Page 70 of The Coach

She watches me for a second longer, then leans forward slightly, voice softer. “I mean it, Jackson. How are you feeling?”

I stare at her. She’s pregnant. She’s the one whose life is going to change forever.

And yet, she’s sitting here, asking if I’m okay.

I exhale, dragging a hand down my jaw. “I don’t know.”

She doesn’t say anything. Just waits.

The silence feels… safe. Like she’s giving me space to figure it out.

I glance down at the table, thinking. Then I shake my head. “It’s weird. I don’t feel… scared.”

“You don’t?”

I lean back, rubbing a hand over my face. “I mean, yeah, it’s a lot. But… I don’t know. The moment you told me, I just knew.” I meet her eyes. “I knew I wasn’t walking away from this.”

Something flickers across her face.

Relief?

Hope?

Maybe both.

Her fingers trace the rim of her glass. “I didn’t know what you’d say.”

I frown. “Why?”

She shrugs. “Because… I don’t know. You’re Jackson Knox. You have a big, crazy career. You don’t exactly seem like the type of guy who had ‘accidental dad’ on his bingo card this year.”

I smirk slightly. “No, can’t say I did.”

She exhales, shaking her head. “I just… I wasn’t sure if you’d even want to be involved.”

I sit up straighter. “Of course I do.”

She looks up, searching my face. “Just like that?”

I hold her gaze.

“Just like that.”

Her breath catches.

I tense. “What?”

She exhales slowly. “I do believe you. That you lost my number and everything. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to just magically trust you. You’re going to have to earn that.”

I nod, steady. “Ivy… we’re going to have to take this one step at a time.”

“Right.”

For a second, we just sit there, staring at each other.

The weight of everything—this moment, this night, this baby—it’s all hanging in the air between us.

And although this is maybe the craziest night of my life—or second craziest, depending how I look at it—for the first time all evening, I don’t feel like I’m drowning.

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