Chapter 4

The doctor released her late that evening, and Luke never left her side. As she gathered the things she had at the hospital, he was there, holding her bag and making sure she didn't need anything. It was endearing and weird.

"You ready?" he asked.

Paisley nodded. "More than anything."

"We have to get your meds from downstairs, but we can almost go home." Luke reached for her hand. "Let's go."

Confusion had her going along with him without questioning him yet. The whole day that she'd been here and awake, Luke had made sure she didn't need anything. The nurse had called him her husband more than once, and he hadn't corrected her.

They made it down to the pharmacy and Luke paid for her medicine, sticking the bottle of pills in his pocket before taking her hand again and leading her out to a waiting car.

"After we get home, I'll let Catherine know and they will bring Garrett home," Luke explained. "I want to give you a chance to shower and get the hospital off you before he gets there."

"We can pick him up now. I want him more than a shower," she argued.

"If that's what you really want, we can. I'm worried about you though."

The doctors had said she had bronchitis on top of exhaustion. The only reason she had slept as long as she had at the hospital was that she hadn't fully in weeks, and they had thoroughly scolded her for that in front of Luke. Luke had sworn it wouldn't happen again.

"I want Garrett with me," she finally said.

"Understood. I'm not trying to tell you what to do or take all your choices away. I'm just trying to put you first since we know Garrett is taken care of." He leaned forward and told the driver the change of plans. "I'll call them now and let them know we are on the way."

Why was him being this concerned about her not as insufferable as she thought it would be? It was nice to have someone care about her needs, but he was the reason she was in the situation she was mostly. She could have gone to the coffee shop and told any of his friends. Guilt ate at her a little for not trying harder to tell him she was pregnant.

"What's on your mind?" Luke asked. "You're twisting your shirt in knots again."

She dropped her hands. "Nothing important."

He arched one brow at her, clearly not believing her. "I know we need to talk soon. If that's what it is, I'm not ignoring the fact that this isn't normal and I've just inserted myself into your life."

"It's a little weird," she admitted.

"Tonight or tomorrow, we will have that conversation and a few others that I think are important. Let's get our son and get home first."

It was less Luke being there that concerned her and more her feelings about him. Whenever he called Garrett his, little butterflies stirred in her stomach. It was terrifying to think she might fall for him again and he would just leave her like before.

She strengthened her resolve and sat straighter, dropping her hands to the seat. She couldn't become dependent on him. He was going to leave, she told herself. Then Luke slid his hand over hers and she wondered if her heart would ever listen to her head.

"I'll go get him. You stay here," Luke said as they parked outside of the house. "Catherine can be . . . a bit much sometimes."

Paisley giggled. She knew that about Catherine from seeing her as a customer. "Thanks."

She didn't want to go in and talk to anyone, especially when she hadn't showered in two days and was still in yesterday's clothes. Luke had bought her a brush and a toothbrush, but she'd turned down his offer of a new outfit.

He wasn't gone long before he came back with Garrett in his carrier and a diaper bag hanging on his shoulder. Again, those butterflies fluttered at the sight of him being a dad to their son.

It took them all of a minute to get Garrett strapped in correctly in the seat before they left. Catherine and Ryker stood at their open door. Catherine waved while Ryker looked angry.

"Is he mad they were babysitting?" Paisley worried out loud.

Luke snorted. "That's just his face. Resting asshole face, if you will."

Paisley looked back out the window toward the house as the driver drove away.

"Really, that's just him. He's a grouch but he wasn't mad at all."

She wondered how true that was but didn't press. Ryker had always looked grumpy when she'd seen him, but she hadn't really paid that much attention to say it never changed.

They made it home and she quickly pulled Garrett out of his seat, holding him to her. She had missed him more than she'd ever missed another person. As she loved on him, Luke ordered food and started putting things away that were in the diaper bag.

It was wild the way he'd become so domesticated in the blink of an eye. He moved through her kitchen like he wasn't worth a million times the cost of this whole building. Not once had he complained about her space or tried to take over.

"Can I hold him for a bit?" Luke asked as he came back into the living room area.

She didn't want to let him go and it must have shown.

"I can wait," he said, backing away.

"No. I think a shower is a great idea." Standing, she shifted a sleeping Garrett into Luke's arms. "I won't be long."

He shook his head. "Take as long as you need. We aren't going anywhere."

"Let me know when dinner comes? I'm hungry."

He nodded.

She left him sitting there and went to her room. It took her a minute to decide what to wear, suddenly concerned about Luke's impression of her now. She wasn't this nervous the first time he'd flirted with her.

Now, in her rundown apartment that had probably never seen better days, she didn't want him to think she was, what? Not pretty?

