Happily Ever All-Star: A Secret Baby Romance - Sosie Frost Page 0,223

when Mrs. Potter took up so much of my monthly income. I could change it though. If Dad made me a real agent, I’d take on my own clients and make a bigger salary…

But then it’d begin. Long hours. Cross-country travel multiple times a week. I’d never see my daughter, never have time to sleep.

Never go on a date.

That had never been a concern—until I found myself in the arms of the wrong man.

I shouldn’t have returned to Cole’s house, not after what happened in the hot tub and certainly not with Rose babbling in my back seat. But he wasn’t answering his cell, and we had to discuss the fine.

Rose fussed as I carried her up the path. She kicked and wiggled until I finally let her toddle toward the mansion. She raced under the portico, and I hurried behind her, taking her hand before she pounded against the door.

“Wowee!” She stomped on the marble. At least the ridiculously expensive but adorable Mary Janes and frilly socks still covered her feet. “Mamamamama.”

“I know.” I swallowed. “Won’t he be excited to see us?”

And surprised. Probably surprised. Especially since my baby hadn’t come up any conversation...

We’d been too busy kissing and stripping and touching and—

I knocked on the door. Rose did too, slapping the hardwood with a tiny hand. I took a deep breath.

And of course her diaper needed to be changed.

How the hell did I give birth to such an evil genius? Only Rose could turn a terrible situation from unmanageable into utter disaster.

“We are really bad at first impressions, Rosie.”

I unshouldered the diaper bag just as the door opened.

Rose looked up.

Cole looked down.

And my world got a lot more complicated.

Rose did most of the talking for us, which was good, because I had no idea what to say, and I wasn’t sure I’d trust anything that came out of Cole’s mouth.

He had greeted me with a hungry leer, but his expression shifted as he stared at Rose. His eyes widened. Shocked?

No. Terrified.

He retreated a step. Big mistake. Rose didn’t have the common decency to wait to be invited into another’s home. Then again, neither did her momma.

I grabbed her before she made a run for it. Her smile grew as she stared at Cole, and her arms spread wide.

“Up!”

Rose wasn’t exactly subtle. She dove at Cole for a chance to get higher since her mom was just a spec next to the linebacker.

She squirmed, waved, and bounced against me. “Up! Up! Upupupupup!”

Cole actually tried to decipher her gibberish, got overwhelmed, and retreated.

“We really should get introduced first, kid.”

“Sorry,” I said. “I didn’t have a babysitter, and there was a problem with the league.”

He frowned. “I don’t want to hear about any problems, especially since that looks complicated enough.”

“That?”

He pointed, actually pointed at my child. “Yeah. That.”

“This is my baby.”

He studied her intently, as if her chubby cheeks or kicking feet would reveal that she wasn’t really mine. Well, twenty-two hours of labor had sure convinced me.

“So…” he said. “You have…a baby.”

Surprise.

“And you have a big problem, Cole. I just left the team offices. Can I come in?”

“With that?” He corrected himself. “Her?”

“Yes, she’s a tiny human. I understand how crazy a concept that must be.”

“I don’t think you do.”

I rolled my eyes. “I need to talk to you. And…I need to borrow your floor.”

That made him less inclined to let me inside. It didn’t matter. Getting naked in his hot tub afforded me a momentary welcome in his house. He stiffened as I pushed past him.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Changing her diaper.”

“Her diaper?” He flung the door shut behind us, following me into the den. “Do you have to?”

“You’ll thank me for it.”

“Again…I don’t think I will.”

“Frank Bennett had a conference call with the Monarchs tonight.”

Why was his house made of so much white? White couches, white floors, white walls, white marble. I dropped the diaper bag on the floor of his den and gave Rose a puffy, plastic book to gnaw on.

“You’re going to be fined twenty-five thousand dollars for the hit on Pierce Jarvis.”

“What? Why?”

“Because Jarvis is out for the season now. Answer your phone once in a while? My father was trying to get ahold of you this afternoon, but you left practice before workouts.”

“I always work out at home, by myself.”

“Well, he was going to fill you in.”

“I don’t want him filling me in. I’m only dealing with you, beautiful.”

I laid Rose down. “You could have fooled me.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’ve haven’t dealt with this at