Decidedly with Luck (By The Bay Book 6)

by Stina Lindenblatt

  Logan cleared his throat. “Livi, as you know, Kiera is pregnant, like your mom.”

  “They’re both going to have babies,” she proudly announced.

  “That’s right. Well, they aren’t the only ones who are going to have babies. Your stepfather and I are also going to have babies.”

  Livi’s expression twisted to one of confusion, and I had to choke down a laugh.

  “You and Tony have babies in your tummies, too?” She leaned to the side to get a better look at Logan’s stomach, hidden behind me.

  “No, no. That’s not what I meant. How much has your Mommy told you about how babies are made?”

  She shrugged.

  “Well, making babies is a lot like cooking. If the mommy and daddy add the right ingredients together at the right time, it makes a baby.”

  She pondered this for a second. “You mean like making chocolate chip cookies. I love helping Mommy make cookies.”

  “Yes, exactly like making chocolate chip cookies.” He cast me an amused glance. “I love making cookies, too.”

  I chuckled.

  I knew firsthand how much he loved the action of making cookies. It was the rest of it I wasn’t optimistic about.

  “Okay, so we’ve established how babies are made,” Logan said. “Well, Kiera and I were playing around with cookie dough a few months ago, and that’s why she’s having a baby.”

  A pleased smile slipped onto his face, and he released a hard breath.

  While he might’ve been happy to get that out, Livi didn’t share the sentiment. Her face twisted into a deeper shade of confusion.

  “What your father means,” I said, attempting to rescue the situation, “is the baby in my belly”—I rubbed said belly—“is your brother.”

  Some more pondering from Livi. “What about the baby in Mommy’s tummy?”

  “That will be your brother or sister, too,” Logan explained. “Your mommy and Tony also love making cookies.”

  “Does that mean if I make cookies with you or Tony, I’ll have a baby in my tummy, too?”

  The blood in Logan’s face drained.

  Yeah, maybe he shouldn’t have gone with the cookie-making analogy.

  “No, only adults can make babies,” I told her, even though that wasn’t entirely true.

  I mentally apologized to her future teacher who would be covering sex ed. Hopefully, Logan hadn’t just made her life a whole lot more challenging.

  “So I’m going to have two baby brothers…or a baby brother and a baby sister.” Her face brightened. “I’m going to have twins! Katie has twin sisters.”

  “They would only be twins if they’re born at the same time and have the same Mommy and Daddy,” I said.

  Disappointment scrunched on her small face. “Oh.”

  “But you’ll still be a great big sister,” I told her.

  She nodded, then grabbed Logan’s hand and tugged him off the couch.

  “Where are we going?” He asked as she pulled him down the hallway.

  “To pack your stuff.”

  “Pack my stuff? I’m not going anywhere.”

  “You and Mrs. A are moving in with me and Mommy and Tony. We need to pack your stuff.”

  Logan stopped walked.

  Livi yanked on his hand, trying to get the laws of motion to work in her favor. But her father’s larger mass compared to hers prevented that from happening. “C’mon, Daddy.”

  “We’re not moving in with you, your mommy, and Tony.”

  She pouted. “But how will I see my baby brother every day if you and Mrs. A don’t move in with us?”

  Logan snickered. “I’m sure your mom and stepfather would have something to say if the three of us moved in with you.”

  Livi released Logan’s hand. “At least I’ll see the baby when I live with you.” She glanced between the bedroom doors. “Which is the baby’s room? Is he sharing mine?”

  “The baby will be living with me,” I said.

  Logan whirled to me. “What do you mean the baby will be living with you?”

  “Just that. He’ll need his mother, especially since I’ll be nursing him. You might have donated to the cookie dough, but there are some things you won’t be able to do.” I wanted to wait as long as I could before introducing Love Bug to the bottle.

  I had assumed that if Grayson had ever returned my call, he would’ve visited and FaceTimed us like Logan did with Livi when he was away. I hadn’t planned on our son living with him.

