Free Not Quite Married by Lorhainne Eckhart Page A

told me whether you wanted kids. We just ended up together and in bed, and…”
    “Oh, I see. Well, let me ease your mind,” he said. “I want kids, Julia. I’m not about to dump caring for a baby on you. We’ll work it out. You can hire help, and I’m here, too. It’ll be fine—unless there’s another reason?” He paused. “Honey, in case you didn’t notice, we haven’t been careful. You’re not on birth control. I just thought you knew I wanted kids.” He watched the array of emotions on her face: panic, joy, and then maybe relief. He wasn’t sure, though. Maybe she didn’t know what she wanted. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
    “I didn’t know if you’d be happy, and what about the girls?” she said. “I mean, can I do it all?”
    “Hey, you’re amazing at everything you do. Don’t start selling yourself short. You operate a business of your own, which is no small feat, baby, and those girls, cute as they are, they double everything: love, time, trouble… You handle it all, and you’re there for them—always. This baby, if you’re pregnant, will fit right in. What’s one more?” He leaned down, sliding both hands over her cheeks and giving her a kiss on the lips before pulling away. She held his wrist and worked her lower lip again. Was she worried about something else?
    “Logan, would you be okay if we didn’t have a long engagement?” she said.
    He tucked a strand of her short, dark hair behind her ears. “No, the sooner the better for me,” he said.
    “Good! I was worried. I don’t want to be showing in my wedding dress.”

Chapter 2
    J ulia was flooded by a surge of what she could only describe as happiness, joy, excitement—along with other overwhelming feelings that slammed against her from every direction. Her life had changed dramatically within a few short weeks. Meeting Logan, allowing herself to love him, and letting him into her life and her girls’ lives was no small feat for Julia. After all, her trust had been burned by her first lying, cheating husband. It was a challenge to allow herself to feel again and to take a chance on love.
    Logan leaned in the open window of her small compact and kissed her. “Be good. I’ll stop by for lunch,” he said, tapping her door and the open window before slipping a pair of shades on over his steel-blue eyes.
    Lord, there was something about the way Logan looked at her. He made her feel as if she was all that existed in that moment. It was crushing, at times, in a wonderful sort of way, and she hoped she’d never let him down. She loved this man deeply, especially because she had thought she would never meet a man who put his woman, and his family, first. This was something she was still trying to get used to after being married to Kevin Cooper, the twins’ handsome, two-timing father, who had carried on an affair with his dental assistant the entire time he and Julia had been married.
    She had read enough self-help books to understand how that relationship had scarred her, and she still fought the illogical doubts stemming from those fears even though, deep down and in her heart, she truly believed Logan wasn’t like that.
    A car horn honked, pulling her from her thoughts, and Julia blinked. She saw it in her peripheral vision; a flash in slow motion, then a car coming right for her. It happened so fast. She heard squealing tires and felt a jolt of pressure as the airbag slammed into her. She was sliding her arm over it, listening to a hiss—and she was sure she could hear footsteps, yelling. She didn’t know what had happened or why she felt as if her entire body had been rocked. One by one, her senses returned. Her shoulder burned where the seatbelt had left a welt across her skin, and her face was numb.
    “Julia!”
    It was Logan. A hand reached in and touched her before she heard a tearing sound and a rush of air as the airbag receded.
    “Julia, baby, talk to me. Are you okay?” Logan yanked on her