Birth of a Baby Daddy Read online

  For a brief moment, I don’t move. I leave them there, knowing I should pull back, stop this, but my body literally loses all signal from my brain and he pulls me flush into his chest, his hand venturing up my back and past my neck, holding my head to his.

  His lips are soft and inviting. His smell exhilarating to every sensitive spot on my body. I want to scream, ‘take me,’ but instead that transmitter between my brain and my body connects and I step back.

  “We can’t.” My hand covers my lips, secretly hoping the taste of him will vanish in the cool Alaskan air.

  “Yeah, sorry, overreaction. I was just excited.” He shifts his stance and holds up his hands. “I know you have the lawyer. I shouldn’t have done that.”

  I nod, wondering how long we were pressed against one another like that. It felt like an eternity when it was probably only a second.

  “Shane,” I correct, wishing he’d been what was on my mind while Rome tried to kiss me.

  “Yeah, right.”

  We walk back up the trail without touching, an awkward silence settling in between us. I close my eyes and inhale a breath.

  Please tell me I’m not letting my va-jay-jay lead me on this one instead of my gut.

  Fifteen

  Rome

  “I don’t understand how I got roped into this one.” Savannah stands in her doorway with her hands on her waist.

  “Mind moving,” Liam says, not waiting for her to actually move.

  She gives him a scathing look and if she was a witch he’d have disappeared by now, but she steps aside when he nudges her.

  “It’s not forever and you have the room. The apartment above Terra and Mare is a hazard for Calista right now. Austin and Holly are newly engaged and fuck non-stop. I really don’t want my daughter repeating panting and moaning sounds.”

  “What about Liam? He has more bedrooms than he needs,” she says.

  “Liam’s a bachelor. The same reason applies to him as it does to Austin and Holly.”

  “What are you saying about me?” She follows us upstairs, one painful step at a time as we maneuver the crib box.

  “That you don’t get laid,” Liam says.

  “You have no idea how often I get laid.”

  “How long’s it been?” he asks. “And vibrators don’t count. Either does that suit you were dating last summer.”

  We finally reach the landing and as I try to figure out how to maneuver the box into the spare room, Liam and Savannah look like they’re playing a game of ‘whoever blinks first loses.’

  “Why would he not count?” She comes back at Liam like I knew she would. The man likes to push her buttons more than Calista does her fake toy telephone she can’t seem to part with.

  Liam scoffs. “Please, I’m sure that guy knows how to get a woman off about as well as a thirteen-year-old boy.”

  “That’s unfair. I’ll have you know—”

  “Let’s go.” I pick up my end of the box, stopping their stupid fight. Liam picks up the other side and we’re able to figure out a way to get it into the room.

  Calista will sleep in here and Harley will stay in Savannah’s guest bedroom. See? It all worked out perfectly.

  Liam uses his pocket knife and opens up the box. I spot the instructions inside and pull the sheet of paper out to have a look.

  “What the hell is this? It looks like a jigsaw puzzle.”

  I glance down at all the parts and the metal pieces Liam is arranging on the floor. We’re screwed.

  “Oh, just let Liam do it.” Savannah waves off my concern and my jaw hangs open.

  With her suggestion, she just complimented Liam and we might have to go back to two thousand and eleven for the last time that happened.

  Liam says nothing but his shit-eating grin as she scans through the directions is enough to piss Savannah off. She stomps out of the room.

  “I think this is entirely unfair.”

  I follow along behind her. “Oh please, it’ll be good for you to have some company. Harley’s awesome and who couldn’t love my daughter?”

  She blows out a frustrated breath when she reaches the guest room, taking down the pictures she had up on the dresser—one of her at graduation with our parents, another of my mom holding her as a baby.

  “You can keep your shit in here,” I say.

  “No, if she’s staying here, I’m not going to let her feel like it’s not her space. She needs to fill it with her own things so it’s like home to her, not a stranger’s house.”

  She continues plucking anything personal off the top of the furniture.

  I lean my shoulder on the doorframe. “Thanks, Savannah. I really appreciate this.”

  She nods and stares at me from across the room. “Can I ask you a question?”

  “Sure.” I shrug.

  “What are you hoping happens with her staying in Lake Starlight?”

  She grabs a storage container from the closet and sits on the edge of the bed.

  I swear, she’s the only person I know who has empty storage bins on hand ‘just in case.’

  “I don’t know, but I don’t want to miss any more of Calista’s life, and I invested all my money plus some investor’s funds into Terra and Mare. I can’t run away from that.”

  Last night I stared up at my ceiling asking myself the same question. That kiss with Harley at the lake behind my parents’ house was over before it ever began, but it gave me a taste of her. Of how her body molds to mine, how it feels to have her in my arms. The fact I already enjoyed her once and all I remember are bits and pieces of our wild sexcapade eats me up inside. If I had her now, I’d take her slow, explore her body like an adventurer of Harleyland, mapping it for the first time ever.

  But she was quick to step back. Quick to say no and I can’t say she’s wrong. I can’t promise her much more than a night or two. The last serious relationship I had was, well, never.

