Sincerely, The Puck Bunny (Totally Pucked #2)(49)
“So, you know what you need to do…?” Graham says, sitting up on his elbows on the threadbare carpet, “You have to make her fall in love with you.”
He says it as if it’s the easiest thing in the world. Making Maddison fall in love with me. Like I hadn’t already thought of a million different ways to be with her again.
“Make her fall in love with me.”
Asher nods. “No, Graham is on to something. Look, if you want to be with Maddison, then you have to remind her what she loved about you in the first place.”
Maybe they’re right. I can tell something is holding her back, and I don’t want to push her too far. It’s almost like she’s skittish about things.
Ultimately, I get it... she’s worried that things could go badly between us and affect our co-parenting relationship, but maybe the guys are on to something.
“You have to woo her,” Graham says simply, as if it’s just the easiest solution in the world, and he can’t believe I didn’t think of it myself.
"Show her what she’s missing, how great you two could be together. That’ll do it, man. Now, if we’re done talking about our feelings and braiding each other’s hair, I’m fucking starving. Y’all wanna go to Chipotle?”
Asher and Hudson immediately jump off the couch. “Fuck yes.”
“Send me pics of Olive-you later.” Graham throws over his shoulder as they leave.
I’m dozing off when Maddison walks through the door. She shuts it quietly behind her, gazing at Olive on my chest with a soft smile that makes my stomach tighten.
“Hey,” she whispers, taking off her purse and hanging it on the hook by the door.
“Hey, sorry, I must have fallen asleep with Olive.”
She shakes her head, smiling. “No, it’s okay. I think it’s so sweet when she falls asleep with you.”
“How did your appointment go?”
Walking over, she sits on the other end of the couch and tucks her legs underneath her, “Everything is... good. I’m able to resume normal activities.”
The look I give her makes her blush under my scrutiny. “Like the gym,” she quickly says.
“I gained a ton of weight with Olive, and I’ve been really trying to cut back and watch what I’ve been eating, but I’m excited to be able to get back into the gym and work on myself again. I can use the time off from school to focus on it, since my side job is… online.”
"You’re perfect, Maddison,” I say in complete honesty. If anything, pregnancy has made her even sexier. Her hips flare even more, her breasts larger, full of milk to feed our daughter. My mouth waters just thinking about the shape of her body, and the need to feel every inch of her in my hands.
I realize then, Graham’s right.
I’ve got to woo her. Remind her of what it was like when we were together, and how something so beautiful came from it. Show her that together…We just work.
The plan? Simple.
Make my baby mama fall in love with me.
Eighteen
“Maddison?” I call out, as I unlock the door with the key she gave me yesterday and let myself inside.
A few days ago, I sat down and brought up the conversation of her and Olive moving in with me again. It had just been weighing on me… The nights that I had to leave Olive; they broke my heart. I was constantly wanting to text or call Maddison to check on her.
Reed said that’s a normal dad thing, but I also don’t want her to feel suffocated in anyway. So… I just approached the topic with caution, especially seeing the hesitancy in her eyes.
I get it, it’s a huge step… and we’re not even together, we’re just co-parents for Olive.
She said she wasn’t ready, that we weren’t ready for something like that, and I respect her opinion, but then… she offered me a key to her place and said I was welcome anytime to see Olive. It made sense since most days I slept on her couch anyway, so, here we are.
Taking steps, together. Building trust. Building a relationship that’s centered around our daughter.
It made me believe that maybe there could be something more between us. After the first night home and our discussion, I had pushed it out of my head that we’d ever restart what we had that weekend on the lake, and the key felt like an olive branch. Together, we’ve been so focused on being the best parents we can to Olive, and I’ve tried to only focus on that, and not the need to pull Maddison into my arms every time I see her. But every day that I’m around her, it gets harder and harder, and after last night and our discussion, I decided I’m going for it. I’ve always gone for what I want. And I want Maddison.
I want to be with her. I want to have our family together. I'm fucking crazy about her.
And if I don't let her know how I feel and convince her that we should be a family, then someone else may come in and steal her and Olive from right under my nose.
The truth is, after that weekend, I never stopped thinking about her. I never stopped thinking about the way her eyes shined in the pale moonlight beneath the lake or the way that she felt beneath me, soft and supple as we created something so perfect. She was a stranger, and yet, it felt like she knew me better than the people who surround me every day.
This is my chance to make her fall in love with me, and to show her that we can be a family. To gain her trust, to show her that I can be an amazing father to Olive and that the way I want her has so much more to do with the fact that she’s also the mother of my child.