I never imagined that my stalling to tell him that he would be a father meant that he would never know. I just didn’t know how to tell the king of hook-ups that his one-night stand was about to turn into a lifetime of commitments.
Now my little one’s father is gone.
I never anticipated being a mother. I had a plan. Find a man—a great man, the kind of man who puts you on a pedestal and shows you daily how much he loves you. I wanted the happily ever after that dreams are made of. But more importantly, I knew that I never wanted to raise a child as a single mother. I wanted my children to have the love of both parents.
Sighing deeply, I pull myself off the floor, brushing off the stress of situations I have no control over. What’s the point? It’s not going to bring my baby’s father back.
The second I climb to my feet, I remember who might be able to help me out of this situation.
Maddox.
Last I heard—from Izzy, who’d heard it from Axel when he was talking to Cage—Maddox was back in town for a little while. He’s been gone for a few weeks trying to talk Emmy into coming home. The poor girl has been going through so much after Coop’s murder that I really don’t see how he’s going to be successful. I hope he is though. Even though I don’t know Emmy that well, she is definitely someone I miss having around.
Luckily for me, he has a key to my place. One thing that can be said about this little ‘family’ I’ve come to love: they make sure they have every aspect of each other’s lives covered. It should feel weird that a man I don’t really know all that well has a key to my place, but right now, when all I can think of is getting back into my bed and sleeping for a year, I’m thankful that he does.
It doesn’t take me long to make the trek up to Maddox’s top-floor apartment, but by the time I do, my nerves are flying all over the place. I shouldn’t be nervous, but let’s face it, there isn’t anything about Maddox Locke that isn’t insanely intimidating.
Could be worse. It could be Asher.
I quickly dismiss the thought. Asher is the one man who makes me insane . . . with unleashed desire.
And the worst part? He’s Zeke Cooper’s brother—and the uncle to my unborn child.
We’ve become close over the last few months. I try to keep my lust to a simmer when I’m around him, but he’s just so . . . God, I don’t even know.
He towers over me, probably close to six foot four or so. He isn’t huge like Axel, but there is nothing about him I would call small. No, he is built solid with trim hips and the hottest butt I’ve ever had the pleasure of gawking at.
The part that kills me is that he looks so much like his brother. I know they were close in age, but they could have passed as twins.
Shaking off the thoughts of Asher Cooper, I come to a stop in front of Maddox’s apartment door and give my breathing a chance to calm down.
Just the thought of Asher has my heart rate spiking and my skin feeling flush, which is a testament to how badly I need some attention. I have a feeling that, with my raging hormones, I would start humping his leg if he were around.
Jesus, Chelc, get a freaking grip!
Sighing deeply, I bring my hand up to knock on Maddox’s door. It takes a second and a few more knocks before the door is swung wide and I’m met with the blue-eyed devil of sex appeal himself, Asher Cooper.
Before I can even open my mouth, he’s snarling, “What the hell do you want?”
“Excuse me?” I question, stepping back from the waves of anger that are rolling off of him. My skin starts to tingle, and I just know that I’m missing something here.
Something feels off.
“I said . . . what the hell do you want?” It takes me a second, but when he moves to come towards me, I’m hit with the unmistakable smell of heavy liquor.
Dammit. Not again.
One thing about Asher is that he’s as nice as can be and genuinely a fun guy to be around . . . until he’s drowning his grief in a bottle. Then it’s like he doesn’t even see anything but his pain.
“Uh . . .”
His eyes narrow at my stupid stuttering, and I can tell by his facial expression that, no matter what I say, he’s primed and ready for a fight.
“Not a fucking hard question, Sunshine. What the hell do you want? If it’s anything other than lying on your back and spreading those thighs, then I’m not interested.”
The. Hell?
“Uh . . .”
“I’ve got plenty of this to go around,” he arrogantly states while waving his hand over his crotch. “All you need to do is say the word. I’m all about my ladies having some meat on their bones.”
I can feel my face heat with embarrassment. Yeah, I’m at that awkward stage in my pregnancy where I look like I’ve just had way too much fun at KFC and then went over to the bakery and asked for one of everything. My mind is telling me that he doesn’t mean it, but deep down, it hurts.
“How dare you!” I squeak—yes, squeak.