Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
I slip my arm around him and hug him from the side. “Take as much time as you need. We’re not going anywhere.” I cringe a little. I meant for that to come off as reassuring and supportive. Instead, it kind of sounded like a threat. “I mean, like, we’re… Ugh. I’m sorry.”
He chuckles. “Stop apologizing, Caroline. This is weird for all of us.” He lifts Walker up and points him toward me. Walker’s head lulls to the side, and drool dribbles from his lips. “Even me!” he says, raising the pitch of his voice and raising Walker’s hand as if the two-month-old baby just talked.
I burst out laughing. “You did not just do that.”
“Totally did.”
Some of the tension between us feels like it’s released after the brief conversation. I’m able to enjoy the aquarium more after that. We have to stop before lunch time so I can feed Walker, then Jake takes him into one of the family restrooms to change his diaper. It’s nice having a giant man to carry the heavy diaper bag and help alternate holding Walker. I’m used to toting it all around alone, and I can’t complain about a little help.
“Was Jesse annoyed?” I ask when we sit down with our lunch in the food court area of the aquarium. We’ve found a quiet corner to ourselves. “Andi said you’d already talked to him about our plans today and not to worry about it.”
“He didn’t mind. He said he would take Andi and Jude somewhere fun for the day. We’ve got team activities starting up in a few days, so it’s not like he’s got anywhere else to be.”
“I just feel a little bad. They literally flew to New York to babysit our kid for like… four hours. It’s kind of insane.”
“It is, but that’s the thing about teammates. The guys on the ice become like brothers. You know they’ll have your back, no matter what.”
“That’s what Jesse is always saying.”
He shrugs, pulling open the packaging on his sandwich. “He knows I’d do the same for him. We all would.” He sounds a little sad, and it breaks my heart. I can tell he’s thinking again about the guys all retiring.
“I’m sure you’ll stay close,” I say. “Even if you aren’t on the team anymore.”
Jake smiles a little too quickly. “Nah. It’s fine. I’m not worried about that.”
“Liar,” I say softly.
“It’s not like I don’t have other teammates. The rookies are great. There’s Rio, Bash, Castellano, and this new guy, Vlad. He’s hilarious. Picture Maddox, but from the Czech Republic, and he doesn’t realize none of his jokes or humor translate into English.”
“That sounds like… something. But I know you’re closest with the original guys.”
“Yeah,” Jake says, He plucks a chunk of his sandwich off and pops it into his mouth. “And now we’re lying to them about getting married. Great way to stay close just as we’re at risk of drifting apart, huh?”
“Jake… I don’t want my problems to mess up your friendships. If you’re worried about that, we can think of another way.” I don’t admit that the idea of backing out terrifies me. This plan is currently the only thing standing between me and losing the B&B. I know the people of Frosty Harbor will always have my back, but my job is more than just a job. It’s a legacy. It’s my mom. It’s everything to me.
“We got this,” he says, reaching across the table and squeezing my hand. He must see some kind of fear in my face because he’s back in the unshakable team captain mode. His eyes are firm and reassuring, his expression shows no hint of weakness. “I looked up some wedding planners, by the way. Do you want the honors of picking one, or should I just go for it?”
His words give me a temporary bout of vertigo. I try not to show it, smiling. “Um, wow. Yeah. I guess we’ll need one of those, won’t we? Maybe I can look over the list on the plane? Fake or not, we might as well make sure the wedding is done well, right?”
“Sure,” Jake says. He puts a chip in his mouth, and his eyes go distant as he chews.
I sip my drink, wishing I could know what was happening in his head. Is he wishing he had never met me? Wishing he never had a baby with me? Or is he wondering if this is true? I hope it’s not that. I’d be devastated if Jake thought I was like that woman and just trying to baby-trap him.
But I need to give him time. It’s like he said. He needs time for this all to sink in. All I can do for now is wait and hope that maybe by the time we get to Frosty Harbor, he’ll have a better sense of where he stands on all this. Then again, I’m not sure showing up back home and getting bombarded by all the people we’re lying to about our engagement will necessarily be ideal for clear-headed thinking.