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"Yes I want to be part of the whole experience I’reat father" Understatement of the millennium "I will not let you down"

Luc hesitated before saying more Would his enthusiasm lure her in? Or make her run in the other direction? A calculated risk She was afraid, and he had to be careful

"Okay" She nodded, looking slightly shocked "Thanks That would behelpful"

He planned to be far es to being married," he pointed out "Financial, of course But children are a lot of work Having another set of hands would lighten your load, especially when they’re sick or up all night, or you need to work late And what about safety? It’s been a concern for you lately Having a husband around would add protection for you and the baby You’d rest easier The baby would have the stability of a two-parent family, a last name The love of both a mom and a dad"

Alyssa froze "You want me to marry Tyler?"

Daame and throw his cards on the table

Luc stood and leaned toward her, risking all and taking her face in his hands Her gaze bounced up to his, and he felt the zing of that poignant blue all the way to his toes

When she’d walked back into his life, he’d never iined it would be to lie to him Even so, he still wanted her so badly

"No I want you to marry me"

"SO that’s what’s up withat Sexy Sirens The club was closed now, and Alyssa faced Sadie and Tyler, nerves jittery in her stonant and left?" Tyler screa no question that he was ready to hit soht now"

Alyssa sighed "He didn’t ‘leave me’ He says he wants to uess"

Tyler snorted "You’re gorgeous, s to have his kid Why the fuck wouldn’t he want to marry you?"

"He also thinks I’m a whore and may even believe this baby is yours"

"I wish," Tyler muttered under his breath

Still, Alyssa heard Could she feel any worse? "His proposal shocked h you threw him out on his ass last time he was here? After the shitty way he treated you?"

Alyssa bit her lip She’d been thinking through that Being Luc’s wife and having his name on the birth certificate would have benefits Stability Money, if anything ever happened to her Though it ht be old-fashioned of her, she’d prefer to raise a child with two parents

Tyler raised a good point, though All the volatility and ain If she accepted his proposal, they e about that

But at the end of the day, though it ht make her twenty kinds of stupid, she loved Luc too much to say no

"I’ll handle it"

"How?" Tyler snarled "He practically ran your heart over and left your for dead last time"

"I said I’ll handle it"

The possibility of losing Luc to his picture-perfect suburban girlfriendCold chills didn’t begin to describe the feeling Utter fear Panic Jagged, aching sadness

"This is shit," Tyler yelled "Given how badly he treated you, what kind of father would he be?"

"I think he’ll be a great one," Alyssa answered, going with her gut "Once he got over the shock of the pregnancy, he seemed really enthusiastic about the baby Claimed he wants to be very involved"

"Maybe that would be enough for hie"

"And maybe not," Sadie put in "I learned that the hard hen the courts let my ex, Kenneth, take little Ben from me because of my past"

"You can’t ht do Hell, I’ll marry you I’d love to"

Alyssa closed her eyes She’d suspected those words were co Tyler at her side as the other half of a parenting unit would look good to the courts, if it cah Luc’s proposal had been practical, it had filled her heart with a hope she wished she could deny Tyler’s only filled her with regret

True, she could wait and see if Luc was vindictive or possessive of this baby If he was, then she could always take him or Tyler up on his offer But if she was honest with herself, she’d ached for Luc in the last six weeks, as if someone had ripped away a part of her soul There was a reckless part of her that wanted to see if she could still have that picket-fence drea to her heart since her world had shattered at fifteen And have those drea that could make it better was if he fell in love with her in return

If they had their whole lives ahead of them, rather than just a week, maybe somedayIf not, they had a child to raise, and that had to be her first focus