I longed to reach out and hold his hand in the silence, but at the same time, I wanted to beg him to forgive me so we could start all over. Both options were out of the question.
Bryce broke the silence, and it surprised me so much I couldn’t process what he’d said. “What?” I asked.
“Was that a sonogram in your purse?” he asked, finally looking at me once more.
My voice shook along with my hands as I reached into my purse. “Would you like to see?”
He nodded roughly, his features giving nothing away.
With fumbling fingers, I pulled the photo out of my bag. The corners were already soft from how many times I’d looked at the image, just to see if this was really happening.
I passed it to Bryce.
His expression went from solid stone to liquid warmth as he studied my baby girl. “She has your nose,” he said.
My lips tugged into the first smile I’d had since I’d told him the truth. “I think so too.”
He eyed the image a moment longer, staring at my baby girl like I had done for minutes, hours at a time. “I always think babies look so peaceful in a sonogram. You can see how content they feel with their mom.”
The subtle compliment caught me off guard, but I didn’t have time to contemplate it as he passed the image back to me.
“Have you chosen a name yet?” he asked.
“I was thinking of naming her after my parents,” I told him. “Twyla Jordan—those were their names. But I think it sounds good as a first and middle name for her.” I was surprised how good it felt to say the words out loud when I hadn’t told a soul about the baby yet, for fear of ruining the engagement.
“That’s a pretty name,” he said in response.
“Thank you.” It came out a whisper.
“The father... do you think he’ll change his mind once he meets her?” Bryce asked, keeping his tone even.
“Not a chance,” I said, and I wouldn’t press the issue any further. Because my girl? She should be surrounded by people who wanted to be involved in her life. Not ones who stayed out of guilt or obligation.
Bryce dipped his head in a nod and looked at me with a sad, almost wistful expression. “You know, I would have dated you if you were a single mom.”
My eyebrows rose. That was almost the last thing I had expected to hear from him. “What?”
He nodded. “My oldest brother was a single dad. And Knox, my middle brother? He married a single mom—it was the best thing that could have happened to him. To the Madigans, family isn’t only blood and children aren’t a burden, no matter how they come into the equation.”
Tears stung my eyes, and my attempt at blinking them back just sent them rolling down my cheeks. The way he felt about family, about children... it was exactly what I’d been looking for in a man.
“Bryce...”
He glanced over at me, shadows from streetlights passing over his face. “Thank you for telling me, you know, before it was too late.”
My heart squeezed. “Is it? Too late for us?” My voice broke on the words. More than ever, I didn’t want to lose him.
His features crumbled. “Jada, come here.” He moved closer to me, opening his arms, and I fell into them, letting him hold me while I sobbed. Carrying this news all on my own had been so much heavier than I ever thought.
Something about having his arms around me gave me what I needed to let go. The tears came for so long, I wondered when they would stop, but as he rubbed my back, I caught my breath. There were makeup stains on his shirt, wet spots too. But when I looked up, he brushed the wet streaks from my cheeks before kissing each one.
“Thank you for being honest with me,” he said roughly.
I wasn’t at first, but I wasn’t going to argue with him. “What does it mean for us?” I asked. I realized the car had stopped, and we were parked outside my house. The front porch light was on and lights glowed through the front window curtains. Glamma was awake. But I turned my focus back on Bryce.
“I need time,” he said, his voice on the verge of breaking. “I need to process all of this and what it means.”
I nodded, fresh tears heating my eyes. “I understand.” I did, but it still hurt.
