Page 48 of Unveiled

“Well…” She dropped her eyes and picked at the label before meeting his gaze again with a tiny shrug. “I didn’t really drink a whole lot to begin with, but I stopped as soon as I found out I was pregnant. Then I started nursing, so…”

His eyebrows drew together as she trailed off. “Nursing?”

“Breastfeeding,” she clarified, her cheeks turning pink.

His gaze automatically dropped to her chest, where her arms folded protectively around herself, obscuring his view. Knowing she was uncomfortable but not sure why, he lifted his eyes to meet hers. An unidentifiable emotion swirled in the stormy depths. Each time he felt like they were taking a step forward, she pulled back. Didn’t she feel the same connection between them? Why wouldn’t she open up to him?

Deciding not to push her any further for fear she might shut down completely, he changed the subject. “Can I ask you something?”

Her expression turned guarded. “Sure.”

“I got your emails.” It’d been bothering him for the past few days, but he hadn’t found a good time to bring it up. “Were they about…?”

She swallowed hard, her voice barely a whisper when she spoke. “I couldn’t figure out how to tell you. When you didn’t email me back, I… I tried to find you.” Her eyes stared imploringly into his, begging him to believe her. “The address you gave me was listed under someone else, and I couldn’t find a good phone number, and... I didn’t know what to do.”

Her words hit him harder than he expected. “It’s my brother and his wife. I didn’t have a permanent residence, so I used their address.”

She nodded and bit her lip. “You’ll never know how sorry I am.”

He believed her; he should’ve known she needed something. “I’m sorry, too.”

Now that he understood her a little better, he knew what he had to do. He needed to prove to her that he wouldn’t leave her. He wanted to protect her, take care of her and show her it was okay to lean on him. He’d be there for Jaclyn—for Adalyn—any time she needed him.

“Why don’t you let me watch Jaclyn while you’re at work tomorrow?”

She bit her lip, a mixture of emotion he couldn’t read swirling in her pewter eyes. “Really?”

He nodded. “I thought maybe I could hang out here with her, since all of her stuff is here.”

He had no idea what babies needed, but from the look of things, it was a lot. Adalyn’s place was packed full of stuff. A crib and stroller, a variety of bottles and cups and plates, tons of toys. He had no idea what some things were for, but he’d figure it out.

Truth was, he wanted to be there, in Adalyn’s house. It was more comfortable, felt more like home than his tiny apartment. Plus—the best part—she and Jaclyn were there. And the more time he spent there with them, the more he wanted to become a bigger part of their lives. He knew Adalyn was still cautious, probably wondering what his intentions were.

Reaching out, he took her hand in his. “I told you I wanted to be involved, Adalyn. I meant that—I still mean it. I want to see our daughter every day.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her he wanted to see her every day, too, but he somehow managed to refrain. They’d flirted a bit over the past few days, but he had a feeling anything more serious would scare her away.

The attraction between them felt natural, as if they’d been together for years instead of just a few days. There’d been times on tour when he’d wondered if his memory had been playing tricks on him, if he’d overthought their time together. They’d made love several times that night, but he recalled every passion-soaked second of it.

Seeing her there, though, being able to touch her made him realize that, if anything, he’d downplayed his attraction to her. He wanted her more than ever.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-SEVEN

Adalyn yanked the door open before Jaxon even knocked, and the surprised look on his face would’ve made her laugh if she hadn’t been so stressed out. She quickly waved him in. Since he’d been there every day, he knew where most everything was, so she gave him a quick recap of Jaclyn’s daily schedule.

“Her food is in the fridge. Just make sure to cut everything really well so she won’t choke. And not too many treats.” She shot him a look. “You know how well that went over last time.”

He grinned and tweaked Jaclyn’s nose. “We’ll be good. Right, sweet girl?”

“Are you sure about this?” she asked.

“Yeah, of course.”

“Okay.” She wrung her hands together. “But if you need anything, Wendy is right next door, and you can always text me or call the salon. Anytime,” she emphasized.

Jaxon jiggled Jaclyn where she perched on his hip and grinned at her. “I’m sure we’ll be fine.”