“Not acceptable.”
“Why do you need to move in so fast? We have months before the baby comes.”
“But Chris is there now. I want to give him time to get used to me being there before the baby comes. Time to be the only child in our little family, so to speak.”
He could see he’d won her over with that one even before she nodded. “Fine. Next month it is.”
“Nice try. I already rejected that one.” He crossed his arms. “Next week.”
She pursed her lips and eyed him. “I can see you’re going to be stubborn about this.”
“Very,” he agreed. He tapped his fingers on the table. “I want to be there for you. For Chris. And for our baby—during the pregnancy and after. I have a right to be part of all of it, Kiersten. You know that.”
Her face fell, and she dropped her head to hide from his view. “Ugh. Fine,” she said grudgingly. “What will you do with this place?”
He cast a quick glance around him. “I’ll take care of that on my own, don’t worry. Ready to shake on our agreement?”
He held his hand out as far as it would reach.
“This is a bad idea.” She slowly stretched and shook his hand.
He fought back the grin tugging at his lips. “Nah. It might just be the best idea I ever had.”
She rolled her eyes and backed away from him. The chase was on.
Chapter Five
Kiersten opened the door with shaking hands. In two days, Garrett was moving in, and they hadn’t told a single person yet. D-Day approached at rapid speed, and she didn’t have a single defense strategy in place yet. Didn’t know what to do to keep a safe distance from a man who tried to get closer with every word he said. This wasn’t exactly the scenario she would have picked but she also understood Garrett’s desire to be a part of the pregnancy. She remembered how Brianna’s first husband had behaved awaiting the birth of his children. He wanted to be part of every tiny thing—every kick, every doctor’s appointment, every moment.
She also remembered her own father and how he wanted almost nothing to do with fatherhood, especially since her mother was dissatisfied with any attempt he made.
Garrett wanted to be part of the baby’s life. And even if Kiersten had to compromise on the living situation, she couldn’t bring herself to discourage his interest. He was a good man, and he’d be an even better father…
…and partner? Sure. But not that kind. Strictly platonic. She couldn’t trust her feelings around him. Around any man, really. The whole disastrous situation with Pete had helped confirm that.
Still, having Garrett in her house would be torture. Seeing him every day would only remind her what she could have had, if only things had played out differently. If only she hadn’t pushed him away…
If only she wasn’t so scared to let him into her heart.
She swung the door open and nearly swallowed her tongue. Garrett stood on the doorstep wearing nothing but a pair of black basketball shorts, a hell of a set of abs, and an iPod. Yep. Torture. Sweat glistened on his skin, especially on his shoulders where he was inked, and she ached to trace the lines of his tattoos with her tongue.
Ew. Where the hell had that come from? And since when were sweaty men sexy to her?
Since Garrett showed up on her doorstep all sweaty. That’s when.
He yanked the buds out of his ears and grinned at her. “I decided to take a jog here from the gym instead of driving my truck. Hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not. But are you wearing that to Brianna’s?” She forced her attention north, toward his face. She also made her tone go neutral, as if seeing him like this didn’t knock the breath out of her lungs. “You’re practically naked.”
He cocked his head. “I brought a bunch of my clothes here last night, remember? I’m trying to get as many of the little things out of my apartment as I can before the big move.”
No. “Oh. Right.”
He chuckled and pressed a hot, sweaty hand to her stomach. “It’s the baby. It’s called pregnancy brain.”
His touch burned and made her ache for him to creep that hand a little lower. Ugh. Here he was being a good father to their unborn baby, and she was ready to jump on him and ride him until neither one of them could move. That’s exactly why this baby was here. Her impulsive behavior around Garrett. “P-Pregnancy what?”
He dropped his hand off of her stomach. “Pregnancy brain. It’s a legit thing. All of your brainpower goes to making our baby grow. You become forgetful.”
Her jaw dropped so freaking low it must have hit her chest. “How do you know that?”
“I’ve been reading the books. Especially What to Expect When You’re Expecting. Haven’t you? Do you have a copy? If not, I can get you one.”
“No. I don’t.” She waved a hand in front of her face. “But I don’t need one. I’ll get it sometime soon.”
He studied her with his bright blue eyes looking far too serious. Since when did he act so damn…grown up? He made her feel like she was slacking or something. Was she supposed to be reading books already? “Okay. I’m going to go hop in the guest shower, and then I’ll be ready to go.”
She watched him head across the room, his muscles flexing as he walked. Good God, the man was perfect. Why had she agreed to keep her hands to herself? She cleared her throat and her thoughts, but the latter was a lot harder to do with him standing there looking so irresistible. “Remember the story?”
He stiffened. “Yes. I came along because your car was making a funny noise, and I wanted to see if I could figure out why.”
“Good.”
He turned back to her with his hand gripping the banister so tightly his knuckles were showing. “You do realize we’ll have to tell them eventually, right? I’m moving in on Saturday. Mike might notice I’m not at my place. And there’s a slight possibility that Chris just might notice me in the bathroom every morning. Just sayin’.”
She rubbed her forehead. “Don’t remind me. What if he gets upset? What if he hates me for sleeping with his coach?”
Garrett shrugged. “Then he hates us. Teenagers spend most of their time hating their parents. You’d better get used to it.”
Their parents. The way he said that make her heart melt. He’d already accepted Chris as his child, and was planning on the future. “He never hated me before.”