“I tell you, Mark, I’m blown away by the overwhelming support of Gage Nix’s fans. With him back home in Tuscaloosa, everyone’s hoping to see him around town with his long-time girlfriend, Katie Crisp.”

Standing behind the sofa, I quirked my eyebrow at the television. What they should have said was they were shocked they hadn’t been able to tear me down and Gage away. And I had no idea where they got this “long-time girlfriend” from, unless they’d mistaken Missy and me. Gage ate up the positive attention, while I just wished he’d turn it off. I had him home and didn’t want to share him any more than I had to.

He was stretched out from one end of the couch to the other, shirtless in just a pair of basketball shorts. My mouth watered at the sight of his bare chest and toned stomach, and his chiseled arms left me craving something I couldn’t have. Without taking his eyes off the screen, he reached his hand over the back of the sofa for me to take.

“Why are you watching that?” I followed his lead as he circled his arm over his head to bring me in front of him.

“Crunchy, my entire career has been nothing but sex, scandal, and half-truths. Women have clawed at girls I’ve gone out with, I’m constantly under a microscope, and at one point, the Titans believed I’d sold their secrets to a tabloid. And before you ask, no, I didn’t.” He turned onto his side so I could sit in front of him. “So now that the press has decided we’re this year’s golden couple, I’m going to enjoy it.”

“I just wish they’d leave us alone.” I tried to slouch in defeat, yet it got harder and harder to slump the bigger my belly became. Soon I’d be bent over backward trying to stay upright.

He placed both hands on my stomach and leaned up to kiss me just above the navel. “This right here will forever keep your name on their lips. Might as well give them something to boost ratings.” Gage leaned back with his arm behind his head. The cocky smirk that normally adorned his face had been replaced by a dopey grin.

“I guess if they’re going to talk about us, I’d rather it be good than dredging up our pasts.”

“No skeletons left in my closet for them to uncover. My twenties were a nightmare.”

“You really think America loves a domesticated Home Run King?”

“So you admit I’m royalty?” His eyes danced when he wagged his brow.

“Self-proclaimed, sure.”

“What do you say we go shopping today?”

I was sure Gage had an angle, I just hadn’t figured it out yet. “For a car?”

“No, clothes. You have a car. And right now, you look homeless. A king can’t have his queen wearing ratty T-shirts and oversized sweatpants.”

“No, you have two cars. Who cares what I wear? If Mila Kunis can carry a Gucci bag to dress up lounge pants and flip-flops, why can’t I?”

“Because you don’t have the bug-eyed sunglasses to go with it.”

“I can order a pair from Amazon.”

He sat up, pulled one leg around my hip, and straddled me. His arms circled my belly to pull me against his chest. The heat from his breath tickled the side of my neck and sent a chill across my skin. I’d give anything to be able to take this a step further to silence his argument and quench my thirst.

“Or, you can let me take you shopping. Think of it as PR. You’d be doing me a favor. My image is important.”

“Is that how you’re going to spin this?”

“The public wants to see more of us. All three of us—together.” Only Gage believed Major League Baseball fans wanted to see him shopping for maternity wear with a woman he wasn’t in a relationship with.

His hands slid from my stomach, down my hips, and around to my inner thighs. My body tensed when his thumbs lightly traced my center, and I dropped my head back onto his shoulder with a lust-induced sigh. The feather-like kisses he placed on my neck sent me into overdrive… “Fine. You win. This is torture.”

I jumped up, unable to withstand his teasing, and he followed, turning me toward him. His palms captured my jaw and tilted my chin up where I found him gazing at me with a look I was afraid to identify, even though my heart wanted to claim it. Falling for Gage was dangerous territory I wasn’t ready to consider exploring, yet having him this close, with all his walls down, I fought a losing battle.

