His Best Man's Baby (18 page)

Tae waited until he drew up in front of her and rested his hands on her waist, and his gaze locked onto her heavy breasts. “Jax?”

“Hm?” His response was more a moan than anything else.

“Do you love me?”

He stilled and looked up at her. “How could you ask me that?”

“It’s a question, Jax. Do you love me? If I weren’t pregnant, would you be with me?”

“Tae…”

“I don’t like that I have to ask you.”

He released her waist and backed up. Her heart faltered. “I’m not like Daniel, Tae.”

Let me die right now. I can’t deal with this. No, that’s selfish.
She shut her eyes and turned away. Her robe lay across the bed. She walked over to it and drew it on. Jax moved up behind her and helped her get her arms into the robe. He turned her shoulders and closed the garment, then belted it around her wide middle.

She didn’t know she had started to cry until he brushed a thumb across her cheek to wipe away a tear.

“We were great friends,” he said. “You and I would laugh and act stupid while Daniel was the mature one. We made fun of people when we were all out at a restaurant or went bowling.”

“That’s when you didn’t have your tongue down some woman’s throat. I realize I’m probably cramping your style.”

“You
are
my style. Now.”

She cast him a confused glance. He led her to the rocking chair he’d bought a month ago and sat down in it then drew her onto his lap. Jax had told her he intended to sing to their baby in the chair. She had informed him he couldn’t hold a tune. He insisted he would give it a go. She’d pray for their poor baby.

“We both had to change over the last few months because of our own choices,” he explained. “You didn’t intend to have kids, and I didn’t either, but we both want Little Jaxon, right?”

She smiled. They had decided on that too, giving the baby Jax’s name. He would be a junior. “Yes, we do.”

“I don’t regret those changes at all. I’m not missing my old job.” He held her face between two big palms to keep her focused on him. “I’m not missing sleeping with a different woman every other day.”

“You were that much of a whore?”

He grinned. “Focus, woman.”

“Trying.”

“If you didn’t get pregnant, I’d still be wanting to get in your panties, but I’d never approach you because of Daniel. If I felt like I do now back then, I would drop him in a heartbeat to get you. I have always wanted you, but the feeling has only grown.”

She gaped.

“What I’m saying is, I love you more than life. I can’t promise to say it every day or even often, because I can feel my face on fire telling you now. But I do love you, Tae. You and Jaxon are my entire world, and I’ll give up anything and anyone to keep you. Do you understand?”

She nodded slowly, shocked beyond belief. The intensity in him blew her away. He wasn’t just spewing out words. His love seemed to go as deep as Daniel’s had, maybe even deeper. Tae lay on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you too, Jax. I have for a long time. Over these past months, we’ve developed, and you’re right, we changed, and we see the world differently. Little Jaxon did that for us, and I’m glad of where we are. Once upon a time, my career was the most important thing. Now I can’t wait until we bring him home to the nursery we set up at your house.”

“
Our
house.” He fidgeted beneath her, and she wondered if she was getting too heavy. “Tae?”

“Do you want me to get off your lap?”

“No, I want you to look up.”

She yawned and opened her eyes. When had she even shut them? Seeing what he held in his hand brought the squeal she’d expected months ago. “Is that…?”

Jax popped the tiny black box open to reveal a dazzling diamond ring. “Tae, will you marry me?”

“You’re slow, Jaxon Hart!”

He winked. “I’m always on time.”

“Yes,” she breathed. “Yes, I will marry you. Yes, yes, yes!”

He slipped the ring on her finger and raised her hand toward his mouth. A flick of movement and he pressed his lips to her inner wrist. Her pulse raced out of control, her pussy clenching.

“My wife,” he murmured.

Tae melted against his chest. “Were you always confident I loved you or that I would choose you because you always seemed like it?”

“Of course.”

She smacked his arm. “Liar.”

“Okay, I thought about what I would do if you left me for Daniel.”

Tae saw the pain in his expression and the way he gripped the chair’s arm. She stroked his chest and kissed him. “It’s okay because I chose you.”

“Good girl.”

She smirked.

“You love him though, don’t you, Tae?”

