Page 128 of Pucking Daddy

I’m in trouble.

Because this isn’t just attraction anymore. It’s not just proximity or shared stress or the strange intimacy of playing house.

It’s him.

My heart squeezes, something soft and terrifying settling in.

I’m in love with him.

And the worst part?

It makes everything about today so much harder.

Because this—us—started as an arrangement. A solution to an impossible problem.

And now it’s the one thing I don’t know how to defend in a courtroom.

I swing my legs over the side of the bed, pressing my feet into the cool floor, grounding myself. I can’t spiral. Not today.

Downstairs, the pacing continues. Measured. Relentless.

I can picture him without even seeing him. Jaw tight. Shoulders tense. Running through every possible scenario in his head, trying to control something that can’t be controlled.

My chest aches at the thought. He’s carrying all of this alone.

No.

Not alone.

Determined, I push to my feet, grab my clothes, and get dressed in record time.

My phone pings with a new message.

Danny:

All fingers crossed for today.

Me:

Thank you.

Danny:

Even though I still think this husband of yours is crazy…

Me:

For marrying me or for paying off your debt?

Danny:

Both.

I put my phone away and head downstairs. At the sound of my footsteps, Jaxon turns around.

“You’re pacing,” I say gently.

“I’m thinking.”