  “This whole thing could blow up in your face,” Savannah says, picking a piece of lint off the pale blue comforter. “You could lose them both.”

  “How so?”

  “I see it. The way you look at her.”

  “How?” I’m genuinely intrigued.

  “I see when you check her ass out or how your eyes zoom in to her cleavage when she bends down to get Calista, but it’s the way you look at her when she’s mothering your daughter that has me wondering. When she holds your daughter, you look at her like you could love her and maybe a small piece of you does.”

  “What are you smoking?” I push away from the doorjamb.

  She shrugs. “You asked what I saw and I’m just being honest.”

  She’s so wrong. “Maybe I’m staring at Calista like that because I love her.”

  She picks up the box off the bed. “Okay, maybe I’m wrong, but maybe I’m not.” She shoots me a tight smile and passes me, walking to her room.

  I shake off Savannah’s comments and head back into what will be Calista’s room. Liam’s got half the crib up already.

  “What the hell? When did you become Mr. Fix-It?”

  He gives me the finger. “Just because I chose not to go to college doesn’t mean I’m an idiot,” he mumbles, his massive forearms flexing as he uses the wrench. At least I know Calista will be safe in this thing with Liam in charge of assembly.

  “I’ll go grab the mattress,” I say, backstepping.

  “She’s right, you know.” He says it just loud enough for me to hear.

  “Who?”

  “Savannah.”

  I stop and circle back around. “I should email Buzz Wheel and let them know you two have both complimented each other in the last half hour.”

  “Yeah keep that to yourself.” He stops, drops the wrench and looks over at me. “But don’t do what Rome Bailey does this time, okay?”

  “What does that mean?” My forehead creases.

  “All I’m saying is, don’t jump in with two feet only to swim to the other side and sneak out of the water.”

 
; “When have I ever done that?”

  He raises his eyebrows like ‘do you really want to rehash your past?’

  Bring it. I’m not the type of guy to do that.

  “I could name about five instances, but this is your daughter, man, and her mom. These two women will be in your life forever one way or another. Don’t fuck it up. That’s all I’m saying.”

  “Fine. Thanks for the vote of confidence.” I leave the room, ignoring Liam’s advice, too.

  When did he and my sister get on the same page—ever?

  Jogging down the stairs to get the mattress, I pick it up out of my truck and I’m heading back up the stairs when I overhear him and Savannah talking in normal tones.

  And they say I’m the one fucked up. So hot and cold those two.

  I lean the mattress against the wall in the hallway and hear a knock on the front door downstairs. I head back down to see Harley there with Calista in her stroller.

  “Hey you,” she says.

  “Hey. I’m still putting the crib together.”

  She reaches under the stroller. “I got a thank you gift for Savannah.”

  It’s a pie from Lard Have Mercy.

  “What kind?”

  She cringes. “Hopefully Karen was right… lemon meringue?”

  I nod. “Only Savanah could love something so sour.” I open the door and peek into the stroller to find a sleeping Calista.

  “The fresh air always gets her.”

  “Come in.” I hold open the front door so Harley can maneuver the stroller into the foyer. “Come upstairs and see your new digs.” She leaves Calista in the stroller and follows me upstairs.

  I take her to Calista’s room first and surprise, surprise, my sister and best friend are back to being at each other’s throats.

  “I think you have it wrong,” Savannah says, pointing to the instructions.

  “I don’t,” Liam responds.

  “You do!” Her voice grows louder.

  “I don’t,” Liam responds in a monotone voice.

  “Hey, look who’s here.”

  Savannah turns around. “Hi,” she says and smiles.

  “Thank you so much for letting us stay. I promise we won’t be too much of an inconvenience and once I’m on my feet, I’ll look for my own place.”

  “No worries, Harley, Savannah could use some happiness in her life,” Liam says.

  Savannah huffs, then her jaw does that clenching thing it only does when Liam’s around. “Come and I’ll show you your room.”

  The two leave and after she’s seen the room, Calista starts crying. I turn to go get her, but Harley stops me. “I got her.”

  Savannah follows her downstairs and I overhear them go into the kitchen and hear the silverware drawer opening. Yeah, Harley picked good because lemon meringue pie is Savannah’s weakness.

  “So, what exactly did you mean earlier?” I ask Liam, helping him hold a piece of the crib up while he screws it into place.

  “Come on man, you know. Any girl you’ve ever gone after… as soon as they wanted you and the chase was over, you left, weren’t interested anymore. Hell, everyone was shocked you picked Lake Starlight to start Terra and Mare because you’re not a stay-in-one-place-for-long kind of guy.”

  “And you are?”

  “Smokin’ Guns has been open for six years. I’ve lived here my entire life. I’m not just talking about relationships, Rome. I’m talking about a commitment to anything.”

  “I’m a fucking chef.”

  He shrugs like ‘so what?’ So what? It took a lot of fucking commitment to become a chef.

  “How many chefs in Europe did you work under?” he asks.

  I try to do the math in my head. “I was traveling to learn different types of cuisine, asshole.”

  “Okay,” he says, seeming like he’s placated but I know better than that.

  I’m beginning to understand why my sister’s always so pissed with him.

