Chapter 2
ALLY
Itapped my pen on my notebook and tried to focus on the speaker. It should’ve been engaging. I freaking loved numbers and stats and learning all the new things. But all I could concentrate on was Dom’s face. I still couldn’t believe that he’d walked into the bakery.
What were the freaking odds? I mean, it was close to the arena, sure, but come on. I had not been ready to see him, but I hadn’t been able to stop myself from saying his name as he flirted with the bakery worker. It was typical Dom, and the words were out before I could stop them. Then he just casually sat down across from me and asked if I wanted to hook up.
Why did I keep sleeping with this man?
I sighed. Because he was stupid hot, and he had a soft accent and a hard body.
Dammit.
I glanced up at the ceiling to look for answers. Had he noticed my bump when I stood up? I was wearing a flowy dress because Denver in late August was hot, so it camouflaged my body pretty well. And I hadn’t waited long enough for him to say anything before I bailed. I mean, what the hell. The freaking nerve of him. I grimaced. Sure, hooking up when we were near each other was our thing, but still…
I bit back a groan. That was not how I had planned on running into my baby daddy.
Ugh.
That sounded ridiculous. I knew I had to tell him, but I wanted to be prepared. No surprises.
I put my hand on my belly as my baby girl moved around inside of me.
No more surprises.
My pen rolled off my lap, making a ping sound as it hit the floor. I internally shook myself free of thoughts of Dom and focused on where I was. I’d been looking forward to this conference and I was supposed to be paying attention, but seeing Dom had rattled me.
“Here,” a low voice said, startling me.
I looked over to see the guy next to me holding out my pen. He had a nice smile. But the only thing fluttering in me right now was the little diva.
“Um, thanks.”
Focus. Ally, focus.
There was plenty of time to dwell on my situation when I got back to my hotel room. I still had three days in Denver, loads of time to figure out exactly how I was going to tell Dom about this little peanut growing inside of me. I wasn’t about to leave this city without telling him. We might not have ever really been a couple, but he deserved to know. Part of the reason I’d asked my boss about attending this conference was to force myself to be in the same town as Dom, so I had no excuse.
I sighed and turned my attention back to the lecturer at the front of the room, who was discussing flexible tools for making analyses accessible to our clients. It was a practical workshop and one that would be immediately useful for me instead of just theory. Not that I minded a few theory workshops; I just preferred hands-on processes and tangible information. I was here to absorb all the knowledge that I could from my peers.
Yup. That was my focus.
Not chocolate-brown eyes that always looked just a little sad and a mouth that kissed like a damn dream. I wasn’t even going to think about his lethal tongue between my thighs.
I squirmed in my seat, then turned my attention back to the lecturer.
Focus.
***
Later that afternoon, I headed back to my hotel room. My workshops were done for the day and there was a mixer later that evening, but I was tired. I just wanted to order room service and veg. Which would probably lead to overanalyzing everything.
I snorted. Analyzing was what I lived for, just not when it came to my personal life.
The smart thing would be to take a quick nap and then go mingle with my fellow statisticians.
I chuckled. Ethan would definitely have a joke there, something about us partying hard or something. You would think a man married to an accountant would embrace a love of numbers.
Kicking off my shoes, I sank onto the bed and flopped back, sighing. I needed a plan. Did I just go to his condo right now? Or where I assumed he lived. I’d heard some of my brother’s teammates talking about how most of the Stampede members were all living in the same building. Some sweet setup by the owners. It wasn’t like I’d stalked his address or something.
Yep. Overanalyzing.
Maybe send him a text? Or sleep on it until tomorrow?
I blew out a frustrated breath.
My phone pinged, and I had a brief moment of panic. Was it him?
Erika: Come have a drink at the bar with us. That last workshop was slooooow.
I chuckled. During last night’s welcome cocktail party, Erika Jones had struck up a conversation with me. While my focus was data analysis for market research, she worked in the medical field. We’d chatted about the pros and cons of our different sides of statistics and then moved on to talking about action movies and the lack of younger quality action heroes. Liam Neeson could only kick ass for so many years.
I knew a handful of people here, but most of them were much older, so hanging out with Erika was fun. I sat up and pushed my hair behind my ear, then tapped out a message.
Ally: Was going to veg in my room.
Erika: Boo. Get down here. I need a drink before tonight’s party.
I hadn’t told her I was pregnant since it wasn’t something I blurted out to people. But getting out of this room was probably the smarter option, and now I had a valid excuse to wait another day to drop this bomb.
Win-win.
I rubbed my hand over my belly. I shouldn’t think about her that way, but I knew he was going to freak. He’d been adamant about not wanting kids. Ever. I never asked why for multiple reasons. One, kids hadn’t been on my radar at the time since I’d only been twenty-four and was just out of graduate school. Two, we weren’t an actual couple. And three, our conversations were never deep, which was exactly how both of us liked it.
Ally: Give me thirty, and I’ll be down there.
Erika: Yes! I knew you wouldn’t leave me to my own devices.