My eyes fluttered shut as he leaned down, capturing my mouth with his in a sensual, intimate kiss. His tongue slowly explored mine, and I ached to be close to him, pressed against him with nothing between us. However, his son was currently cock blocking both of us, and I was frustrated as hell. I broke away, breathless and needing to step back. But Gage refused to let me get far and leaned his forehead on mine. For some undetermined amount of time, the two of us just stood in the moment, together.

Without taking my eyes off his, I whispered, “Are you sure you want to be seen shopping for maternity clothes?”

“Chicks dig it. The only things that could make me more desirable would be a ring on my left hand and my son in my arms.” His eyes glittered with humor, and the lines around them attested to his happiness.

“Chicks dig it?” Sarcasm laced each word, and I struggled not to roll my eyes or poke my finger down my throat. Gage was starting to have a real effect on my maturity level. Soon, I’d be sticking out my tongue when I didn’t get my way.

He leaned back, taking my hips in his hands. “Are you kidding? Married men with babies are magnets for women.” The expression on his face was priceless—like I was the only woman in the world who found his claim outrageous.

Married men were taken, not available options at the meat market—regardless of how appetizing their rump roast looked.

I just shook my head in disbelief and turned to go upstairs to make myself look presentable enough for the public eye. Before my foot hit the first step, I called over my shoulder, “You better not ever use our son to pick up hoes.”

“One of these days, you’re going to realize the only other women in my life are Stevie and Mac,” he hollered as I proceeded up the stairs. “And Corinne and Ellie.” There was silence before he added, “I swear, that’s it.”

* * *

“I don’t understand how you haven’t fallen madly in love with Mac.” Gage caressed the leather steering wheel seductively. “She’s sleek and elegant.” The dreamy state of his voice concerned me.

“Is that how you like your women?”

He jerked his head to me. “Nah, knocked up and barefoot works for me.” He added a wink to soften the blow. “Seriously, this girl has all available accessories on the market.” Gage played with the lids on the cup holders and pressed every button he could find while we sat at a red light. “You realize you’re like the only woman in America who would turn down an Escalade.”

“It’s worth too much, and it’s not mine. I would never forgive myself if something happened to it.”

“They’re safer than a car. You need something bigger than a Camry. How about a truck?”

“With a baby?”

“Good point. Surely there’s another SUV on the market you like.”

“Not that I’m willing to pay for.”

“So you admit there is one?”

“Of course, everyone has a dream car, right?”

“What’s yours?”

“I’m not telling you.” I stared straight ahead and crossed my arms on top of my baby bump that more closely resembled a table than I cared to admit. If I started setting dishes on it, I was in trouble.

“Why not?” He tried to act hurt, but I knew his game.

“Because the next thing I know, there will be one parked in the driveway.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Cars are expensive, Gage.”

“Why are you so worried about money, Carbon Katie?”

I wasn’t, not in the way he thought anyway. There was plenty available to me, yet I still didn’t want anyone to think I’d gotten pregnant to get a free ride. And there was also the small issue that I hadn’t mentioned Granny’s will.

“I think spending as much on a car as someone spends on a house is insane.” I paused to look for the store. “Oh”—I pointed toward the shopping center we were going to—“that’s it.”

Gage squinted at the sign and shrugged. I didn’t bother asking what had him perplexed for fear he might tell me, and then we might never get out of the car. After he parked, he came around to the passenger side and helped me out. I grabbed my purse, threw it over my shoulder, and closed the door. No sooner had I taken a step, Gage laced his fingers through mine. And it was then that I realized Gage was making a statement, a public declaration, not just for his fans, but for me. This was his way of ensuring the world knew, Gage Nix was no longer on the market.

A month ago, that thought would have terrified me. Today, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it other than safe. Even when the saleswoman in the store trailed him, offering suggestions—on maternity clothing—he left no question about who he was with or who he would go home with. I was saddened by the blatant disregard women gave celebrities or the people next to them.

