The Secret Play (Pucking Daddies #3)

12. Gemma

Chapter 12

Gemma

T he park was quiet for a Saturday afternoon, the crisp autumn air keeping most people inside. Leaves swirled in lazy spirals across the grass, and the distant sound of children laughing floated over from the playground. I tightened my scarf around my neck, glancing at Winnie, who was busy organizing her crayons into a rainbow on the picnic table next to me.

I’d spent the entire morning second-guessing my plan. Introducing Casey to Winnie was a big step—the step, really—and I wasn’t sure I was ready. But I also knew I couldn’t keep putting it off. If Casey was who I thought he was—if he was Red—then this meeting would tell me everything I needed to know.

Was he the kind of man who could be a father to my daughter? Did I want him to be? I hoped I was doing the right thing. But does anyone really ever know when it’s the right time to introduce their daughter to her father when he doesn’t even know that he is?

When did my life get so complicated?

“Mommy, I’m done!” Winnie called, holding up her drawing with a triumphant grin. It was a scribbly masterpiece of trees, a sun, and what I assumed was me holding her hand.

“It’s beautiful, sweetheart,” I said, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. “You’re such a good artist.”

“Do you think Casey will like it?” she asked, her eyes wide and hopeful.

My heart twisted in my chest. Winnie didn’t know why we were meeting Casey, didn’t know anything about the thunderous storm of questions in my head. That was my job. Not hers. To her, he was just the nice man I’d mentioned once or twice—the man who made me smile in a way she hadn’t seen before.

“I think he’ll love it,” I said, brushing a stray curl out of her face.

I spotted Casey before Winnie did. He was walking toward us, his hands tucked into his pockets and his breath visible in the cool air. His eyes found mine almost immediately, and he smiled, the kind of smile that made me forget the world for a second. My nerves eased, just a little. Whatever happened today, at least I knew Casey cared about me. That much was clear.

“Hey, Gemma,” he said as he approached, his voice warm and steady. His gaze shifted to Winnie, and he crouched slightly, lowering himself to her level. “And who’s this?”

“This is Winnie,” I said, my voice catching slightly. “Winnie, this is Casey.”

“Hi,” she said shyly, clutching her drawing to her chest.

“Hi, Winnie,” Casey said, his tone gentle. “What’s that you’ve got there?”

She hesitated for a moment, then held out her drawing. “It’s a picture. Do you like it?”

Casey studied it like it was a priceless piece of art, his brow furrowing in concentration. “Are you kidding? This is amazing. You’ve got real talent.”

Winnie beamed, her shyness evaporating. “Really?”

“Really. You know, I’ve always wished I could draw, but I’m terrible at it. My stick figures look like trees.” When she giggled at that, I would have sworn he gulped. He was nervous, too, and that made me like him even more. He went on, “You’ll have to give me some tips.”

She giggled again, and my chest tightened. Watching them interact was almost too much. Casey was natural with her—kind, patient, and genuinely interested in what she had to say. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was not this.

“All right, kiddo,” Casey said, standing up and clapping his hands together. “What’s next? Swings? Jungle gym? Monkey bars?”

“Swings!” Winnie shouted, already running toward them.

Casey grinned at me, shrugging out of his jacket. “Looks like I’ve got my orders.”

“Wait. She forgot her jacket again. Winnie, your?—”

“I’ve always been like that too. Hated wearing a hat or a jacket as a kid and gloves? Forget about it. Bet she doesn’t like it when you slather sunblock on her either, right?”

I snorted at that. A memory of the last beach trip before we left LA sprang to mind. “She hates it. Squirms away.”

He smiled. “I’ll keep an eye on her. Can you keep an eye on this for me?” He passed me a ring he always wore on his thumb. “It was my dad’s, and I don’t think I can climb monkey bars wearing it, and if we hang upside down, it’ll fall out of my pocket.”

“I’d be happy to.” I tucked the ring into my purse.

Then he was off, jogging after Winnie with a lightness I hadn’t expected. I watched as he caught up with her, lifting her effortlessly onto the swing and giving her a gentle push. Her laughter echoed across the park, clear and bright, and something deep inside me started to crack.

For the next hour, Casey and Winnie were inseparable. He chased her around the jungle gym, caught her at the bottom of the slide, and even climbed the monkey bars with her, his grin never fading.

