Page 41 of Betrayed

“What else do you want me to do?”

She took his hand. “Hold my hand. You got me into this mess.” She winked at him.

He laughed until another even harder contraction hit.

Surely it wouldn’t be much longer. Watching AJ work through the contractions was torture. He wanted to take it away, ease her pain, but he couldn’t.

Three hours later, after spending entirely too much time pushing, a baby’s cry cut through the air. “It’s a girl.”

The doctor laid a messy baby on AJ’s chest. The nurses wiped her off. She was perfect. Golden peach fuzz covered her squishy little head. He was in love.

“Logan!” He met AJ’s eyes. “We did it.”

“You did it.” He leaned down and kissed his wife. “I’m so proud of you.”

The nurses whisked the baby away to measure and clean her up more.

He stroked AJ’s damp hair from her face. “What shall we name her?” They’d narrowed it down to two names but still hadn’t decided.

“Bree. Breana Joy. What do you think?”

“I fully agree.”

The nurse came back with a tiny bundle. “Daddy?”

His heart soared. He reached out and took the baby. “Hi, Bree. Welcome to the world.”

She cooed softly, wrapping him firmly around her itty-bitty finger. He kissed her forehead before holding her close to his chest.

Chapter Thirteen

Present Day

Logan slapped some mayonnaise on his slice of bread. This apartment brought back so many memories. Ones he wished he could go back to and stay in. Little of the furniture was the same, and AJ must have put on a fresh coat of paint when she moved back in. But these walls had held them for a bit of their life together. Where they’d brought Bree home.

“Logan?”

He snapped his head toward AJ.

“Are you done with the mayo?”

“Yeah, sorry.” He handed her the knife. Their skin brushed. The warmth of her touch was magnetic. Maybe coming for lunch was a bad idea.

He let the other three own the conversation while they ate. Occasionally he’d contribute, but he didn’t have much to say. Being near AJ and in the apartment was pushing his sanity.

After they ate, the women cleaned up and told the guys to pick out a game. It was stupid hot outside, so being in the air conditioning was preferable. He wasn’t sure he had any desire to stick around and play. He wanted to down a bottle of whiskey, but he’d settle for a nap before four days of working the night shift, which started at ten o’clock tonight.

He wandered across the room with Will to the bookshelf that had a few games, along with AJ’s ever-growing library. On the shelf sat a photo frame. Without thinking, he picked it up and stared at a picture of Bree from a few weeks before her third birthday.

Zara came up beside him. “I’ve been meaning to ask AJ who that is.”

He didn’t look up at Zara; he kept his eyes on Bree’s face. “Our daughter.”

Zara took in a quick, sharp breath. “What?”

“Her name was Bree. She was three in this picture.” He held the photograph to his chest. Moisture blurred his vision. He missed his little girl.

He set the photo down and wiped the moisture from his eyes. Turning back, he caught AJ’s gaze. They simply stared at each other.