I chuckled and went into the bathroom to touch up my makeup.
Socializing with my fellow statisticians was part of why I was here.
***
I set my shoulders back and took a deep breath the following morning as I stared up at Dom’s condo building. I’d texted him an hour ago to see if he was around and he’d quickly responded in true Dom fashion. I probably should have felt a slight bit guilty for letting him think that I was texting for a hookup, but what else was I supposed to do? We’d never been the hey, let’s get together and chat kind of friends.
I snorted and swiped on my phone. Glancing down at our text chain, I let out a perverse giggle. Our visit was not going to play out like he assumed.
Ally: Hey.
Dom: Hey yourself. Why’d you run out on me yesterday?
Ally: I had to get back to my conference. You free this morning?
Dom: For you, any time. Wanna come to my place?
Ally: Sure.
He gave me his address, we confirmed a time, and he said he’d leave my name with the front desk. Now here I was, walking into his building and hoping like hell that I didn’t run into any of my brother’s other old teammates who were also now on the Stampede. It would be just my luck to run into Timmy or Flower.
Or Fishy. He was the worst of the gossipy hens. But with any of them, if I was spotted heading up to see Dom, or even just in the building, they’d have questions and end up texting Ethan. I definitely didn’t need that right now. My nerves were already shot.
It was still pretty early in the morning and training camp hadn’t officially started yet, so the lobby was clear of hockey players, and I slipped into the elevator without seeing anyone I knew.
So far, so good.
Taking another deep breath, I pressed one hand to my belly and hit the button for Dom’s floor with my other one.
It was going to be fine.
Sure.
My heart raced as the elevator climbed. I honestly didn’t know which outcome I was going to get or which one I wanted. Would it be easier if he wanted nothing to do with a kid, and I could just go back home without the guilt of keeping secrets? Probably. But if he wanted to be involved, I was all for that, too. It just meant more issues with logistics because he was here, and I was not.
Ugh.
The doors slid open before I could dwell any longer, and then I was walking down the hallway, nervous energy swirling through my body.
“It’s going to be fine,” I muttered, taking my hand off my belly as I reached Dom’s door. No need to immediately give myself away, after all.
Then the door swung open and there he was, that annoyingly delicious smirk on his face as he held my gaze.
And now my body was fluttering for an entirely different reason. I couldn’t help but clench my thighs.
Damn this man.
DOM
“Hello, Ally,” I said, leaning against my doorframe.
Fuck. She was gorgeous. Her dress flowed around her body, and a faint blush stained her cheeks. I wanted to lean in and nibble her neck, lick the pulse point at her throat.
My hard cock was absolutely on board, and if she just glanced down, she would see how little my basketball shorts hid. Not that it mattered. She was clearly here to fuck, and I never could say no to her.
“Hi, Dom,” she said.
She was fidgeting and looked nervous. Not typical Ally. One of the hottest things about her, aside from her smokeshow body, was her confidence. She went after what she wanted and when she’d wanted me, I fought for as long as I could before giving in.
But Ethan wasn’t here right now, and his ridiculous teammate code didn’t apply, so I gave in to my need to touch her, reaching for her hand to pull her into my condo.
“It’s going to be a very good morning,” I said, drawing her closer to me and shutting the front door behind her.
“Um. Yeah. About that,” she started. Then she pulled her hand from mine and put it on my chest.
I sucked in a breath, and my cock ached to come out and play.
“Yeah. About that,” I said, one hand going to her hip.
“We need to talk.”
I froze. There were no four words scarier in the English language than that phrase, especially when it came out of a woman’s mouth.
“Okay,” I drew out, my hand falling from her hip. “I’m assuming we’re keeping our clothes on for this chat?”
Her eyes narrowed. I knew it was a dick thing to say, but the words had come out before I could stop them.
I held my hands up. “Sorry, sorry.”
“This is a mistake.” Her words were soft, but I heard them, along with the frustration in her voice.
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry.” My gut clenched in anticipation. There was no way this was going to go well. “What did you want to talk about?”
“Okay, I’m just going to say it.” She sighed, audibly, and that did nothing to help my nerves.
“Ally, just spit it out already,” I bit out.
“Don’t be an ass, Dom. This isn’t easy for me.”
Fuck.
Did she have a disease or something? We hadn’t slept together in months, not since that Strikers-Stampede game last spring.
She bit the side of her lip and then her hands smoothed down her loose dress and rested on her belly.
Her curved belly.
Oh.
Fucking.
Hell.
“I’m pregnant.”
No.
I didn’t even hear her words as air whooshed through my head. But I could read her lips—and her fucking belly—loud and clear.
I shook my head. “Fuck.”
“It’s yours,” she said.
“Mine?” My voice sounded off.
“Yes, yours.” She sighed again. “Look, I know it’s a lot. A shock. It was for me, too.”
I glanced down at her stomach. At her fucking bump. “Looks like you’ve had a while to get over your shock.”
“You don’t have to be a dick, you know,” she said, her tone harsh.
