Page 64 of One Steamy Pucking Meet Cute

I blow out a long breath. “I think I need to have a conversation with Jake.”

She grins. “Not before you tell me what’s actually going on with you two?”

I run through everything as quickly as I can, from the oddly magical few days in Manhattan–even if I was sick for some of it–to the confusing stretch of low contact that followed and up to our current sexual connection paired with a bit of emotional distance.

“Wow,” Mia says, nodding. “So you guys are kind of a mess, huh? You really blew him on the boat, though? Some kids said they spotted you guys going at it with binoculars, but I thought they were kidding.”

My eyes bulge. “Binoculars?” The existence of binoculars hadn’t occurred to me while I had Jake’s cock in my mouth.

She smirks. She’s enjoying this. “Yeah, at least nobody was taking video on high-definition cameras with zoom capability. You know, since absolutely nobody would film something like an awesome couples rowing race.”

My cheeks burn hotter now. “Is there a video?” I whisper.

“Probably. You can likely expect some blackmail attempts in the near future if you piss off people in the town. So don’t start slacking on your event planning. But anyway, back to the owner of the cock you were gobbling on the boat… It sounds like the real issue was keeping the secret. So, the problem is solved, right? Secret’s out!”

“I don’t know the real problem,” I admit. “I just know we’ve always done well in the early stages. The chemistry has never been a problem. Give us a chance, and we can barely keep our hands off each other. But then we start sleeping together and questions about taking the next step come up. That’s when it feels like something changes.”

“I hate to break it to you, but you two already skipped several steps. You have a baby.”

“I know, and believe it or not, having a baby hasn’t solved all of our problems.”

“You don’t say,” she muses.

“He is great with Walker, though. And even if it doesn’t work out between us, I know we’re civil enough that we can still make sure he has two supportive, loving parents. Even if they’re not a couple.”

“So what’s stopping you from being a couple? What’s your side of it?”

I frown. “I don’t want to put it all on the line for a guy who loves hockey more than anything else. He’s always going to put hockey first, and I’d be crazy to think he would make room for me in his life.”

Mia reaches out and grips my hand. “Then Jake is an idiot. Want me to talk to him? I could tell Nolan to hit him, too.”

I smile. “No. But to answer your question about the wedding, I think I’m just scared it’s like a time bomb ticking away in the background. Either we figure our shit out before we pretend to tie the knot, or we don’t. Because getting divorced from a fake marriage seems like a really bad way to start a real relationship, you know?”

Mia looks thoughtful. “So you’re saying you want to actually marry him? But the fake wedding is happening too fast?”

I blush just hearing it out loud. “I don’t know. I didn’t say I wanted to get married, exactly. It just feels like we can’t have a normal relationship because we’ve agreed to go through with a wedding in three months. Imagine trying to date somebody with a clear mind when that’s looming on the horizon.”

“You do know. I can see it in your face. Oh my God, dude.” She gets up and hugs me, shaking me around and squealing. “You want to marry him. You so want to marry him,” she whisper yells, shaking me some more.

“Shut up,” I laugh, cheeks burning. “Somebody is going to hear you.”

“Oh no. What ever will we do if somebody hears that you want to marry the man you’re supposed to be marrying in like three months?”

“You know what I mean. And that’s not what I said I wanted.”

“So all we have to do is make him want to marry you? That is so easy. You’re awesome. I’d marry you if I wasn’t already spoken for.”

“Gross,” I laugh.

“What?” she says, poking her hip out and giving me smokey eyes. “You don’t want a piece of this every night.”

“If only I could be so lucky,” I say sarcastically.

Mia looks at her phone. “Oh, shit. I think I’ve passed the safe amount of time to be gone before there’s a risk of the restaurant burning down. Nolan will not be happy with me if he finds out we burned down Taste while he’s away. Then again… he’s pretty sexy when he’s mad. And he likes to take it out on me in the bedroom in the best way.”

I roll my eyes and get up, physically pushing her toward the door. “Out. You’re enjoying all of this way too much. And I’m mad at you for letting me think I was lying to everybody I knew this whole time.”

“You were lying to everybody you knew,” she says sweetly. “You’re really a terrible person.”

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