At the clothing store, the salesperson asked me to take a picture of her with her arm around Gage. At lunch, fans came up to the table, male and female, and created a screen around him so dense, I couldn’t see his face from the seat opposite him. At the bank, a guy nearly pushed me over to get his autograph—that didn’t go over well, although I managed to keep Gage from hurting the man. And when we went to the grocery store, there were paparazzi following us down the aisles. Gage took it all in stride; I found it exhausting.

With shopping bags full of maternity clothes and groceries, Gage drove us back to the house. I kept catching him rubbing the leather seats or touching the dashboard like it was delicate. He definitely had a full-blown love affair going on with Mac.

“So are we going car shopping tomorrow?” The hopeful grin lifting his cheeks would have made me say yes to just about anything.

I hopped out when we pulled into the garage and went to the trunk to grab a load. Gage smacked my hand like he was scolding a child, practically forbidding me to lift a thing.

“What do you think I do when you’re not here?” I giggled at the fragile way he handled me.

“Nothing. That’s why the fridge was empty when I got home.”

“Hey, I do stuff.”

“Just nothing that requires leaving the house or shopping?”

“I worked on Granny’s—” I stopped myself, hoping he hadn’t heard me and that he didn’t ask for an update on where I was with the will.

He set my clothes down on the floor and lifted the groceries onto the counter. “How are things going with that?”

“With what?” I snatched the bags off the ground and tried to make a break for the stairs to avoid the inevitable.

“The will.”

“Who’s Will?” I’d almost made it to the steps when his arms came out of nowhere to lock around my waist—well, what was left of it. So I guess now was the time we were going to have this conversation.

“Granny’s.” He took the bags from my hands and set them at the base of the stairs and then turned me back toward the kitchen. Each step we took felt like another foot closer to the Green Mile. Pregnancy had made me a bit of a drama queen—at least in my thoughts. “You can tell me about it while we put the groceries away.”

I started digging through the plastic sacks when he opened the pantry.

“Has Corinne been here?”

“How do you know that?”

“The candy and the Nutella go next to each other on the top shelf where a three-year-old can’t reach them. You don’t eat candy. I wasn’t here. Did you two have a playdate without me?”

“No. You sent them over here looking for me, remember?”

“Right. When you wouldn’t answer your phone, and I was afraid an ax murderer might have gotten ahold of you.”

“That’s extreme.”

“So is avoiding my calls when you told me how much it hurt you when I did it.”

There was that. “I wasn’t avoiding your calls. I’m pregnant, Gage. I could close my eyes right now and fall asleep or pee—both are always viable options.”

“I hope you don’t do both at the same time. That could get messy.”

“Pretty safe bet, I won’t.”

“Will.” Jesus, nothing could keep him distracted today.

Maybe a random boob shot would send his thoughts in another direction. Just as I was about to lift my shirt, he turned to face me.

“Why are you avoiding the subject? Did you not work on it? I’m not going to be mad if you didn’t.”

My breasts heaved when I inhaled, and they caught my attention. I was going to miss them when they disappeared again. “No. I did.”

“Okay, so why don’t you want to talk about it?” He stopped what he was doing and leaned against the counter with his ankles crossed and his hands propping him up against the granite.

“I just wanted to find the right time.”

“I’m free.”

Of course. “Did you file Granny’s taxes for last year?”

“No. Cort did. Or maybe Bill. I don’t know. One of the two took care of it.”

That was good to know. It was something I could mark off my to-do list. “I really think you might want to read it for yourself.”

“Better yet, why don’t you give me the CliffsNotes version?” His brow lifted suggestively.

“Well, okay. It all seemed pretty standard. And a lot of it no longer applied, like whether or not she wanted to be kept on life support and where she wanted to be buried. There was a list of all her assets and a handful of debts—which I called and got payoffs for and mailed checks while you were gone.”

“Is there anything left to do?”

“I haven’t done anything with the division of assets.”

