Page 81 of Where We Promise

“Ask what?” I was so hesitant, my heart reaching for something I had begged it time and time again not to hope for. Jameson was notoriously bad with leading me on and then crushing me.

He searched my face, brushing a rogue strand of hair off my face. “Everything.”

“Okay, we have Mac, Connor, Nate, Cruise, Jackson and Miller.” Jameson went down the list of names we’d written on the pad of paper over the past hour, and then he crossed something off.

“What did you cross off?” I asked, while stirring in the diced onion to the skillet. Jameson had been making so many of our meals, I told him to let me cook tonight.

He was sitting close to me with the pad of paper in his hand. He wore a simple white t-shirt and threadbare jeans that had holes in varying places. It was one of my favorite looks on him, with his wheat colored hair pushed back and brown eyes focused on the baby names we were coming up with.

We. I nearly melted on the spot after he’d suggested it an hour ago. He had all these questions about my past appointments, and if I liked my doctor here in Rose Ridge. He asked if the baby was healthy and what sort of delivery I’d considered. He asked if I’d picked out any names, and when I told him no, he stood up from the bed, found a pad and said we’d need to fix that.

“Cruise is not an acceptable name, every time I hear it out loud, I cringe.”

“Hey, I like that name.” I smiled over at him, while stirring in the tomatoes I’d cut.

He smiled back. “Your son will appreciate me stepping in and stopping you from naming him something so preppy, trust me.”

Rolling my eyes, I just kept stirring. “Fine, let’s keep going.”

“Besides, have you tested his full name if you do Cruise?”

I nodded and said, “Cruise Pruitt,” right as Jameson said, “Cruise King.”

We stared at each other, and Jameson’s face flushed.

“Sorry, of course you’ll give him your?—”

“No!” I interrupted him. “I just didn’t realize you’d be okay with me giving him your?—”

Jameson watched me with a familiar look, the same one I’d seen that night he’d devoured me on the table in the hotel. “I am.”

I decided to drop it, because asking if he was sure, or worrying that I was pressuring him, would just be a waste of my time. He said he was okay with it, so I believed him.

“Cruise King sounds a little ridiculous.” My laugh broke up the awkward silence, and Jamie seemed to move down the line, hiking his leg up so his foot was resting on the edge of the cupboard. He was barefoot and it was doing things to me.

“Connor King is kind of cool.” Our eyes met as he glanced toward me.

I just stared, wondering how I’d gotten here with him helping me pick out baby names. It made me feel untethered and old insecurities flared, making me want to keep my call with Luke a secret, but a bigger part wanted him to know. He was my husband now; it wasn’t like he could run from me. These rings on our fingers were like boomerangs, eventually he had to come back to me.

“Luke called me today.”

Jamie froze, his pencil mid swipe on the pad of paper and then he gently set it down before getting to his feet.

I focused on the meat mixture and continued to stir. “He texted a few times from an unknown number first, and then called.”

“Did you talk to him?” Jamie drew closer, pulling me away from the pan, flicking the burner off.

With my hands on his chest, his on my back, my gaze had nowhere to wander. So I nodded.

“He asked how I was doing, and I just exploded on him. But after I screamed at him for like five minutes, he offered to give me money. Says he knows he’s not ready to be a dad but wants to help pay for a few of the baby’s things. Said he got a big payday from a job they recently did.”

Jameson’s eyes stayed firm and steady on mine, only dipping to my lips every few seconds, his hands on my hips and back, firm and unyielding.

“Did you—” His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Did you accept?”

Stroking my hand up to his jaw, I said, “No, I didn’t.”

“How do you feel about his call though…with him wanting to be involved? If he keeps pushing, will you let him?”

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