Page 79 of Lost Boy

“I don’t have fucking crabs, Huff,” he grunts, annoyed.

“Nice to hear since we share a toilet seat and all. And now that Haley’s moved out, I’m not entirely sure who’s cleaning that bad boy.” I sprawl my arms out. “Well then, if you don’t have crabs, what in the fuck is with the sudden fidgeting?”

“Go on, Watty boy. Tell him,” Hunter tosses out lazily.

Watson stops fidgeting, and he takes a deep breath. “Huff, you know how, like, you’re going to be a dad now?”

“What, Gentry, are you knocked up too?” I grin, not knowing where the hell he’s going with this.

“Well, no. But I’m sort of a husband,” he mutters, shifting around on his feet. “I, uh … kind of married Ryann.” He swallows hard, dragging a hand through his hair. “Hunter knows already. It happened while you were at rehab, and I just never knew when the right time to tell you was. I didn’t want you to feel like you were in there, missing everything. But now, well … I could be in a bit of a mess.” He cracks his fingers nervously. “Say something, would you?”

“Well, if you have a belated bachelor party … I’ll probably have to sit that one out.” I shrug. “Unless you’re planning on having sparkling cider or soda pop. But a cheese platter? That I could get down with.”

“I’m so fucking confused,” Hunter says, dragging his hand down his face. “I knew about the marriage shit, but now, I don’t get it. Why are you in a mess?”

Before he can respond, I can’t help myself as I throw something out there to lighten the mood. “Damn, Gentry. That’s a big commitment just to have sex.”

“Well, that isn’t why we did it, dickwad.”

“I know. I’m just fucking with you,” I say, standing to give him a quick side hug. “Congratulations, Gentry. Looks like we both skipped some steps with the women we love, huh?”

“I never told you I love Ryann,” he says, his eyes narrowing at me. “Guess you love Haley though?”

“That woman is fixing to have my baby. Of course I love her.” I look at Hunter, feeling the need to add something. “But whether I slipped one past the goalie or not … I love your sister, Thompson, just FYI. So, don’t kill me.”

“I might kill you for saying shit likeslipped one past the goalie.” He grimaces before standing. “Okay, Gentry, stop dodging my question. Why are you in a mess?”

“It’s a long story,” Watson huffs out. “I’ll tell you more when I can.”

“But if you’re married, why isn’t she ever here?” I narrow my eyes. “Or why aren’t you with her?”

“Dude, she’s been busy since you’ve been home. Besides, we wanted this to be your chill zone. I didn’t want to bring someone over you don’t really know when you’re fresh out of rehab.” He smiles. “But trust me, I spend a lot of time at her place.”

Before we can pester him for more information, there’s a knock at the door.

“I’ll get it,” I say nonchalantly, hoping like hell it’s my baby mama. Seeing her is always the best part of my day.

Strutting toward the door, I pull it open, and there stands Haley in an oversize crewneck sweatshirt with some bookish saying above a picture of a stack of books, paired with black sweatpants and those ugly but adorable-on-her UGG boots. Justthe sight of her has my heart skipping a beat, and I suck in a breath.

“Hey, beautiful.” I smile. “Why did you knock? We’ve all told you this is still your place. You can just come in.”

She stares up at me, her eyes growing mistier by the second. “Cade … thank you.” Stepping toward me, she throws her arms around me and buries her face in my shirt. “My reading room, our baby’s nursery.” She weeps, pushing her face against my chest. “It’s all perfect,” she whispers. “I love them both so much.”

Stunned, I don’t react for a moment, but finally, I wrap my arms around her. “You’re welcome, Haley baby. I just wanted to make you smile.” When she peers up at me, I swipe my thumbs across her cheeks to wipe away her tears. “Smile, not cry, beautiful.”

“I’m just so happy,” her voice squeaks, but she gives me a tiny smile. “No one has ever done anything like that for me.”

“Well, no one has ever put a baby inside you either, have they?” I wink before kissing her forehead. “You deserve that and so much more. I promise, now that I’m back, I’m going to do my best to keep you smiling—even if I can’t do it the way that I’d like to. I’ll be the best baby daddy and friend you’ve ever seen.”

“You’re so much better of a man than you give yourself credit for,” she whispers. “I wish you’d see yourself through my eyes.”

My heart squeezes, and I hug her against me tighter. “By the way, I’m sorry if I screwed any of your book places up. I was going strictly by memory with that. And I was running out of time.”

She breathes out a laugh against my shirt. “It was fine. No, it was perfect.” She gazes up at me, looking at me with those eyes that tell me she’s holding back because she has to. “Come over for dinner tonight? I can show you some of the adorable baby clothes I picked up this weekend.” She rolls her eyes up towardthe ceiling and nods. “I dare say we’re going to have the best-dressed babe around.”

“I’d love that,” I say, raising my eyebrows. “But you have to let me take care of dinner.”

“But you don’t cook,” she says, giving me an inquisitive look.

---