by Sosie Frost
“Mom…” I swallowed, hard. “Jude is pregnant, and I’m the father.”
Jude’s wine spilled during the brawl. He grabbed the bottle instead. “So close.”
Damn it. “Wait. I’m pregnant. Jude’s the father. That’s why I wanted to talk to you today. I’m sorry, Rick. Grandma. Eric already knew.”
Eric disagreed. He roared, crashing his dining room chair over the table.
Regan’s china shattered to pieces. So much for my inheritance. At least he hadn’t broken Jude’s neck.
Not yet at least.
“I didn’t know shit!” Eric’s shout carried over the house. “I had no fucking idea this son of a bitch was the father!”
“Please…” I said. “We’re all friends here.”
“No. Not anymore. This is unforgivable.” He pointed a trembling, gravy soaked finger at Jude. “This isn’t how a friend treats the people he cares about. A friend doesn’t fuck his buddy’s little sister. A friend uses a motherfucking condom!”
To demonstrate, Eric ripped the pack of three from his wallet and threw them at Jude. They bounced off his chest and landed on Grandma Mildred’s plate.
Mildred, practical as always, dried them off and stuffed the pack in her bra. She patted Rick’s arm.
“For later,” she whispered.
Rick chugged his wine.
Regan didn’t let Eric charge again. She pointed him upstairs to cool down. He didn’t listen. The front door slammed behind him, and his car peeled out from the driveway.
That…went worse than I’d expected.
Silence fell, broken only by Grandma Mildred. She patted Jude’s hand.
“I was holding out for you, my boy, but I suppose I better let my granddaughter have you.”
Jude nodded. “Sorry to break your heart, Mildred.”
“No worries, son. That’s what a pace-maker is for.”
Regan stared at me, that perfect façade cracking as her dinner dripped off the table, peeled from the walls, and coagulated in Jude’s lap.
“Pregnant?” She repeated the word as if the greatest doctor in the state hadn’t heard it before. “I…can’t believe this. How could you be so careless? You had so much potential, Aurora. This will ruin your career.”
I forgot to bring my BINGO card, but I was pretty sure that in fifteen seconds I’d cleared a full row. “It wasn’t easy telling you this.”
“Easy? It shouldn’t be! I’m…” Regan shook her head. “I’m very disappointed with you, Aurora.”
“It’s not the first time.”
“And I’m sure it won’t be the last. Jude…” She excused herself from the table, but she didn’t look at Jude, only Rick. “I apologize for the way my son reacted.”
Jude stood. “Regan, I just want you to know how much I care about—”
The kitchen door swung shut.
“—Rory.”
Mildred dragged her dinner roll through a puddle of gravy. “Good lord. When I was young, all the bears prowled around the honey hives. They’d get stung, we’d have a wedding, and seven months later we’d meet a lot of fully-grown, premature cubs. That was how it worked. No wrestling through the potatoes needed. You hear me, Rory?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I know what you mean.”
“These things happen, child.” She patted my hand. “Ain’t nothing to it. Part of life. We’re gonna have a baby around here, and that’s always a blessing, no matter how many side dishes we wash off the ceiling.”
“Thank you, Grandma.”
“Now you go get your man a shower…or some bread to soak up the juices. I’ll talk with Regan.”
I hated this part. I apologized to Rick with a shrug. “I’m so sorry for all of this.”
He savored a bit of Regan’s yams and shrugged. “Believe it or not, this is the most peaceful dinner I’ve been to all week. My brother and his wife, Lindsay, aren’t anywhere near as polite as your family.”
I found that hard to believe.
Jude took my hand and walked with me out of the house. It helped. We reached the Jeep with a smidgen of our dignity.
“I’d say it went well,” he said.
“You think?”
“I’ll talk to Eric. He’ll be okay.”
“Regan’s mad.”
“You knew that would happen.”
“She’s…really mad.”
