Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Hadley
If I thought using the code to The Dugout security gate when Easton wasn’t expecting me was on the cusp of insanity, knocking on his teammate’s door to try to find him is so much worse. But I’m desperate, and he’s not answering his phone.
I do want to pat myself on the back when I find Easton in Decker’s condo, though. Just the sight of him and the anxiety in my bones loosens a bit.
Because he’s my only shot at fixing this.
He’s exactly what I need to move this all forward.
“Tanner, Mommy’s here.” Easton stands from the table.
“What?” I ask, wishing my voice didn’t sound so abrupt, but I feel as if a bomb is about to explode and I’m the one in charge of getting someone to cut either the blue or the red wire.
“The baby.” Easton nods toward the baby in Penelope’s arms.
Before I can ask what he’s talking about, Hazel walks over to Decker and slips her hand into his, staring at me just like she did at the bookstore while I read to her.
“Miss Hadley, are you Tanner’s mommy?”
My gaze drops to Hazel, then shifts to Penelope.
She’s probably ready to dial 9-1-1. Not only have I kind of sort of broken into their building, but her daughter knows who I am.
I want to raise my hands and swear I didn’t offer your daughter candy to get into my white van, even though right now I probably look unhinged.
A cute golden retriever trots over, and my hand falls to pet their soft fur, using the dog as my emotional support system with the hopes that it grounds me.
I comfort myself a little longer with the dog but quickly realize all eyes are still on me, wondering if that little boy belongs to me.
“That baby isn’t mine.” I look right at Easton. “But I need to talk to you.”
“Are you sure? It’s okay, you know…” Easton scans the room, realizing I know who everyone is and, well, they don’t know me. “Oh—you know Decker, and this is his wife Penelope, their daughter Hazel, and their dog Sparkles.”
I notice the table filled with dishes, which means I interrupted them eating. Perfect timing, Hadley. As always. “Hi. Sorry—can I steal Easton for a minute?”
Easton goes to Penelope, holding his hands out as if he’s going to take the baby, but Penelope waves him off.
“Go. We’ve got him.” She studies me.
I shift in place, wondering what she must be thinking.
“I won’t be long.”
I walk out the door with a gracious smile I hope lets her know I am a sane person and that this just isn’t my best moment.
Easton follows, shutting the door behind him.
We fall in line on the stairs, making our way to his condo on the next floor up.
“Sorry I used the code.” My cheeks heat because the agreement we had when he gave it to me was to only use it when he was expecting me. “I tried to call you a few times.”
He punches the code into the keypad of his condo. I’m sure he’ll be changing it the minute I leave. I’ve always known the score with Easton, and if he agrees to what I’m going to ask, it would be a miracle, but I have to try.
I won’t be surprised if he says no and boots me from his life completely after this.
“It’s fine… and sorry.” He pats his pocket. “Maybe my phone died. I think I just left it down at Decker’s.”
We walk into his condo, and the space looks completely different than the last time I was here. This is not the Easton Bailey condo I remember.
There are baby items everywhere. A high chair sits in the middle of the room with a bowl and spoon still crusted with whatever was last eaten from it on the tray. The sink is stacked with bottles, and a changing table has taken over his family room, surrounded by an activity mat and a bouncy chair.
The familiar bachelor pad has morphed into something else entirely.
“So… the baby, he’s yours?”
He circles his neck, and I hear it crack a few times. “Still up for debate.” He must notice my eyebrows crinkle because he continues, “It wasn’t you, huh? I hoped—”
“Easton, we were together two months ago. I think you would’ve known my body had changed.” I continue to scan the space, trying to match the man I know to the one living in this version of his life.
“Tanner is, like, six months old. You could’ve snapped right back.”
I tilt my head. “I’ve never had a baby, but I’m not sure that’s exactly how it works. I don’t think you just snap right back, but it’s nice to know you’re forgetting all the times we were together over the last fifteen months. I guess I’m not that memorable.”
He sits in the chair, tossing a baby rattle onto the floor. “You’re the most logical choice. I’ve slept with you the most.”
I laugh, my forehead creasing. “I hate to break it to you, but you are aware that it only takes one time to get pregnant?”
He gives me his don’t give me shit look. “I am aware, yes. I remember health class. It’s just that the probabilities were in your favor. I’ve been with you the most, so you had the highest chance of being his mother.”
Not wanting to get into a back-and-forth with him, I decide to end the focus of this conversation. “Well, he’s not mine. I’ve never been pregnant. Besides, you’re religious about condoms. My ego still hasn’t recovered from Lollapalooza.”
He blows out a breath. “Are you ever going to let that go?”
I grab a beer from the fridge, twist the cap off, and take a long sip, tipping the bottle toward him. “Probably not.”
“Don’t worry, I didn’t want one or anything.”
“You have a baby to care for.” I pick up the burp towel between my pinkie and thumb and toss it on the coffee table.
“Responsible adult and all that.” I sit on the couch, acting cool and calm when really my heart is racing and all I can think about is what he’ll say when I ask him to marry me. “You look like shit, by the way.”
“Remind me to invite you over more often, Hadley. Oh that’s right, I didn’t invite you.” He rests his head back and yeah… he looks wrecked.
