Page 36 of Shootout Daddies
Ace gives me alook.“That’s not what I asked.”
Brooke grins. “She’s still seeing Rhett and Hunter.”
“Like dating?” Ace asks.
“I’m not even sure.” I shrug, picking up my bag. “All I know is I get the harem thing now. Phew! Brooke! Hot, hot, hot.”
Brooke laughs. “Ivy!”
I head down the hall to change in the guest bathroom. I swap the oversized tee and yoga pants for a pale yellow cotton skirt that ties at the waist and a tank top.
Simple. Flirty. Effortless.
I slip on leather sandals, toss my hair into a lazy braid, and swipe on a little tinted balm before calling for Storm.
“Are you coming home this time around?” Brooke teases as I open the door.
“Don’t wait up.” I toss her a wink.
That thought is still true when I walk into the penthouse. It’s not anymore by the time I reach the living room.
The second I step inside, I stop dead. The door’s wide open. Rhett’s holding a baby. Hunter stands behind him, arms crossed, looking like he’s trying not to freak out.
“What,” I ask slowly, “is going on?”
They both turn to me.
Rhett’s voice is strangled. “Ivy.”
I blink. “Hi. Whose baby is that?”
They don’t answer immediately. Just stare at me.
Hunter finally speaks. “She was left at our door.”
“What?”
“There was a knock,” Rhett explains. “I thought it was delivery. Opened it. No one there. Just her.”
I step forward slowly, setting my bag down. “You’re serious?”
“Dead serious,” Hunter mutters.
Rhett gestures toward the baby. “There was a letter. And a birth certificate.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Awhatnow?”
Hunter hands me the paper, and I scan it quickly. The baby’s name is Chloe. Nine months old. Golden-brown curls, big brown eyes.
I look down at her and realize it’s all true.
She’s wide-eyed and chewing on her fist, oblivious to the chaos she’s caused.
The letter is short and scrawled in uneven handwriting. The words barely make sense at first, but then I recognize the tone. Frantic. Desperate.
“She says she can’t raise her,” I whisper, “and one of you is the father.”
“She was a puck bunny,” Hunter says quietly, rubbing the back of his neck.
