wanted. She didn’t want that from him, probably never had.
“Will they let me stay here with you?” he asked, his voice rough with emotion. Logan couldn’t reach out to her, true, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t stay by her side.
“I’m sure they will.” She paused, her gaze searching his. “But you don’t have to. I’ll be fine.”
“I’m concerned about the baby,” he said. “I want to stay.”
Her face clouded and as she looked away, he realized that she had mistaken his words. “Of course,” she murmured, clasping her hands tightly in her lap. “Stay then.”
“I want to make sure you’re okay too,” he stressed, not wanting her to think his sole concern was the baby.
Claire looked up, her eyes snapping. “You don’t have to pretend. I know that—oh!”
“What is it?” A lead stone sank, settling in the pit of his stomach.
“I think it was another contraction,” she murmured, rubbing her stomach.
“I’ll get the doctor.”
“No.” She reached out, grabbed his hand. “Please. I want you to stay with me.”
“Anything,” he said hoarsely. “Anything you want, sweetheart.”
“I just want you here with me.” She clung to his hand as though she feared he would disappear if she released it.
Warmth seeped through his chest. Without thinking, he raised her hand to his lips. “Stay strong for me, sweetheart. We’ll get through this together.”
She nodded, worrying her lower lip with her teeth again. “Together,” she repeated.
Damn if Logan didn’t like the sound of that one word. Together. Maybe he liked it a little too much for his own good.
Claire watched Logan sleeping, mesmerized by the sight of him hunched over her bed, his head resting on his arms. He had stayed by her side, stubbornly refusing to budge even an inch. Light filtered in through the window of her mercifully private room, glinting off his dark hair. She couldn’t help it. She reached out and began gently sifting her fingers through the short, crisp locks. His face was turned to her, relaxed and less harsh in sleep. He looked, even to her sleep-deprived eyes, excruciatingly gorgeous. It made her heart twist in her chest.
Stubble covered his jaw in a sexy five o’clock shadow. Her fingers slid lightly across it, abraded by the coarse texture. At her touch, Logan stirred a bit, but still didn’t wake. She liked being with him like this. She liked having the freedom to touch him and look her fill. While he slept, she could almost pretend they were a normal couple, two people in love, rather than two people who made each other miserable.
How was it that he could be so cold, so remote, and yet so heart-stoppingly wonderful? He’d been amazing through the night. She sighed. The much-used adage “life isn’t fair” had proven itself to her over and over again. She wanted so desperately for things to be different between them. Of course, whether that was a crazy, hormone-induced want remained uncertain. If it was, then Claire would have something to blame all this insanity on.
Her marriage with Garrett had never been so emotionally charged. In fact, if she were brutally honest with herself, her marriage had been ho-hum, a quiet routine, until Garrett’s affair. Then it had been marked by hurt and betrayal.
Her fingers skimmed over Logan’s cheek in an idle path, then lower, caressing the side of his neck. They came to rest at the back of his collar, where the locks of his hair curled against the stiff white fabric.
