16. Jaxon
I was goingto be a father.
Logan’s warm, soft, even breaths brushed against my chest as she slept soundly. Her hair tickled my jaw, but I couldn’t find it in me to move it away.
The rising sun streaked through the curtain, bursts of light filtering into the room, making her skin glow. I didn’t want this moment to end.
With one hand behind my head and the other resting comfortably on her perfect ass cheek, I had never been more content, even with our baby between us.
How I hadn’t noticed the small bump or her aversion to alcohol and coffee was beyond me. I wanted to be mad. And if it had been anyone else, I would have left, spewing rage, but it was Logan.
The woman with electric green eyes that set my soul on fire and a smile that made my knees weak. There was something special about Logan. The moment she walked into that bar, everything changed. The second our eyes clashed, the minute I found out she could talk about beer, and the first time I heard her moan my name.
I didn’t believe in soulmates until I saw Archer and Kenna find each other after years apart. As kids, we joked that she was his soulmate. That was where the nickname turtledove came from, but then, he left for college, and she disappeared a few years after and never came back—not until her Momma passed away.
Watching them rekindle their flame taught me that soulmates were real. I had to believe that Logan was mine.
We just understood each other in a way that words couldn’t express.
She was carrying my baby, a life that we created with one reckless night. Glancing down at her peaceful face, freckles scattered across her cheekbones, long black lashes fanning her face, I knew could never be angry, and I couldn’t leave her.
“Are you having second thoughts?” Her voice was huskier than normal in the morning. She didn’t open her eyes, but her hand that was resting on my bare chest traced across my skin.
I cleared my throat before speaking. “About you and the baby?”
“Yea, about that.” She was nervous. I saw her reaching for the chain around her neck, the one she never took off.
“I’ll be honest with you—I didn’t plan any of it. I wanted my career to be stable before ever lookin’ for you.”
She sat up, her dark hair covering her naked breasts, her eyes slitted. “You were going to look for me?”
“I knew after that night I wasn’t done with you, Logan. I just wasn’t ready for you.”
“And you are now? Ready for me and a baby?” She was expecting horrible answers to hard questions.
Was I ready? Fuck no.
Would I get ready? Fuck yes.
I spent my life training; I could train for this, too. I would be a good boyfriend, fiancé, husband, and father. I would be the man she needed.
“I’m not gonna lie, Logan; I’m not ready.” All the hope drained from her face, and she jumped from the bed, picking up her robe from the ground and shoving her arms through it.
Following her, I grabbed her bicep and turned her around so I could see into her eyes. Tears were already slowly rolling down her cheeks.
“Woah, woah—don’t shut down on me. You have to let me finish, sweetheart.” I wiped the tears from her cheeks and cupped her face. “I’m not ready, but I will be ready. I have four months to do this right. Just give me a chance.”
“I can’t lean on you for four months only for you to decide when this baby is here that you don’t want us,” she cried, pulling her arm from my grasp. “You have to stop touching me. I can’t think when you’re holding me. I can’t do what’s best for me—for us.” Her hands fell to her stomach, and I dropped to my knees.
I placed my hands over hers and looked into her big, green eyes. “I don’t just want you, Logan; I need you. And I won’t stop wanting or needing you until I die, and then, I’ll probably still need you in the afterlife.”
She was shaking her head, but she wasn’t moving out of my grasp. It felt like a small win.
“This is crazy. We barely know each other. If it wasn’t for this baby, we wouldn’t even be here right now!” I didn’t agree with her. Raising up, I kissed her round belly.
“I know you’re the person I want to spend forever with. I know that my heart beats for you. I know that you make me happy. And Logan, I know that I would have found you if you didn’t come for me.” Big, fat tears were rolling down her cheeks. Her hands were still under mine, so she couldn’t wipe them away.
“How do you know?” she croaked.
How could she not know?
“You’re my soulmate, sweetheart. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it. You were made for me, and I was made for you.”
“What are we going to tell everyone?” She crouched so that we were at eye-level, and I saw the familiar panic clouding her eyes.
Cupping her face, I wiped away her tears and make sure to look straight into her hypnotizing eyes. “We don’t have to tell them anythin’ today. We can go to this weddin’ and just be a couple in love. Nobody needs to know for another day.” She nodded, but panic was still tensing her muscles.
“What are they going to think of me when they do find out? What if they see my bump with my dress? What if they find out today, and the news steals the show from your brother’s wedding? Oh, my God, I can’t go. I’ll just stay here.” She was rambling, her words mixing together.
“Deep breath, sweetheart. Inhale with me.” She nodded but struggled to follow my actions. “And exhale. Do it a few times, okay?”
We repeated the simple routine until she was calm once again. “Nobody will be mad. Everyone in this family loves kids, and everyone—and I mean everyone—will be pleased that I’m ready to settle down.” She nodded, her brows drawing together.
“But they all want you to settle down here, and I don’t know about moving.”
“Me neither. I don’t even know what I’m having for breakfast, lunch, or dinner most days.” She laughed a little. ‘But we’re in this together now. You and me against the world.”
“I think I love you, Jaxon.”
I softly smiled at her. “I think I love you, too, Logan.”