Page 50 of One Steamy Pucking Meet Cute

Walker’s face turns a shade of red, and I hear a series of little deadly pops coming from his diaper region.

I grin. “I know you don’t have many ways to communicate right now, but we’ll have to work on that. We don’t talk with our butts, okay?”

My baby talk draws out a toothless smile from him that melts my heart.

I lean in close, showering his chubby face with kisses. “Oh, you’re just so cute, who’s so cute?”

He actually giggles as I’m kissing him. I jump up, hands pumping toward the air. “Your first giggle!” My celebration makes Walker giggle even more. Just as I feel regretful that Jake is missing this, the door to my room swings open.

“Everything okay?” he asks. “I heard–” Jake’s eyebrows furrow and he looks at Walker. The expression on Jake’s face makes Walker giggle again.

“He’s laughing!” he says, rushing forward and hugging me.

We both snap a few pictures, then try to get a video. By the time we think to record it, Walker has reached his post-poop sleepy stage.

Jake refuses to let me handle the diaper, changing him and wiping him clean before he goes to the door again almost half an hour later.

“Hey…” he says, one hand on the doorframe. “I know I’ve given you a hard time about the wedding games thing. But I talked to Jesse. He helped me see your side of it. Like how your mom would’ve done exactly the same thing. And, yeah. I get it now. I’m sorry I made it difficult.”

I’m surprised when the simple mention of my mom and my brother’s thoughtfulness makes tears well up in my eyes. I try to blink them back, looking down. “Sorry,” I say, voice thick. “Mom hormones.”

“Hey, shit,” Jesse whispers, coming quickly to wrap me in a tight hug. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“You didn’t. I just… I don’t get why it got so hard between us. Again. Why is it so hard for us to make this work?”

Jesse runs his hand down over my hair in soothing strokes, his big body firm and warm against me. He’s so tall that my face doesn’t even quite reach his chest. “We just need to get through this wedding thing. That’s all,” he says. “I don’t like lying to the guys. It’s hard.”

I nod. “I know. I don’t like it either. Are you sure you still want to do this?”

“We don’t have a choice,” he says. “I’m not going to let that asshole take your B&B.”

I want to argue–to tell him I’m okay if he backs out. But I can’t make the words come. Walker needs his mom to have a job. My mom’s heart would break if she knew I lost the B&B. I just… can’t. No matter the cost. I press my face tighter into his stomach and he gives me a squeeze.

“Sometimes I think I dreamed that whole thing with Peter up. Like a bad nightmare. I haven’t even heard from him since that day.”

“He’s probably hoping you write it off as a dream. Then he can come back once we miss the deadline and collect his winnings.”

“Yeah,” I sigh. “That does make sense.”

“We’ll figure it out. You good for me to go for a run? I need to get it in now if I’ll be able to shower in time for the games.”

“Yeah, sure,” I say, wiping my eyes and pulling back. “I’m good.”

He kisses the top of my head and then leaves.

And with that, I let out a long, hard breath.

21

JAKE

Frosty Harbor is a town that knows how to throw a celebration. Jesse and Caroline’s family have been part of a long tradition of bringing the town together for events, going back since the town’s founding, butI’m always a little surprised by the huge turnout.

We’re near the center of town and the clearing of grass is covered with picnic tables, portable grills, boxes of game items, and covered plates of all shapes and sizes. People always bring food to Frosty Harbor events, and it might be my favorite part of them. Today, Nolan and Mia’s restaurant catered for the event, so the quality of food is off-the-charts. On top of the catered food, people brought their own tinfoil dishes of stuff from home, too, creating a practical feast.

I’ve only been here for a few minutes, and I’m already half-stuffed with homemade mac' n’ cheese, peach cobbler, pigs in a blanket, steak bites, and several other delicious bites.

I’m chewing as I look out over the town and take in the sight of the snow-topped mountains. There’s snow on the peaks almost year-round, even when it’s pleasant and warm on the ground. There really aren’t many places more beautiful than here.

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