Page 46 of Surprise Baby for Daddy's Best Friend

Thanks. Her name's Rosa.

Cute name.

I waited a moment and decided to go all in. Texting to get to know someone was too cold and heartless to really get a feel for someone. If I wanted to know more about golden retriever guy, it needed to be face-to-face, so I could determine his character.

Are you free tomorrow to grab a coffee? You could bring Rosa with you.

Sure.

I sucked in a deep breath and closed the app. I'd deal with the other guys after the golden retriever guy's date. If something didn't kick in to get me interested, then at least I had others waiting as a backup now.

Sitting outside of the coffee shop was almost unbearable under the hot sun. I cursed myself for not checking the weather forecast last night before offering to meet here. Then again, the iced chocolate was exactly what I needed too. If he didn't show up, at least I got a nice drink out of it. If he did, it would be a bonus.

"Excuse me?" a gruff voice said behind me.

I turned around and was immediately greeted with the soft eyes of the golden retriever guy staring down at me. Wrapped around his waist was Rosa’s leash, who sat next to him with a huge smile on her face and flecks of whipped cream from a puppacino.

"You're Kim, right?"

"I... Yeah! I'm Kim." I stood up and offered him a chair. "It's nice to meet you."

He raised his brow and eyed me up and down, "It's nice to meet you too."

Rosa sat between the two of us on the ground. Occasionally she lifted her nose to nudge my hand or his for treats.

"Sorry, I didn't get your name last night."

"Jake."

My heart lurched a little. It wasn't like it was the same name, but the sound of it was too close to Jared's. I wasn't sure if it was to his benefit or not.

"Jake," I let his name roll off my lips to get a better taste of it. The feeling was almost sour. "I saw on your profile that you do a lot of hiking. Do you two hike here in New York, or do you go out to the mountains?"

"Mostly we go to the Poconos during the Summer and Winter. Lots to do in both seasons, and Rosa loves it, it wears her out for a long time." He took a sip of his coffee, "What about you? You mentioned in your bio about wanting to see the world. Are you into philanthropy or something?"

I shook my head, "No, nothing like that. More like, I want to go backpacking and see different countries. Hopefully, with someone who can keep up with me."

A sly smirk crossed his face as he understood the small detail I left on the table about keeping up with one another. While he wasn't the most attractive man, there was something interesting about him. I just had to hope the soft eyes were all for show and he had some grit about him too.

"Well, I'm sure I could provide the pace," he rolled his shoulders. "How about we see which of us lasts longer? Though I have to ask..."

I gulped. The way he adjusted how he sat didn't sit well with me like he wasn't sure how to ask what he wanted too.

"You're on that app. So, I assume you've been with a few guys already. You're not like... you know..."

"What?"

Jake leaned forward and lowered his voice, "Well the beef isn't floppy is it?"

I pushed back from the table. All the air in my lungs escaped in shock at the question. "Seriously?"

"What? I'm big, but I don't want to be shooting hot dogs down a corridor."

"No. No. I can't believe you just said that," I pushed myself away from the table, knocking my drink over in the process. "Shit!"

Rosa pounced on the splattered drink, and I had to push her away.

"Don't drink that!" I snapped.

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