Page 23 of Fumbled Love

“Thank you.” She swallowed. “There are a lot of moving parts to this and I’d like to work through them in private for as long as possible.”

Having the press catch on would add a lot of stress, so I got where she came from. It was another way she was different from the girls who went out of their way to attract attention.

“Take whatever time you need. But I agree, we need to tell our families soon. I don’t know how long you are in town for or when you’ll be back, but I would like to tell them together. We can’t keep this a secret for too long and I’d rather them find out from us.”

“Okay, the only person I’ve told is my friend Taylor.” She looked remorseful. “I hope you’re not upset. I needed to unload on someone when I first found out.”

“Relax, I get it.”

“Good.” She sighed in relief. “The only other person I plan on telling is Chad.”

My brows furrowed. “Who the fuck is Chad?”

“He’s one of my closest friends.” She blinked at my harsh tone. “He also lives across the hall in my building.”

I braced my forearms on the table, noticing she used the wordcloseto describe this Chad schmuck. “Does Chad have a girlfriend?” I gritted out, surprised by the sudden level of agitation I felt for a guy I had never met. “Is he married?”

“No, but why would that matter?”

A scowl took over my face. “Because you’re pregnant with my baby,” I told her as if that was all the explanation needed.

Apparently, I was wrong.

“And?” She folded her arms across her chest. My little spitfire was coming out. I adjusted myself in my jeans.

“And I don’t share things that are mine.”

“Well, this child is also mine and Chad is someone important to me. He’s my friend.”

I wanted to tell her I wasn’t just talking about the baby being mine. But I had a feeling if I did, I’d end up with a plate of food in my lap. I didn’t want her dating anyone while she was carrying my kid. Things were complicated enough. Could I ask that of her? No, I couldn’t. Patience, I reminded myself.

“Okay. Friend. Got it,” I said, moving my gaze over toward the window. “How have you been feeling?” I asked, deciding to switch gears.

“Not bad, just tired, although it’s still early yet.”

I found myself playing with the condiments on the table. I knew nothing about babies and wish I had paid better attention when my teammates talked about their pregnant spouses.

“Have you had any weird cravings yet?” Didn’t women get those when they were expecting?

She laughed lightly, and the sound pulled a smile from my lips. She had a beautiful laugh. “I’ve been craving blueberries. Like blueberry everything.” She motioned to the blueberries in her oatmeal. “Blueberry pie, blueberry scones, blueberry muffins, blueberry bread, blueberry smoothies, blueberry bagels, blueberry coffee…”

“Stop right there.” I held my hand up and wrinkled my nose. “Blueberry coffee? Who the hell would create a blueberry flavored coffee?”

“Probably the same people who created blueberry flavored beer.” She laughed at my expression.

That sounded like a lot of blueberries. Hopefully, our kid wouldn’t turn out blue.

“That’s a weird craving, but I guess it could be worse.”

She blew a chunk of hair out of her eye. “Tell me about it. I’ve been told that the cravings could change, so who knows what it will be next week.”

“Excuse me,” one of the teenage boys said as he reached our table. “You’re Maverick Cross, right?”

I pulled on the brim of my ball cap even though hiding was useless at this point. “I am. What can I do for you, kid?”

“Holy fuck!” He looked back at his friends. “I can’t believe it’s you.”

I plastered on the fake smile I reserved for my fans. “It’s me, but as you can see, I’m having breakfast with a friend. Do you have something you’d like me to sign?”

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