Over the next few days, things fell into a rhythm. Jace cooking; Jace pampering her; Jace becoming more and more a part of her life.

Thursday, she got up from her afternoon nap and glanced at her phone and wondered if Jace would be home soon. Then she caught herself.

Home? This wasn’t his home. It was hard, but she tried to keep her distance as much as she could. To prevent herself from getting too attached, she sequestered herself at night, trying not to spend too much time with him.

She looked at her calendar and saw she had a Lamaze class the next day. She thought about skipping, but she kind of wanted to go. After all, she needed to be prepared. This baby was coming soon. She wanted to have the baby naturally, and she knew she needed training.

Walking out into the living room, she marveled at how clean and in perfect shape everything was. Then she moved down the hallway toward the baby’s room and thought she’d give the crib another shot.

When she got to the door, she sucked in a breath and grabbed the wall for support. The room was done. The crib was put together with a mobile hanging over it. The walls had been painted a pale pink. All the clothes were organized and put away. A rocker rested on a fuzzy pink rug in the middle of the room. The changing table stood at the ready.

Tears filled her eyes, and she moved to the chair and sat.

Putting together the furniture was something she’d mentioned to Jace’s mother while they were talking about how she wanted the room to look. Feeling herself breaking down, she let the tears flow and started rocking, loving the feel of it.

Jace stood in the doorway, beaming at her.

“You did this?” she asked.

“Well, you have been avoiding me every night.”

She let out a light laugh, unable to believe his kindness.

“My mom ordered everything. I just put it all in here and put it together the way she told me you wanted it.”

More touched than she had ever been, she cried harder.

He knelt beside her, taking her hand. “Don’t cry, Addison.”

She tried to tug her hand back. “Don’t give me the sports hero smile. I can’t take it.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Your mom told me you were the champ at football at CSU before getting recruited to the Storm.” She sniffed. “Well, maybe I knew that. Maybe I know a lot about you from online.”

He chuckled and squeezed her hand. “You are so adorable.”

Her heart beat faster in her chest. She frowned.

“What?”

She didn’t want to broach the subject. Adorable wasn’t anything. It was like a little sister, right? “Nothing.” She tried to stand, but couldn’t.

“Just sit.” He kept her hand. “Why do you do that?”

“What?”

“Shut down?” His brow furrowed, and he lightly put his other hand on her forehead. “Every time I … that I feel like we’re connecting, you push me away.”

Hesitating, she decided she had to tell him the truth. “Because … I was married. Happily married to Tim, but well, now I don’t think I was happily married. But still.” She wiggled her hand free and shook her head. “On some level, I was attracted to you, and I … Tim didn’t want kids, and this all …” She gestured around the room. “Your parents, especially your mom. I mean, it just feels like I’ve always known her or something.” She swallowed. Her throat felt clogged with emotion. “It’s stupid. I know you’re leaving and you only moved in because I had no one to help me. I know that, but I start to get confused sometimes, and that’s not good. I mean that wouldn’t be good for me.” With care, she pushed herself up and started out of the room.

“Don’t leave,” Jace said.

She paused.

Jace moved next to her, taking her hand again. “I … I’m not leaving you, Addison. I mean, we’re friends, right? I’m seeing this through with you. End zone, baby.”

“End zone?” she asked.

He took her hand. “That’s what I do—get the ball to the end zone. That’s what we’ll do together.”

“So the baby is the touchdown.”

He grinned. “I’ll even catch her if you want me to.”

“No,” she said quickly, feeling a bit strange thinking about him in the delivery room, and self-conscious in general.

“Just trust me. Will you? You’re my refugee, remember?” Gently, he pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. “At least, you’re my friend, right?”

It felt like he was saying the complete opposite though. Which couldn’t be true. Jace Harding couldn’t be attracted to her, could he? She focused on his words. “Right. Friends, right?” Yes, this was better.

“Exactly.” He agreed. “As your friend, I don’t think I’ve told you how grateful I am for you letting me help you.”

Her pulse beat loudly. His other hand squeezed hers. All of her insecurities surfaced, but she forced them down. She needed to be grateful for what she had. For what Jace had brought into her life. She felt like a fool for admitting she was attracted to him because all he wanted was to help her like she was a refugee. How come it didn’t feel so great to be on the receiving end of this? “You act like I’m doing you a favor.”

Seeming to deepen the connection with his gaze, he grinned. “You are. Like you told me a long time ago, I’m selfish.”

Annoyance surfaced as well as the tears that hadn’t fully gone away. “I didn’t … you weren’t …” she said stammering.

He gently pulled her into him. “Shh, I know.”

Feeling herself melt, a million questions whirled in her brain.

“I mean it. I’m grateful to be part of your life.”

Pulling back from him, she saw the sincerity in his eyes and was touched by it. The tears she’d been holding back blinked out and down her face. “No, I’m grateful. For you. I should have told you that sooner. Thank you for everything.” She was truly humbled by him.

He blinked and tugged her back into him, setting his chin softly on her head. He sighed. “Well, I’m still more grateful. Don’t forget that.”

“Is this a contest?”

“You should know, to a professional athlete, everything’s a contest.”

She let out a light laugh even though she didn’t understand why he had suddenly been brought into her life or why it felt like he was attracted to her to or what that meant. She smiled, feeling happier than she’d felt in a long time.

Later that night, she sat on the couch next to Jace and agreed to watch a crime show. “You’re going to love it,” he said as he turned on the episode.

The idea of only being friends with him had actually freed her. There was no need to worry about anything. She just wouldn’t overthink what being “friends” with a professional football player meant. Or the fact she was huge. Or the circumstance she was in. “Is that offer to rub my feet still on the table?”

“Absolutely.” He got up and grabbed a pillow off the other couch. “Here. Turn and put this behind you. Then I’ll rub them.”

Sinking back into the pillow, she watched as the show started. She sighed as she felt his hands work on her swollen feet. When she looked at him, he was staring back at her, and those stupid butterflies swarmed in her gut again.

She refocused on the television and told herself not to think about how it would feel when he left. Friend. Friend. Friend.