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 weretrulycommitted 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 aprofessional 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'sveryhandsome,Paige.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“And he makes alotof money.”
“Mom!”