For every activity, he made a big show of her being better at it than him, and she ate it up. By the time they returned to the picnic bench, Winnie was practically glowing, her cheeks flushed from the cold and her energy spent.

“Mommy, Casey’s the best,” she said, flopping onto the bench next to me. “Can we play with him again tomorrow?”

I swallowed hard, nodding. “We’ll see, sweetheart.”

“I can make time to play with you again. Your mom will help us out.””

She beamed. “Okay, Casey.”

It was less emotionally fraught than calling him Dad.

He sat across from me, his thick gray hair slightly disheveled and his face lit with the kind of joy that was impossible to fake. I couldn’t tell who had had a better time. “She’s got a lot of energy.”

“She wears me out most days,” I admitted, brushing a strand of hair out of Winnie’s face. “But it looks like you kept up pretty well.”

“I’ve still got some gas left in the tank.” He smiled at her. “Think you can beat me to that tree?”

“No,” Winnie said in a sing-song voice. Then she yawned. “I’m tired.”

“It’s just as well,” he said with a shrug. “Pretty sure you’d win.”

“Nuh-uh. Your legs are bigger.”

“Well, we could try to find out, but you said you’re tired.”

“Okay, one more game.” She said it as though she was doing him a big favor, but really, there was a sly smile hidden on her face that she showed only to me.

She was loving this.

They bolted for the tree on the other side of the park, and I was grateful for the few minutes of silence. My mind was racing. Watching Casey with Winnie had been both a relief and a heartbreak. He was everything I could’ve hoped for in a father figure for her—kind, patient, fun—and I wanted all of that for her.

But the reality of what that meant was overwhelming. There was no easy way out of this relationship. I would have dumped him if he and Winnie didn’t get along, and he was a reasonable person, so he would have understood that. It would have been awful, but I’d never stay with someone my child didn’t like.

But now, I owed him the truth, and if I told him he was her biological father, what would happen next? Would he want to be part of her life? Part of mine? Or would he feel betrayed, blindsided by a truth he’d never asked for? Would he hate me for what I’d done?

There was no Hallmark card for that to smooth things over. I had looked for one.

Worse still, what if he was on his best behavior right now, and the real him was somewhere beneath the surface? What if he was secretly a jerk, only lying to me for sex? What would a bad person say to, “Hey, you’re actually her father?”

Things were still too up in the air. I couldn’t tell him, and I couldn’t not tell him.

By the time we got back to my house, Winnie was fast asleep in the back seat. Her head was tilted at an awkward angle, and her tiny snores filled the car. I turned to Casey as I unbuckled her seatbelt.

“Thanks for today,” I said quietly. “She had a blast.”

“So did I,” he said, his voice just as soft.

He carried Winnie inside for me, her small frame cradled against his shoulder as she stirred slightly but didn’t wake. Megan was already waiting for us, her arms crossed and a knowing smile on her face.

“Looks like someone had a good time,” she said, nodding toward Winnie.

“Can you watch her for a while?” I asked, glancing at Casey. “She’s already out.”

“Of course,” Megan said, taking her from him with practiced ease. “Take your time. Let me know when you’re ready for her—when she wakes up, we have several princess sequels to watch, so take your time.”

“You’re the best. Thank you.”

She carried Winnie to her car and drove the two blocks to her house, leaving us alone. Casey and I retreated to the living room after I grabbed a bottle of wine and two glasses from the kitchen. My nerves were still humming from the day, but as I poured the wine and handed him a glass, I started to relax.

“To a successful first playdate,” he said, raising his glass.

I laughed, clinking mine against his. “Cheers.”

The wine helped me unwind the tangle of thoughts in my head. Right now, I didn’t have to sort any of that out. I could just breathe easy, knowing that I had a night to spend with the man I liked.

I shoved his impending fatherhood out of my head.

“What’s on your mind? You looked like you went somewhere else just now.”

Crap. I smiled. “Long day. So,” I screwed up my courage with more wine, “still thinking of dating the single mom?”

He laughed. “Well, her daughter is the cutest kid I’ve ever seen, so yeah, I think so.”

A good start. I filled my glass before asking the next question. “Have you ever thought about having kids of your own? One day, I mean.”

“Yeah. Definitely. I get a slight taste of it with my job—being coach means you have to rally the team, get them to listen to you, tell them what to do, show them how to do it—it’s a lot like parenting, I would imagine.”

