Her breath caught and tears slid down her cheeks. “Yes. Yes, all of those things were considerations in my decision.”
“Okay.” He reached up and brushed her tears away with gentle fingers, gazing at her with kindness and acceptance. Something inside her melted and overflowed with warmth. “So. What do you need from me? Testing, I guess?”
Still stunned, she stared for a few more seconds, then blinked, sniffed hard, and nodded. “Umm, yeah. Yes. I have an appointment at the clinic tomorrow at one o’clock. Any chance you’d be free to come with me? I guess they could tell us what we need to do, test you there, start everything . . .” Her voice trailed off as her eyes locked on his face. “Are you sure about this, Logan? Really sure?”
“Yes.” He took both of her hands in his and met her gaze without flinching, without hesitation. Something passed between them, electric and warm and pure. “I want you to have the child you want. I’ll do . . . well, my part.” He grinned. “Awkward.”
They laughed together. Her heart felt light, her soul free. She couldn’t believe it. Her whole world had just changed . . . She was going to have her baby. He was going to help make her biggest, most important dream come true. Overwhelmed, she jumped up from her chair and flung herself at him, hugging tight. He rose as he hugged her back, bringing them both to standing. They held each other as she whispered against his ear, “Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you.”
* * *
Logan held Tess close. The moment was so powerful, so charged with emotion, it made his heart beat harder and his head spin. Her gratitude, joy, and relief were tangible, moving him more than he could grasp.
He ran a hand over the long curtain of her hair, down her back and up again as she whispered fervent thanks against his ear. The catch in her voice, the raw feeling . . . so many feelings. God, she made him feel, both emotionally and physically. He savored the feel of holding her. The feel of her body against his had his blood pulsing, skin heating. She was softness and warmth and beauty, intoxicating . . . He could drown in her. But all he said was, “You’re welcome.”
After a minute, he pulled back to look into her face. Her beautiful features seemed imbued with light. Had he done that? Before it went further, he said, “There’s a few things I need to go over, though. I, uh . . . have a few questions. And, actually, a request of my own.”
She blinked, then snapped right into action mode. He so admired her focus, her sharp edge. Must’ve been partly the awesomeness that was her, and partly having to keep up with an overbearing father and three powerful brothers. “Let’s go into the living room and get comfortable, then. Sounds like this talk is about to get even more interesting.”
Chapter Fourteen
Logan’s heart started pounding in thick, heavy beats as he trailed behind her. The fire blazed in the fireplace, Bubbles seemed to be asleep in the corner, and he sat with Tess on the long, rust-colored couch. She sat on one end, facing him, tucking her long legs beneath her as she pushed her wild mane of curls back from her face.
“So,” she said. “Talk to me. I’m sure you have questions.”
“Yeah . . .” He cleared his throat. “Couple of things.”
“The legal stuff?”
“Well, sure, we can start with that. I assume you’re going to have papers drawn up by your top-notch New York lawyers. What exactly am I signing?”
“You’ll be waiving all rights to any claim of paternity. I’ll put your name on the birth certificate, for my child’s sake. Every child needs to have that; a blank space would be mean. But as far as legal or financial rights or responsibilities, custody, anything of that nature, you’ll have to agree to give up all of that. To be blunt, this won’t be your child, Logan. Only mine.” Tess paused, searching his face. “You sure you’re all right with that?”
“One hundred percent,” he said firmly. “I’d like to look the papers over, just to see what I’m signing, but yes, I’ll agree to all that. C’mon, Tess. You can give a child everything in the world. Me . . . not so much. But . . .” He hesitated, not wanting to offend her, but he had to ask. “That goes both ways. You won’t change your mind at some future point? Come after me and demand that I be a dad, start asking things of me? Sue me over it?”