Page 14 of Make Your Save

Cole’s eyebrows tug together. “And you are . . .?”

“This is Rowan Taylor,” I interject, pushing my way back into the conversation to save Rowan from offering an explanation. That’s a fact I wish I could erase completely. “He’s an old friend and we ran into each other at the hospital a couple months ago.”

“So, is the paternity test to confirm she’s yours?” Damien asks Rowan as Rowan drops down onto the couch beside me.

Rowan doesn’t answer at first as he stares at the baby asleep in my arms. He still hasn’t even held her yet. “Yes.”

Cole looks directly at me, his gaze laser-focused on me. “This is a huge risk, Hadley. I’m not going to let Damien do this for him if he’s just some douchebag.”

“He’s not,” I tell him, shaking my head as I vouch for Rowan. Rowan has never been anything but kind to me. He found me at one of my lowest moments in life and not once did I feel judgment from him. “He’s a good one.”

The muscle in Cole’s jaw tightens as he looks back at his boyfriend. The two of them have a silent conversation before Damien reaches into his bag, pulling out a test kit. “I need to swab the inside of your cheek and the baby’s. I can have the results by tomorrow afternoon, as long as I can do it in secret.” He pauses, chewing on the inside of his cheek. “I won’t be able to have the geneticist confirm, because of the nature of things, but if she’s yours, it will be pretty evident.”

“Okay.”

Rowan doesn’t say anything else and the process is quick as Damien swabs the inside of Rowan’s cheek and then Lucy’s. He excuses himself, walking into the kitchen as I get Lucy settled and walk with Cole and Damien to the front door.

“Are you sure this is going to be accurate?”

Damien jerks his chin and half shrugs. “They’re pretty accurate, but usually we like to get a couple sets of eyes on it to confirm.” He pauses, his lips pursing for a moment. “I’ll do what I can to make sure the results are as conclusive as I can get them.”

“That guy looks fucking lost,” Cole adds, his voice low so Rowan can’t hear him. He pulls me in for a hug, wrapping his arms around my body. “Give him a blow job or something to cheer him up.”

Stifling a laugh, I push away from him, rolling my eyes. “Yeah, right. You go do it.”

“I think not,” Damien quips, wrapping his arm around Cole. “Come on, time to go before you get any ideas.”

Cole laughs as Damien leads him onto the porch andI’m quiet as I close the door behind them. Turning back around, I face the hall, a heaviness on my shoulders as I let out a deep breath. I will not be taking Cole’s advice for cheering Rowan up. That’s not what I’m here for. I’m here to help him with Lucy and nothing more.

Rowan’s heating something up on the stove as I walk into the kitchen. He glances at me over his shoulder, his eyes resting on me for a moment before he turns back to face the stove. “Are you hungry?”

“Sure,” I tell him, walking deeper into the kitchen before pausing beside him. He looks at me, his tired eyes meeting my gaze before he goes back to cooking. “Since Lucy is sleeping, do you mind if I go get my car and some things from home after we eat?”

His head whips to the side, his eyes wide as he searches mine. “You’re going to come back, right?”

A crack forms in my heart from the fear that engulfs him. “I told you I wasn’t going to leave you alone with this, Rowan.”

His lips part as if he’s going to say something, but he quickly shuts them. I watch his Adam’s apple bob as he swallows hard. “Okay. I’m sorry, I just—I don’t know.”

“It’s okay. One day at a time. Damien will have the results tomorrow and then I think having that concrete information will help you process,” I tell him, attempting to psychoanalyze him, which he definitely didn’t ask for. I pull out my phone, opening up the Uber app before requesting a pickup. I need to get to the hospital to get my car before I can go home.

My attention moves directly back to Rowan after Isecure a ride. “Tell me about your game days. Do you have a certain schedule or something? I think it’s probably best if you try to keep life as normal as possible right now.”

Rowan swallows again, jerking his chin. “Um, so we have a morning skate. Usually I shower, come home, and eat something. I go out to my shed for a bit and then take a nap. Carson has a chef that comes over and cooks our pregame meal, so I go there and eat and then head to the arena.”

“Okay, this is good,” I tell him, my head bobbing in a similar fashion. A little too eager, like we’re both trying to convince ourselves everything is completely fine. “You eat while I run and get a few things and then Lucy and I will be out of your hair the rest of the day.”

“Okay,” he says slowly, his eyes searching my face again. “Okay.”

I smile at him, reaching over as I pat him on the shoulder, attempting to offer some type of encouragement. My hand remains longer than it should and I can’t help it. Seeing him like this, the way he’s taking things in stride, it’s honestly attractive as hell.

Knowing my hand is lingering for too long, I move it from his shoulder, my eyes searching his once more before I turn away from him.

“Hey, Had?” he calls out, the sound of his voice penetrating my eardrums as I reach for the front door.

I turn back to look at him. “Yeah?”

“Thank you,” he says softly, appreciation radiating from his expression. “For everything.”

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