“Because we hate minivans?”
“Well, that helps, but no,” he said taking her hand, sending a delicious warmth through her body. “When I saw you walk down the aisle at Holly and Quinn’s wedding, the second your eyes locked onto mine, I felt something happening. When we danced together, I knew I was in trouble, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to ever let you go. And then we went back to that hotel room, I knew I’d never get enough of you,” he said, his voice turning husky as he moved closer to her. Traffic buzzed by them, but she felt as though they were in their own world. She stared at him, needing more.
“And then we created a life, and God, we did it all backward, but the only thing I would have changed in all of this is the pain I caused you from not telling you everything at the beginning,” he said, his eyes sparkling with emotion.
Claire stepped closer to him until she could feel the heat from his body, smell the fresh scent of his cologne, of him. “I’m glad you told me.”
He drew his brows together. “Do you ever think there is a reason for everything?”
She shook her head pityingly. “You’ve been getting advice from Holly, haven’t you?”
Jake smiled before growing serious. “No. A long time ago, I met a man who took me in and showed me I wasn’t worthless. He saved me.”
Claire’s heart started aching as she heard the emotion, as he spoke of his relationship with her father.
“And now, years later I fall in love with you, his daughter, and you save me,” he said thickly. His eyes searched hers. She blinked rapidly, past the tears that pooled in her eyes. “This baby we made was meant to be,” he said, his eyes drifting from hers, to her abdomen, back up to meet her stare. “The other night I wanted to tell you what you needed to hear, but I needed to be sure I could be the man you deserved. I told my brothers everything. I wanted to start with a clean slate. I didn’t want our future to be tainted by the past anymore. I wanted to be as whole as I could be. I love you, Claire.”
She walked into his arms and was crushed gently against his chest. She felt his hands in her hair, felt his lips on her head. She felt his heart, pounding rapidly against her ears. And she felt his heart bind itself to hers. She had his heart. And he had hers.
“I love you too,” she said, lifting her face to meet his waiting lips. He kissed her with a passion she could taste and a promise she trusted. Jake leaned back against the car, pulling her with him as his mouth slanted over hers, as though he were incapable of letting go. Claire was vaguely aware of Mrs. Jacobs’s Mini Cooper slowing, beeping, and then zooming past them.
“I love you more than I ever thought I was capable of loving someone,” Jake whispered into her ear.
“I know the feeling.”
“And I was wrong about something else.”
“Really?”
“I’d wear a tux for you. And for the record, I so deserved that pregnancy stick in my burger.”
Epilogue
Jake trod softly through the darkened hospital room, wincing as the paper bag of takeout crinkled when he placed it on the small dresser beside the bouquet of pink roses. His eyes darted over to Claire, who still slept soundly. He paused for a moment in the middle of the small room, heavy emotion anchoring his feet to the ground. His eyes went to his wife, who looked tired and pale, but still lovely. And then his eyes went to their son, who was beginning to stir in the bassinet beside the bed.
Jake had been a father for less than twenty-four hours, and a husband less than a year, but there were a few things he was already certain of. There wasn’t anything greater than the love he felt for Claire or his son. He also knew the two people in this room had changed him profoundly. Their son didn’t know it yet, but he’d blessed Jake and Claire with an even deeper love. The very knowledge of his existence had spurred Jake to heal the pain of his past, and his arrival had entrenched the need for him to be the best man he could be.
He approached the bassinet when Michael Holbrook Manning’s sturdy arm wrenched itself free of the blue swaddling blanket. Jake paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and then reached out to pick up his son. And that strange, thrilling emotion pummeled through his body as he gathered the baby in his arms. He slowly rocked him back and forth as the nurse had shown him hours earlier, and gently tucked the blanket around Michael again, fixed the little knit hat, and looked at him. He could do this all day, he thought.
As Michael drifted back to sleep in his arms, Jake admired his son. His eyes wandered over the tuft of dark hair peeking out from under the hat, the full, round cheeks, and the bright-blue eyes that blinked once before finally shutting. He felt the innocence, the purity, the perfection in his small body, and he wondered how anyone could ever blame a baby for anything. There would be nothing anyone could ever say to him that would change his love for his child. He knew with every breath he took that Michael would be loved by him and Claire unconditionally. He walked over to the window, careful not to jar his son awake, and looked outside at the snow-covered ground.