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“You don’t want her to find someone who can help her raise the baby?”
“I’m going to help her raise the baby.”
“From Denver? I don’t think so.”
He felt irrationally panicked and desperate.
“That’s my baby.” He pointed his finger at his chest. “I don’t want another guy raising it.”
“Duncan, you can’t do that to her. You can’t plan your life with Dréa and tell Jamie she can’t have a life too.”
His shoulders sank. She was right. She was always right. But he couldn’t shake the uneasiness he felt when he saw another man’s arm around Jamie.
Rationally, he knew it wasn’t fair of him to expect her to stay single. He should want her to find happiness as he had.
“Think of it from Jamie’s perspective,” Shannon continued. “She’s going to have to let you and Dréa have the baby sometimes for visitations and stuff. The baby will have Dréa as a stepmom. You can’t expect Jamie to be alone forever.”
He didn’t say anything more, and Shannon put her arm around him.
“Unless there’s more to this that you’re not saying.”
“What does that mean?”
“That you have real feelings for her you aren’t admitting to and that’s why you don’t want her with anyone else.”
“Now you’re being even more ridiculous.”
“Am I?”
“I’m engaged to a great girl. I love her. Jamie and I …”
Shannon eyed him. “I know you, Duncan, and I could see it in your eyes. You care about her. Maybe more than you realize.”
“I do care about her. But it’s not like that.”
“You sure about that?” She stood and walked toward the house, stopping halfway. “Do you want to go to a movie with me and Micah tonight?”
He shook his head. “No, thanks. Long weekend.”
“Are you sure? It’ll get your mind off things.”
“I’m sure.”
“Okay.” She left him alone, his brain spinning.
Of course, he cared about Jamie. And of course, he had felt something for her before their night together. He couldn’t deny that. But he couldn’t dwell on that or think about that night because it stirred things inside him he needed to tamp down, longings that needed to be reserved only for Dréa from now on.
But they were still there. And maybe that’s why he didn’t like Max’s arm around Jamie. Maybe that’s why he was feeling so territorial over her. Residual feelings. There couldn’t be a future for them. He had his future all set, all planned out now. And it was going to be good.
So why did his heart ache at the thought of Jamie with someone else?
Chapter 26
Was Duncan jealous? He had been focused on Max’s arm around her and looked like he might attack at any moment. If they hadn’t gone into the house when they had, she thought he might actually do it, which was confusing. She wondered how his trip to Denver had gone. Were he and Dréa still getting married? Maybe they weren’t together anymore. Maybe he seemed so upset because he wanted to be with her and have that family she was hoping and praying for.
Sometimes her mind wandered to a picture-perfect family—them and their sweet little avocado—but it was a fantasy. And even though it felt good to think about, it wasn’t realistic to imagine waking up in his arms every morning, their kid jumping into bed with them. The picture her mind conjured up gave cozy, warm feelings of her childhood. She’d had a good upbringing, despite the way she’d lived her young adult life. Her parents had given her safety and security, and she hoped she would give that to her baby. She was learning and growing and changing, especially now that she had found Jesus and was going to be a mom, and she knew she needed to be realistic. But she still longed for the happy images in her mind’s eye.
She shook her head as she washed her hands and stared at herself in the McGregor’s bathroom. “He doesn’t want you. Accept it and move on.”