Page 69 of How to Catch a Rockstar

I open a drawer and grab a pair of pajamas. Jett shackles my wrist before I can gather any more clothes.

“You are not leaving.”

I shake off his hold. “You don’t own me.”

“I want you to be comfortable. You’re carrying my baby.”

Not this again. “Stop saying Little Bean is yours. You don’t want to be the father of the baby.”

“Wrong. I am the father of this baby.”

A spark of hope flutters in my stomach but I ignore it. It’s probably indigestion from those spicy nachos I ate at the airport. I’m not getting my hopes up again. I’m not letting him hurt me again.

“I told you, Jett. You’re either all in or all out. I won’t accept anything else.”

He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “I know. I’m all in.”

Butterflies explode in my stomach. “You are?” Dare I hope?

“I am.” He kisses my forehead.

“You’re sure? You’re not going to back out when you get scared again?”

He sighs as he grasps my hand and leads me to the bed.

“I need to tell you about my past.”

My eyes widen. “You’re going to tell me about your past?”

Jett keeps his past hidden. Mike may be an asshole but he’s helped Jett to hide his past from the media. I don’t know what’s a bigger miracle. Mike not jabbering to the press about Jett’s past. Or Jett’s past remaining a secret when he’s famous and the paparazzi would pay big bucks for his story.

“I don’t enjoy discussing my past. It isn’t pretty.”

I blow out a breath. “I want to say you don’t need to tell me, but I need to know. I need to know why you wouldn’t claim Little Bean as your own.”

He swallows. “You have a right to know.”

He stares off into the distance as he begins. “I don’t know who my parents are. I never met them. I was abandoned as a baby.”

I bite my tongue before I gasp. What kind of person abandons a baby?

“I grew up in care. No one adopted me as a baby since I was sickly.”

I want to ask what was wrong with him but I’m not interrupting him now. I can’t chance him stopping.

“By the time I was ten, I was perfectly healthy but the chance for adoption was gone. I moved from place to place. Never settling anywhere. Never finding a home.”

He turns to me. “This is why I didn’t want to be a father. I don’t know how to be one. I never had one. The people who took me in as a foster child weren’t my parents. Most of them were in it for the cash. You deserve better than the likes of me.”

I frown. I hate when he puts himself down. “Not having a dad doesn’t mean you won’t be a great one. You’re awesome with Isla.”

He scowls. “She’s an honorary niece, not my daughter.”

“The principal is the same. You make sure she’s safe, teach her about life, and don’t let her eat too much chocolate.”

“You make it sound easy.”

I chuckle. “It’s not easy, but it’s not complicated either.” I squeeze his hands. “You can do this, Jett.”

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