Page 37 of Perfect Persuasion (Love’s Second Chance #2)

Claire was in one of the outer checkup rooms. The door was slightly ajar, so Logan slipped inside.

The doctor was nowhere to be seen at the moment.

Claire sat on a bed hooked to a bunch of monitors and an IV.

She wore a standard blue-and-white hospital gown and her face was ashen with worry, but he’d never seen a more welcome sight.

“Logan.” Was it just his imagination, or did her eyes light up when she saw him?

Uncertainty flickered as he thought again of the jerk wringing his hands out in the waiting room. She’d already moved on, that much was clear. If her eyes lit up, it was with relief that the father of her child was here to help bear the load.

“Claire.” He crossed the room in a matter of nanoseconds, unable to keep himself from reaching out and taking one of her hands in his. It felt small, delicate, and ice cold. His pulse beat harder, pumping with fear. “What’s going on? Are you and the baby okay?”

“I’m not sure yet,” she murmured, worrying her lower lip with her teeth.

Her gaze flicked over his shoulder. “They’ve given my something to try to stop the labor, but it hasn’t seemed to work yet.

Sophie, I think the doctor wants to keep me overnight.

Could you run home and pack an overnight bag for me?

And tell Trevor and Marcus to go home and try not to worry. ”

Logan looked back at Claire’s sister. He’d been so absorbed in the sight of Claire that he’d forgotten Sophie had been directly behind him. She nodded and rushed forward to give Claire a hasty hug and kiss. “What do you want me to pack?”

“Just some clothing and a toothbrush,” Claire instructed. “I’ve been meaning to pack my overnight bag, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet.”

“Don’t worry,” Sophie said softly. “I’ll take care of everything and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

When Sophie was gone, Logan focused on Claire again. “Why do they want to keep you overnight?” His heart caught in his throat. If anything happened to either Claire or their child, he didn’t know what he’d do.

“To monitor me,” she said, interrupting his grim thoughts. “I was having contractions, but the doctor says I’m not ready to go into labor yet. They’re doing everything they can to keep the baby where it belongs for now.”

Labor. Oh Christ. Just the word was enough to make him feel sick, lightheaded, as if he was about to pass out. And he wasn’t even the one who had to experience it firsthand.

“Ouch,” Claire said, scrunching up her nose.

He looked down and realized he’d been clasping her hand tightly. Too tightly. He released her and raked a hand through his already wildly disheveled hair. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s okay. I’m worried too.”

The urge to take her in his arms filtered over him strongly.

She looked so small and helpless, lost in her tent of a hospital gown, eyes shimmering with a fear that matched his own.

He loved her so desperately that it physically hurt whenever he saw her and knew that she was beyond his reach.

She was seeing another man now. He might be the father of her child, but he had lost the right to reach out to her, to touch her, to comfort her as he wanted.

She didn’t want that from him, probably never had.

“Will they let me stay here with you?” he asked, his voice rough with emotion. Logan couldn’t reach out to her, true, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t stay by her side.

“I’m sure they will.” She paused, her gaze searching his. “But you don’t have to. I’ll be fine.”

“I’m concerned about the baby,” he said. “I want to stay.”

Her face clouded and as she looked away, he realized that she had mistaken his words. “Of course,” she murmured, clasping her hands tightly in her lap. “Stay then.”

“I want to make sure you’re okay too,” he stressed, not wanting her to think his sole concern was the baby.

Claire looked up, her eyes snapping. “You don’t have to pretend. I know that—oh!”

“What is it?” A lead stone sank, settling in the pit of his stomach.

“I think it was another contraction,” she murmured, rubbing her stomach.

“I’ll get the doctor.”

“No.” She reached out, grabbed his hand. “Please. I want you to stay with me.”

“Anything,” he said hoarsely. “Anything you want, sweetheart.”

“I just want you here with me.” She clung to his hand as though she feared he would disappear if she released it.

Warmth seeped through his chest. Without thinking, he raised her hand to his lips. “Stay strong for me, sweetheart. We’ll get through this together.”

She nodded, worrying her lower lip with her teeth again. “Together,” she repeated.

Damn if Logan didn’t like the sound of that one word. Together. Maybe he liked it a little too much for his own good.

Claire watched Logan sleeping, mesmerized by the sight of him hunched over her bed, his head resting on his arms. He had stayed by her side, stubbornly refusing to budge even an inch.

