When I sheepishly returned to the living room, Lozza was waiting for me with a stupid-ass grin on her glossed lips and anI told you solook on her face.
“Honestly, don’t even start,” I snipped, pressing a forefinger and thumb to the bridge of my nose.
“Holyshit,J-dogg! I mean, I’m actually lost for words for once. I didnotsee that coming. Like, what the actual? And I told you so, by the way. He totally wants more ofthat.” She pointed her demon finger up and down my body.
“Only because I have his spawn growing inside me. We’re still trying to wrap our heads around it. One minute I get a little excited, the next minute I’m scared shitless, next I hate him because I’m throwing up, then I’m kissing him goodbye. Next, I’m panicked beyond belief, but most of all, I’m tired and emotional and my tits fucking hurt and it sucks a million big ones.”
“Aww,” Lozza growled and hugged me fiercely. “I’m sure it will all work out, babe. And you’ve always got me, no matter what.”
“Come sit in bed with me? I desperately need to be horizontal right now.”
“That’s what he said.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Absolutely not what I meant.”
Loz skipped along behind me like everything in the world was so darn peachy. I lowered myself onto the clean sheets with a satisfied groan while Loz climbed in beside me.
“So,” she started. “I have some news of my own.”
“What? Oh my god, are we going to be pregnancy buddies?” Hope and excitement burst through me on every level, only to plummet when she reeled so far back that she almost fell out of bed.
“Argh! God, no! Fuck that!” Seeing my face drop, she hustled to clarify herself.“Notthat it’s a bad thing, of course. But just… No.” She shook her head for emphasis. “Marc has asked me to move in with him. Soon. Like, next weekend.”
“What?Next weekend?”
“Yeah. Sorry to leave you hanging, J-dogg. We’ve been talking on and off about moving in together. After spending two weeks away without wanting to carve each other into steaks, we figure it’s time to take the next step.”
I held up a hand, signalling for her to stop talking. “You don’t need to explain. I’m not gonna say I won’t miss you, because you know I will, like crazy, but I’m excited for you guys. Honestly.”
Her expression said it all; she was so in love and excited about their next step forward. “My rent is paid until the end of the month, so don’t worry about that. It should give us time to find a replacement.”
“Thank you, I appreciate it,” I managed, needing to bite back the welling emotion. Pregnancy had turned me into an emotional train wreck.
“Awww, I’m going to miss our spooning.” Loz growled and plastered her body along the length of mine. She threw an arm and leg over me and hugged tight.
“We never spoon, dammit, get off me,” I exclaimed through laughter. It turned to a squeal when she puckered her lips and tried to plant a kiss on my face.
“Argh, gross! The fuck, Loz, you weirdo.”
I laughed so hard and finally managed a breath when she threw herself backward and broke into hysteria. Without fail, Lozza took a shitty situation and poured some unexpected sunshine on it. I was going to miss her like crazy because, damn, it felt good to laugh again. I hadn’t realised how much I needed it.
FOURTEEN
JACE
I stood at a crossroads trying to see down both paths, wishing I knew which was the right one to take. A war of morals waged within me. Call me old-fashioned, but I believed that marriage was meant for people who were madly in love andwantedto spend their lives together—not a couple who accidentally made a baby and were trying to right the wrongs, so to speak.
Jax was one hot mumma. I wanted all of her again. To taste and play. To worship and succumb. I kissed her goodbye and didn’t regret a single second of it. The question of whether or not I would stand by her and the baby was irrelevant. That wasn’t up for discussion. It was a given.
I allowed myself a few days to really think about what my heart told me to do. With the decision made, one evening after work I pulled to a stop in her parent’s driveway and took a deep breath. My stomach knotted into itself as I arrived on their doorstep with more confidence than I felt. It was time to mend this rift once and for all.
The door swung wide, and I met Steve head-on.
“Mr Carmichael, we need to talk.”
* * *
After work the next day, I knocked on Jax and Lozza’s front door, then blew on my freezing hands. Last night I’d hashed things out with Steve, and now I needed to speak with Jax.