Page 58 of Hat Trick Holidate

“Make eyes, nose, mouth, and ears out of whatever else is on the table. It just has to be edible.”

She scrunches up her forehead, and he corrects himself in kid speak. “You have to be able to eat whatever you put onthe pancake. I’ll race you and see who can make the funniest pancake face first. Emmaline, can you time us?”

“Sure.” I take my phone and turn on the stopwatch. “Ready, go.”

Jolie grabs the bacon, placing it at the bottom, strawberry for the nose, eggs for the hair. She looks around, squirreling her mouth until she decides on blueberries. One by one, she makes a circle of blue for the eyes, studying her dad the whole time. Orange slices for the ears. Then, she puts syrup under the mouth and up to the ears. She lifts her arms in victory.

“Are you already done?” Bryce asks. She grins and points to him. “Is this me?” She rewards him with an excited head bob. “Wow, I think you’re going to be an artist. You know we have the same blue eyes.”

Two blinks.

“We have the same color hair.”

Two blinks.

“But these ears… they’re not mine. They’re too big to be my ears. These are Emmaline’s ears,” he jokes, and the belly laugh that comes from them gnaws at my core.

My ovaries are bursting open as Jolie leans over and crawls in Bryce’s lap.

I want to be with Bryce, but I can’t ruin Roman’s career.

Maybe if I ease Roman into it, he won’t go off.

Jolie eats while sitting in her dad’s lap and when she’s finished Bryce kisses her again. “Sticky kisses.” She touches her little hand to her cheek, then looks at her hand. “Okay, sweetheart, it’s time to take a bath. Daddy needs to take a shower before my game. Emmaline will run your water.”

The smile I give him must look like a cartoon cat whenhe’s about to steal the cheese. God, I’m sinking—deep. Under the spell of Bryce Wynward.

We go into the bathroom on the other side of the penthouse near mine and Jolie’s rooms. Making sure the temperature is just right before Jolie gets in, I let her play with her little Paw Patrol action figures while I hear Bryce’s shower running.

When she’s clean and dressed, she grabs her tablet and lies on her bed while I get my stuff together. I come out with wet hair covered with a deep purple robe.

“Our bathroom is missing the hair dryer. Do you have one in here?” I ask Bryce.

“Yeah,” he scratches out. His gaze is hooked on me.

He takes it out of the velvet bag and plugs it in. He’s staring at me or the reflection of me.

“I’ve tried to replace you since I was a rookie. It never worked.” He fondles my wet hair. “I searched out redheads, hoping it would be you when they spun around. Every other redhead made me sick to my stomach, so I stuck with fake blondes with eyelashes too long for their face. I’m not pressuring you, but I know what I want. What I’ve wanted for the past eight years—you.”

“Bryce, if Roman finds out we’re dating, he’ll go crazy and end up starting a fight with you. Then his career will be over. I can’t do that to him. Not after Penelope and Grant.”

“You’re not giving him much credit. I’m sure he wants you to be happy.”

He leans down and kisses under my ear. I close my eyes, relishing his lips on my skin, the understated cologne he’s wearing, and his hands holding me in place.

chapter 23

BRYCE

“Maybe we could giveit a try for a while… in secret. And if we both still feel the same, we could tell him.”

“S-secretly? I won’t hide from anyone. It’s all or nothing. It may sound demanding, but I won’t date in secret. You’ve already pushed me in a closet. You weren’t even hiding me from another date; it was your brother.”

“Bryce.” She turns to look me in the eyes. “I don’t know what happened to your brother and when you’re ready, I hope you’ll tell me, but… what would you have done for him? Anything? Everything?”

The organ in my chest beats rapidly, thinking about my brother. “Anything.”

“That’s all I’m trying to do… protect my brother’s career. I don’t want to be the cause of him losing his career too, after my ex stole his wife. I wasn’t good enough for Grant, so he went elsewhere to fulfill his needs.”

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