“I sure am!” Paige said with a great cheer.
“Why?”
“It's just funny. You're talking about acarbeing your baby. And …” Paige trailed off, covering her mouth again.
“—and here we are, driving out to see yourrealbaby,” Lance said.“Yeah, I see why that's kinda funny. So what's your kid's name?”
“Irie. Irie McMillan.”
“Hey, that's a cute name.”
She gave him a sincere smile. “I'msoglad you think so.”
That was one less major disagreement between parents, after all.And come to think of it, Irie Couture has a nice ring to it, too.
“Can I ask you a question, Paige?”
“Sure.”
“So last night, we talked a little about the night we met two years ago.”
“Uh-huh?” she stammered. She felt her knuckles tightening around the steering wheel. Was Lance as clueless as she thought, or was he finallystarting to piece things together?
“I never understood why you ran off while I was in the shower.”
“I figured you'd want me out afterward. I thought it'd just be easier if I left without any awkward goodbyes.” She lowered her voice. “And … I was ashamed.”
“Why?”
“You probably won't believe me, but I'd never had a one night stand before. You were my first one. And last one, for that matter.”
“I believe you,” he said with a gentleness that surprised her. Then he smiled. “I mean, you kept saying, 'I never do this.'”
“Yeah. Well, I didn't. And Idon't.”
“So why'd you go home with me that night?”
She sighed. “Because. You were cute, and aggressive, and kind of an asshole but also kind of charming at the same time. And I thought you'd be the perfect throwaway guy for a one-night kind of thing.”
His eyes narrowed at her. “Not sure if that's a compliment or an insult.”
“Good. Now you know how I felt when I met you.”
“But why'd you want a one-night stand with me, if they're not your thing?”
“I'd just been through a bad break-up,” Paige said.
“That's funny. I was fresh off a break-up, too.”
“You were? What's your story?” she asked.
“Oh, it's not much of a story. She was an aspiring actress that I met at the club and started dating. Anyway, I was only with her for a few months, until I caught her poking holesin a condom. Can you believe it?”
Paige felt the blood drain from her face. Was that another piece of the puzzle? Had Lance unwittingly used a sabotaged condom withher?Did Lance's psychotic ex unwittingly get Paige pregnant?
“W-why would she do that?” Paige muttered at last.
“Trying to trap me with a baby, you know? Gold digger, I guess.” He let out a loud breath of relief. “I dodged a bullet, man.”
