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A week later, Garrett cranked the Allen wrench harder, sweat pouring down his face and stinging his eyes. Earlier tonight, he’d been digging around in the spare bedroom and had found a white crib, still in the box, shoved in the back of the closet. He, like the genius he was, decided it would be a good idea to put it together to surprise Kiersten. At ten o’clock at night.
Yeah. Fucking genius.
He blinked a few times, wincing at the blurring of his vision. Shit, he was having a hard enough time putting this damn crib together as it was. Now, he couldn’t even see.
Maybe he should have followed his instincts and ignored the damn thing. Kiersten would probably get mad at him for putting it together without her and their tenuous peace would be ruined—all because he’d been the fool who decided to try to build a crib.
He flung the Allen wrench to the floor and picked up his discarded shirt. Swiping it over his eyes, he leaned against the wall and took a swig of water. Who would have thought it would be so hard to do? Hell, he’d built a damned deck in half the time it was taking him to do this. There was something seriously wrong with that.
Maybe he was in over his head, in more ways than one. Kiersten kept pushing him away. He was starting to worry that he’d made a mistake in insisting he move in. It had only been a short time, but already he felt out of place and out of sanctuary. The guys at work were constantly asking him questions he couldn’t answer.
When were they getting married?
When was the baby due?
What was the baby’s name going to be?
What did Mike say?
He didn’t know, damn it. Didn’t know a single thing except that he was here—and he wasn’t going anywhere. He used to go home to lick his wounds after a rough day at the school. Now, he came home to a family.
A shadow fell on him and he lifted his head. Kiersten stood there wearing nothing more than an oversized shirt. Did she have shorts on underneath it? God, he hoped so for his own sanity.
Or maybe he hoped she didn’t.
No. Shorts on. Definitely on. “Sorry if I woke you up,” he said, scratching the back of his head. “This was supposed to be a surprise.”
She grasped the doorframe. “You…you’re building the crib? Already?”
“Yeah.” He shrugged, feeling like a complete idiot. They had months until this thing needed to be ready. “I saw it in the closet and I just couldn’t resist.”
“I couldn’t resist buying it.” She stepped closer, her eye
s on his. Now she was going to tell him he should have waited. Should have let her do it. She didn’t like people swooping in and taking charge like he’d done. He knew that. “You’re really something else. You know that, right?”
“Uh…” He swallowed hard. She was looking at him in a way that he’d only ever seen her do in his imagination. Looking at him as if she needed him in her life. By her side. “I’ve been told that a few times. Usually not in a good manner. I can take it apart. I messed it up anyway.”
She sank to her knees and rested her hands on his shoulders. “Don’t. I like that you…that you did this. It’s sweet.”
He gulped in a deep breath. Her proximity was so tempting it physically hurt to hold himself back. His muscles ached with the strain to stay completely still. “You do?”
She leaned close, brushing her lips across his cheek. He smelled her toothpaste and something that reminded him of spring flowers. Her hair was damp, so he could only guess it was her shampoo. His fingers twitched with the desire to bury themselves in her locks and pull her closer so he could see if he was right.
“I do,” she breathed as she pulled away from him. “And I like you. You know that, right?”
Like. Such a tepid word. He gave a soft laugh. “That’s good to know. Otherwise, the rest of our lives might be a little bit tricky.”
Her face went pale, and she scooted even farther away from him. She didn’t like the reminder that she was stuck with him for the next fifty or so years. He couldn’t say her actions surprised him…but it didn’t mean the rejection didn’t sting.
“It’s kind of crazy when you talk about us in that way,” she said, smoothing her bangs behind her ears. “We had one night together…and now we’ll be together as parents…forever.”
So why couldn’t they give it a go, then? Why couldn’t they try a relationship, and see how it went? No matter what they did, they were stuck together. Why not be stuck together, while being together? “Well, having a kid kind of does that even when you’re not together together.”
“What if you get married someday?”
He cocked his head. The only woman he could picture marrying was sitting right in front of him, but her failed engagement with Pete had killed that possibility. “What if you do?”
She snorted. “Yeah. So not going to happen.”
