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Chapter 14
Poppy
Welp.
Something new just got added to my to-do list.
Research pregnancy-related hallucinationswas on the very top because there was no way on God’s green earth that Jax Cartwright just said what I thought he said.
Over the pounding in my ears, I sucked in a shaky breath. “I … what?”
His jaw flexed, eyes darting to the side before settling back on my face again. His chest expanded on a deep breath. “I think we should get married.”
Nope. That was really real. Those were the actual words that came out of his mouth. Not once.
Twice.
Like hearing it a second time helped anything.
For a long moment, all I could do was stare because the absolute fricken irony of this was just too much.
I stood slowly, notebook clutched in my hand, papers crinkling in the tight grip of my fingers.
Think, Poppy, think.
Even in my wildest dreams when it came to this man, matrimony felt like it was anchored somewhere in a different stratosphere.
The older I got, the more I watched him move through life, the further and further away it got as a possibility. Jax was thirty-five, and never once had he showed a single inclination toward marriage, let alone more than one date with the same woman.
A couple of years ago, I’d made peace with the fact that if his ass ever got married, it would be one of those marriage-of-convenience deals where he needed a bride for some hidden fortune he never knew about. A choked laughter born from sheer hysteria slipped up my throat, and I swallowed it down. Barely.
It felt like the pressure of that laugh was ripping open my insides, but holy shit, if I let it out, tears would come right on its heels.
And then I’d sit here and sob, and he’d look at me like I was losing it, and it would be a whole thing. But honestly, what else was a girl supposed to do?
Think.
Think.
The notebook anchored me, and I pinched my eyes shut, pulling in a slow breath through my nose, then let it back out again.
“Jax, can I ask you a question?”
He didn’t answer right away, and I peeled my eyes open to gauge his facial expression. The nerves weren’t visible anymore, but his brows were in a deep V over his dark eyes.
And the eyes? Oh God, those were ripping my insides open too.
He looked tortured.
Eventually, he nodded.
With cautious steps, I walked closer to him. “When you woke up this morning, did you have a sudden, overwhelming desire for matrimony? Or was this a recent development?”
Jax pushed his tongue against the inside of his cheek while he held my gaze. “Recent,” he said in a rough-edged voice.
My ribs creaked dangerously, the force of all the things I was holding inside pressing against the seams.
I attempted a small smile, my mind whirling at a million miles an hour. “You know, before this,” I said, gesturing to my bump, “I never would’ve called you impulsive, Jax. You hide it well,” I said lightly. “What brought you to this conclusion since the last time I saw you?”
