Page 39 of Make Your Save

I follow after him, hot on his heels as we walk into his bedroom. He comes to a halt and I let out a breath as I almost collide with his back. “I’m not sleeping in your bed.”

He sets the basket down, turning around, and I realize how goddamn close I’m standing to him. I have to tilt my head back to look up at him. His eyes shimmer from the sunlight shining through the window and I notice the almost black rings around the perimeter of his irises.

“I promise I don’t bite,” he says quietly, winking as he reaches toward my body. My breathing stops, my heart coming to a standstill as I anticipate his touch. He grabs my necklace, his fingertips brushing against my skin as he slides the gold strand, repositioning the heart charm to the front. “Unless you ask me to.”

He lets go of my necklace, not taking a step away as he stares down at me, his gaze penetrating mine. My heart kicks into overdrive but again, I have to shove every little feeling back down into a box. I clear my throat, pulling myself out of whatever daze he just pulled me into.

“I promise that won’t happen,” I tell him, straightening my spine as I square my jaw. Tension sizzles in the air, but I refuse to crack under it. I know better than to play with an electrical current.

Rowan chuckles, brushing past me as he heads toward the door. “Sure thing, outlaw.”

There’s a loud knock coming from downstairs, followed by the sound of the front door opening. “Hello? Is anyone home?”

Spinning on my heel, I quickly meet Rowan’s gaze. He simply smiles and waves for me to come with him. “Shit.” I grab the small velvet box from the laundry basket, popping it open before sliding the ring along my finger.

“Yeah, shit,” he says, his expression unreadable as his gaze drops down to my hand. He stares at the ring with a pregnant pause before looking back at me. “It’s showtime.”

Sasha Taylor is just as I remember her from the last time I saw her. It’s hard to believe it’s been a few years. When I dated Beau, he made sure to keep me out of sight of his family, which, to this day, I still don’t understand why.

“It’s so good to see you again, Hadley,” Mrs. Taylor says as she pulls me in for a hug. She smells like lavender, just as I remember from when we were younger. It feels like I’m stepping back in time for a moment, except things are so different now.

Rowan Taylor isn’t just someone I’m admiring from afar, sharing silent glances within the hallways of his childhood home. No...Now I’m admiring him from up close as I help him take care of his infant daughter and pretend to be his fiancée.

“It’s good to see you too, Mrs. Taylor.”

“I see old habits die hard.” She laughs as she releases me and takes a step back. “You make me feel old and you’re not a teenager anymore. Please, call me, Sash.” She turns to Rowan. “Where’s my grandbaby that I have yet to meet?”

I see Rowan wince as he grabs the chain around his neck and adjusts it, but he quickly recovers. As if on cue, Lucy lets out a soft cry and we all walk into the living room, finding her waking up from where she was sleeping in the pack and play. Sasha walks right over with Rowan, watching him as he lifts Lucy into the air and hands her to his mother.

She stares at her for a moment, tears brimming along her waterline as she pulls her in close to her body. “Oh my gosh, look at this precious little thing.” She trails her fingertips over her cheeks. “How amazing.” She looks at Rowan. “I don’t even know if I can be upset with you over this anymore.”

“I’m going to go get her a bottle,” I tell the two of them, giving them some time to themselves as I duck out into the kitchen. I can hear their voices as they talk amongst themselves about the situation with Lucy as I get everything ready. I take longer than normal, giving them some extra time.

The last thing I want to do is feel like I’m imposingon their conversation when it’s really meant to be between the two of them.

It takes me a good five minutes to get Lucy’s bottle ready and when I walk back into the living room, Rowan immediately looks at me with a smile on his face. Lucy’s wearing a different pair of pants, but I don’t comment on it or ask what happened as I hand the bottle to his mother so she can feed her.

I take a seat on the opposite end of the couch and Rowan walks over to me, lowering himself down onto the cushion beside me. His thigh presses against mine, his hand landing on my knee as he looks over at me with a reassuring smile. I’m surprised by the action but I know what he’s doing. We have to make this believable.

If the courts want statements or to question anyone from Rowan’s life, they have to be convincing enough. We don’t have to worry about any of his friends. When Rowan told them that we got engaged so he could get custody of Lucy, no one questioned it. They all get it. They know what could potentially be at stake here if Lucy’s mother were to decide to come back into the picture.

His family, however, is a completely different story and we’re at an advantage with them living farther away. It’s an easier sell and shouldn’t be difficult to convince them that this is a real engagement. And then it eliminates the guilt of asking them to lie.

Instead, it’s just the two of us lying.

Sasha tears her gaze away from Lucy’s face and I can feel her staring at Rowan and me. I know I can’t letmy expression give anything away. All I have to do is pretend. I let my eyes roam across his face, memorizing the way his eyebrows shift, the strong line of his jaw, his perfect lips. A smile lifts my own as my gaze lands on his deep blue eyes.

He’s a work of art.

His face softens, his lips parting as a gentle breath escapes him.

“So, the two of you,” Sasha starts, pulling us out of our own private moment and back into the living room with her. She knows how toxic my relationship was with Beau, so I’m grateful that she doesn’t even bring it up. “I won’t lie, this was all a little unexpected.”

Rowan nods, turning to look at his mother. “Honestly, it was unexpected for us too.” He pauses, glancing at me with a tender look. “We ran into each other about six months ago and one thing just kind of led to another.”

Sasha looks back and forth between us, the softest of smiles cresting her lips. “When you know, you just know, right?”

Rowan smiles, tipping his chin at her. “Something like that,” he tells her, looking at me again as his eyebrows jerk upwards. “Honestly, I don’t know where I’d be without Hadley right now,” he tells his mother as he directs his gaze back to her. “She has helped me with Lucy without any judgement, which I know has also been a difficult adjustment. It has been for both of us, honestly.”

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