Page 21 of His Best Man's Baby

“I…”

He glanced at her, waiting, and she sighed, spreading her hands. How did she explain having him come along with her to her appointment made things worse for her rather than better? Jax had accused her of sleeping with Daniel multiple times trying to get pregnant. Of course he was wrong, but that didn’t stop her from liking him here now. If she told Jax, then what? Would he want to be here, too? She’d slept with him, and it was good as hell, but she never imagined it going further, of them doing the whole domestic thing. Yet, the longer she delayed telling him the truth, the harder it became to do it. Her selfishness knew no bounds, but even realizing that didn’t propel her.

“It was my fault. I should have asked him to use a condom.”

Daniel winced at her candor.

“I knew I wasn’t on the pill because I hadn’t been with anyone for a while.”

This time he looked hard at her, and she hated the hope she saw in his gaze. “So you haven’t been with anyone since me…and Jax.”

“I didn’t say that.” He didn’t need to know the truth.

“I’m not going to lie, Tae.” He pulled to a stop at a red light and twisted to face her. “I’d give anything for that baby to be mine.”

“Don’t say that!!”

“Why not?” He touched her cheek, and an overwhelming urge to lean in to the touch assailed her. She found the strength not to but moving out of reach didn’t happen.

“Because you’re married.”

“I’m separated.”

“No different. I don’t get involved with married men.”

“I wasn’t suggesting that you do.”

Embarrassed that she’d jumped to conclusions, she stared out the window and squeezed her fingers together so tight they hurt. If her hands stayed in her lap, she couldn’t reach out to touch him as he did her, tempting beyond all reason.

“You’re not being fair, Daniel.”

“I don’t mean to be a jerk.”

She laughed. “You a jerk? That could never happen. Alise doesn’t know what she’s screwing up.”

He tapped her cheek, and she turned to look at him. Her heart leaped in her chest just gazing into his eyes. “I won’t lie and say I don’t love you anymore, Tae. You will always be important to me. Like I said, I’d give anything to be the father of your child.”

“Because you always wanted a family.”

Daniel had an older brother he wasn’t close to, and his parents had moved to Florida the second he turned eighteen and left him in Charlotte to fend for himself. Tae had always found it funny how kind and warm he turned out despite his past.

“Not just that,” he said. “A child needs an attentive father.”

He made it sound like Jax would never be. Daniel knew Jax better than she did.

“I know I’m not being fair to my friend, but I never thought I would feel like I’m competing with him for you and for your baby.”

Tae swallowed. This conversation had gone way beyond what she’d intended. While hearing Daniel say he loved her gave her the greatest thrill of her life, guilt weighed on her shoulders like a boulder. Jax deserved to be allowed the chance to be a part of his baby’s life, even if he didn’t love her. He didn’t deserve them judging him to be less than Daniel would be as a daddy.

“This isn’t a competition,” she said. “I’m going to tell him, and you are my friend and nothing more. I need you to be clear about that.”

“Do I hear an or in there somewhere?”

Daniel pulled into the parking lot outside her doctor’s office, so she had an excuse not to answer. When he switched off the car, she unbuckled her seat belt and stepped out of the car. She left him to follow her into the office and was soon called to go to the back.

The nurse winked and held the door for her. “Daddy can come too if you want.”

Tae’s steps faltered. “He’s not—”

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