He grinned and rolled to the side, taking me with him. “Sorry, baby.” Our faces were only an inch from each other, lying on the same pillow, and he smoothed my hair back behind my ear. “I asked you a question at that reception, but you never answered me. Are you happy, Blaire?”

“That’s a hard question,” I said, staring at his lips. “For the most part, I’m very happy. I have a beautiful child and a wonderful career. Evan is my best friend, and he takes wonderful care of me.” I saw his lips tighten at that, but I continued, “I have my brother, and I think of his buddies as my family now, too. They all make me very happy when I’m with them. But…”

“But what?”

“But for the past five years, there’s been something missing, Ax.” I stopped there, something deep inside me reluctant to reveal all my thoughts and feelings to him yet. “For what it’s worth, I’m very, very happy right this minute,” I said, leaning forward to brush my nose against his.

His hand reached up to cup my face. “I meant what I said, Blaire. I want us to be together. Exclusively. Do you want that, too?”

“I do, but I’m so scared, Axel. You broke me before.”

“I know, baby, and I’m so sorry. If I could take it back, I would. But I want to be with you more than I’ve ever wanted anything. You and Carrie.” He smiled sweetly at me. “I can’t wait to get to know her. When do you think we should tell her about me being her dad?”

Whoa. Wait a damn minute. I lifted up on my elbow and said, “Ax, it’s a little early for that. You’ve only known about her for a few days, and now you want to blurt out the fact that she has a father she didn’t know about? I think we should take things slowly before we decide to do that.”

A couple of thin furrows appeared on his forehead as the tips of his fingers skimmed tenderly up and down my spine. “Is it because you think she won’t like me?”

“No, she’ll adore you, and that’s the problem. I’m afraid if you leave us, she’ll be devastated.” I knew firsthand what losing Axel Broxton could do to a person’s heart, and I wasn’t willing to let that happen to my daughter.

“Why would I leave y’all, Blaire? I’ve already told you how I feel about you.”

I stared at him intently. “What if you figure out that parenthood isn’t all sunshine and roses and decide it’s not for you? After all, you never wanted Carrie, Axel.”

22. Axel

Axel