Page 41 of Easy On Me

Jaw relaxing, he picked up my left hand and slid the ring into place, a perfect fit. He fiddled with it, moving the diamond side-to-side with his thumb.

He slanted a fierce glance up at me, brows drawn together, earnestness blazing in his gaze. “Everything I’m giving you? I never gave her.”

I stilled. The words sounded great, with his family heirloom ring sparkling on my finger and his baby growing inside me. But he said he cared for me a lot when I was sure he’d told her he’d loved her. And he’d given her years, when I’d had what amounted to weeks.

I wasn’t calling bullshit, and I planned to marry him, see what we could build.

But I wasn’t forgetting to protect myself either.

Chapter Eleven

Jase

“Let me get this straight.” Trace propped against the deck rail, one foot crossed over the other, beer dangling from two fingers. “She’s pregnant, you’re getting married, and you haven’t told your mama?”

“Yeah.” I slumped deeper into my chair. The sun dipped behind the trees, an orange-pink glow above the dark outline of the tall pines. With that view, I could almost forget a house sat on the other side of the treeline.

“Is it yours?” Leaning forward in the chair next to me, Tate rested his elbows on his thighs. Although they were my best buddies, I hadn’t hung out with either of them lately, content to be with Tyler almost every day. Guess I couldn’t really blame Tate – he didn’t know Tyler – but he didn’t have to be an ass, either.

I glared. “Do you want me to punch you?”

“It’s a legitimate question.”

“It’s not.” I lifted my beer, taking an icy slug. “She’s not a liar.”

Trace circled his bottle in my direction. “You’ve told your parents about her, right?”

“They know about her, but they don’t know about her. Grandma and Grandaddy have met her.” I wasn’t telling that fight story, though. Tyler’s past was her private life, hers to share with whom she chose. Not mine.

“What are they going to think?”

I’d hear from Mama about the function of contraception for real, but she liked babies. She’d been worried Elizabeth and I would have kids too soon, but I could have told her not to worry. Elizabeth was more religious about those shots than she’d ever been about going to church.

I thought Mama would like Tyler. And I knew she’d love being a grandma.

“You know you don’t have to marry her.” Tate relaxed into his seat. “You can coparent, and paternity and the birth certificate can be handled without a ring.”

“I know that. This is just . . . easier. Logical.”

“Logical.” Tate snorted. “Right.”

My neck burned. “Shut up.”

“Explain it to me.” He rested his elbow on the chair arm and regarded me, brows lifted. “I don’t get it.”

I shrugged, itching under his questions. “Feels right. I care about her–”

Trace made a small noise in his throat. I ignored him.

“Don’t want to be a part-time dad.”

“Pfft.” Tate grinned around the mouth of his bottle. “That’s a great reason to make a lifetime commitment.”

“It’s not just about the baby.” It wasn’t. I was excited. A little scared about how excited I was, but I also felt things for Tyler I hadn’t with Elizabeth. I almost felt guilty, especially after witnessing the hint of hurt and panic in Elizabeth’s face when we’d run across one another in Thomasville, but I didn’t regret where we were either. Being with Tyler had turned out to be the best time of my life. I wanted that, wanted her, for the rest of my life.

Not long after my useless friends headed home, my phone buzzed with a video call, Mama’s number on the screen. My stomach dropped, but now was as good a time as ever.

Walking in through the sliding patio doors, I swiped to answer. “Hey, Mama.”