Page 48 of Love is a Drum Beat
“Oh my gosh.” She covered her mouth when she laughed. “You’ve been reading my baby books.”
“Just one.” He still couldn’t look at her. “You left it in the living room.”
“Why am I here, Dax?” When he didn’t answer, she crossed her arms. “Look at me, please. Tell me why I’m here.”
He turned his head slowly, like he was scared of whatever it was he’d see. That was ridiculous. It was just Jo. But she terrified him, always had.
“You needed me.” It was that simple.
“I needed you.” Her voice was no more than a whisper. “You didn’t think I could take care of myself? I could have hired help rather than disturb your life.”
She was right. She had disturbed his life, but he didn’t realize until right then how big the earthquake was.
“I know you could have taken care of yourself.” He rubbed his eyes. “Maybe I wanted to be needed too.”
“By me?”
He nodded, feeling the threads of the truths he’d held onto so tightly start to unravel.
Clearing his throat, he looked away once more. “We need to get you back into bed.”
“Meaning you’re ending this conversation before it even starts.” She tried to stand, and Dax jumped up to help her. They made it into his living room before either of them spoke again.
“Dax.” She swallowed her words as she stumbled. Dax caught her, and they reached the bedroom door. She turned to face him, and Dax would never forget the way her eyes softened. “I’m sorry.”
“For?”
“Messing up your perfect world.”
“But I—”
She cut him off. “You’ve been photographed with me at the hospital, gotten into a public fight with another famous person. Ice cream has dripped onto your table in the studio. I’ve taken over your life. You’re no longer the perfect man with the spotless house and even more spotless internet trail.”
Dax leaned against the doorframe. The only light was silver moonlight casting shadows across the room. “I’ve never wanted to be a perfect man, Jo. I just want to be a good one.”
Everything stopped then. Their movements, the sound of their footsteps. If Dax didn’t notice his chest rising and falling, he’d have sworn he stopped breathing.
Because Jo looked at him likethat.Like she’d just learned the one thing that would change her entire world.
And yet, something held her back.
“You are,” she breathed. “You are a good man.”
He saw it coming the moment certainty flashed across her face. He’d wanted Jo for so long, but he’d resigned himself to being the geeky, anonymous rock star. Not exactly a match fortheJo Jackson.
But here she stood, inching closer. She grew taller as she rose up on her toes. As she pressed her lips to his, he closed his eyes. He couldn’t stand the thought of waking up and seeing this was all a dream.
They navigated around Jo’s belly as he savored every moment, not believing they would last.
15
Jo
Jo didn’t come out of her room the next day, claiming she wasn’t feeling well. It wasn’t a complete lie. Dax left for the studio pretty early, but she didn’t want to run into him if he was back.
Plus, she could finally adhere to the doctor’s orders. Bedrest meant she had a built-in excuse to take her bra off and watch Netflix.
“Why did I protest this before?” she asked herself as she flipped through her list.