  Just because Grayson turned out to be Logan and he lived in the same city, it didn’t mean my original plans had changed.

  The apartment door opened and Stacy entered.

  “Mommy!” Livi ran to her and threw her arms around her mom’s waist.

  “We’ll be circling back to the part about where the baby will be living in a moment,” Logan said to me.

  Stacy’s gaze landed on me and her eyebrows raised. “I didn’t realize you two were still seeing each other.” There was no malice in her tone, but there was something in it that made me squirm. Why? I had no clue.

  “Daddy and Mrs. A were baking chocolate cookies together.”

  Stacy smiled at her daughter. “That’s nice, sweetie. I hope you didn’t eat too many. You don’t want to ruin your appetite before dinner.”

  Livi released an exaggerated huff. “Not those kinds of cookies. They made the baby kind of cookies.”

  “You mean they made small cookies?”

  Livi rapidly shook her head. “No, baby cookies. You know, when the mommy and daddy add their ingredients at the right time and make a baby.” She glanced over her shoulder at Logan. “Isn’t that right, Daddy?”

  He groaned, the sound so low that only I could’ve possibly heard him.

  Stacy wasn’t looking at her ex-husband. Her gaze was zoomed in on me. “You’re pregnant?”

  I blinked, digesting her shock. What did she think the baby bump was? Me devouring a small basketball in a single bite?

  “I mean, I know you’re pregnant,” she spluttered and gestured at my belly. “But I wasn’t aware that you and Logan had…” She glanced at Livi and back at me. “Had been baking cookies together.”

  All this talk about cookies was making me crave a plate of ginger snaps. The kind Mom baked.

  To-do list item #1 once I left here? Text Mom for the recipe so I could make them once I got home.

  Something warned me I would need them after this conversation—and it had nothing to do with my craving.

  Stacy swiveled to Logan. “How could you have been baking cookies together? Until you were traded in February, you were living in Chicago. And she’s definitely further along than three months.”

  “I’m twenty-seven weeks tomorrow,” I helpfully pointed out.

  “Don’t you remember? Chicago played the Rock in San Francisco in December?” he told her. “Kiera and I could’ve baked cookies then.”

  “Could have?” Stacy said. “But that’s not when the cooking lessons happened, is it?”

  I pressed my fist against my mouth, curtailing the laugh that was pushing its way to the surface at the ridiculousness of the conversation.

  “Can Daddy and Mrs. A move in with us so I can see my baby brother all the time?” Livi earnestly asked her.

  “You don’t have to call me Mrs. A when we aren’t in school,” I told her. “You can call me Kiera.”

  I was the mother of her half brother. It didn’t feel right for her to keep calling me Mrs. A. At least for now. At least until I returned to teaching after my maternity leave.

  “Kiera and I won’t be moving in with you guys.” Logan’s gaze flicked from Livi to me. “But you will be moving in with me.”

  He made it sound like I didn’t have a choice.

  I had news for him.

  Stacy burst out laughing. I’d been so busy silently telling him with my eyes I had no intention of moving in with him, her laugh startled me.

  “Well, you two have fun figuring that one out. Livi
and I are going home now.” She grinned at us, her gaze moving to each of us in turn. “And congratulations on the new addition.”

  If I’d thought her laugh had surprised me, that was nothing compared to her comment. She genuinely did look happy for us.

  She hadn’t even questioned why I’d claimed Stephen was Love Bug’s father, and now Logan and I were admitting that Logan was the father. She’d just accepted it.

  Which meant she couldn’t have been jealous the other day like I’d initially believed. She wouldn’t have suddenly done a one-eighty after learning Logan was going to be a father again.

  Livi hugged Logan good-bye before she and Stacy left.

  No sooner had the door clicked shut, Logan folded his arms across his chest. “Like I said, you’re moving in with me.”

