I didn’t want to make accusations or come off like an asshole, but I knew how babies were made.
“Me too,” she said. “But that night is such a blur.”
Huh. That stung a bit. That night was not a blur for me. I remembered every detail clearly. The feel of her body pressed against mine, the way she’d cried out when she came. And the way she’d tasted. My God, I’d spent many lonely nights reliving those memories.
I’d noticed her immediately after she moved to town, but it wasn’t until we danced at Ruby’s bachelorette party that I decided to make a move. They’d been drinking and dancing, and the two of us flirted wildly. We made out in the parking lot before she took me home. The morning after, I’d tried to get her number, but she’d made it clear she was not interested.
So I backed off.
Yet here we are.
Unsure of how to respond to that comment, I focused on Vincent, who was now asleep in my arms.
At the sound of a sniffle, I looked up, finding Evie crying.
“I’m sorry,” she blurted.
Frowning, I straightened in the chair.
“You probably never even wanted kids,” she cried. “I swear I had no idea, and now you’re here and probably wishing you didn’t have to be.”
My gut lurched. She was way offside with that assumption. Anger flared inside me, but I closed my eyes and reined it in. What would my dad do? He was the best man I’d ever known.
Even though he wasn’t here anymore, I wanted to be a man he could be proud of.
“Evie,” I said sharply.
She continued to cry. I held Vincent a little tighter.
“Evie.” My voice was louder this time. Luckily I didn’t wake the baby.
She froze and looked at me, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Already, this baby is the best thing to ever happen to me, and I’ve only known him for ten minutes,” I said. “Unexpected isn’t bad. Unplanned isn’t bad.”
She hiccuped, wiping at her tears. “But we’re unprepared.”
I held her gaze, making sure she was really listening. “I’ll adjust. You’ll adjust. We will adjust together.”
I lived my life on the edge. Taking risks, caring little about the consequences. Rolling with things, avoiding the desire to control outcomes. Yeah, I liked to have a good time and I didn’t take things too seriously, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t when I needed to.
Her lip trembled, her eyes rimmed red. “I know you didn’t ask for this.”
The fear was clear on her face. She was worried that I didn’t want this. That I didn’t want him.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. I’d have to do a hell of a lot of work to live up to the man who’d raised me, but with this little guy in my arms, I knew I was ready to try.
“I’m here,” I said firmly. “And I’m not going anywhere.”
Chapter 3
Jasper
From the hospital, I headed straight home to deal with the fallout of the last twenty-four hours. Still in my uniform and bone tired, I wanted nothing more than to fall into bed. A quick nap before facing my siblings would be incredible.
When I pulled up to the house and found my oldest sister’s Volvo in the driveway, I considered climbing onto the roof of the wraparound porch and jimmying my bedroom window open. I let the idea go quickly, though. Jenn would know. Her instincts were spot on. She was twelve years older than me, so she’d been a second mom to me my entire life. She could sniff me out a mile away. She owned the coffee shop, Bean There, Sipped That, with her wife, served on several town committees, and coached the high school ski team.
Resigned to face her, I toed my shoes off in the mudroom and headed toward the kitchen. Josh had renovated a few years ago, and the homey house I’d grown up in had been transformed into an architectural digest spread. He’d left my childhood bedroom alone, per my request, and I had my own bathroom, so while the kitchen was all rustic oak floors, exposed beams, and copper pots hanging from the ceiling, I had my own untouched space upstairs.
