Page 135 of The Strike Zone

“No idea.” Tanner shrugged, and a smile spread across his face. He was clearly in denial.

Ace dropped down and swept him into a hug. “Man, I’m so sorry.”

I started to mentally plot out how we could ride through this storm together, how we could support Tanner, because fuck me…if this had been me, and Scout had gotten pregnant with Rangers Douche, I don’t know what I would have done.

There was still a smile on his face when I turned to him, but Lux got there first. “Tan, why are you looking so happy?”

Slowly Tanner eased himself from Ace’s grip and peered at each of us in turn as his smile stretched from ear to ear.

“Because it’s mine. Millie’s pregnant withmybaby. I’m going to be a dad.”

Want to know what happens with Tanner and Millie? Their book is out in June, and you can preorder now.

Read on for the first chapter.

MILLIE:

Idon’t know it yet, but today is the day I get pregnant.

It stands to reason, seeing as the last twenty-four hours had absolutely sucked, that I was standing outside Grand Central Station in the pouring rain holding a suitcase, a duffel bag, and a rapidly disintegrating box filled with some of my most precious memories, while I figured out what to do.

In true New York style, the second the heavens opened, the cabs disappeared.

To top it all off, the most annoying human being I know had just pulled up to the curb, popped his trunk, and jumped out, totally oblivious that he was blocking the road with his giant Escalade.

But that’s Tanner Simpson for you.

The cacophony of honking increased tenfold.

“There’s the most beautiful girl in the world.” Tanner grabbed my suitcase, flashed me one of his signature smiles, and opened the passenger door. “Mills, get in the car, it’s raining.”

“Where’s Radley?” I asked, not moving from the spot where I’d transformed into a wet, bedraggled mess.

I’d been expecting my best friend to pick me up. I’d called her twenty minutes ago, and she said she would hurry. Ineededher to come and get me. I needed to download the last twenty-four hours of my life to her because only she would understand.

Tanner wrestled the duffel bag off my shoulder and tossed it in the back of the car with the suitcase.

“She was in the middle of baking with Lux, so I volunteered. And she comes with Secret Service, so I saved everyone a ride. Plus, Iwantedto come.” He grinned. “Seriously, why aren’t you getting in the car?”

I yanked my box out of his reach before he tried to take that from me too. There’s no way I was giving the box up, he’d have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands.

Tanner’s brows shot up. He placed one hand on the door frame, and stared at me with those blue,blueeyes of his. You could get lost in them if you weren’t careful, therefore I wasalwayscareful.

A droplet of rain fell off his baseball cap and hit one of those sculpted cheekbones, before disappearing into the short stubble hiding a dangerous pair of dimples.

He might be the most annoying person I’d ever met, but he was easily the most handsome too.

Top three most handsome, without a doubt, which only made it worse.

“Are you okay?”

I nodded, because if I opened my mouth to say yes, I knew I’d start crying. Maybe he wouldn’t notice, though; it was raining enough.

“Jeez, why’s everyone being so loud this morning?” He turned around, uncharacteristically snapping, but it worked to raise a little smile on me. And release some of the tension jammed in my throat.

“Because you’re blocking the road.”

Tanner frowned, like he’d only just realized he was stopped at an angle and cars were having to go around him.Hewas the cause of the noise.

“Oh. It was only two minutes, people need to calm down,” he replied, his head quirking. “Now, you wanna make it three, or are you getting in?”

I had a choice.

I either stayed here, getting soaked through while he drove off with most of my stuff, or I sucked it up.

What’s the worst that could happen? He’d talk my ear off for twenty minutes. I could cope with that if it meant I could get out of the rain.Just.

Ducking under his arm, I stepped up into the warm, dry car and Tanner slammed the door behind me.

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