“I did. I guess I kind of love him now, but I’m not in love with him anymore. He wasn’t the right one. I made that decision years ago, and this situation showed me I was right. Daniel is a great man. He really is, but not
my
great man.” She had never told Jax how Daniel basically threatened her and made her feel like she didn’t have a choice about being with him. Jax would have confronted Daniel, and things were bad enough with him knowing Daniel lied about him giving up on her and the baby. How Daniel thought he would get away with such a lie, she had no idea, but it caused a greater rift between them and with her and Daniel. In a way, she felt sorry for him. He was alone, without her, Alise, and Jax. Someone was always going to come out of this situation hurt. That was the nature of their tug-of-war, but she hoped more than anything that Daniel would some day find happiness again and let her go.

Jax tapped her hip. “Hungry? I was thinking of trying out a new recipe.”

“Aren’t we supposed to be finishing up with the moving?”

“What’s this we you speak of, woman? You haven’t lifted a lamp.”

She snorted. “Whose fault is that? If I break a nail, you throw a hissy fit.”

He flared his nostrils. “I do not throw hissy fits.”

Tae laughed at the offense in his bearing and climbed off his lap. Behind her, Jax grumbled.

“You will be punished severely one of these days.”

She spun to face him and flashed her boobs. His eyes glittered. She started to hurry away when a stabbing side pain stopped her cold. The next instant they both stared at the wet spot on the carpet beneath her feet.

“Jax! My water—”

“—just broke!” he finished. “Your bag is ready by the door. I’ll carry you to the car and come back up for it.”

“I can walk.”

He would hear no arguments, and they rushed out of the apartment. Before long, Tae lay in a hospital bed breathing through the pain. Zerita held her hand, encouraging her, and Jax stood on the other side, wiping her forehead. “Not long now, sweetie,” Zerita said of the contractions being five minutes apart. “You’re almost there.”

Tae moaned. “Did anyone call my mother?”

“I did,” Jax said. “She and your dad are going to fly down.”

Hours later, after agony that felt like it would rip her sanity away, Tae gave birth to her sweet baby boy. She slept like the dead for a while and next opened her eyes to see her mom not far away, cooing to the baby in her arms. Tae turned her head, yawning to find Jax sitting on her other side, his hand in hers and him fast asleep.

“Looks like you found a good one,” her mother said.

Tae smiled, not taking her eyes off Jax. “I did.”

“What’s my grandson’s name?”

“Jaxon Devlin Hart, Jr.”

Zerita pushed open the door. “Wow, Devlin? For real?”

Tae laughed. “Yes, don’t make fun of my husband’s name or my son’s.”

“Ohh, somebody acts like nobody ever had a man or a baby but her.”

Tae snorted. “Don’t hate.”

“Ladies,” her mother interrupted. “Do not use that disgusting slang around this infant. He will grow up to be a very intelligent gentleman, who is successful in his career and life.”

Zerita met Tae’s eyes, and they both smiled. Tae’s mother always acted this way when a grandchild was born. She’d never thought her baby would be a part of the ritual. “You’re right, Ma, but what I want most for Little Jaxon is that he is happy and that he is loved.”

“He is loved, just like his mother.”

At Jax’s voice, Tae turned back to him. His eyes were red with rings around them from lack of sleep. He’d seemed to go through as much as she during her labor and delivery. Through it all, he stuck by her
. I can’t believe how blessed I am.
“You should go home and rest,” she suggested to him.

“I will in a little while.”

Zerita kissed her cheek. “I’m going to go. If you need me, just call.” She leaned closer and whispered in Tae’s ear. “Your mom saw the rock.”

Tae groaned. She turned to her fiancé. “Baby, I want you to go get something to eat in the cafeteria.”

He was about to protest but seemed to pick up on what she wanted. He nodded, kissed her lips, kissed their son’s cheek, and left. Tae’s mother brought the baby to her as he started to fuss. “I think he’s hungry, Tae. Are you breastfeeding?”

“Yes, Jax and I discussed it. We thought I’d give it a try. If Little Jaxon tries to kill me, I’m going to the bottle in a hot minute.”

Her mother frowned at her attitude but nodded. They sat in silence while she fed the baby, and Tae glanced at the shimmering ring on her finger. Since she moved to Charlotte, she and her mom didn’t have a great relationship. Talking to her on the phone about the pregnancy resolved that issue as much as it could be resolved. Her mother still felt betrayed, but at least she wasn’t crying anymore.

