Page 46 of Rematch
Ethan’s smile widened, and he finally decided to include Preston in the conversation. “Tell you what I’ll do. Preston, why don’t you and Cupcake take some time to reconnect? My apartment is only six blocks away. I’m going to run home really quick. If you’re still here when I get back—and I think you will be—I have approximately ninety-seven things I’d love for you to sign.”
Ethan’s request was so unexpected, Preston couldn’t help but chuckle, despite the fact his heart was splintering into a million pieces. He’d spent a year thinking about Chelsea, wishing he could see her, talk to her, and the whole time, she’d been moving on with her life, falling in love, and starting a family.
“Ethan,” Chelsea said. “Seriously. Go. Away.”
“I’m going, I’m going. Super nice to meet you,” Ethan said, shaking Preston’s hand effusively. “Seriously, huge fan. Huge.”
Preston nodded, even though his attention was locked on Chelsea, who was feeding the baby. The baby blanket was too high for Preston to see the little one’s face, so it was impossible to gauge the child’s age. Considering they were together a year ago, and she wasn’t dating anyone else at the time, the baby would have to be a newborn.
Ethan left the bakery and, given how fast he was walking, Preston suspected the man hadn’t been joking about returning with things for him to sign.
“Do you have time to sit and talk?” Chelsea asked.
Preston nodded, aware this conversation was likely to be painful. The idea of Chelsea happy and in love with someone else shouldn’t hurt as much as it did.
It was only one night.
He’d repeated those same five words to himself countless times over the past twelve months, but they never stuck, never gave him the power to push her out of his mind.
Preston took the seat Ethan had just vacated, watching as Chelsea sat as well, adjusting the baby slightly before popping the bottle back in his mouth. Ethan had referred to the baby as “little man” when he comforted him, and that tracked, given the blue blanket and the dinosaur-clad arm he could see that was reaching up toward the bottle. Not that the child was old enough to hold it himself.
“You’re a mother,” he said, kicking himself the second the words crossed his lips.
Hello, Captain Obvious.
“I am. I…um…” She looked down at the baby, her cheeks flushed.
“Paris didn’t work out?” he asked, when her pause lingered. Chelsea was clearly as uncomfortable with this reunion as he was.
She shook her head. “No. I knew I would need help when the baby came along, so moving home was the wisest option.”
“Baltimore is home? Not Philly?”
“Allyson and I drove to Philadelphia for that party. The original plan had been to crash at her cousin’s house afterward.”
Original plan. The one that had changed when she’d suggested the two of them leave the party together.
“Quite a coincidence. I’d been planning to spend an hour or so at the party, have a beer with my buddies, then drive back home to Baltimore that night.”
She shook her head in disbelief. “Huge coincidence. How did you find this place? Me?”
“Dumb luck. I had breakfast with a teammate this morning, and I was walking to the restaurant when I saw the sign on the window.” Preston gestured toward the front of the building. “You said your dream bakery would be called Sugar and Spice.”
She smiled. “I can’t believe you remembered that.”
“I remember everything from that night.” The second he said the words, Preston wished he could call them back. But only until…
“So do I,” she whispered.
That confession from her would have lit up his insides like a Christmas tree if she weren’t holding someone else’s baby.
“Preston,” she started, her face too serious, suddenly.
He drew in a deep breath, preparing himself. She was about to address the baby-sized elephant in the room.
“I tried to find you,” she said, her words catching him off guard.
He liked the idea that he’d made enough of an impression that she looked for him. Of course, given the baby in her arms, that impression hadn’t been lasting. Not like his twelve months—and counting—obsession.
