Page 26 of Playboy

Another tug of his hair. “I heard you last year, Han. I need to clean up my act, and I’ve been working on it. I met a nice girl. We’ve been seeing each other. You saw her at spring training. She was there almost the entire time.”

I roll my tongue over my teeth. He and I have two totally different definitions of the word nice. He’s dating a ball bunny. And really, I’ve got nothing against ball bunnies. Some really are nice. But she’s not exactly helping him clean up his act. She likes to party even more than Jasper does. In fact, at this point, I’m waiting for Beckett to tell me I’m in charge of cleaning up her mess too.

Though I’m guessing she’s done with him now.

With a sigh, I prop a hip against my desk. “Like you said,almostthe whole time. Andalmostis always the problem. There was that weekend when we were in Fort Lauderdale when she had”—I snap my fingers, trying to remember exactly what kind of event he told me she attended—“the Hooters competition. Did she win, by the way?”

Jasper deflates. “Nah, she didn’t even place in the top ten. It’s bullshit, if you ask me.”

Ah yes. It’s a real competition. Like Ms. America for Hooters girls. It’s in Vegas and apparently a big deal for a waitress to qualify. But I digress.

“That’s too bad.” I try for a sympathetic tone. Really, I do. “But you get my point. She wasn’t there, and this girl claims she was.”

I hold up my phone, where I’ve pulled up an image of the woman who’s gone to the press. I really don’t get it. Why would anyone want to announce publicly that they hooked up with a baseball player and ended up pregnant? What’s her goal? If she wanted money, wouldn’t blackmail be more effective? I sure as shit would have paid her to shut up. I’ve paid a hell of a lot more for peace in the past.

“It’s not my kid,” Jasper grits out.

“Jasper—”

“No, Han, seriously. Don’t you remember? You had those awful cramps when we were in Fort Lauderdale. We stayed in and watched a movie. I even went to the store and picked up chocolate for you.”

I frown at the memory of that day. My cramps have always been bad. Truly debilitating. I could barely get off the couch for two days. I’d been in the middle of yelling at him over god knows what that day when one hit me so hard I could barely breathe. And when I stopped yelling, it was the first time I’d ever seen him look truly concerned. The kid can be caring when he wants to be.

“Okay, I’ll admit that her rant to the media does seem suspicious. But if she’s not pregnant with your kid, why’s she coming for you?”

He bends at the waist, hands on top of his head. When he straightens again, he blows out a breath. “Who the fuck knows? I tend to piss people off pretty regularly. Maybe I flirted and then forgot about her?”

“Or fucked her last season and forgot her name this one?”

He shrugs, only looking a little sheepish. “Or that.”

With a snort, I set my phone down. “Fine. I’ll get to the bottom of this.”

Jasper’s green eyes light up, and that cocky smile returns. As if he knew he would get his way all along. God, men are infuriating. “You’re the best, Hannah.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Let me know the next time you get your period. As a thank-you for all you do for me, I’ll show up with chocolate and movie cuddles.” With a wink, he saunters out the door.

I can barely react, though, with my jaw on the floor.

Because fuck, I should have already had my period.

The last time I was graced with period cramps so painful I could only curl up in a ball and whimper was that day in sunny Florida Jasper was talking about.

Before I went to Arizona.

Before I slept with Daniel.

Shit.

TEN

DANIEL

My attitude isshit right now. Hell, my attitude has been shit for weeks. Since Arizona. “Fuck.”

I slap my locker and wince as the metal reverberates. The need to release this energy is almost unbearable.

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