  I know I’m doing the right thing and I commit to plenty. I don’t need his approval or his warning.

  “All I’m saying is that it’ll only take you hurting her once before she’s gone for good.”

  “I would never hurt Calista.”

  See? He’s so wrong about everything.

  “I’m not talking about Calista.”

  And with that, the bastard turns his back to me and goes back to assembling the crib.

  Sixteen

  Harley

  My hands tremble as I press Shane’s number on my phone.

  “Hey babe, I can’t wait to see you tomorrow. Sorry about your flight being canceled. I hope you found out before you got to the airport.”

  Don’t judge me for lying. This is hard for me. I’m not used to hurting other people.

  “Hey, about that…”

  “What’s wrong? Shit, hold on.” He puts his hand over the receiver. “No, I said I needed Colt versus Ferguson. Please start writing this down.”

  I hear someone say something muffled and then his hand moves away from the phone.

  “Okay, I’m back.”

  “You’re working late,” I say because it delays me having to say the hard part.

  “Yeah, I got another big case. I can still grab you and Calista tomorrow, but then I’ll have to go back to the office. I’m sorry, I really wanted to take you to that Thai place you love.”

  Fact, I don’t love it, he does. Calista despises it, but at least he was thinking of us, I guess.

  “Actually, you don’t have to worry about that because there have been some developments here.”

  God, why can’t there be a service you can hire to break-up with people? This is horrible.

  “Are you okay? Calista?”

  “Yeah, we’re good, um…”

  “Did that bastard not give you the DNA test, because I have attorney friends in Alaska who would be happy to help you through this.”

  “Shane, I’ve decided to stay here. I’m sorry, but I owe this to Calista. There’s a college I can finish my course at and her dad has eight siblings who will help with the baby.”

  Silence.

  “Shane?”

  “Are you getting together with him?”

  “No,” I rush out, although I’ll keep that impromptu kiss to myself. “It has nothing to do with him. You know how I grew up and I can’t willingly walk away for Calista’s sake. They are her family. True family and I want her to have relationships in her life that I never did.”

  “Okay, but certainly those relationships can still grow with you in Seattle with me.”

  I hear someone say something in the background and this time he doesn’t bother to cover the receiver before he yells. “Jesus Christ, Bonnie, this isn’t rocket science. Go down to the file room!”

  I hate when people go from one to ten in a millisecond. It triggers my flight instinct.

  “I’m sorry. I really am, but I have to give this to my daughter. I have no idea how long I’ll be here for, so I’m breaking it off with us because it wouldn’t be fair to you—”

  “Fair to me? Fair to me would be you coming home. We have something good going. I get that the trauma from your childhood is telling you to run away from something as great as you and I, but you need to ignore those insecurities and come back home to me. I’ll find you a nanny and you’ll get your massage therapist license. I have the means to give you whatever you want if you’d just accept it.”

  Shane’s argument holds weight. There’s no question.

  He’s always been open with his feelings, telling me what he wants. Hell, he would’ve moved us in on our second date without ever even meeting Calista, but I wasn’t going to live off a man. Where would that leave me when he decided he didn’t want me anymore? I hate having to rely so much on Rome when it comes to me staying in Lake Starlight, but I’ll do it for my daughter.

  She needs these relationships in her life. She deserves to be around family who wants her, so I’ll suck up the free lodging at Savannah’s and the jo
b at Rome’s restaurant to make it happen.

  One day I’ll pay them back for their sacrifices even though they seem to give freely and want nothing in return.

  Shane is a whole different story. I always felt like all his promises came with strings, but at the time the trade-off for the stability he offered seemed like a fair trade.

  “I’m sorry, but I’m not coming back. I wish you a lot of luck. You’re a wonderful man and you’re going to make someone very happy.”

  Silence continues over the line for a moment.

  “I really think you’re making a rash decision here.”

  “I don’t,” I say. “I’m going with my gut.”

  “If you went with your head, you wouldn’t have an eighteen-month-old daughter and you wouldn’t have to venture up to some Jerkwater town in Alaska to find her father.”

  I lean back on the couch. This is a very different Shane than I have ever encountered. I mean, it’s not like I’ve never heard him say mean things to his assistant, Bonnie, but never to me.

  “I guess you’re right, Shane. But then again, I went with my gut when I started dating you, so, I guess I should’ve used my head instead because then I wouldn’t be breaking up with you right now. Have a great life.”

  Click.

  Damn, that’s a relief.

  Terra and Mare will be the most upscale place I’ve ever bartended, and I find I’m a little nervous as I walk through the doors.

  “Rome!” I call out, finding the place practically ready for opening.

  He’s decided that the day after the Founder’s Day parade will be opening day because he wants to spend Founder’s Day with Calista at the carnival after.

  “Hey.” He comes out of the back, wiping his face with the bottom of his white tee, revealing a set of abs so lickable, a shot of lust locks me in place. “The fucking fridge is out again.”

  I have to get rid of this attraction to him. Nothing good can come of it.

  “I think you got a lemon.” I drop my purse on the table and follow him into the kitchen, thankful I no longer have to pretend not to be looking at his washboard abs anymore.