Jude took my hand. Nothing was going to calm me down, but he shook the crumbs from his pony tail and mercifully changed the subject.
“We can get a pizza on the way home.”
I bit my lip and yielded to the craving. “Or maybe…some strawberries?”
“Deal.”
He started the car, but I didn’t let him drive. I took his hand.
“I’m sorry, Jude. I hate that I dragged you into this.”
“You didn’t drag me. I wouldn’t have had you do that alone for anything, even if someone offered me another five years of football.”
“You mean it?”
“I said I’d take care of you. I mean it. You’re worth it, Rory. You know that.”
I didn’t, but I was starting to believe it. And whether that was right or wrong, I needed that bit of hope to keep me going.
I leaned over, kissing his cheek. He smirked.
“No one was around to see it,” he said.
“I was.” I kissed him again, softly. “And I’ll never forget it.”
9
Jude
This woman got more beautiful every day.
It was torture.
I went to training camp, and she was there.
I came home, and she was there.
I went to sleep, and she wasn’t in the bed, but I couldn’t get her out of my head.
And now, I met her at a Rivet’s charity event. My awareness was definitely raised…but not for the charity.
Rory greeted me outside the practice facility, shrugging as she showed off a form-fitting peach sundress. She peeked at me from beneath a wide-brimmed straw hat and smiled.
“How’s this dress look?” She spun. “Be honest.”
I loved her in it. I imagined her out of it.
And then my eyes focused on where she pointed—her lamp. Well, her bump. Rory’s tummy was suddenly visible in the right clothing.
I hated myself for the thoughts I’d been having of this woman. I once considered myself a gentleman. A good friend. Someone she could trust.
Friends didn’t lust. I imagined desires that didn’t belong to me, and words she would never whisper. Like she didn’t have enough problems. Like she wasn’t stressed and scared and completely vulnerable. She depended on me.
I couldn’t think with my cock, but I couldn’t answer with my head.
“Wow,” I said.
“I knew it.” Rory groaned. “I’ll toss my lab coat over it. Maybe no one will notice.”
“No. You look—” I stopped myself before I said something stupid, like incredible or sexy or ball-bustingly beautiful. “Smart.”
Her expression fell. “Oh. Well? Best we can hope for now.”
“No, it’s a good smart.” I wasn’t risking her tears. “You look good. The hat is an…interesting choice.”
“If we’re gonna be out in the sun all day, it pays to be cautious.”
“Can I pay you to take it off?”
“This hat cost me forty bucks.”
“I’ll pay you double to forget you own it.”
Rory smirked. “Out of all the clothes you’ll pay me to take off…you aim for my hat?”
“Don’t tempt me. I’ll trade a signing bonus for your panties.”
“Tough luck.” Her eyebrow rose. “Those aren’t for sale.”
“Why not?”
She twirled again, running her hands over her hips. “Not wearing any.”
If it wasn’t a concussion dropping me, it’d be a stroke. I waited for the blood to circulate north again.
It didn’t.
“Rory Merriweather.” I practically gr
owled. “Since when are you so naughty?”
“Since this dress got a little tight and showed panty lines.”
That was considerably less fun. “I don’t believe you. The Rory I know wouldn’t dare leave the house without panties.”
“You’re trying to bait me into showing you.” She winked. “The Jude Owens I know would never be so forward.”
“Maybe you don’t know me as well as you think?”
“And maybe this isn’t my first time going commando.”
“Around me?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know…”
“I would. Very much.”
Rory teased with a wink so tempting it hit like a blow to the head. “Maybe if you’re good at this event today, I’ll let you in on a couple more secrets.”
“Good secrets?”
“The best secrets.”
“Dirty?” I grinned.
“Absolutely filthy.”
“You got a deal,” I said. “I’m yours to command.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep. I’ll demand back rubs before the day is out.”
