Page 39 of Playboy

Noah ruffles his son’s silky brown hair, and the little boy peers up at him with a look of total adoration. “Dad.”

With a smile down at the kid, he heads for the coffeepot. It’s ridiculous, really, but I’m still brewing a pot of regular coffee in order to keep up appearances. Even at work, I use the same coffee pods I always have to avoid drawing attention to the change in my routine. It should be a crime, pouring out so many cups of perfectly good coffee.

“When are you headed out again?” Noah asks as he spins around, holding a coffee cup out to me.

I hold out a hand. “Had one already, thanks. Trying to cut down on my caffeine.”

He lets out a loud laugh. “Right. You, not drinking coffee?” He shakes his head and gives me a sly grin.

Ugh. He’s so right. I live for coffee. And alcohol. And sex.

Not that I can’t have sex. The issue is that the only person I want to have it with right now is the man I’m avoiding.

“We leave for Chicago on Sunday.”

“Damn. That’s the day we get home from Disney.” He sighs.

“I know. My schedule sucks.” It truly does. During the season, I bounce from place to place constantly. Though I technically live in Boston, I don’t spend more than four days at a time here during baseball season. And the season islong. We travel from March through the end of September. If the Revs play well enough, they sometimes travel until the end of October. And the team owns me. I go where they go.

It’s exhausting, but I love it.

Or I did.

Last season felt longer than any other before. And soon, my whole life will be changing. I’ll show in the not-so-distant future, right? Will I get sick? Will my feet swell? Will I have pregnancy brain and be unable to do my job effectively?

As well as I’ve avoided most things, I have forced myself to do some reading on what’s safe during pregnancy, and the long list of symptoms I came across during that research could very easily make my job a challenge. It seems pregnancy and parenthood don’t mix well with the type of job that requires a person to travel for six months out of the year.

And motherhood sounds even less conducive to that.

Just another set of thoughts to avoid for the time being.

“Wish you could come to Disney,” Oliver pouts.

Noah laughs again. “That is not your aunt’s scene.” He eyes me over his cup of coffee. “Kids. Rides. Family time.” He shudders, though he’s grinning. “Her worst nightmare.”

I roll my eyes. He’s not wrong. But still…I guess I may need to change that. Right?

“I can’t believethe season is over.” Millie lets out a long sigh.

Dinner tonight is a subdued affair. The guys lost their game against Detroit last week, which brought the season to an end. They’ve got seven weeks of freedom before preseason training begins in August, and for a lot of them, that means they’ll be leaving Boston. But the guys whose wives and girlfriends are sitting around this table with me will stay in town and be home much, much more.

Lennox smiles. “I, for one, was over it. Aiden was too damn busy. I’m excited to have him in bed with me every night for the next few months.”

“Same,” Ava agrees. “Especially since we have some news.”

Hand resting on my hip, I turn to my best friend. Before she goes on, I know what she’s going to say. I assess her stomach, looking for changes. It doesn’t look any different, but as if on instinct, she brings a hand to it.

That’s all the confirmation I need.

Even so, I lean in close. “You’re pregnant?”

Green eyes glistening, she dips her chin. “We wanted to wait until the whole crew was in town before we told everyone.”

“Oh my god!” Lennox hoots.

Sara scrambles out of her chair and around the table and pulls Ava into a tight hug.

When she releases her, Millie is there taking her place.

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