I nodded. “That’s a lot of what I do each day, actually.”

“And my cousins all have kids of their own, so when we hang out, I love seeing the world from their perspective. Kids are pure, you know? They see things other people don’t. They’re brutally honest without meaning to be, and I like that. Adults…we lose that innocence somewhere along the way to adulthood. Honesty becomes a scarce resource.”

I swallowed too big of a gulp. “True.”

“I require honesty in a relationship, Gemma. It’s fundamental to the health of it. So, cards on the table, if there’s ever anything you need to tell me, I want you to just tell me. No bullshit, no games. If we’re going to make this work, that’s what I need. That make sense?”

My heart weighed too much. It squeezed the air from my lungs. “Yeah.”

“What do you need from me to make this work?”

I couldn’t say it. Not now, though. Not when my tongue was tied in knots.

I went another way. Hooking my hand into his collar, I pulled him close and slanted my mouth over his wine-flavored lips. He clutched at my waist to pull me into his lap, and once I straddled him and felt his hardness through our clothes, all sense of the world fell away.

The kiss deepened, heady and firm, and before I knew it, our clothes had peeled away almost of their own accord. His hands traced the curve of my back as my fingers tangled in his hair.

“Are you sure?” he asked, his voice low and rough.

“Yes,” I whispered, pulling him closer.

This time, he produced a condom from his pocket and slid it on without another word. I was practically panting for him, and the moment I took him into me, we both let out a breath of relief. This was what we needed, honesty be damned.

His every inch fit perfectly inside of me, leaving me shaking. Riding him, I drove my nails into his shoulders as he grabbed my ass and pumped me up and down his length. “That’s it, baby, you’re doing so good, taking my cock like that.” His hands slid around my hips and down my thighs as he leaned back to watch me. “Let me see you.”

I slowed to a stop. My words shuddered out, “What do you mean?”

A sly smile spread across his mouth. “Give me a show.”

He wanted a show? I’d give him one. I pulled up off of him and stood, his eyes at hip level, clearly enamored of me naked in front of him. I turned around and carefully aimed him back inside as I sat facing away from his hungry eyes. The fit was different, hitting new spots that made me tremble harder.

As I started to ride him again, he groaned, “Fuck.” His hands gripped my ass, squeezing tight.

“Liking the show?”

“Too much.”

I glanced over my shoulder at him. “No such thing.” I rolled my body against his, taking everything he had to give me. Bouncing on him, my own climax threatened me with a good time. But when he reached around my hip and played my clit, I lost myself to it. My head whipped back against his shoulder, and I was utterly helpless in his hands as I came.

He growled in my ear, “That’s a good girl, mm, fuck, baby just like that. Come on my cock.”

“I am,” I whimpered.

He grabbed my hips harder this time and lifted himself up, turning us until I was bent over the couch armrest, and he was behind me. The movement stretched me in the strangest way, and it made me ache from my orgasm. Our bodies slapped together hard, over and over, while he made me erupt all over again.

But when it was done, he wrapped his arms around me, still bent over my body. He planted kisses along the back of my neck as he murmured, “Next time, I’m getting you in a bed.”

“Huh?”

“We haven’t had enough room to stretch out just yet, and I want to find out just how flexible you are. I think you’re a human pretzel.” He licked the sweat from my neck, making me shiver. “Would you like to test that theory?”

What else could I say but “Yes?”

“Good girl.” He slammed deep and started up again, this time fisting my hair as he worked me over. I couldn’t do anything but let him have at me, and right now, that was the only thing stopping me from telling him we’d had a bed our first time.

I couldn’t say that. He didn’t know.

Casey cupped my pussy as he pounded me harder and harder, toying with me there while I took it all. The build-up was almost as good as the orgasm, and I cried out so loudly I worried I’d hurt his ears. But I had a feeling he’d happily live with that.

He came, gasping and almost laughing. “Damn, woman. You’re gonna be the death of me.”

“I sure hope not.”

After we cleaned up, we lay tangled together in the quiet glow of the living room, and I rested my head on his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. I knew I couldn’t keep the truth from him forever.

But for now, in this moment, I let myself believe that everything would work out. For me. For Winnie. And maybe, just maybe, for Casey too.

I just had to figure out how.