Chapter 17
Paige
Look natural, look natural, Paige reminded herself as she lurked just outside the kitchen.
Mom and Dad were sitting at the dining table. Paige knew she was still beaming, and her parents would surely know something was up if she couldn't wipe that smile from her face. But she couldn't help it. The past twenty-four hours had been such a whirlwind, and she'd had every last emotion wrung from her body … and yet she'd just witnessed one of the most moving scenes of her life.
Father and daughter finally met, face to face, for the first time.
And, thank God, Lance got it. On the drive over, Paige had started to wonder if Lance would ever figure it out—but no. He knew it. Right away. Paige had studied his face carefully, and the second he saw Irie, something clicked. His eyes softened for Irie with a father's gentle, loving reverence. The big, strong, hockey hunk turned into a pile of mush for his baby daughter.
And when he turned his eyes on Paige?
Yow. The way he looked at her had changed, too. Yeah, he still wanted her; actually, he wanted her more than he had last night. But the desire in his eyes was like nothing she'd ever seen before. She wasn't just some great lay, some piece of ass he met at the bar anymore—she was the mother of his child. The woman whose life he would always be inseparably bound, thanks to Irie.
Then, without warning, his hands were wrapped jealously, possessively around her waist. He kissed her wildly, urgently, like some primal caveman, as if he couldn't wait to drag her back to his cave and fill her with more babies. Her insides clenched and throbbed under the electric touch of his fingertips.
She couldn't help but notice Irie staring at them as they kissed. It was the first time she'd seen her Mommy kiss anyone that wasn't Gramma or Grampa. Did she know what she was witnessing? Could she understand?
And then Paige gritted her teeth with shame because she'd let herself get caught up in the moment. She knew she shouldn't kiss guys in front of Irie like that—unless they were truly committed to sticking around and being a part of Irie's life.
And, truly, she still had no idea what the future held with Lance. She still had no idea what he was like as a person! They had so much to talk about, to share and learn about each other … so much lost time to make up for.
Which was one reason she wasn't ready to tell her parents about him.
But the other reason was that she was afraid to tell the truth: that her ex, Adam, wasn't the father. Instead, she'd done the most irresponsible thing of all—gotten pregnant from a one-night stand. It didn't matter that she'd practiced safe sex—or tried to, anyway. They'd taught her that sex was a sacred bond between lovers, not something one gives away freely.
Having finally managed to erase the ear-to-ear grin from her face, Paige entered the kitchen and gave both her parents a hug.
“Hi guys. Thanks again for watching Irie today!” she said.
“Our pleasure,” Dad said. “How was work?”
“Oh, the usual. Better than yesterday, thankfully.”
“Where's our star athlete?” Mom asked.
“He's in the living room, playing floor hockey with Irie.”
Dad looked impressed. “With a lesson from a guy like that, maybe a college scholarship is in her future?”
Paige took her seat at the table. “Wouldn't that be nice?”
But hopefully she won't need it, she thought to herself.
A silence grew. Mom's knowing eyes lasered in on Paige.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” Paige chuckled, wilting under the scrutiny.
“Aren't you going to tell us how and when you met a professional hockey player?” Mom lowered her voice to a whisper when she spoke those words, as if they were something naughty.
“Er, yeah.” Paige's face was warming, no doubt turning red. She had to focus to keep calm. “I met him when I was at Vanderbilt. Two years ago. But uh—we weren't really able to keep in touch.”
“Is that why you raced out of here last night? You recognized him from the video?” Dad asked.
“Yep,” Paige said with an audible gulp. “I realized he was in town, and so we met up.”
“That's so interesting,” Mom said. “But it's kind of a big secret to keep from your parents, don't you think?”
Paige squirmed in her seat. “What? What secret?”
“That you're friends with a professional athlete, of course.”
“I guess,” Paige croaked, her breath heavy with relief.
“You know,” Dad began, “I didn't know it yesterday, but I looked him up just now. That boy is kind of a star player, Paige. One of the best in the league, they say. It's pretty amazing to have him in our house!”
“Oh. Yeah. I didn't really know that. I don't follow hockey that closely. He's always just been 'Lance from Boston' to me.”
“Huh,” Dad said.
Mom leaned over the table and whispered again. “He's very handsome, Paige.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“And he makes a lot of money.”
“Mom!”
“Just saying. If he's as good with kids as he is with a hockey stick …”
Paige groaned. “That's so cheesy.”
But Mom didn't care. She cut to the chase instead. “Is there something going on between you two, Paige?”
“I—I don't really know,” she lied.
“Well!” Mom clasped her hands together and stared at her husband. “That's a better answer than an outright no, isn't it, honey?”
Dad agreed with a stoic nod of his head.
“How exciting,” Mom said.
All eyes turned to watch as Irie entered the room. She held Lance's finger in her tiny fist, marching her father into the kitchen.
“Where is she taking you?” Mom asked with a laugh.
“I don't know,” Lance said. “She just grabbed my hand and raced in here. I think she wants to show me something.”
“I think she wants to show you her other hockey buddy,” Dad said.
Everyone watched as Irie led Lance across the room and over to Rascal, the schnauzer, who laid tuckered out in his dog bed. Irie plopped onto the fluffy bed next to Rascal. She thumped his side with her small fists and imitated a dog's bark, arf arf!
Alarmed, Rascal raised his head.
“Oh, you wanted to show me the doggie. Can you pet him nicely, though?” Lance asked, showing her how to kindly pet the dog. “Gently? Like this?”
Irie followed Lance's lead. She opened her fist and gently ran her fingers over the dog's ribs instead, and Rascal laid his head down again.
“Good! Yeah, that's perfect, Irie. See? He likes it.”
Paige caught Mom's victorious glare from across the table. Mom mouthed the words, good with kids!
“Irie's pretty adorable, isn't she, Lance?” Mom asked.
“She's amazing. She's so smart,” Lance said, practically gushing over his daughter. “She can really shoot a ball, too. I couldn't believe it. This girl might have a future in hockey herself.”
“Told ya,” Dad said with a smirk.
Paige started to worry that Lance was so enamored with Irie, he just might suddenly announce himself the father—but the more Paige thought about it, the more she began to think that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Hey, if he was really ready to step forward as the Dad? If Paige and Lance could be a united front in raising Irie? That'd only make it that much easier to come clean about their past.
But Mom, bless her heart, was compelled to continue her sales pitch. “Lance, can you believe her father doesn't want anything to do with her? A daughter as cute and lovable as Irie?”
Lance lowered his head and quietly petted Rascal with Irie.
“Mom,” Paige reprimanded her.
“What? It's true.” Mom said defiantly. “Lance, did Paige tell you about her ex, Adam?”
He cleared his throat and spoke tentatively. “She told me a little about him, yeah.”
“Did she tell you that he'd rather smoke pot than be a father to his daughter—”
Paige glared over the table. “Do we really need to talk about this right now?”
“Well? It's true. A real man would want to be around to watch his daughter grow. You don't get those moments back, Paige. Once they're gone, they're gone forever—”
“Okay, Mom, that's enough,” Paige snapped.
The moment had grown tense and awkward. Sheepishly, Paige checked the time and stood. “Well, we should probably get going. I've got a lot to do at home and you can just imagine how busy Lance's schedule is. Thanks again for watching Irie.”
“Anytime, sweetheart,” Dad said.
After everyone had given goodbye hugs, Paige strapped Irie into her car seat. Lance watched quietly, apparently deep in thought.
With the sun starting to set in the west, the three drove off.