Page 30 of Always My Comfort

Connecting my phone to the car's Bluetooth, I saw a missed text from Jaxon.

Jaxon

Practice finished early. Are you available now?

Logan

Sure. Where do you want to go?

Jaxon

Gianni’s in twenty?

Logan

See you there.

Taking a deep, calming breath, I glanced down at my small stomach, still struggling to believe I was pregnant.

“We’re going to see your daddy. Your daddy that doesn’t want to date or know about you.”

Shifting the car into drive, I quickly got onto the highway and headed for the outskirts of the city. Gianni’s had the best pizza in all of Atlanta. Everyone knew that, which meant it was going to be hard to find a table at lunchtime on a Friday.

Somehow, I found a parallel park at the entrance of the small, Italian restaurant. Exiting the car, I just barely managed to dodge a car whizzing by too fast, the wind blowing my hair in disarray.

“Logan!” Jaxon’s deep voice shouted from nearby, and suddenly, he was at my back, putting himself between me and the traffic.

He protected me as we edge around my car until we were safely on the sidewalk. I took a steadying breath.He’s a good man.

“I thought you were gonna get taken out there.” He ran a distressed hand through his dark hair, and I watched the muscles in his arm as he moved.

“I should have been looking; I didn’t think,” I said, walking through the glass door that he was holding open for me. He led me to a booth in the corner, his hand at the small of my back. I wasn’t sure if butterflies were wreaking havoc in my stomach or if it was our baby moving, or if I was imagining everything.

He waited for me to sit before sliding into the booth across from me. He glanced around the busy restaurant while I took my sunglasses off and rested them on the corner of the table. He signaled the waiter, asking for menus.

A minute later, a young girl was back, holding two glasses of water, a small metal basket with bread rolls with garlic dipping sauce, and two menus. He thanked her, avoiding her gaze when it lingered a moment too long.

“Are you—" she started to ask, and immediately, he looks at her, shaking his head.

“Please, I’m here having lunch with a friend. I’ll sign anything you want; just keep it quiet.” Her cheeks flamed and she nodded.

“I’m so sorry. My younger brother is a huge fan. He’s been following you for a while. He’s on a little league team.” Looking at her now, I noticed she was a teenager. Her brother must be very young.

“Bring me a napkin, and I’ll send him a note. I appreciate all my fans.” She nodded and practically ran to the counter, where she grabbed a napkin and then held out her pen for Jaxon. “His name?”

I watched as he wrote a message on a cheap napkin for someone he didn’t know. My heart melted as he signed it off, wishing the boy the best in his career.

“Thank you, Mr. Dexter. What can I get you two to drink?”

We were both content with the water, so she promised to come back in a few minutes to take our order.

“I’m sorry about that. I’m still learning how to handle it.” He didn’t look at me, instead choosing to focus on the very small menu.

“I think you did just fine. No judgment coming from me.” He glanced up, a small smirk tugging at his lips.

“So, what are you in the mood for?”

“I’m happy with a plain old cheese.” He shook his head and looked around.

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