“Ma, I was wondering if you would consider planning my wedding. I know you’re good at that sort of thing, and it just wouldn’t turn out as well if you’re not the one handling it.” She prayed this olive branch would not turn out to be a big mistake.

Her mother pressed both hands to her chest. “Do you mean it, Tae? I saw the ring, and I thought you left me out of your life again.”

“No, I didn’t. I just knew you would come down here, and I wanted to talk about this face-to-face.” This was true, mostly. She had seen no other way to handle the situation. “I don’t want anything huge, just something for the family and our closest friends. I never thought I’d get married, but now I think nothing would make me happier than being Mrs. Jaxon Hart. I want it to be special.”

Tae held her breath, waiting for her mother’s response. In truth, while she still valued her personal space when it came to her family, she did want her mother’s involvement—
controlled
involvement. She wanted her son to know his grandparents and extended family.

When her baby was done eating, she eased him to her shoulder and patted his back. Bright eyes blinking as he yawned, Little Jaxon was the spitting image of his daddy. Tae ran her fingers through the silky, dark hair and noted the shape of the baby’s nose and jaw, and the color of his eyes. All of it was Jax’s. She’d only contributed the light caramel color of his skin.

Her mother clapped her hands, capturing Tae’s attention just as the baby burped. “I know just what we’ll do, Tae. Your wedding will be talked about for years to come. All of my friends will be jealous.”

“Your friends?” Tae chuckled, but she let her mother talk. They were good for now.

* * * *

Tae left the doctor’s office for her checkup feeling on top of the world, or as on top of it as she could get with a baby who still woke in the middle of the night, breaking her sleep. She didn’t care about that though. Dr. Chen had given her the green light. She and Jax could get as physical as they wanted, and since her mother had come down to handle some more details of the wedding in person, she had agreed to watch the baby for Tae that night. Thank goodness her mother didn’t ask for details of what Tae planned for her and Jax. He didn’t know them either. In fact, she’d lied and told him her appointment was on Thursday. The man backed off enough for her to drive herself and Little Jaxon wherever they needed to go, but he still hovered. She wanted to surprise him.

And surprised my man will be when he gets a load of my new outfit. Let the punishment begin!

She buckled the baby into his seat with a grin on her face, kissed him because he was so darn cute, and shut the door. When she turned to go around to her side of the car, her steps faltered, and the smile faded. Her heart pounded, and her eyes widened. “Daniel.”

“Hello, Tae. It’s good to see you.”

She looked past him, not knowing what or who she expected to see but saw no one. “What are you doing here?”

“I figured you kept the same doctor. You don’t live in the apartment anymore. You weren’t at your job.”

She frowned. “You’ve been checking up on me?” If he’d gone to the magazine and asked around about her, he might have run into Zerita, but she’d talked to her friend last night, and Zerita said nothing about seeing Daniel.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. Tae thought he looked thinner, a lot thinner. His skin was a tad sallow, and dark rings circled his eyes. Daniel always kept his hair in perfect order, but today it appeared greasy and messy. Hard wrinkles marred the shirt he wore even if his slacks looked okay. Well, it was late afternoon, so maybe he’d had a difficult day at the office.

“I’m not allowed to come to your house.”

“Did Jax say that?” Daniel would know where Jax lived. Jax had owned the house for ten years.

Daniel produced a sad smile that tugged at her heart. “He doesn’t want you tempted.”

“Jax trusts me. He knows I wouldn’t cheat on him.”

Now Daniel frowned. “Have dinner with me.”

“You know I’m not going to do that.”

He held up a hand. “Not…as an ex-lover but as a friend. I’m not trying to get back with you. I just…”

“What, Daniel? What are you trying to do? You and Jax aren’t friends anymore, and that breaks my heart.”

“I lov—” He cut himself off and sighed looking away. “I want my old friends back. I have no one anymore. You know how my parents are, and the divorce with Alise was finalized a couple weeks ago. For a little while we tried to make it work, but every time I looked at her, I saw you.”

“Daniel, don’t.”

He fell silent. Her heart wrung for him. Not because she still loved him, but because he didn’t deserve this. If she hadn’t hooked up with his best friend, at least he’d have Jax by his side. “Why don’t you come to dinner tomorrow night? If you concentrate on rebuilding your friendship with Jax, everything will work out between you.”