Page 51 of Three of a Kind

The summer heat is unforgiving, and I’m not doing myself any favors by wearing this ridiculous sweater.

I shove the diaper bag into the storage rack under the stroller and stand up. My eyes fly to check on Libby, but she’s climbing the stairs that go to the slide.

Normally, I play with her, but I feel like I might overheat if I don’t get a few minutes in the shade.

Nova bumps my hand, licking my fingers.

My dress is plastered to my skin with sweat, and I fluff it out.

Panic sets in as I glance at Maverick.

His mouth hangs open, and my stomach drops as I stagger back a few steps.

It dawns on me that he’s not holding Nova’s leash about the time I trip over it.

My arms fly out as I try to center myself, but the uneven concrete doesn’t help anything.

Maverick darts over, wrapping his arm around my lower back and pulling me to his chest in one swift movement.

“Are you okay?” he growls close to my ear.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I lie, swallowing thickly.

“You’re pregnant…” He barely murmurs the words. He definitely doesn’t yell, yet a shiver runs down my spine as my gaze darts around.

Libby runs across the walkway back toward the two side-by-side slides. She’s fine, but it absolutely feels like my world is falling apart.

“The night when we met,” I say, taking a seat on the picnic bench. The shade feels heavenly, but I’m still a sweaty mess. “I was only a month pregnant, so I didn’t know. I wasn’t trying to trap you guys into anything.”

“Fuck me,” Maverick growls, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and pulling my face close to his chest. It floods my nose with his smoky, nutty scent. “It’s wild that you even feel like you have to say that. If you were, you clearly would have stuck around. I don’t know about Gunner, but I was absolutely aiming to seal the deal that night.”

His hand tightens on my shoulder as my face rolls up to stare at his.

I’m surprised to see him watching Libby.

Nova lies on the ground a few feet in front of us. She seems to be doing the same thing.

“Avan doesn’t know,” I admit softly. “Neither does Libby.”

“Jesus Christ,” Maverick mutters, pulling me closer. “I can smell your fear. It’s fucking with my head hardcore.”

“I don’t know how much you know about the situation, but he wasn’t very interested in Libby once he learned that she would be a girl…” I sigh so hard my entire body trembles.

Hell, maybe he is scenting my fear.

I’ve managed to keep my pregnancy from everyone, but Noble caught on, and now Maverick has too.

It doesn’t help anything that it seems like my belly popped in the last few days.

I could physically see the difference in the mirror this morning, and I’m afraid the time of keeping my pregnancy on the down-low has officially run out.

Libby runs around the fenced-in play area as she and a little girl giggle.

My head shakes, and I pull up a hand to rub at my aching eyes.

“Do you know the gender?” Maverick asks, nuzzling his cheek to the top of my head.

“No,” I choke out. “I can’t. I mean, I couldn’t bring myself to find out. If it’s a boy…”

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