Now that my relationship with Kat is repaired, she knows everything about Lila and Max. Well, everything within reason.
“Duke’s told me a lot about you,” Lila says with a smile.
Dean taps me on the back to say hello, and then he introduces himself to Lila and Max.
“Do you want to solve a riddle?” Max asks Dean.
Dean shoves a hand through his dark hair, giving her one of his boyish smiles, and then drops down to her height. “Let’s hear it.”
Max glows with delight. “What belongs to you, but other people use it more than you do?”
She’s using my riddle from the first time we played Mac and Clues. Max loves that game. We still play it once a week, even though macaroni and cheese don’t fill me. Lila usually hides an extra plate for me in the microwave, so I don’t starve.
“Ummm…” Dean rolls his shoulders, unsure of the answer.
“Your name,” Kat shouts with her hand raised like she’s still in school.
“How did you know that?” Dean says to Kat.
“It’s Duke’s go-to riddle.”
Lila snickers.
“Are we having macaroni for dinner?” Max asks no one specific.
“Of course,” my Dad says, stopping at my side with Noah in his arms. “You can’t eat ham without mac and cheese.”
Max balls her hands in front of her face and grins. “Can we play Mac and Clues?”
My dad shrugs, even though he has no idea what she’s talking about. “Sure, I don’t see why not.”
“No, baby, not tonight,” Lila says to Max. “We’re eating adult food. We can’t play with our macaroni.”
“We can play whatever you want,” my dad says, cradling Noah against his chest, his skin practically glowing with excitement.
This is the real Nick Baldwin, the man who raised me. He was fun and adventurous, the kind of dad who never told us no. I’m glad this version of my dad will be around for my children. If only my mom were here to see all of us together.
Max’s eyes widen as she looks up at my dad. “Really?”
My dad nods and then extends his hand for Max to take. He leads her toward the dining room, and from a distance, I hear her tell him how to play the game.
“Theo, Travis,” dad says before he leaves the room. “Turn that game off and come into the dining room. It’s time to eat. We’re playing Mac and Clues.”
The twins narrow their eyes at each other, like my dad just spoke a foreign language.
Theo drops the controller on the floor. “Is Dad high?”
Travis raises two fingers to his mouth, making a movement like he’s smoking.
“So, what’s this game we’re playing?” Kat asks Lila as we head toward the dining room.
Lila’s cheeks flush. “It’s silly. I made it up years ago to get Max to eat. It’s kind of like Charades. You have to give the other players clues and then spell the answer on your plate with macaroni noodles.”
Kat throws her head back and laughs. “I’m down.”
“Me, too,” Dean says with a smirk. “As long as I get to eat the noodles afterward.” He rubs his stomach. “I’m starving.”
“You’re always hungry,” Kat quips.
Deans whispers into her ear, and Kat giggles. It must have been something dirty, and he said it with me right behind him. Not one of his brightest moments.
Lila’s mouth widens in shock when we step into the formal dining room large enough to entertain fifty people. My dad sits at the head of the table, bouncing Noah on his knee. Max is on his right, where I usually sit. Austin is running late, which is unusual for him. He never misses Christmas dinner, no matter what the reason.
Kat skips over Austin’s usual chair to the right of my dad, leaving his spot open. Theo and Travis plop down on the other side of Lila. The twins’ phones start dinging, one text after the other. They argue under their breaths.
“Boys,” Dad says to them. “No cell phones at the dinner table.”
Theo rolls his eyes.
Travis snorts. “Since when?”
“Travis,” Dad warns. “We have guests. Turn off the phone.”
“Just do what he says.” Travis shows his twin a new message and scowls. “We’ll deal with this later.”
After everyone takes their place at the table, sans Austin, Dad raises his glass to give his usual Christmas toast. He talks about love and family and welcomes the newest members of the Baldwin clan into our home. We go through the typical holiday traditions, and then my dad gives us permission to eat.
“Wait,” Max says, and Lila covers her face with her hand. “You can only have macaroni on your plate for Mac and Clues.”
“My bad,” Travis says, dropping the ham back to its plate.
Max explains how to play the game. By the time she’s finished, she’s practically out of breath. She talks so fast sometimes it’s hard to understand her. When Max is passionate about something—like Mac and Clues—she puts everything into it. Max is a lot like her mom in that regard. Lila put one hundred and ten percent of her energy into helping me get better, and because of her dedication, we’re celebrating our first Christmas together.
No one argues when Max takes the first turn. Since I came into her life, Max changed the game a little. She wasn’t thrilled with using riddles back then, but now, she searches the Internet for new questions to stump me. Lila gets most of them, me not so much.