  “Sorry to disappoint, but no, I’m not. I like my home.” It had memories in it that I wasn’t ready to let go of yet. Plus, it had a backyard. Not a huge one, but it was more than Logan could claim. He just had a balcony twenty stories up.

  “I like my home, too.”

  “Problem solved. You stay in your condo, and I’ll stay in my house.”

  “How is that solving the problem? I can’t see my son whenever I want if you two aren’t living with me.”

  “I’m not looking to be your roomie, Logan. And we want different things in life right now.” I wanted to make a loving home for my son, and one day find someone who would love us both. Someone who would make us his priority.

  And by love, I meant it went both ways. I was in love with Logan, but he wasn’t in love with me.

  “I don’t know about that,” he said. “I’m positive we want the same thing.”

  I shook my head. “Sorry, not happening. We’re friends who have sex. That’s not the same thing as being in a committed relationship. I want what I had with Stephen. What Stacy has with Tony. That’s not what you want.”

  “Says who?”

  I laughed. “You. Remember? You made it clear that Livi and hockey are your top priorities. You aren’t looking to settle down until after you retire from the NHL.” Which could still be many years away.

  “We’ll play strip poker. The loser moves into the winner’s home.”

  “Didn’t you hear a single word I just said?”

  He smiled the cocky grin that always had an annoying effect on my body. Things hadn’t changed in that respect since college.

  “I did, which is exactly why we’re playing strip poker.”

  “And if I say no?”

  “You don’t have a choice.” He cradled his palm against my belly. “Love Bug votes that we give this a chance.”

  Easy for Logan to say. His heart wasn’t vested in this relationship like mine was.

  “All right. We’ll do a trial run and see how things go.”

  If Love Bug’s father had actually been a stranger instead of someone who I’d known for years, I would’ve insisted we got to know each better before making such a giant leap of living together.

  But this was Logan.

  Plus, I knew that even though he hadn’t planned on being a father again quite so soon, he didn’t want to miss a single minute with his son if he could avoid it.

  Us living together definitely helped in that department.

  “Is that your way of saying yes, you’ll move in with me?” he asked.

  “No, it’s my way of saying, ‘Where do you keep your cards?’ ”

  You know how Kenny Rogers used to sing about how you’ve got to know when to hold your hand in cards, know when to fold, know when to walk away and when to run?

  Great advice—if you knew how to play poker.

  It had been a while since I’d played it in college, and even back then, I hadn’t been very good at it.

  “Okay, what do you have?” Logan asked. He still had all his clothes on, sans a pair of socks.

  I, on the other hand, was down to my underwear and maternity top. Not that I had begun with much on. He’d removed his socks to make things even. I’d already lost my shorts.

  I laid out my cards. “Two pairs.”

  He set his cards on the kitchen table. Two aces.

  Oh, right. Did I mention Logan hadn’t been any better at poker than me?

  He yanked his T-shirt over his head, exposing his muscled abs and chest.

  Not to mention several bruises from his last game.

  I’d seen his body plenty of times, but I still hadn’t gotten used to seeing the game’s physical aspect laid out on his body like an atlas.

  Stephen had frequently been bruised from playing in the competitive league, but nothing like this.

  Typically, I would’ve kissed them as if that would make them better. But not this time.

  This time, there was more at stake than making his owies feel better.

  He shuffled the cards and dealt out our new hand. I made my bet, doing my best to adopt something of a poker face.

  He hummed…and raised me.

  I bit my lower lip. Then caught myself and released it.

  We went back and forth until I was positive I was going to win this hand. I had a good feeling about it.

  “You might as well start removing your jeans.” With a smug grin, I lowered my cards onto the table. “Straight flush.”

  “Sorry, sweetheart. Not going to happen.” He lowered his three Fours onto the table, followed by two Queens. “I’ll take your top now.”

  I rolled my eyes and shimmied the striped fabric over my head. I folded it and placed it on the kitchen table, on top of my folded shorts.

