Page 87 of The Fake Out

I laughed. “Yeah, I kind of figured. Blaise is a good sport.”

I unclenched my hair from the baby’s tight grip, and Lily pulled the baby off her boob. Lily burped the baby, and we laughed at how loud it was. I helped her pull her sleeve back up and zipped her up.

“Thanks, Veronica. I guess I found out who my real friends were when I got pregnant.”

“You looked like you needed help.”

“Can I ask you a favor?”

“Sure.”

“Can you watch the baby for me for like ten minutes? I have to get pictures done, but I had to feed her first.”

I took the baby out of her arms and held her to my chest. “It’s Rosie, right?”

“Rose, but we call her Rosie.”

“Hi, little Rosie,” I cooed at the tiny baby in my arms, and she immediately pulled at my hair again. “Yup, knew that one was happening.”

“You don’t mind?” Lily asked. This poor woman. All her friends were useless, and she needed the help.

“I love babies,” I said, and I tickled the baby’s tiny belly. Rosie closed her eyes, and I held her tightly against my chest. “And she’s so cute. Go get your pictures done, okay?”

Lily smiled and kissed the top of Rosie’s head. “I owe you one.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

BLAISE

My eyes widened when I saw Veronica returning from the bathroom with a baby in her arms. What the fuck? Also, wow, she looked like a natural at it. Was it weird that it got me excited? Probably. I took the diaper bag from her and helped her back into her seat without jostling the baby. She was sleeping against Veronica’s chest and looked so cute.

“Who gave you a baby?” I asked, amused.

“My sister-in-law,” the brunette Molly, who had been sitting next to us, answered.

“You want her?” Veronica asked.

The other woman laughed. “Nah, if you got her to sleep, keep her. She hates me. She always cries when I try to hold her.”

I stroked the baby’s head. She was really cute. Veronica had this smile on her face that I’d never seen before.

“Do you want kids?” I blurted out and then wanted to kick myself for asking.

“I did,” she muttered, and then her smile faded as she stared down at the little baby in her arms.

“You don’t anymore?” I asked. I wanted kids and a family, but after Astrid broke up with me, I wasn’t planning that anytime soon.

Veronica looked around at the strangers at the table cautiously. “I thought I was going to marry my high school sweetheart, but then a week before my wedding, he left. What do you think?”

The baby woke to Veronica's loud outburst and fussed. Veronica’s face crumbled, and I knew she felt like an asshole for waking the baby. I held out my hands, and she passed her over.

“Hi, sweetheart,” I cooed.

I was good with babies—being one of six helped with that. I bounced the little girl in my arms, and she seemed to settle down.

Veronica went back to sucking down her drink, and it struck me that all of this was a terrible idea. We shouldn’t have come to this wedding. I could clearly see how it was affecting Veronica. She was not okay. We shouldn’t have pretended to be together for all these weeks or decided on having casual sex when we knew it was going to end tonight. This was all a bad idea, and I went with it because she was hot. I thought I’d be okay with leaving her behind after this, but I wanted something real with her. I was an all-or-nothing guy, and she didn’t want that.

“Aw, there’s my little girl,” Lily said from behind me.