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30
MACK
JELL-O SALAD IS FUCKING HARD TO PREPARE. SO HARD THAT I HAD TO CALLmy mom to come over.“You took the day off to make this?” Mom pokes at the finally completed Jell-O salad. With her help, the final product looks exactly like the picture.“She was desperate for it last night and started crying when we read the instructions, and it said you had to let the whole thing sit for three hours.” Then we had the best night of my life. Hers, too, I hope, although her first thought in the morning was about the damned Jell-O salad. I used my tongue to successfully distract her and had a brief mad thought that she could transfer her craving for a particular food to me.After she left for work, I slapped myself in the head and decided to win her over the right way—and went to the store.“Upset stomach and unusual food cravings,” Mom murmurs. She taps her chin in thought.Alarmed, I bark, “Are those the symptoms of some kinRelated chapters
Our Secret Baby 31
MACK “WHAT BABY?” I STARE INTO SUNNY’S EYES AND COMPEL HER TO SPEAK. DIDI hear her right? I knock the side of my head to unclog my brain. I could be having delusions. All this sex could be creating a fantasy fog where my whole perfect life exists.“B-baby?”It’s the stutter that convinces me. I get up and pull her to her feet. “Where’s your purse?”“Downstairs.”I pick her up and carry her out of the bedroom. “Mack, put me down. Where are we going?”I don’t reply because I can already anticipate the comments. It’s too late. We don’t have to get married. Let’s co-parent. All those modern terms that might be fine for other people but not for me and not for Sunny.I spot her purse on the kitchen table and sweep it under my arm. “Seriously, Mack. Where are you taking me?”“Courthouse.” I kick the door open and make my way to the car. “The courthouse? It’s past ten. The courthouse is closed
Our Secret Baby 32
MACKMY EYES SLIDE DOWN HER PERFECT BODY AS SHE STANDS AT THE END OF THEbed. Even though she’s wearing sweatpants and an oversized T-shirt, I’ve never seen a sexier sight.“Are you going to stare at me all night or are we consummating this marriage?” she teases. There’s a slight nervous quaver to her words.The corner of my mouth twitches up. “Can’t a man do both?” I pull up the T-shirt until a thin line of skin at her midriff shows. “This is my first time as a married man. Go easy on me.”“What about me? You think I’ve been in this position before?”I twist the fabric into a ball and jerk her against me. “Better not, or there’s going to be blood on the ground.”“Speaking of blood, I thought you were going to kill Eric.”“Why are you saying the name of another man in our bedroom? That’s a spanking offense.” I twist her around and push her over until her tits are flush with the mattress and her ass is high in the air. I tap her ass lightly. “You want some of this?”She wriggles her ch
Our Secret Baby 33: ANTI Boyfriend
"At first, my neighbor Deacon frustrated me.Sure, he was great-looking and friendly.But our walls were thin, and on occasion, he’d bring women to his place and keep me awake while he “entertained” them.As a single mother to an infant, I didn’t appreciate it.So, finally it was my turn.When my daughter wouldn’t stop wailing one night, Mr. Manwhore came knocking on my door.Miraculously, at the sound of his voice, Sunny stopped crying. And when he held her…she eventually fell asleep in his arms.Deacon was rough on the exterior, but apparently on the inside? Mr. Single-and-Ready-to-Mingle was a baby whisperer.After that night, we became friends.He’d go for coffee runs. Come over to chat. Normal friend stuff.But over time, our conversations ran deeper. We got closer.Until one night we crossed the line.Our friendship turned into a complicated mess.I’d gone and fallen for a guy who’d sworn off commitment and kids.I knew Deacon was starting to care for me too, even though Sunny a
Our Secret Baby 34
A text came in about a half-hour later.Deacon: Okay. I’m in the diaper aisle. There are a lot of choices.I smiled as I typed. Bless his heart. The idea of my hot neighbor standing clueless in the diaper aisle was as adorable as it was funny. Some unsuspecting mama was going to have a heart attack when she went looking for diaper pail bags and found him instead.Carys: Anything in size 2 will be great. Deacon: Huggies or Luvs?Carys: Whichever is cheaper. Deacon: Which does she prefer?Carys: LOL. Well, we’ve never discussed it. She can’t exactly tell me.Deacon: Ah. Right.Carys: But Mommy prefers whichever is cheapest. Deacon: Which do you like better?Carys: I’ve never really compared. Either one is fine.He didn’t text again, so I assumed he’d chosen something. Then another message came in.Deacon: Oh…plot twist!I laughed.Carys: What?Deacon: There’s Pampers too. Carys: Just choose one. LOLDeacon: There are a couple of women coming to my rescue now. They think I need help.Sur