  I glanced at Logan to find him staring at my stomach. It wasn’t like this was the first time he had seen it, but it was the first time in over a month. A lot had changed. Love Bug was rapidly growing.

  But the expression in his eyes wasn’t of someone who was seeing a woman’s pregnant belly for the first time. This was something else, something that melted my heart further for this man.

  He kneeled in front of me and caressed the baby bump with his thumb, sending a shiver through me. “I can’t believe this is my son.” His voice came out as a reverent whisper, and he leaned down and kissed my stomach.

  I swept my fingers through his hair, loving the soft feel of it on my skin. There was nothing about this man I didn’t love.

  And while he might’ve been scared that he wouldn’t be enough for his son, that he would fail him in the way he believed he had failed Livi, he had nothing to worry about.

  I’d seen how much he loved his daughter. He would do anything for her, and it would be the same for our son. No matter what, they would always be a priority for him.

  I smiled at Logan as he sang “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” to my belly. His deep voice was a warm brush against my skin. This wasn’t the first time I’d heard him sing, but it was the first time he’d sung to Love Bug.

  “Did you used to sing to Livi when Stacy was pregnant with her?” I asked once he was finished serenading his son.

  He nodded. “I still sing to her whenever she’s sick. I used to do that when she was little.”

  “That’s so sweet.” I could easily imagine Logan doing the same for Love Bug. “We should probably get back to our game. There are high stakes in jeopardy.”

  He shook his head. “I have something better in mind. And once the playoffs are over, I’m moving into your house. Assuming you still want me there.”

  “I do.”

  He pulled me to my feet. “We’ve got a lot to discuss once the playoffs are over.”

  I nodded because he was right. We did have a lot we needed to figure out, but now wasn’t the time to do that. Not when his energy needed to be on the remaining games of the final series.

  He kissed me. I’d missed his kisses. They left me feeling like every part of me was lit up from the inside, all the way to my soul. I was surprised he didn’t need sunglasses to look at me.

  His kisses slowed enough for him to peer at me, a question in his eyes. I nodded my reply, and he led me to hi
s bedroom.

  He guided me to the bed, and then his mouth was on mine again. The kisses were sweet and hungry, passionate, and intense. They left me naked and vulnerable. They built me up, made me stronger.

  No matter what happened between Logan and me, he had given me that. He had given me the strength to go on with my life, even though Stephen was no longer physically part of it.

  While we kissed, my adventurous fingers undid his jeans button and slid the zipper down. They brushed his hard length, and Logan sucked in a soft breath.

  I grinned at him. His kisses weren’t the only thing I missed. My purple dildo just hadn’t been the same as the real thing.

  We quickly removed what remained of our clothes, and Logan reversed onto his bed. With his pillows propping him up, I straddled his hips.

  And then we were kissing again as his fingers teased the sensitive nerves between my legs.

  It wasn’t long before the condom was on, and I was sinking onto his length, hugging the part of him that I’d wondered if I would ever experience again.

  “I missed you,” I murmured against his lips. I hadn’t understood just how much I’d missed him until now.

  I rocked along his length; he moved his hips, thrusting into me, taking me higher and higher, until I could practically reach the stars.

  And just as I thought I couldn’t go much higher, my orgasm rocketed through me and proved how wrong I was.

  Logan came moments after me, uniting us in a way that hadn’t happened the night of the Jingle Balls ball. Taking us to a whole new level.

  As I floated back to Earth, all I could do was pray that it would be enough to show him that even though we hadn’t planned for things to go this way, Stephen would have approved.

  Logan had been his number one choice for me to move on with.

  He’d believed in Logan, even though I suspected he had known Logan’s marriage was failing.

  He had known Logan was the right man for me.

  But even though I told myself this, a small part of me was still annoyed that Logan had lied to me the night of the ball.

  He had known the entire time who I was and had kept it a secret.

  A secret that had resulted in such a knotted mess, I didn’t know how to start untangling it.