Expect Me (Rivers Edge Book 3) by Lacey Black Read Free Book Online

If I can’t answer any of the other questions now or even in the near future, that answer I know as true as the color of my eyes. As certain as the name I sign on paper. I want to be that baby’s father. My baby.
    I hear Josselyn’s light footfalls on my hall floor and stop in the living room to look at her. Her hair is rumpled from sleep, her eyes are awake but show signs of wariness, and her mouth is yawning, forming the most perfect little “o”.
    “Hi,” she says with a small, shy smile.
    “Hi. Did you sleep okay?”
    “Yes, thank you.”
    The silence between us is deafening. There are still too many questions that I need answered, but I decide that they can wait for now. The talk that we need to have can wait, as long as she’s here with me.
    “Why don’t you go freshen up in the bathroom? We’re going to be late for dinner.”
    “Dinner? I need to head back home, Travis.”
    “I don’t want you to leave, Josselyn. We still have tons of things to figure out, and I was thinking - hoping, actually - that you’ll stay here with me for a few days while we get everything all sorted out.”
    “You want me to stay here? Like with you?”
    “You can take my bed and I’ll sleep on the couch,” I say, my eyes pleading with her to consider my offer.
    “Travis, I don’t know.” I can see the desire to refuse on the tip of her tongue. It’s written all over her face. But, I also see a need there. A need to lean on me and accept the olive branch I’m offering her.
    “It’ll be for as long as you want. You can stay here and we’ll figure out the next step - steps - together.” Moving towards her until I’m standing right in front of her, I grab ahold of her smaller hands that feel so at home nestled within my own, and look deep into her eyes. I can see them change from golden to deeper brown as I gaze deeply, lost in their depth. “All I know for sure is that I want to be by your side, helping you through this. I want to be there for you and our baby.”
    Her beautiful eyes fill with tears as she exhales a deep breath. “I’ll stay here temporarily. We’ll figure this out. Together,” she says as she squeezes my hands.
    I fight the urge to lean forward and kiss her full lips. At night when I’m all alone, I can still taste her on my lips. But as much as I want to devour her mouth right now, I know that it won’t help any in the long run. We have too many things to discuss and decide on. First, I need to feed her and my baby.
    “Let’s go. We have dinner plans.”
    She raises both of her eyebrows at me as she says, “Where are we going?”
    “To my parent’s house. We have dinner there every Sunday night.” I feel her hands tense within mine.
    “I don’t know about that,” she counters as she tries to pull away.
    “It’s just dinner. You’re going to have to meet them eventually and there’s no better time than at a family dinner on Sunday night,” I say as I tighten my grip on her hands, not letting her pull her hands out of mine.
    “But, what about the baby?”
    “We don’t have to tell them just yet if you don’t want to. Just come. Meet them. We’ll figure it all out afterwards.”
    “I’m not going to be able to hide it much longer,” she says as she looks down at her stomach. She’s wearing a red tank top and for the first time, my eyes zero in on her abdomen. It’s still early enough to be smooth and flat, but I can’t help but release her hands and give in to the desire to touch her. I look up into her eyes as if silently asking permission. When she gives me a small smile, I reach forward and gently lay my hand against her stomach. Electricity courses through my entire body, zapping all of my frayed nerve endings and short circuiting my frazzled brain.
    Josselyn closes her eyes, lost in the sensations of my touch. I’m not even touching bare skin and I feel the connection, the gut-deep impact. I want to rip the material away so there’s no barriers between us and