I could think of worse ways to spend my night. Hell, it’d be the best part of my day, if not my summer. While nothing was as exciting as winning our three exhibition games, earning Rory’s giggle thrilled me as much as a first down.
It also hurt less. Rory was quiet, unlike the grating roar of the crowd. She didn’t blind me like the pulsing of a headache. Rory offered me a strange peace.
I could either try to figure out what those feelings were…
Or I could train harder on the field and overcome the headaches and other issues.
I chose to focus. This season was the most important of my life. I had to dedicate myself one hundred percent to the game to not only win, but to stay healthy.
But pretty smiles with rose-scented teases didn’t keep me in the game. Rory was sweet. Beautiful. Fun. Was that what I had sacrificed for these past eleven seasons?
Rory straightened her hat, like it would somehow stop looking ridiculous. She got down to business.
“Most of the Rivets are helping with Lachlan’s charity event,” she said. “This is the best time to show them how lovely we are together.”
I didn’t hesitate before taking her hand. “Shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll be the envy of the team with you on my arm, Doc.”
“That…or the social pariah.” She curled her fingers in mine. “I’m not the most popular on the team this week. I took DeSean out of the exhibition game for the concussion assessment, and now everyone thinks I’m some sort of bad omen.”
“You’re the prettiest curse I know.”
“You say that now…but what happens if I yank you out of a series, sit your butt on the sidelines, and force you into an assessment?”
“Good thing I’m attracted to powerful and confident women in silly hats.”
“The hat is a deal-breaker, Jude Owens. If you want me, you get the hat.”
“You drive a hard bargain…but I can’t overlook the hat.”
Rory’s expression crumpled.
I grinned. “Can’t look over it, can’t look through it, can’t look around it—”
She smacked me. “You’re such a tease.”
“Me?” I laughed. “At least I’m wearing underwear.”
Her shy smile and darted glance was the kind of flirt that might have encouraged a less respectable man to skip the charity event and aim her for the backseat of a car. My Jeep didn’t have doors. But Rory didn’t have panties.
It didn’t matter.
She was pregnant. Mine were not appropriate urges…even if the arch of her eyebrow twisted me in a dark and selfish way. The peach dress, her dark skin, and the stupid straw hat made her look…beautiful. So unlike the little Rory I remembered growing up.
She was a woman now. Smart and lovely with plump lips begging for a kiss and curves that deserved the stroke of a callous hand.
She was off-limits before, but now she was straight-up forbidden.
And I had to convince my cock that was a bad thing.
Especially walking into a kid’s charity event.
The practice facility was jammed with crowds. Fifty or so kids lined the field, footballs in hand. Volunteers chased them with band-aids and water bottles. Somewhere in the middle of the chaos, Lachlan leapt into the fray. He shouted encouragement and led the children through jumping jacks, push-ups, sit-ups, and somersaults. The kids frantically attempted to follow his lead, laughing and colliding and screaming in delight. Leah Carson helped to organize the day’s events—an end to a summer-long camp that offered children of under underprivileged single-parents a month of fun and education. Today, as a grand finale, the campers got to meet the Rivets.
Rory took my hand and led me through the practice field. Wasn’t sure what jumped more—my pulse or my cock.
“Are you ready to become the cutest couple here?” she asked.
“I don’t think we have to work hard.”
“Wrong. We’re stepping up our game. I need you to touch me, but not aggressively. Smile at me, but like you don’t even realize you’re doing it. We might have to kiss too. Once or twice. Three times might be gratuitous.”
“You’ve been planning this out, haven’t you?”
“I might’ve created a game plan to make it look real.”
“What if we just acted like ourselves?”
Rory bit her lip. “It has to look like we belong together.”
“What if I can manage that without acting?”
“How?”
“Ask a silly question, Doc.”
I swung her into my arms. Rory stared at me, curious and panicked.
What the hell was I doing? And why hadn’t I done it sooner?
