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PROLOGUE
Kevin
Warm breath whispered over my cheek. “It’s been a long day, baby. Why don’t you let me make you feel good?”
Leaning back into Alan’s arms, I smiled. Happiness filled me. I had a good, loving boyfriend, and my daughter was due to be born any day. “Let me finish this, and I’ll join you in the bedroom.”
His hand squeezed my dick, and it perked to life with interest. “How about a little fun now?” he asked, voice husky.
“In here?” I squeaked, closing my eyes as he massaged my growing length.
“Mhm. Why not?” His clever fingers made their way to the button on my jeans, fumbling to get it undone and get to his prize.
Laughing, I laid my hand on his. “Stop. Stop. I’m almost done folding all of Lexi’s clothes, and then I’m all yours.”
He stilled. “Lexi?”
Craning my head to meet his deep brown eyes, I beamed. “Lexi for Alexandra after my father, Alexander. What do you think?”
Instead of the smile I expected, he frowned. “Don’t you think naming your child after your dying father is a little…I don’t know, morbid?”
I jerked back like he’d slapped me. “Uh, no. It’s a way to honor him.”
He sighed and stood up, shaking his head. “I can’t.”
The hurt faded, replaced by confusion. “You can’t what?”
“This.” He threw his arms up, gesturing around the room that I’d been painstakingly setting up since the appointment where we discovered my surrogate was carrying my baby girl.
I’d painted the walls a soft yellow and stenciled butterflies flying in swirls around the walls. The crib with its yellow, mint green, and pink comforter and the changing station were set up against one wall with a rocking chair in the opposite corner and a little side table. Her dresser drawers fit perfectly in the closet with the cutest little white hangers I’d ever seen hanging above it. I stared up at Alan from the floor where I’d been folding the freshly laundered baby clothes and putting them away. “Alan, what are you talking about?”
He huffed. “Kevin, you’re a great guy. You really are. But I just didn’t sign up for all this.”
Fear and irritation waged a war of dominance inside of me. Anger won. “For what exactly?” I asked coldly.
Pushing a hand through his lush, brown hair, he frowned down at me. “All this shit you have going on. This baby coming. Your father dying. I mean, fuck, Kevin. You spend so much damn time in this room now, and there isn’t even a child yet. I swear I have to schedule an appointment at night to get sex. And then there’s all the phone calls with your parents, and them wanting to come stay here when the baby’s born. Seriously? When will we have a minute alone?”
What was even happening right now? “You knew when I met you that I was in the process of finding a surrogate. And I’m so sorry that my father’s cancer has disrupted your life.”
“Exactly!” he yelled. “Look. It’s been a solid couple of years. Until recently, it’s been a lot of fun. Dinners, dancing, and the sex has been decent enough when you’re not too tired to remember a man has needs, but you’re going to have to do better at making me a priority if you want me to deal with all the baggage that comes with you.”
Shaking my head, I stood up. Him hovering over me while he eviscerated my life made me feel as small as his words implied. “So if I make sure we fuck more, than you can deal”—I air-quoted—“with my baggage?” I air-quoted again.
“Maybe. I guess.” He spun on his heel and began pacing between the crib and the wall. “But while we’re getting this all out there, I need to know what your expectations are for me and this baby. Like, do you expect me to help?” He wrinkled his nose. “‘Cause I’m going to be honest, Kevin. I’m not sure you can suck my dick enough times a day for me to change diapers and all the other shit that comes with a newborn. And how are you going to make sure she doesn’t wake me up at night? We’re not getting any younger. I need my beauty sleep.”
I blinked. Then blinked again. “How am I going to make sure she doesn’t interrupt—” It was my turn to shake my head. “Wow. Okay.” Turning, I leaned onto the dresser, hands firmly planted on the top so that I didn’t deck my supposedly loving boyfriend of two years.
“Listen,” he said in that tone that my best friend had labeled as his salesman’s voice. I’d ignored it, laughing it off and telling George not to be so sensitive. Now I knew what he’d meant, and the sound grated on my nerves like nails on a chalkboard.
“No,” I interrupted. “You listen.” Whirling around, I pointed at his chest. “There’s literally nothing going on in my life that I didn’t warn you about from the jump. That night we met at Rafters was supposed to be one-and-done sex, but you said you were interested in more, and I told you the truth. I told you everything I had on my plate, but you said you were here for it. For me. And you said it again when you basically steamrolled your way into moving into my house. But you know what? I never minded moving you in because I believed you, and I’ve been excited about building a life, a family, and a home with you.”
He put his hands up in a stop gesture. “Hold on, now, Kevin. I never said anything about a family. I’ve never wanted kids.”
“Then why in the hell did you move in with me?!” I hollered, then strode out of the room. I wouldn’t be desecrating my sweet girl’s space with this load of horseshit.
He followed along behind me down the stairs to the living room. “What does moving in with you have to do with anything? I never minded you living out this father fantasy until I realized how much it’s going to interfere with our time. You’re going to need to hire a nanny or something, or the baby’s going to disrupt our lives too much. I’m sorry, Kevin, but I’m not having it. I need to come first.”
Life was so weird and unpredictable sometimes. You can’t know what you don’t know. Like last night, I’d never suspected that the quick rollover Alan gave me when he got home, reeking of booze and body odor, would be the last subpar fuck we’d ever share. Or that the last time I argued with George about Alan being good enough for me, that this asshole would prove my best friend’s point all on his own. Sitting on the couch, I narrowed my eyes on my soon-to-be-ex. “So what you’re saying is, as long as you come first, we’ll make it?”
