Page 78 of Beautiful Storm

“Yeah, well, it seems I care. A little.”

“Thanks.”Unfortunately, so do I.

When I saw Jake storming toward me, I panicked. Without him saying a word, I knew that he’d somehow found out about my pregnancy and that meant my time was up. He was about to win. Yes, I’d already told Jim, but it would be harder for him to fight for me if I caused a scene on live TV. And make no mistake, I would have caused a scene.

But I didn’t have to.

And I’m still a little shocked about that.

Reed coming to my rescue was confusing at first. Until I remembered he’s a protective guy. He told me that himself.

But Luke.

Luke coming to my rescue had my heart racing for all the wrong reasons, and now I can’t stop picturing him as a doting father to our child. A protector. And I hate how much more attractive that makes him.

I mentally shake off my thoughts as he laughs to himself before heading toward his front door. “Come in. It’s getting cold out here.”

“Thanks.” I move to follow him inside but pause at the threshold. “Though I have to ask…why am I here?”

“Well, Amelia, it all comes back to me caring. I don’t want you to be put in a situation like that again. It shouldn’t have happened and because of that, we need some kind of plan.”

Dammit, Luke. “Thank you.” A plan is a good idea.But why am I so nervous?

Ituck my knees up to my chest as Luke passes me a glass of water before sitting on the couch opposite me. “So where do we begin?” he says with an awkward laugh, making me smile. It’s good to know I’m not the only one feeling uncomfortable about everything between us.

“Since we’re getting married tomorrow, maybe we should start there. Talk about how that’s going to look, who we’re going to tell.”

“Sounds good and as I mentioned, Lainey knows and Thomas now too. Oh and Reed.”

Reed? “Guess that explains why he came to my rescue.”

“Actually, it doesn’t. Believe it or not, like me, the guys care about you. Reed wasn’t kidding. We would all walk away if they fired you. I mean we wouldn’t walk away from football becausethat’s insane. But I doubt any of the guys would continue withProject Storm.”

“And here I was thinking it was your dream to be an actor.”

“Maybe it is. I’m about to play the part of a doting husband after all.”

I try to laugh, but his words don’t sit well with me and my face scrunches on its own. I wait for his laugh, but when I look his way, he’s frowning.Whatever that means.

“Anyway, they’re the people I’ve shared the news with, but I need to tell Coach.”

My chest tightens despite knowing this was coming. “Okay, yes. That makes sense. Will you tell him the truth, or pretend we’re really together?”

“The truth. It will be easier in the long run. What about you?”

I don’t have to think about it before I answer, “Yes, you’re right. I agree.”

“No.” Luke chuckles. “I mean, who else knows on your end? I remember you saying you wanted to tell your friend, Hayley.”

“Oh, yes.” My cheeks heat but I smile through it. “Hayley knows. But that’s it.”

“You’re not going to tell your mom or Tom and Jim?”

“Nope. Tom and Jim know enough. They don’t need to know about the marriage. And as for my mom, the less she knows the better.”

Luke frowns. When we were kids, I had a good relationship with my mom, but a lot has changed since then. “Trust me,” I add, hoping he’ll move on. But he doesn’t.

“Who does she think the father is?” he asks after a beat.

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