Her eyes fluttered closed as I leaned in for the kiss. Something soft. Feathery sweet. Meant more like a tickle than any declaration of whatever misguided and torturous feelings coursed the blood through my veins.
“Well, well, well…isn’t this cute?”
Rory broke the kiss with an embarrassed chuckle as Leah Carson shoo’ed us into the camp.
“So this is why you guys are late?” Leah said.
Rory tightened her grip on my hand. “Oh. Sorry. We were just…”
“I know exactly what you were doing. Second trimester, huh?”
“Yeah…” Rory was too damn adorable when she got embarrassed. “You know what that’s like.”
Like what was like?
Leah crossed her fingers. “And with any luck, we’ll be there again. Soon. Anyway, the rest of the team is stationed in the end zone. Lachlan’s doing a couple of photographs with the kids…”
Leah pointed to the field where Elle unsuccessfully wrangled her husband and two dozen rowdy children into a cluster for the picture.
She frowned. “Damn. I should call Piper in for backup or we’ll be here all night. Jude, try to make your way to the rest of the team without tripping over a kid. Rory…savor the pregnancy. Once the baby is out…this becomes your life. Enjoy!”
Leah ran away as a squadron of screaming, laughing, sprinting eight-year-olds cut across the field with water balloons. The balloons launched like grenades, and I batted away one particularly overfilled projectile. The balloon popped, showering Rory in a spray of mist. She squealed, but the kids bolted.
At least that was the only water breaking on the field.
Rory bumped her shoulder into me. “You’re very surprising, Mr. Owens.”
“Why?”
“Your timing on that kiss? Leah bought it, one hundred percent.”
Yeah, but I hadn’t meant to impress Leah with it. “It was my pleasure, Doc.”
“Well, keep it up.”
“Another kiss like that, and I’m afraid it won’t go back down.”
Rory nudged my arm. “I never thought I’d say this, but you had better behave.”
“You wanted it to look believable.”
“Oh, it looked very believable.”
I raised my eyebrows. “You even parted your lips.”
“I did no such thing.”
“You wanna bet?”
“I can assure you, I did not part my lips.”
“So I must have flicked…my own tongue?”
Rory doubled down. “How talented you must be.”
“Care for a demonstration?”
Her words warmed with a delightful tease. “You better be careful, or I’ll take you up on that offer.”
“You should. It’s a great opportunity.”
“A little over-confident?”
“Just over-eager.”
Rory rubbed a hand over her tummy. “Don’t you think I’m in enough trouble now?”
“This wouldn’t be trouble…it’d be fun.”
Or the greatest mistake of our lives.
Rory stepped too close. “You’re not the type to play games.”
“First time for everything.”
“I don’t even know the rules.”
“Maybe it’s time to break them?”
I leaned down. Her lips parted before I even grazed the perfection of her kiss.
Unfortunately, a football thudded into the ground at my feet. Rory pulled away, practically pulling her straw hat over her face. Jack laughed, already armed with a second ball.
“Take it to the exam room, you two.”
He tossed the ball, nearly tripping over his son. He grabbed Sammy and hauled him onto his shoulders.
“Sorry,” I said. “Can’t blame a guy for trying.”
I handed Rory the ball. She had no idea what to do with it and clutched it like a baby.
Like I hadn’t had enough guilt for kissing her again.
Jack grimaced as Sammy tugged on his hair. “What you do in the privacy of your own home is none of my business…but around here? You’re just gonna give Leah ideas. Even I need to rest once in a while.”
“Down!” Sam tugged harder on Jack’s head. “Daddy! Wanna run!”
A few feet away, another rambunctious toddler answered his cry. “Daddy! Cole! Down!”
Jack lowered Sam just as Cole released his step-daughter, Rose. The two ran for each other, arms outstretched, but they didn’t know how to put the brakes on yet. Puff-ball pigtails collided with a bundle of pure energy, and both kids tumbled on the ground, hugging each other and wailing.