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to say right now. I mean, how did this even happen? And you’re obviously keeping it.” I gestured toward her stomach, feeling like a grade-A asshole when she flinched. But what did she expect? This conversation had me off the rails. I’d thought she was coming over to hook up, not to tell me that she was knocked up, and I’d done the fucking knocking.
Fucking hell.
She took a step back. “Yes, I’m keeping it. Her. I’m keeping her. It’s a girl, by the way. And I’m telling you because that’s the right thing to do. I don’t need or want anything from you. This is just a courtesy call. We will be fine without you.”
She glared at me, her arms folding to rest just above her bump.
Her fucking bump.
I was going to have a kid. A fucking kid.
I shook my head.
“Don’t shake your head at me. I have every right to keep her. I’m the one that’s pregnant,” she bit out.
I met her gaze. “What? No. Fuck. Still processing, okay? I wore a condom.”
“Yeah. And I was on the Pill. But neither are one hundred percent effective.”
“Yes, they are,” I shot back.
“No. They aren’t.”
“They should put that on the label,” I muttered.
She quirked a brow. “Pretty sure they do. And it doesn’t matter now because I’m pregnant.” She pressed down on her dress, cupping underneath her belly to further make her point, like I needed it or something. She looked beautiful all fired up. Her cheeks were pink—and were her breasts fuller? Or were they just straining because she was breathing heavily and trying to resist punching me?
For fuck’s sake, man. Get it together.
“Yeah, I got that,” I rasped out. Fuck. Was my throat closing up? Like anaphylactic shock or some shit? Maybe I was having a panic attack.
She put her hands on her hips. “I’m going to go. I told you, and you can figure out where you want to go from here while you deal with your shock. I won’t stop you from being in her life, but you can’t be in it if you’re going to be an asshole about it or make her feel like she’s not wanted.”
I froze as her words hit me. “Ally.” I couldn’t stop myself from reaching toward her.
She shifted away. “Don’t touch me right now.” She blew out a breath. “That’s what got us into this mess in the first place. I mean, she’s not a mess. Ugh, I need to go. You know how to find me.”
Then she put her hand on the doorknob to leave.
“Ally, I guess we probably should talk. I mean—” I cupped the back of my neck and squeezed. “Fuck. What the hell am I supposed to do?”
“That’s for you to figure out. I have two days left in Denver for my conference, and then I’m flying home. Only Darcy knows that you’re the father, and she’s been sworn to secrecy until I’m ready to tell people. If I tell people. I mean, we aren’t a couple, and we never really were. We just had some fun times, and now I’m pregnant, but I’m happy about it. You never made it a secret that you didn’t want kids whenever the topic came up years ago.”
“Well, yeah, and?”
She huffed out a breath. “It’s fine because I don’t need you to be involved.”
“Ally, I said that ages ago.” Not that I’d changed my mind since then, but even I was smart enough not to say that to her right now. I wasn’t cut out to be father material or really parental material at all. My parents were shitty examples. But now Ally was pregnant.
Fucking hell.
“Don’t try to tell me things you want me to hear. You have the information now, and you have to decide what to do about it. I’m twenty-six weeks pregnant, and she’s due a week before Christmas. Just decide what you want before she shows up, okay?”
Then she patted my shoulder like I was a fucking child and walked out of my condo.
I should’ve run after her. I should’ve called out. But I was frozen in place.
I was going to be a father.
I had no business being a father.
Of all the bombs she could’ve dropped on me, that was one I never would have expected. I stared at the closed front door and then tipped my head back and cursed at the ceiling before I walked into my bedroom.
Pulling out the box of condoms from my nightstand, I looked at the fine print.
Fuck me.
They really should make that warning a lot fucking bigger on the damn box.
I tossed the box aside and sank down onto the bed, my head falling into my hands.
What the hell was I going to do? Twenty-fucking-six weeks. She’d known for months. And she’d just waited. Gotten used to the knowledge that she was going to have a baby.
My baby.
FUCK.
What the hell did I know about raising a kid, anyway? I was only twenty-five and had no plans to settle down.
But it wasn’t like she was asking me to settle down—or do anything, really.
And that pissed me off, too. Where did she get off just assuming I’d want nothing to do with my kid? Okay, yes. Because that’s what I’d told her. But I would bet that most twenty-year-olds would say the same thing. Fuck. At twenty, I was barely an adult. Not that I’d matured that much since.
“Dammit to fucking hell,” I shouted into my empty condo. I was all over the fucking place.
Guess I was just handy for a good fuck and nothing else. Why did that thought bother me?
Restless energy rocketed through me and I stood up, rolling my shoulders, and headed to my room to change into workout gear. I needed to hit something or go for a run or lift weights.
According to my phone, it wasn’t even ten in the morning—way too early for this shit—but staying alone in my condo and fucking driving myself crazy was not the answer, so I finished changing and stomped down the hall to the elevator for a quick ride up to the gym on the top floor.
What in the fucking hell just happened to my life?