"You're making my head hurt."

I smile at her. "Look, I know I'm still going to make mistakes, but at least I have my father to go to for advice. And I have you to help me muddle through being a parent. And after being faced with losing you both, it doesn't scare me anymore. The thing I find terrifying right now is the thought that I might have come to my senses too late. That's one mistake I can't live with. Please, tell me it's not too late."

"I need time to think."

"I understand. Just as long as you're not kicking me away and running to Mateo while you sort it all out."

"You were right about him wanting more from me." My chest tightens. I clamp my mouth shut as I listen to her. "He got mad that I didn't want his name on the birth certificate. I couldn’t. Not without your consent."

"Yeah, well that's never going to happen."

"Cooper, there's something else I need to know."

"What's that?"

"You're standing here declaring your love for me, meanwhile you have a tattoo on your shoulder for some other woman. You have nightmares about her and call her name out in your sleep, but you refuse to tell me anything about her. I need to understand what happened with Luna."

I hang my head. I've done this once today, I'm hoping this time it won't be as hard. "I'm sorry I was such a jerk about her before. It just hurt so much to even think about her. And I was afraid if you knew, you'd hate me. Because when I think of her, I hate me."

"Are you willing to talk about her now?"

"I'm willing to do whatever it takes because the thought of losing you hurts more." I look away and take a deep breath before I start on Luna. "She was my first love. My first everything really. She was in danger and she needed my help. I found out she cheated on me.”

“She got pregnant and claimed it was yours?”

I run my hand through my hair, stalling. “Yeah. It was her ex’s. But it didn’t matter. By that time I turned my back on her and she’d been raped by her stepfather. In the end she killed herself."

"Aww, Cooper. I’m so sorry."

I hold my hand up to stop her. I don't need her pity. I need to own up to how I let my past with Luna sabotage my future with Selene.

"I've lived with that guilt for a lot of years. I still hate myself for not doing anything to help her. But I realize now, I couldn't save her. Her life was far too screwed up long before I ever came into it. But I couldn't see that before. The deeper and harder I fell for you, the guiltier I felt about what happened to Luna. I couldn't separate my feelings for you from my guilt over her. They'd mix and mingle, and I was terrified I'd end up losing you too, and I couldn't live with that."

She reaches over and squeezes my hand.

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Are you sure about that?" I know I shouldn't push, but I wouldn't be me if I didn't. "You said you needed time. I'm willing to give it to you."

"I don't need time. I know I want to spend my life with you."

I dip my head and I close my eyes, allowing the relief, the love, and the happiness those words bring, to wash over me.

"Are you okay?" She asks.

"I'm better than okay. I'm fucking fabulous." I stand and kiss the top of her head.

"I'm feeling really tired all of a sudden. Do you want to hold your son?"

"Can you help get him settled in my arms?"

I realize we had a few girl's names we both liked, but we hadn’t agreed on any boys names.

"We need a name for him."

"I already have one." She smiles at me. "I want to name him after his father."

"Cooper junior? I guess we can call him CJ, that’s cute."

She shakes her head. "No. Not Cooper."

I hold my breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop. I realize, even if it does and she confesses right now that he isn't mine, it won't change anything. I love her too much, and I'm already crazy in love with him.

"I was thinking more along the lines of Jaxson Stone Sutton."

"Jaxson? Really?"

"Really. I know you don't think you're a hero, but I always will."

Chapter 27

I look down at Jaxson sleeping in my arms. I don't want to put him down ever. I'm letting Selene rest for a few minutes before we're bombarded by my family. She warned me when her parents show up they're going to look to cut my junk off. It's okay, I'll own up to every mistake I made. I know I have a lot of fences to mend.

With Jaxson still in my arms, I pull my cell phone from my pocket. There are a couple of calls I need to make. The first is to Troy. I think of what I'm going to say as I listen to the phone ring. I should start with an apology.

"What's up, Coop?"

"Hey man. I'm a father. Can you believe it?"

"Not really,"

I take a deep breath. Here goes. "Hey. I want to apologize for what went down at the shower."

"It's cool. I was out of line."

"No. I shouldn't have spoken to Marlena like that."

Silence.

"Will you apologize to her for me?"

"Yeah, sure."

Another long, heavy silence.

"Troy, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"It's just, whenever I say anything about her, I don't know, you seem to weird out on me. You know what ever happened with her, it was only the one time and it happened before you guys got together."

"Everything's fine. Just do me a favor, and stop reminding me that you fucked my wife."

Whoa. Shit. Something's definitely up. But I'm not going to overstep my bounds. I'm trying to make things right, not send him off the deep end.

"So, I have a son."

"Great, just what the world needs, another womanizer."

"Those days are over, man. Long forgotten. From here on out it's Selene, me and Jaxson. No more bullshit."

"Wow, Cooper Sutton is actually settling down. Never thought I'd see the day."

"Yeah, I am. And I just wanted to say thanks for always being around when I need you."

"A boy, huh?" Finally, he's lightening up. "You just keep little fancy pants away from my little princess. No doubt he's going to be a looker, and if he has an ounce of Selene's charm . . ."

"No problem, man."

"Coop. Thanks."

"I didn't do anything."

"Yes you did, and I appreciate it. If I can get my mother to watch Mia we'll come give the little guy a proper welcome. If not I'll drop by on my own."

"You don't have to. I understand. These kids, they come along and all of a sudden your whole life changes. Just take care of your girls. And don't forget, if you need anything, I'm here."

It didn't start off too well, but it ended on a high note. Now for the next call. Never in a million years would I ever believe I'd be calling on him for a personal favor. But I know he's the right man for the job. I listen as the phone rings.

"Hey, Stephan. I have a huge favor to ask."

*

Selene opens her eyes, and I'm at her side in a heartbeat. "Hey beautiful," I say stroking her hair.

"Cooper?" she asks rubbing sleep from her eyes. "You're really here?"

"I'm really here," I take her hand in mine and squeeze it tight. "And this is where I'll be every time you wake up. You're going to see so much of me it's going to make you sick."