Our Secret Baby 35
A shiver ran down my spine, as if he’d complimented me on something much more exciting than my name.My senses were having a field day between Deacon’s amazing scent and the delicious aroma of the espresso—two of my favorite smells blended together. But mostly my body was hyperaware of the gorgeous creature standing in front of me—one who’d made a woman scream in pleasure just last night.Deacon walked over to the corner of the room. I admired him as he examined the photos displayed on my shelves. Most of them were of Sunny, but he lifted one of me. I braced myself as he looked back and forth from the photo to where I was standing.“You were a ballet dancer?”I nodded. “Yeah. I was…for several years. Not anymore, obviously.” “Professionally?”“Yes. I performed for The Manhattan Ballet as a principal dancer.”If I’d thought his stare was penetrating before, that was nothing compared to the way he looked at me now.“Wow.” He glanced back down at the photo. It showed me in an arabesque.
Our Secret Baby 36
BABY WHISPERERA couple of weeks later, Sunny had a pediatrician appointment downtown late in the afternoon. Since we were out and about anyway, I took her to meet my friend Simone for an early dinner at a restaurant near the doctor’s office.“How did her appointment go?” Simone asked as she perused the laminated card that listed today’s specials.“Six-month checkup went great. The doctor says her weight is right on target for her age.”“I’m so glad.” She looked up from the menu. “And how are you?”I paused, momentarily stumped as to how to answer that. “Good…good.” There was no point in venting about my day-to-day problems. Simone and I were in two different places in life, and she likely wouldn’t understand. As one of the city’s top ballet dancers, Simone was where I would have been had I not been injured: an elite principal dancer, performing at night, sleeping in most mornings, and attending rehearsals in the afternoons, in addition to having an active social life. In many ways, I
Our Secret Baby 37
Later that night, Sunny was inconsolable. She would not stop crying, and I cursed myself for letting her get that shot today. I’d called a nurse’s hotline, and they told me her fever of 102 was normal under the circumstances, and there was no need to take her to an emergency room. They said to monitor her and make sure she was getting enough fluids.I’d brought her into my bedroom because I couldn’t leave her alone like this. I also thought holding her would help, but it didn’t seem to matter. Holding her only made me feel better.Her wailing continued as I paced the room and rocked her. I’d never seen her like this before.There was a knock at the door that I barely heard through her crying.Shit. Had one of the neighbors complained? I didn’t need anyone’s wrath on top of this.I walked over to the door and looked through the peephole.It was Deacon. Remembering he had that girl over, I cringed. The roles had reversed. Now we were disturbing his peace.When I opened, I started babbli
Our Secret Baby 38
DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT ITDEACONI was pretty sure my balls had fallen asleep. Or if not fully asleep, they were definitely numb from lack of movement. Not wanting this baby to wake up again, I hadn’t moved an inch the entire time Carys was in the shower.How did I get myself into this situation?Oh yeah. I’d felt bad for Carys and wanted to show my concern. I never thought I’d actually be able to help. Because shit, what the hell did I know about babies? Absolutely nothing. And I’d always thought it was better that things stayed that way. Such a huge responsibility. The last thing I expected was to be comfortable holding her, or that she’d actually want me to. Apparently this little one liked me for some reason.When Carys came back out, I nearly did a doubletake. Her long, straight, strawberry-blond hair was down and towel-dried. I’d never seen her hair down before. She typically had it tied up, which was also nice because she had a beautiful neck. She wore a short nightgown that cl
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