“Not with her here.”

“What do you think we’re going to do?”

“Fight. Be hateful.” Her voice sounded strained to her own ears. “But Jax shouldn’t be part of that. It’s not fair to her, or good for her—”

“I’ve no desire to hurt my daughter,” he interrupted. “And I don’t need a damn DNA test to confirm it. We’ll have it done so we can correct her birth certificate, but I don’t need it to prove anything. She’s obviously mine.”

“Ours,” she whispered, and it killed her to do it, killed her to say it but Jax had to be protected, no matter the cost. “Obviously ours.”

The corner of Rowan’s mouth lifted and his expression turned rueful. “I suppose it’s a good thing that your father died. In time we will even view his passing as a blessing because it brought us all together. You, me and our daughter.”

There was nothing frightening in his tone. If anything he sounded...amused. But Rowan’s sense of humor was nothing like hers, and her heart lurched.

“So what is the next step?” he asked, smiling faintly, green eyes gleaming. “A wedding at the castle? And do we do it before or after your father’s funeral?”

Thank God she was sitting. Thank God for armrests. Thank God Jax stirred then and let out a whimper, saving Logan from having to answer.

Jax whimpered once more and stretched, flinging out small arms in an attempt to get more comfortable.

Logan wanted to whimper, too.

This was crazy, so crazy.

Rowan was crazy.

“I think we do it before,” he added reflectively. “It will give everyone something to celebrate. Yes, there will be sadness over your father’s life being cut short—he was such a good man, so devoted to his family and community—but then everyone will be able to rejoice over our happy and surprising news. We’re not just newlyweds, but proud parents of a two-year-old girl.”

“You hate my father, and you hate me—”

“That’s the past,” he said gently, cutting her short. “It’s time to leave the past in the past and concentrate on the future. And you’re going to be my wife and we’ll have more children—”

“You’re having a really good time with this, aren’t you?”

His broad shoulders shifted. “I’m trying to be positive, yes.”

“I don’t think you’re trying to be positive as much as sadistic,” she retorted, fighting panic because she didn’t think Rowan was teasing. He seemed quite serious, which was terrifying as Rowan’s entire career was based on his ability to play dirty. “We’re not marrying. There won’t be more children. There is no relationship. There has never been a relationship. So don’t start throwing your weight around because I won’t put up with it.”

He had the audacity to laugh. “No? What will you do? Call Joe?”

Her cheeks burned. “You have such a problem with him.