Page 31 of Accidental Baby Daddy

I took in a deep breath. “Well, I’m sorry about the music. It’s the only way he’ll go back to sleep.”

“You were married?” she asked quietly, and there it was, some hint that she was at least a little bit interested in what I had been up to. I hated the way it made my heart soar.

I shook my head. “No, it was nothing. We only saw each other a handful of times. But when Trent came along, she realized she just wasn’t ready to be a mother. Dropped him off on my doorstep when he was a few weeks old.”

“Holy cow,” Lexie said, her eyes widening. “She literally just left him? You haven’t heard from her?”

I shook my head. “I filed paperwork with the court, and she signed over her rights. She assumed that I’d be a better parent, I guess.”

“And you’re not angry?” She looked at me incredulously, her head tilted.

“I was, for a while. But Trent is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. He changed my life.”

Her wide eyes softened. “I always thought you’d be a really good dad.”

Hearing that stung, hitting me right in the chest with emotion, and I tore my eyes away from hers.

“Are you still angry that I live here?”

She sighed. “A little. I didn’t want charity. Not from Gillian and not from you.”

“It's not charity,” I said quietly, looking into her eyes. “The place is just sitting there, empty. Besides, you’ll pay what you can in rent eventually. That’s more than what I was getting before.”

She glanced up at me, biting her lip, and God, how I wanted to thumb it from between her teeth and kiss her.

“Okay,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry I interrupted your time with your son.”

“You didn’t,” I said quickly, though I didn’t know why I said it. Why did I want her to stay so badly? Why couldn’t I just let her go? “Stay for another beer. We’re neighbor’s now, right?”

A smile broke across her pretty face, and she tipped her half-empty beer toward me.

“I suppose we are.”

My breath caught in my throat, and I sat down heavily on the patio chair across from her.

She drained the rest of her beer and stood, walking past me to throw it in the big trash can by the house.

What I did next was the stupidest thing I’d done in years. Again.

I grabbed her around the wrist, pulled her onto my lap, and then I kissed her.

Chapter 11

Lexie

All the oxygen seemed to go out of the air when Oliver kissed me, but wasn’t that how it always worked? There was never anyone on the planet but him whenever he kissed me. Tonight, I was surrounded by the taste of beer and his sandalwood cologne. It touched deep places in my heart and my soul.

I moaned into his mouth and turned to face him before cupping his cheeks and kissing him again while straddling his hips on the small chair, which creaked beneath us. I was relieved it was sturdy enough to hold both of us.

Oliver breathed out something against my lips and I pulled away, frowning.

“What?” I asked.

He shook his head and tried to kiss me again. I pressed a finger to his lips and shook my head. “Tell me what you said.”

He looked at me for a moment, then a lopsided smile spread over his face. “I missed you,” he admitted.

I continued to frown at him. “You aren’t supposed to do that anymore,” I replied.

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