“Sorry, I meant to say you actually look like you’re rocking this dad thing.”
He narrows his eyes, and I give him a saccharine smile.
“Remind me why you’re here again?” Easton arches a brow.
Right. I’m not here to talk about how exhausted he looks. I’m here to get what I need, but I’m not sure I’m ready yet, so I stall. “First, tell me about the baby.”
I need time to figure out how to sell this to him, which I should’ve done before coming here, but I tend to act on impulse.
“A week ago, he was left with Ruby downstairs with a note that said I’m the daddy.”
I laugh—but when he doesn’t, I cover my mouth. “Sorry… it’s just… that actually happens?”
“Apparently.” His gaze sweeps the condo and all the baby items. “Look around, Hadley. Gone are the days of fucking against walls. This is my life now.”
“If there was a letter, why did you think I was the mom?”
“There was no name on it. She clearly doesn’t want me to find her.” He hands me the paper. It’s been read so many times it’s practically worn thin like a preteen’s first love letter from her crush. “The paternity test should come back in a day or two.”
I read the letter and yeah, not much to go on in regard to who the mom is. “Shit, Easton, I’m sorry.”
Looks like we’re both screwed right now. Except I’m the one with a deadline.
“I should have fucked you at Lollapalooza since apparently, condoms aren’t a failsafe anyway.”
“Well, technically only abstinence is.”
He gives me his cut the shit look again. I need to dial back the banter if I want this to work.
I put up my hands. “Okay, no more making fun of each other.”
“Playing nice. You must need something big.”
No hiding under humor, Hadley. Suck it up and ask the man.
I sip my beer, continuing to stall. “Who said I wanted something?”
“Well, since my dick is still tucked into my shorts, I’m certain you’re not here for what usually brings you here, so give it to me.”
“Do you want your dick out of your shorts?”
“My head is all over the place. Sadly, I’m not even sure I could get it up.”
“Trying might be fun.”
“Hadley.”
Distraction with sex isn’t going to work today. “Sorry.”
“You keep saying that, but you’ve yet to tell me why you’re here, fully dressed.”
He has a point, I’m not usually dressed for very long when I’m in this condo. “Okay… my grandma died.”
“Mae?”
I tilt my head. How does he know my grandma?
“You had me meet you at her bookstore…”
“The Story Jar.” I nod, my voice cracking. “Yeah. She passed away.”
“I’m sorry. Can I do anything?”
“No… well… actually… yeah. That’s why I’m here.”
No more stalling. No more banter and sexual innuendos. Here it is.
“Funny that a baby was left on your doorstep, because something happened to me that sounds just as insane,” I say.
“Really? Like what?”
“My grandma left me the bookstore—”
“That’s awesome. So are you staying in Chicago?”
“Yes.” Well, hopefully, but that all rests in Easton’s hands at this point. “That’s the thing… she put stipulations on it.”
“Like what?” He chuckles. “You have to get married?”
“Uh… yeah.”
His mouth slowly falls open.
“Apparently, she thinks that’s part of me putting down roots. I have to live here and be married for a year before the bookstore is legally put in my name.”
He laughs again but sobers when he sees that I’m not. No, this isn’t an April Fools’ Day joke.
“That’s like something from the eighteen hundreds.”
“I’m aware, and the clock doesn’t start until I say I do…”
He practically crawls off the chair toward the fridge, where he grabs a beer and twists the cap off before downing half of it.
“You have a baby to look after.”
“One beer isn’t going to put his life at risk.” He sets it on the counter and walks over to me.
“So you won’t do it?”
He cringes. “Hadley… you know I can’t.”
“Why?” Tears prick my eyes, but I will them away.
“I could find you someone. How about one of the DICs?”
My shoulders slump. “Easton, I’m not looking for a real marriage.”
“I get that, but I’m not husband material.”
“You’re not going to be a real husband. This is an I scratch your back, you scratch mine situation. Just paperwork without the feelings.” I put up my hands and swivel my body to face him better. “You can still do whatever you want. Just don’t get caught.”
“I’m not a cheater, Hadley.”
The line on his forehead from his narrowed eyes, as if I’ve somehow offended him, throws me for a moment.
“You wouldn’t be cheating. Our marriage would be just signatures on a piece of paper.”
He runs a hand through his hair. “I can’t. Marriage means something to me.”
Of course it does. How many times have I heard about his big family in Alaska and his parents and aunts and uncles and their real-life love stories?
I can’t give up now, though. I have to convince him somehow. “Come on. I’ll do something for you. You name it, and it’s yours. I’ll be at your beck and call. Easton, if I don’t get this bookstore, I lose her. All of her and her legacy.”
Say yes. Just say yes.
His eyes lock on mine, and I see understanding there, kindness.
If he says no, I have nothing.
A slow smile pulls at his lips, and I want to jump into his arms because I think he’s going to agree to this crazy act, but suddenly, his face twists and his smile shifts to a conniving one.
He looks as though he has something for me to give him, and he’ll be getting the better end of the arrangement.
Maybe having Easton trying to pair me up with one of the DICs is the smarter play because this suddenly feels like I’m about to lose.