Sighing, she sat on the bed for a minute to pull herself together before just grabbing some leggings, panties, and a shirt. She didn't need to impress him.

A lukewarm shower was the best the bathroom ever gave her, but she took her time. It was amazing how much better she felt just from getting clean.

He hadn't knocked on the door by the time she finished getting dressed. She took her dirty clothes to her room and made sure that there were clean towels in the bathroom for Luke. He'd barely be able to shower in her bathroom, but he might want to try.

Or he'd leave and go to his friend's and come back. That was probably the best idea. Then she'd wonder if he was even coming back. She was a mess.

Luke was straightening her living room up when she walked in. Pizza boxes were on the counter, and Garrett was asleep in his little chair.

"Dinner came right before you turned the water off. Shouldn't have gone cold yet," he told her.

She looked at the two boxes and checked each. Choosing the plain cheese one, she grabbed a plate and took two slices. Neither box had been touched which meant he hadn't eaten yet.

"I'll get you some water and your medicine." Luke was right at her side. "Go sit down."

Past the point of arguing with him, she just followed his instructions and went to the sofa. He brought her pills and a large glass of water before getting his own plate and joining her.

"What's the plan here, Luke?" she blurted out.

He sighed and set his pizza down on his plate, turning to her. "I don't want to walk away from you or him."

"Forgive me if that's a little hard to believe. I'm not trying to be mean at all, but I'm confused. You wanted nothing to do with me for a year, and now you're just here all the time." It felt good to say everything she was thinking.

"If you want me to leave, I will. I want to stay in his life always, but I'm kinda hoping that I can show you that I'm worth a second chance." He shifted again on the sofa.

It was the worst piece of furniture, probably the most uncomfortable thing she owned. She wondered when he'd last slept, as dark bags were forming under his eyes. He also looked earnest when he talked.

"I don't know if it's that simple," she admitted.

Luke nodded. "I never expected it would be. If you want to kick me out, I respect that. I also respect that you aren't all the way better yet and I'm not going to just leave you here to take care of him with no help. I can leave once you feel better."

As though he needed her to prove his point, she started coughing. It took a minute to stop and she quickly downed some water.

"I'm not asking you to leave yet. I don't know what will happen between us. I don't even know what I want." She did know; she wanted him. "Right now, you can stay. If it gets to be too much, I'll let you know."

"Fair," he smiled at her. "I have something else I wanted to talk to you about."

Pizza forgotten, she turned to face him, wary of what he wanted to say.

"I want both of you to come with me to another apartment. You don't have to completely move everything if you don't want to, but I think it would be healthier for both of you if we were . . ." He struggled to find the words to use. "Somewhere else."

Paisley thought it over for a moment. It was the opposite of not depending on him to do that. Then again, this was for Garrett's health, too. She hated living here but it was affordable and there were worse places.

"I don't mean any disrespect. It's nothing about you. It's this building. It needs a lot of work and I just want you and him to be safe and in a place where you aren't breathing in mold in the hallway."

She knew he didn't intend to be mean about her. "I understand. I'll agree, but under one condition."

"Name it," he said.

"I need to keep this place just in case we find we can't live together. I can't afford anything else." She hated admitting it, but it was what it was.

"Paisley, if we don't stay together, your child support will be more than enough to have a decent apartment."

She rolled her eyes.

"That being said, I paid your rent through the rest of your lease last month." His grin was so proud.

Her jaw dropped. "What the hell?"

"I thought they'd tell you?" he said.

"No one told me until I called because I panicked that my rent wasn't taken out of my account."

"I thought they would have told you?" Luke chewed his pizza. "That's my fault."

"It's fine. Any other big things you need to tell me yourself and not assume that someone else will because it freaks me out."

"I'll make sure of it," he ground out.

"So we're doing this?" she asked. "Pretending to be a couple and seeing where it goes?"

"I'm not pretending." He stood and took his plate to the kitchen before returning. "I mean it. I'm going to prove to you both that I'm not going anywhere."

Watching him shift a few times to settle on her sofa, she made a decision. If they were doing this, then it didn't matter where he slept. She wasn't having sex with him, but it wasn't like she hadn't already.

"You can sleep in my bed tonight." She held her breath, watching his reaction.

"No. You just got out of the hospital. You need the bed," he pushed back.

Realizing he'd misunderstood, she clarified, "Both of us. You can't sleep on this sofa again."

He hesitated and studied her face. "I wasn't saying that to get you to let me sleep with you. It was all the truth. I'll take the lumpy sofa for as many nights as I need to."

She melted then. It was unexpected because the Luke she'd slept with before was so casual in the beginning. Right before he broke things off, she'd caught a glimpse of this man underneath the partying. She was glad he was still there.

"It's fine. We can both use a good night's sleep."