Sincerely, The Puck Bunny (Totally Pucked #2)(44)

"I’ll try. No promises.”

He nods. “I just need her bassinet and a blanket and pillow, and we’ll be fine.”

He’s been trying so hard to learn anything he possibly can about how to be a dad, and I appreciate every second that he tries. Watching him wrestle with a diaper, with his daughter so tiny and small while he hunches over her, is possibly the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. We haven’t reached poop territory yet, but the last time he tried changing a diaper, he at least turned the diaper the right way this time. Imagine him trying to secure the tabs with it on backwards…

Yeah.

I giggle to myself at the thought, and he looks at me with a confused look, his brow furrowed.

“Just thinking about you trying to put a diaper on her… backwards.”

He grins. “Look, those things are entirely too complicated to put on a baby, but I watched some YouTube videos, and I'm fully prepared to take on the next one.”

“That so?” I giggle.

Briggs' eyes seem to darken in front of me, changing into something entirely different as he watches me. “I missed your laugh.” He says so quietly I almost miss it.

I swallow thickly, tamping down the emotion that has clogged my throat. I’m entirely too emotional to go anywhere near this topic with him. Lately, he’s been growing out the thick stubble on his cheeks, and if anything, the dark hair seems to make his eyes pop even more. I shouldn’t be noticing things like this, but I can’t help it.

My baby daddy is ridiculously handsome, and time has done nothing but make him even more so.

“So, how about dinner? I make delicious spaghetti, and I think I have all of the ingredients.”

He nods and says nothing else, even though I can tell that he wants to.

Olive begins to fuss when I’m in the kitchen preparing a quick dinner, but Briggs lifts her from her bouncer, talking to her in a soft, calming voice that has my insides turning into a pile of mush.

God, men with their babies have got to be the sexiest thing on the entire planet.

Mission abort, Maddison. There are rules in place for a reason. A multitude of them. You can’t, and will not, complicate things between the two of you even more than they already are.

Complicated doesn’t even begin to cover it, and when he realizes what I’m hiding, he may walk out that door and never come back. My stomach churns at the thought.

It’s the main reason I haven’t sat him down and come clean, explaining my job and the past Puck Bunny to him. I don’t know how to say it without hurting him. Without bringing up a past that he’s so desperately trying to move on from. I’m worried that the second I tell him, he’ll leave and he’ll hate me in the process. I don't want to cause strife between us and his relationship with Olive will undoubtedly suffer.

I don’t want that. The thought makes me sick to my stomach.

I brown the ground meat and add in the homemade sauce I whipped up, then set the noodles to boil when I realize that it’s quiet in the living room. I grab the hand towel from the handle of the oven and dry my hands before checking on Olive and Briggs.

When I do, I stop in my tracks. Olive is sound asleep on Briggs’ chest, with his hands protectively holding her in place as he snores lightly.

In the twenty minutes I was in the kitchen, they fell asleep together. If I thought my ovaries were having a fit before… well now, they’re exploding. Sighing, I shake my head trying to clear the bad, very bad thoughts from intruding, but it seems impossible staring at them.

I pull my phone out of the pocket of my worn hoodie and text Ty.

Me: I don’t know which logical, intelligent part of me thought this was going to be easy.

I walk back into the kitchen to stir the sauce when my phone dings with his response.

Ty: Honey, that man exudes BD energy. Did you ever think you’d be safe from his charms? Shall I remind you of how sweetie pants O got here in the first place?

No, I surely did not. I’d never forget the whirlwind weekend that we spent together at the lake. Even when I hated him, I couldn’t seem to push him from my mind, no matter how hard I tried to forget him.

The truth is, I left that night, as much as it hurt me to, because I knew exactly who Briggs was. Or at least, I thought I did then. And even though I felt like I got to know the real him, I knew whatever happened between us wouldn’t last. I thought, he’s a professional hockey player… one who stays in the headlines, the last thing I should do is start something with someone who can’t commit.

I never expected to end up pregnant, or for the events that unfolded to happen.

Now, together, we’re navigating the messy, turbulent waters of parenthood. I’m desperately trying to keep my distance because my heart can’t take the beating, and at the end of the day Olive is what matters. Making sure we work together as a team, seamlessly, that’s what matters.

My heart has no say in the matter, even if he is the most charming man on the planet.

Me: Look at this.

I type, then walk over to the archway and snap a photo of Briggs and Olive, cuddled together asleep on the couch then attach it to my message to Ty.

His typing bubble pops up immediately.

Ty: Oh my God. Are you kidding me? dying emoji Even Kyle said that is so frickin cute and you know he’s still holding a grudge the size of Texas.

I laugh out loud, quickly covering my mouth to stifle the sound, careful not to wake them before typing back.