He wasn’t going to make this easy for me. Not only would I have to spell out every painful word, I’d likely have to draw him a picture…right after I tore his heart out.

“Did you know Granny didn’t leave everything to you?” I tried to ease into this to feel him out. And then busied myself with the groceries, so I didn’t have to face him. My tone was light…and fake.

“Honestly, I haven’t thought about it. She turned the deed over before she passed away. I don’t have a clue what else she had. I was always gone, so she worked with Cort on her will. The only thing I knew for certain was that she took my mom out.”

My attempts to avoid making eye contact were fruitless when he uncrossed his ankles, wrapped his fingers around my wrist, and pulled me between his legs.

“Stop fidgeting. What’s wrong with you?”

“Gage…” My voice cracked just saying his name. “I-she-I promise you, I didn’t know what she’d done.”

He chuckled. “Did she leave it all to one of those television evangelists? Or buy an ostrich farm? Or do I now have a star in my name and a map of the galaxy?” At least he thought those were all humorous options. “Please say I have a star—oh, what if it’s the sun?”

Slowly, I moved my head from side to side. “No. She left it all to me.”

His mouth turned down, and he let out a humph. “I mean, it’s not a solar system in my name, but okay.” Once again, his hands settled on my hips, keeping me rooted in front of him. “Does that bother you? Not the universe thing—I’m sure that’s upsetting to everyone—but that she gave it all to you?”

“Yes, it bothers me,” I practically shrieked just inches from his face.

“Why?”

“Why doesn’t it bother you? She was your grandmother. You were her only living relative.”

“And she loved you as much as she did me. I don’t understand why you’d think I would care.”

I must not be explaining something right. “Because it’s a lot of freaking money.”

“That I would do what with?”

“I don’t know…put it in the bank?”

A laugh erupted from deep within his belly—the way Corinne’s did—and came rolling out of his mouth. “Baby, I don’t need Granny’s money. She knew that. And I guess in an ironic twist of fate…the money did end up going to a son with my name. I’m glad she left it to you.”

“Seriously?” I was dumbfounded. “You don’t even care how much it is?”

“Not really. Now you have zero excuses not to buy the car you actually want.” He popped a kiss on my lips that hung open in dismay. “There will be no Camry.” He moved me aside and pushed off the counter. Leaning down, he kissed my belly and spoke to our son in a singsong voice that typically made me swoon. “Mommy thinks she’s slick, little man, but Daddy’s always got the upper hand.”

“I’m not spending a lot of money on a car, Gage. It’s wasteful.”

He collapsed on the couch and turned on Sports Center. “You can either go pick out the SUV you want, or I will just keep buying them until I figure out which one you love. So, we can either have Stevie, Mac, and the SUV of your choosing, or a parking lot full of Axel Rose and the rest of Poison in the front yard. I’ll leave that up to you.”

I grabbed a pillow off the sofa and swatted him. “You’re impossible.”

“You love me.”

I was about to pop off with a smartass remark when he pointed at the screen.

“Look. We’re already on the evening news.” He grabbed the remote to turn up the volume.

My mind tuned out what the newscaster said as I took in the candid shots that flashed on the television. I’d never seen Gage look at me the way he was in each picture they displayed. And I had to admit, if people didn’t know us, we appeared like any other couple in love. Gage was sexy as hell carrying my bags, and he was right—I definitely needed the big sunglasses to pull off the sweatpants and designer purse. Yikes. But on his arm, I looked like a rock star.

* * *

The next morning, in clothes that fit—and didn’t make me look like I lived under a bridge—I held Gage’s hand when we walked into the bank to sign all the paperwork to close Granny’s accounts and transfer the money to mine. It was bittersweet and felt like a final goodbye I wasn’t ready to say. Yet when tears appeared in my eyes, he wiped them away and kissed my cheek.

“She wanted to do this for you, Katie. Don’t let it make you sad.”