Light filtered in through the window of her mercifully private room, glinting off his dark hair.

She couldn’t help it. She reached out and began gently sifting her fingers through the short, crisp locks.

His face was turned to her, relaxed and less harsh in sleep.

He looked, even to her sleep-deprived eyes, excruciatingly gorgeous. It made her heart twist in her chest.

Stubble covered his jaw in a sexy five o’clock shadow.

Her fingers slid lightly across it, abraded by the coarse texture.

At her touch, Logan stirred a bit, but still didn’t wake.

She liked being with him like this. She liked having the freedom to touch him and look her fill.

While he slept, she could almost pretend they were a normal couple, two people in love, rather than two people who made each other miserable.

How was it that he could be so cold, so remote, and yet so heart-stoppingly wonderful?

He’d been amazing through the night. She sighed.

The much-used adage “life isn’t fair” had proven itself to her over and over again.

She wanted so desperately for things to be different between them.

Of course, whether that was a crazy, hormone-induced want remained uncertain.

If it was, then Claire would have something to blame all this insanity on.

Her marriage with Garrett had never been so emotionally charged. In fact, if she were brutally honest with herself, her marriage had been ho-hum, a quiet routine, until Garrett’s affair. Then it had been marked by hurt and betrayal.

Her fingers skimmed over Logan’s cheek in an idle path, then lower, caressing the side of his neck. They came to rest at the back of his collar, where the locks of his hair curled against the stiff white fabric.

The door to the room clicked open, effectively ending Claire’s idyll. She snatched her hand back as Sophie stepped hesitantly into the room. “Are you up for a visitor?”

“Absolutely,” Claire said with a smile. “But keep your voice down because I don’t want to wake Logan.”

Sophie raised a brow. “Gives perfect meaning to the phrase ‘let sleeping dogs lie’.”

Claire shot her sister a semi-reproachful glance. “He was up all night.”

“And you weren’t?” Sophie reached Claire’s bedside and dropped her sleek little designer bag on the table. “Anyway, let’s not argue about him. Fill me in on everything. I came as soon as I knew there were visiting hours.”

“They finally were able to stop the contractions and the baby’s heart rate returned to normal,” Claire murmured. “Thank God.”

“So what happens next?”

“Bed rest,” Claire said with disgust. “For the next two weeks, at least. They’re going to monitor me for the rest of the morning, and if everything goes well, I’ll be able to be home tonight.”

Sophie frowned. “Obviously not home. You’re going to have to stay with Trevor and me until you have the baby.”

If there was one thing Claire didn’t want, it was to be the third wheel. Or the fifth wheel, or however the phrase went. “No, Soph. You and Trevor just moved into your new place together. I don’t want to come barging in on you guys.”

Sophie smiled and gave her hand a sisterly pat. “You’ll be in bed, sweetie. You won’t be able to barge anywhere. Besides, Trevor and I want you to come move in with us. We were talking about it last night after I got home from the hospital.”

Claire rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. I don’t want to be in your way. The two of you need privacy. I don’t want to spoil your newlywed bliss by playing invalid at your house.”

“You wouldn’t spoil anything. You’re my sister, for heaven’s sake.

” Sophie gave her a meaningful look. “You were there for me when I needed you most. You made me realize how precious life is. You even set me up with Trevor. The least I can do is play nursemaid for the next little while. I’m home painting anyway.

We’ve got a spare room with its own private bath. What more do you need?”

Hmm. Sophie was doing her darnedest to make Claire change her mind and she was half succeeding too.

Still, she was determined not to interrupt Sophie and Trevor’s new time together.

They both deserved every second of their mutual happiness.

Even if Claire couldn’t help but feel a tiny twinge of jealousy every time she saw them together.

Okay, a big twinge.

Claire shook her head. “I can stay at Mom and Dad’s.” That gave her pause, not because she didn’t want to stay with her parents—which she didn’t—but because she realized she hadn’t spoken to either one of them since checking into the hospital last night.

A comical expression of horror broke on Sophie’s face. “Oh my God. Mom and Dad. I completely forgot to call them and tell them about this.”

“It’s okay.” Claire was actually relieved that Sophie hadn’t. The last thing she would have needed was an argument between Logan and her mother. “Besides, it’s not like Mom and I are currently on speaking terms. And Dad is just, well, Dad.”