“Did Matt call you?”

“He was here.”

My mouth dropped open. “Really?”

“I’m surprised we didn’t wake you.”

What happened?”

“We had words.”

“What kind of words?”

“He wanted to talk to you.”

I pondered that statement for a moment. I imagined Matt charging in here, all fired up, and Jackson stopped him from coming near me.

“You could’ve woken me. I owe him an explanation.”

“He needs to dial it down a notch before he talks to you.”

“He was upset?”

“Yup.”

“At me?”

“At us.”

I sat and watched as he started making my sandwich. “I think he gets a pass on being upset.”

He shrugged. “Matt is entitled to his feelings. He’s no longer allowed to take those feelings out on you.”

And that is why this situation was so complicated. I’m bad at standing up for myself. People tend to steamroll me. And I let them. I don’t like it, but I have trouble managing that. It was intoxicating when Jackson planted himself between me and everything bad in this world. He naturally protects. That is who he is. But somehow my heart translates that into he is protecting me because he cares about me. Which I’m pretty sure is the figment part of my imagination.

He slid my sandwich in front of me, along with raw cut veggies.

“You’re not eating?” I picked up the sandwich.

“Already ate.”

He leaned against the counter in his famous pose of crossed legs and arms folded across his chest. Relaxed yet closed off. Which wasthe epitome of Jackson. Easy going, yet unobtainable on so many levels.

His voice was calm. “What do you want to do?”

“About what?”

“You’re having my baby. We should talk.”

CHAPTER 3

I wasn’tsure what we would talk about since he was going to go back to his life and I just blew up mine. I looked around the loft. “I thought I would sell this place and move back to my granny’s place.”

“I live in Virginia.”

“I know.”

His eyes narrowed, and he cocked his head. “You think we’re going to live in different states?”