Jace couldn’t believe he was still here. This was ridiculous. He always stayed a week, three at the most, and then he moved on. He just kept going from town to city and back again. He never stayed longer than that.
And now he had been stuck in Tucson for three months. All because of Maddie Lyman. Jace couldn’t get her out of his head. She had seeped into his every pore and just would not let go. Jace had never had a woman take hold of him like this before.
Why was he still here? He barely saw her, and he respected her enough to have complied with her request not to be in the same room. Jace could hear her voice through the floor of his room when she sneaked into the office. He seemed to see her everywhere.
This shouldn’t be happening. Jace had to get out of there. If he didn’t, this was going to end up being something messy. And that really scared him.
He was packing his bags, getting ready to take them down to his bike to leave, when there was a knock at his door. It was sharp and very insistent. Jace bit back a growl. He hoped it wasn’t Schuman. He didn’t want to explain himself and Schuman wouldn’t forgive him from running out.
The knocking started again. Whoever was there was impatient. Jace grumbled as he came out of the bathroom, tossing his toiletries onto the bed.
“Okay, I’m coming.”
He swung the door open, about to berate whoever it was, when he saw Maddie standing there. Jace faltered, his irritation falling away. He hadn’t expected to see her this close again.
“Maddie. What are you doing here?”
There was something wrong. She was looking thinner than before. She was paler, dark circles under her eyes. Maddie looked like a ghost.
Jace wanted to reach out and touch her, find out what was wrong, but he had a feeling Maddie wouldn’t appreciate it. And whatever it was between them was very fragile; he didn’t want to break that.
Maddie glanced down the hall.
“Can we talk? I don’t feel like doing this in the hall.”
“Of course.” Jace ushered her in. “Come on in.”
Maddie stepped over the threshold, hovering nervously near the bed. Jace shut the door and surveyed her. What was she doing here? Was she here for another round? Jace had never thought she would come back after what she had told him. Yet here she was.
His cock stirred to life once again, something Jace hadn’t expected to happen again, not since Maddie came into his life.
Maddie turned to him as Jace approached her.
“This will be quick.” She fiddled with her bag strap. “I don’t want to be here too long.”
“Then let’s not waste our time.”
Jace didn’t give her time to react. He kissed her, sighing as he tasted her mouth again. It felt like heaven. Maddie seemed to crumble and kiss him back, her hands trembling on his chest. Then she was pushing him away, keeping her hands up to keep him back.
“Jace, please.” She was breathing heavily. “I’m not here for that.”
“Why not? Why else would you be here?”
Maddie hesitated. She bit her lip and then began to pace. Jace stopped and watched her in surprise. What was going on with her? Maddie was positively skittish.
“Maddie?”
“I’ve got some news that…well, you need to know about it. It’s going to be obvious in a few months, so you might as well know about it now.”
“What are you talking about?” Then Jace noticed that Maddie was rubbing at her stomach, almost as if it was an absent-minded thing. “Maddie?”
Maddie swallowed. Then she turned to him and looked him square in the eye.
“I’m pregnant. The dates of our night together match. You’re the father.”
“What?”
Jace couldn’t believe his ears. Of all the things Maddie could have said, saying she was pregnant was not one of them. He stared at Maddie, hoping it was all a joke. But Maddie was most certainly not joking. If anything, she looked terrified.
“That one night where we fucked like rabbits. We didn’t use protection.”
“I…”
Then Jace remembered. He had been so wrapped up in the moment that he didn’t think to get any condoms. He silently cursed himself. He never forgot protection. Never. Something about Maddie had made him forget his senses altogether.
“I didn’t think.” He ran his hands through his hair. “And I thought you’d be covered as well…”
“I had the IUD out the day before.” Maddie said quietly. She looked like she was about to cry. “I didn’t…I wasn’t expecting to have sex the day after. And I wasn’t expecting to get pregnant.”
She was pregnant with his baby. Jace was still trying to get his head around the news. He had never thought about having a family and he made sure that he was doubly protected. There were women who wanted to have a baby with one if one night was all they were getting and Jace was not going to do that.
The one time he forgets, and a woman ends up carrying his child. And it had to be Maddie Lyman.
He was in serious trouble. Jace swallowed.
“How are we going to work this out?”
Maddie snorted.
“Well, don’t ask me for an abortion. I’m not doing that. It wouldn’t sit well with me if I do that.”
“I wasn’t going to ask you to. It’s your choice.” The thought of abortion didn’t sit well with Jace either. “I’m not going to argue with your decision.”
“You make it sound like you’re not interested.”
Maddie sounded hurt. Jace groaned and paced away.
“I’m still in shock, Maddie. You just told me I was going to be a father a few moments ago. I’m still trying to process it.” He stopped and took a deep breath. “So, you want to keep the baby?”
“I do.”
Maddie was certainly adamant about that. She knew her mind and Jace was glad of that. But what did that mean for them? Was Maddie going to demand a relationship out of him, so they could be one happy family?
Jace wasn’t sure what to think about that.
“And…what about us?”
Maddie squared her shoulders, folding her arms across her chest.
“I’m giving you a choice, Jace. Either be in the baby’s life or don’t. It’s that simple. All I’m asking is you acknowledge the baby is yours and support it, be in its life so it knows what you look like. That’s all.”
That sounded reasonable, but it didn’t answer his question.
“And what about us?”
Maddie snorted.
“There is no us. You don’t do relationships or even love. I don’t want a relationship with you. What we did shouldn’t have happened and it’s not going to happen again.”
Jace faltered. Why did that cut him to the quick? He was always adamant about not having relationships with women. So why did Maddie’s words hurt him so much? She was giving him what he always wanted.
It shouldn’t hurt as much as it did.
“But…what about the baby?” He asked.
“We can co-exist around a baby. We can be parents without needing to be together. It’s not a requirement. The baby will know love; it just won’t have parents who are together.” Maddie’s jaw tightened. “I don’t want to be around you at all beyond being a co-parent.”
Jace’s chest tightened. That really hurt. The thought of being around Maddie but not actually being with her didn’t make him feel any better. He swallowed.
“Don’t you think both of us should have a choice about that?”
Maddie shook her head.
“No. I know what we should do. I don’t want you in my life, but I don’t have a choice now.” Maddie ran her hands through her hair. “Look, be a father or don’t be. Up to you. If you don’t, I’ll tell Jeremy when I reveal the pregnancy that it was a one-night stand with a stranger. No one needs to know.”
Before, if that had happened, Jace would have been happy. But hearing it now felt like a punch in the gut. Maddie was going right for the jugular without realizing it.
He was going to be a father.
Jace reached out for Maddie.
“Can’t we just sit down and talk about this?” he tried but Maddie pushed him away.
“Do you want to be in the baby’s life or not?” she demanded.
Jace floundered. He hesitated for too long because Maddie shut down and her expression went black. She pushed her shoulders back and went towards the door.
“Then you don’t’ get to be in the baby’s life at all.”
“Maddie...”
And then Maddie was gone, storming off down the hall. Jace could hear her crying and he swore loudly, kicking the bed. Hurting her had not been his intention.
Coming back to Tucson was turning out to be a very bad idea.