James (Resisting Love #3)(2)

The door opens and Tatiana smiles when she sees me. She's wearing a pair of jeans and a plain cotton white shirt. She looks adorable. Tatiana is a nice girl, she fits into my life. Right?

So, why can’t I get over Sasha?

***

Sasha

Jye is now sixteen months old, and he’s brought so much joy into my life. This wasn’t the turn I expected my life to take, but I wouldn’t change a thing about it.

“Mama!” he calls out as he slips down the slide. I clap at him, cheering him on as he plays at the playground. Jye Crawford has my dark hair, but his father’s pale blue eyes. Jye is the result of a drunken night James and I spent together after Nikki and Kade’s wedding.

After ignoring each other for the sober part of the wedding, or staring at each other in disdain, what happened after the reception turned into a whole other story. The entire night was a disaster, but I'd never change it. I love and adore Jye way too much, and I'm so thankful to have him. After our night together, I stormed out of the hotel room, and I haven’t seen James since.

James doesn’t exactly know about Jye. When I was four months pregnant and found out the sex of the baby, I tried to call James to tell him he was going to have a son. I called, but James didn’t answer his phone. I kept trying to get ahold of him for two weeks. Once, a woman picked up and said James was ‘busy’.

I bet he was busy. I guess he just didn’t want to hear from me. I left messages with both Layla and Nikki telling them to have James contact me, but he never did. After that, I stopped trying. I still question my decision every day; did I make the right choice? It’s not Jye’s fault James cheated on me. Jye deserves to know who his father is. I know I’m being selfish by keeping him from James.

Would James want Jye in his life, though? If he didn’t, I don’t think I could handle it. Screwing me over is one thing, but if James didn’t want Jye I'd be heartbroken. He'd mentioned that he liked and wanted children back when we were together, but the circumstances are extremely different now.

He’s different now.

After I slept with James, I took off on a holiday just a few weeks later. I was in Scotland visiting family when I found out I was pregnant, so I decided to stay for the duration of my pregnancy and to give birth here. To say my family back home wasn't thrilled is definitely an understatement.

Trey Crawford is my cousin and an awesome guy. I’d only met him a few times growing up, but he's been so supportive. He lives alone and owns a pub right down the road from his house. He’s refused to take any money from me, so I try to buy food and contribute to the household in any way that I can. Luckily, I have a decent sized savings account, so I didn’t have to worry about working during my pregnancy, but when Jye was about six months old I started working some shifts at Trey’s pub.

Trey watches Jye when I’m at work, and we’ve both made it work for us. If both of us have to work, Trey’s mother watches Jye. We get along really well. She’s a very kind and gentle woman, I can tell how Trey became such a wonderful man.

It’s been two years now, and I think it’s time for me to go home. Jye is happy and healthy, and it saddens me he hasn’t met his grandparents or any of his other family. I’m trying to get Trey to come for a visit, too, but he's still undecided. With his own business to run, it’s not always easy for him to get away.

Jye runs up to me and hugs my leg. Anyone who takes a look at him will know instantly that he’s James’ son. Besides his dark hair, he's the spitting image of his father. I can’t hide out here forever.

It’s time for Jye and me to go home.

***

“You don’t have to go, Sash!” Trey tells me for what must be the hundredth time since I told him about my plans. I feel bad leaving Trey, I know he’s grown extremely fond of Jye, and now I’m taking him away.

“Oh, come on, Trey, now you can get back to your bachelor lifestyle,” I attempt a joke, but Trey just scowls at me, so I walk over and muss his black hair. “I’ll come back to visit, I promise, and you could always come visit us in Australia?”

Trey glances over at a sleeping Jye and sighs. “I’m gonna miss the little terror.”

“Hey! What about me?”

Trey smirks. “At least I won’t have to kick out all the men at the bar trying to put their grubby hands on you anymore.”

I roll my eyes, and puff out a long suffering sigh. “I’m gonna miss you, Trey,” I whisper.

“I know, Sash, I know,” he says as he rubs the stubble on his chin. His hazel eyes are still on Jye, almost as if he’s memorizing him.

“I hope his father knows how much he’s missed out on,” Trey mutters to himself. I swallow hard. Trey thinks that Jye’s father wasn’t interested in having a child. Layla and the rest of my family think I got pregnant by someone in Scotland. The whole thing is one huge cluster f*ck.

I definitely have some explaining to do.

***



Layla is picking us up from the airport. I tried to get out of it. I told her my dad could come; I told her that Tee could, but no, Layla was determined to come and pick us up, so she is. I notice her the second I walk past the gate, standing by herself with a huge smile on her face. I relax when I don’t see Chase with her. Layla runs over to us and gives me a warm, welcoming hug.