I released Jayson’s hand and went to the side of the crib. Reaching in gently, I scooped the baby out and into my arms. She settled down as I cradled her close to my chest and turned back to face Jayson.
“This is what you don’t understand,” I told him. “I found out I was pregnant not long before I found out about the tour. I hadn’t figured out the perfect time to tell you yet, and then when I heard Luke talking about the tour, I knew I couldn’t tell you. Would you have really left on tour for a year if you knew I was having your baby?”
He looked completely shocked, but I couldn’t decipher the range of the emotions he was feeling. His expression was pure surprise, and he stayed completely silent for several long seconds, just staring at the baby in my arms. Finally, he stepped up closer and held his arms out toward me.
“Can I hold her?” he asked.
Emotion leapt inside me, and I nodded. Gently transferring our baby into Jayson’s arms, I took a step back and let him cradle his daughter. He was so careful, so loving, my heart melted. The way he gazed down at her was everything I’d always wanted to see in his face but never allowed myself to hope for.
“What’s her name?” he asked.
“Harper Grace,” I told him.
He looked down at her and the tenderness on his face was enough to weaken my knees.
“I wanted you to have your dream,” I explained. “You had worked so hard to get there, and it was finally happening for you. We were in such a good place, and I thought there could one day be a future for us, but a baby wasn’t in the plans for right then. We never even talked about how you felt about children or if you wanted any. I decided I wanted you to follow your dream, and I wasn’t going to stand in your way.”
Jayson looked up at me from staring down into Harper’s face.
“That might have been my dream, but now I have a new dream. I want a family. With you. I want to be a father to our baby,” he told me.
Harper’s eyes drifted closed, and she fell comfortably back to sleep. Jayson carried her over to the crib and gently settled her back down. I took him by his hand and guided him out of the room, closing the door behind us. I walked him back into the living room before turning to him.
“I don’t see how things could work, Jayson. You’re on the road. I have a tiny baby,” I pointed out.
“We have a tiny baby,” he corrected. “I’m going to do everything in my power to make this work.”
His eyes stayed locked on mine for another second before he leaned forward and kissed me. The instant his mouth touched mine, sparks flew.
The kiss was long and insistent, pressing months of being away from each other and the thousands of kisses that should have been into one passionate embrace. His tongue slipped inside, and mine met it. I leaned back on the couch, and he followed me down, hovering over me as his hand slid down my side. I wrapped my leg around him and could feel the bulge in his pants as his weight pressed down into me. The smell of his skin was intoxicating, and I buried my face in his chest, pressing my lips into him as if I could take back the days with each one.
One hand found my jeans button and flipped it open, and his strong, sure hands clasped at the waistband. There was no hesitation and no hurry, but a controlled sense of assurance. This was what was meant to be. I lifted my backside so he could pull the pants off me, and they soon found themselves flung across the floor. The black, lacy panties I wore underneath seemed to mesmerize him, and I bit my bottom lip as I watched the obvious desire cross his face.
Half standing, with one knee still on the couch between my legs, he unbuttoned his shirt quickly, pulling it off to reveal his chiseled muscles bungling out of his white, cotton T-shirt underneath. I sat up to stop his hands working on his belt. That was something I wanted to have the privilege of. His mouth crushed into mine for another kiss as I unbuckled his belt and grasped blindly at his zipper, pulling it down and reaching my hand inside. His warm, thick cock pressed against the fabric of his pants, and I stroked it over the boxers. Jayson let out an audible moan, and his fingers began working on the buttons of my blouse. When they were undone, he flicked the snap in the center of my bra expertly and the tension released.