Page 8 of One Steamy Pucking Meet Cute

Jake looks around, gesturing. “We call it the kitchen.”

A vein appears on Peter’s forehead. I think I can actually see it pulsing.

I just needed a few seconds. The shock and confusion are fading, so I can smile and play along. “It will take a little work, but Jake’s right. We’ll just have to move the wedding up.”

Peter starts to shake his head, finger raised as he wags it. “I’m not falling for this. Not in the slightest.”

“Does it matter what you fall for?” I ask sweetly. “The contract terms only say I must be married before I turn thirty-five. Right?”

Peter’s mouth opens and closes a few times like a fish out of the water. He clamps it shut, jowls wiggling menacingly. “We’ll speak soon,” he says before storming out of the room, briefcase in hand.

I let out a breath. “What the hell was that?” I demand.

“Looked like me bailing you out.”

“You can’t just walk up and kiss people without their permission.” There’s nowhere near enough outrage in my voice, but I’ve never been a great actress.

He smirks. We both know I definitely enjoyed that kiss. Probably more than him.

“You’re right,” he says. “Won’t happen again.”

“Well,” I say, running my hands over my jeans as if there are wrinkles to smooth out. “Thank you, though. At least you bought me some time.”

“Sure,” Jake says, stepping back from my side. He takes the seat where Peter was just sitting. He’s almost twice Peter’s size. He dwarfs the space with his huge frame. Jake has dark hair, prominent eyebrows, and icy blue eyes. He has pale skin like his sister, Andi, and his cheeks always go patchy red from cold or exertion. Once upon a time, I used to think of him as my mysterious ice prince–the man whose heart I got to borrow occasionally but never keep.

Part of me even liked things the way they were. It was uncomplicated and simple. It also allowed us both to stay focused on our careers, which is how I liked things.

And then everything got screwed up.

“How much did you hear?”

“Almost all of it. I already texted my lawyer and asked him to take a look. I pay him well, so we should hear back pretty soon.”

“You… Okay,” I say, grinning as a little rush of gratitude flows through me. I don’t usually do well with letting other people handle my problems. Jake was always a weak spot, though. That’s just who he is. He always has the answer. He always knows what to do and say. It’s why all the guys on the team see him as their de facto leader, whether he tries to be seen that way or not. “Thank you.”

He nods, and the brief silence that follows seems full of all the things that have festered between us in the last year. I know the lie I told drove an even deeper wedge between us. I let him believe it was somebody else who got me pregnant. I let him believe it because I thought I was doing the right thing. It sounds insane to me now, but I know I can cut my past self a little slack. There were so many factors at play.

“Jake…” I start slowly, uncertain. For a second, I think I’m about to just tell him. It’s what I meant to do two months ago, after all. I practiced how I’d do it so often I could say it in my sleep. I wanted to say I know you never wanted kids. I know you’re going to think I’m trying to baby-trap you, just like that horrible woman tried to. I know you probably won’t believe it’s true, but I need you to at least hear it once from me. There was never any other man. Walker is your son, and I have no expectation of you being in his life. But you have every right to if that’s what you want.

I never got those words out two months ago. Instead, Jake showed up the night Walker was born with my brother and the rest of his teammates. He gave Walker one quick look and slipped out of the delivery room before I even had a moment alone with him to say what I was planning to say–before I’d even recovered from the exhaustion of giving birth.

Then he went clubbing with his friends, and I heard he had taken some random woman home with him.

It shouldn’t have mattered, but I felt so alone, and his actions hammered the point home. So I didn’t track him down to tell him. I told myself I’d let him know soon, though. And then being a parent took over. Time started creeping by, and now Walker has been on this Earth for two months, and Jake still has no idea he’s the father.

That makes me a terrible person, and I know it. So, I’m making myself a promise. I have one week to wait for a better opportunity to spill the truth. One week. No exceptions. If the right opportunity doesn’t come, I’ll just blurt it out when my time is up. If he’s not still in Frosty Harbor, I’ll shoot him a freaking text if that’s what it takes.

Jake grins a little. “You alright? You look a little constipated or something.”

I fold my arms and give him a dirty look. “We have barely talked in months, and you show up to save the day like a knight in shining armor. Then you ask me if I’m constipated?”

“That guy sounded too sure of himself. I wanted to see the look on his face when his plan got screwed up.”

“Well, I appreciate it. But I also don’t know what I’m going to actually do.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s not like you’re going to marry me in six months. So I need to figure something out.”

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