Page 49 of His Fake Fiancé

He burst into the room like his ass was on fire. Grace jumped, clutching her hand to her chest.

“Jesus, you startled me.” She was sitting in Mama’s favorite little recliner, a small light blue and pink rocker that Dad had bought for her. She pushed to her feet, concern lining her face. “Is everything alright”

Guilt slid through him. “Sorry, Grace.” He slipped off his coat and dropped it and the diaper bag onto the sofa. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Everything’s fine.”

“Then why did you come rushing in here like your butt was on fire?” Her fingers clutched the edge of her t-shirt so tight, her knuckles were white.

Clearly, he’d scared the shit out of her. Guilt dug deep, sinking its claws in. He knew why she was jumpy, even though it had been a while since her psycho ex had come around. He needed to be more careful and considerate.

He walked over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. Where’s Mase?”

She patted his arm. “It’s okay. I just wasn’t expecting you is all.” She pushed the blanket aside and brushed Olivia’s cheek with her finger. He knew that she and Mason were trying for a baby, but weren’t having a lot of luck. It would happen for them eventually, and she would be a great mom. “And Mason’s out somewhere with Simon. Something about an emergency where he needed some extra hands. He dropped me off here because he knows I don’t like to be in the house alone.”

Another left over from her asshole ex. Man, Jake wanted to punch that guy right in the fucking face for making Grace so scared. And for breaking Jake’s nose that night. But mostly the Grace thing.

“If you’re going to be here, would you mind watching Olivia for me tonight?”

Her eyes lit up and her lips turned up in a beautiful smile. “Oh, I would love to.” She took the baby, still bundled in the blanket, and cuddled her close. Olivia made that same adorable little sound, and her lips made the cutest little pucker. His heart swelled so big, he wasn’t sure that the room, the house, the state was big enough to hold all the love he felt for her.

He was never giving her up. And yes, part of him understood why Gina was fighting him for custody. But she’d had her chance, and then washed her hands on Olivia. Left her on the front porch of the house with a note. Not to mention the fact she’d never even told Jake she was pregnant. He’d come home from his brother’s wedding to the biggest shock of his fucking life. No heads up, no warning, just bam, congratulations, you’re a dad and I can’t take care of the baby anymore, so here you go.

But, he couldn’t think about any of that right now. It would only twist him up into even more knots. He was still trying to unravel whatever this one he had going on with Claire was. He didn’t need to add any more knots added to the mess. Besides, there’d be plenty of time to worry about all of that shit when they got to the mediation in home evaluation next week.

Grace repositioned Olivia in her arms and then sat back down in the chair. “I’m never going to pass up an opportunity to spend time with my gorgeous niece.”

The love in her eyes as she looked at the baby made his chest tight, his throat thick. He cleared his throat and turned away. Before he could do something dumb, like burst into tears.

“I brought some stuff.” He indicated the diaper bag with a sweep of his hand. Then he picked up his coat and slipped it on, the right way this time. Now that he’d managed to wrangle back his emotions, he turned back. “Is there anything else you need?”

Grace shook her head, never taking her eyes off the baby. “No, there’s still lots of stuff here. And, if for some reason I’m missing something, I’ll just send Mason over the guest house to grab it.” She cocked her head, her gaze searing him. How she could go from a look of absolute adoration to one that felt like she was peeling away his skin and muscle was remarkable. “Unless you and Claire need some privacy?”

Heat exploded across the back of his neck. Oh, Jesus, he was not having this conversation with his sweet sister-in-law. Yeah, they had a good relationship, but his sex life was not something he felt the need to hash out with her.

You notice that the first thing you jumped on was the topic of the conversation, and not denying the fact you and Claire would be having sex, right?

He pushed such a ridiculous thought aside. Because that’s what it was. Ridiculous. He wasn’t imagining having sex with Claire. No matter how hot their kisses had been, or how great her ass looked in those jeans.

“You’ll have to come and get her early, though,” Grace said, rocking Olivia in her arms. The scene was so sweet, it practically gave him a toothache. While the circumstances of Olivia’s birth weren’t ideal—and by that, he meant, he was a complete fuck up who had managed to screw up a bunch of lives because he couldn’t keep his dick in his pants—he was glad he could give his family such a beautiful gift. “Mason and I have to head back to Virginia. There’s another issue with the sale of the townhouse, so we’ll be gone a few days.”

He snorted. “Yeah, that’s a lie. You just want to have some time to yourselves, without running into a Callahan every time you turn around.”

One side of her mouth lifted, and she shrugged one shoulder. He noticed she didn’t deny it, however.

“Got it,” he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. “And, thanks, Grace. I really appreciate it.”

She waved at him and then turned her attention back to Olivia. Virtually dismissing him. “Have a good night.”

No, that wasn’t right. There was nothing virtual about it.

She’d just dismissed him.

He nodded and then turned and walked into the hallway, toward the front door. What was with the women in his life turning everything upside down?

Jake strode into the bar. The music was loud, the normal jukebox tunes replaced by an actual live band tonight. Sweetwater something or other. He didn’t care enough to find out.

Something that felt an awful lot like nerves bounced around inside him, which was weird, because Jake didn’t do nervous. Besides, it was ridiculous, because even if he was nervous—which he wasn’t—there was no reason for him to feel any such thing. He was at the bar he frequented on pretty much a weekly basis, and had for the last five years.

And he was not going to think about how sad that was now that he actually thought about it.