“I’m as big as a lentil at six weeks grown,” Max says. “Soon, my presence will be known. What am I?”
Lila looks at me, and her breath hitches. She knows the answer and spells it out with her macaroni and cheese. Theo and Travis look as lost as usual. Kat and Dean are moving noodles around on their plates. Dad is busy feeding cut up macaroni to Noah, who has cheese all over his mouth.
“Time’s up,” Max yells. “Hold up your plates.” She turns to me. “Duke,” she groans. “Why didn’t you play?”
“I didn’t know the answer.”
Lila raises her plate that says, BABY. Dean and Kat lift their plates, revealing the same answer.
“Mommy’s having a baby with Duke,” Max announces.
My jaw drops along with Lila’s. The room falls silent, and everyone stares down the table at me.
“Max,” Lila says in a hushed tone. “How did you know?”
“I Googled why does Mommy sleep all the time? Why does Mommy spend so much time in the bathroom?”
The room erupts into a fit of laughter.
“Morning sickness is the worst,” Kat says.
Lila nods in agreement. “You’re too smart for your own good,” she says to Max.
Max presses her palm to Lila’s stomach. “Can I name the baby?”
Lila looks at me for confirmation.
“What names did you have in mind?” I ask her.
Max peeks up at me. “Pete.”
“Like Pete the Cat?”
She bobs her head. Max loves the cartoon television show and the books.
“If it’s a boy, we’re naming him Dennis,” Lila says.
Max scrunches her nose. “Why?”
“Because that’s my name,” I tell her.
She laughs. “No, it’s not. Your name is Duke!”
“Duke is a nickname.”
“Baby Duke,” she says with laughter in her voice and rests her head on Lila’s chest.
“You’re having a baby?” Austin stumbles into the room with a familiar brunette on his arm. He stops next to my chair and clamps his hand down on my shoulder, giving it a squeeze when I nod in response. “Congrats, bro.”
Everyone at the table echoes the same sentiment.
“Veronica?” Dad says to Veronica York, a sports announcer for ESPN. He stands with Noah in his arms, and his eyes travel between Austin and Veronica. “You’re not dating, I hope.”
Austin looks at Veronica for answers, and she turns her head away.
“Well, this is awkward,” Dad says.
“No,” Austin
says, his face filled with horror. “Please tell me…”
My dad fucked Veronica, and Austin brought her home for Christmas. What the hell? I want to laugh but stop myself.
“Austin,” Veronica says under her breath. “It was a long time ago.”
Dad passes Noah to Dean and then escorts Veronica and Austin into the hallway to talk. So much for our family getting back to normal. I knew my dad got around after my mom died, but Veronica is more than half his age.
“When does the baby come out?” Max’s squeaky voice cuts through the tension. She slides her hand across Lila’s stomach and smiles.
“Maybe you should Google it,” I quip.
Lila nudges me with her elbow. Max sticks her tongue out at me, making a fish face. For the first time in years, my life feels complete. I’m with my family and not angry for once, getting ready to start a family of my own with the woman of my dreams. Life can’t get any better than this.
Ready for another hockey romance?
If you haven’t met Dean Crawford yet, you can read Kat and Dean’s story HERE.
* * *
Other Books in the Face-Off Series
PARKER
KANE
DONOVAN
JAMESON
ETHAN
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Hey, thank you so much for reading Prince Pucking Charming! I hope you loved Duke and Lila’s story. If you liked this book, I would love you forever and send a thousand hockey hugs your way if you would consider taking a second to leave a review at your favorite retailer, Goodreads, or BookBub. Reviews help other readers decide if they want to read a book, and I would really appreciate your support.
XO,
Jill
Also by Jillian Quinn
Face-Off Series
Parker
Kane
Donovan
Jameson
Ethan
Dean
Face-Off Legacy Series
Pucking Parker
Keeping Kane
Teaching Tucker
Jocking Jameson
Kissing Killian
Defending Donovan
Standalone Novels
Prince Pucking Charming
Most Desirable Player
For a complete list of books, updates, and new releases, visit JillianQuinnBooks.com.
About the Author
Jillian Quinn is the international bestselling author of over fifteen romance novels, most notably known for the Face-Off series. She's from Philly, a city girl to the core, now living in Southwest Florida, where she still hasn't adjusted, though she's not opposed to the warm weather or lazy days by the pool.
For more information about Jillian’s books, visit her website at JillianQuinnBooks.com. Join Jillian’s Team to receive two exclusive ebooks you can’t find anywhere.
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