Afraid I’d lose control of my emotions if I responded, I simply nodded and signed the last form. There were still tons of stocks and bonds to transfer, but there was enough money in my account to pay cash for a house. Oddly enough, had I known about this when she first passed away, Gage and I wouldn’t be sitting here today. The first thing I would have done was buy a home to keep from inconveniencing him, and now, I only hoped he’d let me stay.

The banker got up to make copies of everything we’d signed, and I leaned over in the chair to rest my cheek on Gage’s shoulder. “You’re not going to make me buy my own house, are you?”

He didn’t even flinch. “I don’t want you to buy your own car, but I know you won’t give in on that. If you try to move out, I’ll just follow you wherever you go.”

Overly emotional and on the verge of tears again, I whispered, “I don’t want to leave.” I waited for a snarky, Gage comment or a pompous retort about having won me over. I got neither.

Gage pressed my cheek to his arm in a half-hug and kissed the top of my head. “I don’t want you to, either.”

The guy returned with a folder full of paper that Gage took. After shaking the man’s hand, we said goodbye.

“Ready to add another member to the family?” he popped off in the parking lot when he opened my door.

“Gage, I’m not due for another fifteen weeks.”

He came around the front of the vehicle and hopped in. “Not him. A car.”

“You have issues.” I laughed as he pulled out.

“So, who’s getting your money?”

I’d never made such an extravagant purchase. Between paying my student loans off, living expenses, taking care of Mom, and trying to keep my old car running, I never had the money to even consider something new, much less nice. Any money I had remaining from the bonuses I used to get from Gage went straight into savings—thank God for that, or I wouldn’t have lasted this last year without it.

“Infiniti,” I finally acquiesced.

“Please tell me you’re talking about a QX80 and not some pantser-weenie car.”

“Yeah, the monograph.”

His brow quirked with surprise. “Color?”

“Why do guys always assume the color of a vehicle is so important to a woman?”

“Is it the number of cup holders?”

I offered him a blank stare.

“So it is the color.”

Again, I just blinked, leaving my face void of emotion.

“You need to tell me what you want so I can feed the vultures.”

“Shouldn’t you be fighting them off?”

“How do you plan to buy a car if I run off the sales guy?”

“Smokey quartz with graphite interior.”

“Anything else?”

“Fully loaded. Four-wheel drive.”

“We live in Alabama?”

“I might want to go off-road.” I shrugged.

“In an eighty-thousand-dollar car? Why not just take Stevie?”

“Eighty-four thousand. And she has no doors.”

“She’s made for muddin’.”

“So is a QX80.”

“No, Katiebug. It’s a luxury SUV.”

“Right. Sport Utility Vehicle.”

“I don’t know why we’re having this discussion. You’re not going four-wheeling.”

“Oh? Would you forbid it?” I loved messing with him. I wouldn’t have a clue where to go much less how to drive in that crap, but ruffling Gage’s feathers gave me joy in life.

“Absolutely.”

“You going to hire guards to prevent it while you’re traveling?” I snickered, watching his face flame with agitation.

“I swear. I will turn around and go back home. You can drive Mac.”

“In the mud?”

“No!”

There was a knock on the window. Sometime during that exchange, Gage had pulled into the Infiniti dealership, and a salesman anxiously waited to help us. The instant Gage stared the man in the eyes, I thought the guy would have a coronary. Clearly, he was a fan of the King.

An hour later, and God knows how many autographs, the dealership had ordered the car I wanted. It never ceased to amaze me what Gage could get done with just his name. They didn’t run his credit—not that he was the one buying the vehicle—or ask for a down payment. And had he been able to wait, they had someone at another dealership in Birmingham willing to drive the car to Tuscaloosa today. Unfortunately, Gage had a game this afternoon, and there were “ground rules” I had to agree to before I took possession. Gage’s rules—not the dealership’s. I nodded and smiled like I was listening. It was kind of cute that he cared enough to be such a baby.