For a few more seconds, she just stood there, staring at him in silence. Finally, a small smile broke out on her lips. Some of the tension strangling the kitchen evaporated as she nodded. “Fair enough.”

Not the words he’d use, but okay. “Abby, you can count on me.”

He hoped that was true. He wasn’t the guy who stuck around, but he would. They may have stumbled through their relationship so far, and still kind of were, but they would resolve all of their issues and concerns. And fast. He’d make her happy and do what they needed to do. But they were dealing in ifs and not facts.

“We definitely should take the test.” We being her, and test meaning as many as he could find. There was no reason to believe one.

“Tomorrow.”

He didn’t understand the delay. “Why wait?”

“We’re going to enjoy one more day of not knowing.”

It hit him then. She really thought she was. She denied having symptoms...or had he asked that? The whole conversation was a blur. It would take days for him to unravel it and get his mind working again.

“If you want us to wait, we wait.” It couldn’t hurt anything. They would be so early. Not that he knew anything about babies or timing, because he didn’t.

“You’re a good man, Spencer Jameson.”

He wasn’t, but he was trying. For her. “Because of you.”

“You give me too much credit.” Her arms wound around his neck. The lightness in her voice suggested she’d dealt with the pregnancy information and had mentally moved on to the next topic.

He was not so lucky.

“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” As he said the words, he realized he meant them. Without the pregnancy news, this is where he’d tell her he loved her. Because he did. He hadn’t needed Jackson to tell him. Not really. The sensation that moved through him when he saw her, or even just heard her voice in the hallway, wasn’t like anything he’d ever experienced. It filled him, made him feel whole.

But there was too much going on to say the words now. He didn’t want one thing messed up with the other. When he said the words, he didn’t want there to be any doubt why he did. That meant waiting, holding it inside for another few days, which was safer anyway. Once he said them, he wouldn’t be able to call them back.

Her smile grew. “I am pretty great.”

“And so modest.”

She kissed him. Short and sweet. “And hungry.”

“For food this time, right? I can fix that one right now.” He pulled back, thinking to raid the refrigerator even though the idea of stepping outside for a few gulps of fresh air sounded good.

She caught his arm as he brushed past her. “Thank you.”

Gratitude. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Then again, he didn’t feel much of anything at the moment. He was numb. “For?”

“Everything.”