Paige was so proud of how she handled herself when he showed up at her hotel door, looking all dashing and fashionable in his expensive suit. She acted so nonchalantly, as if it were everyday a hockey star showed up outside her hotel door begging for forgiveness. She refused to fall for his perfect smile. And when he gave her that bouquet of roses, she acted like they were going straight in the trash.
Yeah, that'll teach him!
But at a certain point, she stopped feeling like she was beingstrong,and started to feel more like she was purposely acting cold just to punish Lance.
He didn't deserve that, did he? He seemed like he was genuinely sorry. Of course, she didn't know what to believe anymore. She didn't know if she could trust herself. But taking that paternity test was like letting a burden off her shoulders. Once that was done, Paige felt freer. And then Lance started saying all the right things again …
Call it a moment of weakness, butwhatever,Paige agreed to go see his condo. She thought it was cute that his sister was waiting there for them. Plus, Lance probably wouldn't try to get weird if his sister was there, right?
So he turned the key to his evergreen Range Rover, and they were off.
“This car's the same color as you and Irie's eyes, by the way,” Paige observed.
He looked at her with a smile that reached those green eyes. “Yeah. That's why I got it. Thought it matched.”
“You bought a car because it matched the color of your eyes …?”
“Well, no, I bought the car because I needed something to drive in the winter. The Lambo doesn't do salt and snow.”
“I wondered if you might show up in your Lambo,” she said.
He laughed. “No chance. I'm not driving you two around in that thing.”
“Why not? Worried Irie will dirty up your baby?”
“Hell no, I'm not worried aboutthat! I'm worried about where the hell Irie would sit! It's not safe enough for her.”
Paige gave an approving nod. “I see.”
A short while later, the Boston Harbor came into view. Lance navigated the car down the wharf, heading towards the water. He pointed at an elegant red brick building that stood at the end of the pier, watching majestically over the water.
“That's my building,” Lance said proudly. He pointed at a set of windows on the very top floor. “And that's my condo there on the top floor.”
“It looks beautiful.”
“Just wait,” he said, eyes sparkling.
***
The lobby of Lance's condo stole Paige's breath away. It wasgorgeous,a wide-open space with a marble foyer, with plenty of sunlight filtering in through the building's colossal windows.
She'd never seen anything like it. She couldn't even imagine what it'd be like to actuallylivehere, to walk in and out of that lobby every single day. She felt a twinge of shame at the thought that Lance had actually spent the night atherapartment, which must've felt like a Soviet-era dump to him.
“What do you think?” Lance asked as they entered the elevator. He held Irie snugly in one arm.
“It's beautiful,” she answered, breathless.
“Beautiful enough for you to move in?” he asked with a grin. But before she could respond, he answered himself. “Don't answer that. I'm only kidding. Unless you actuallydowant to move in, in which case, I'm not kidding. Ha—nevermind.”
“Lance …” Paige murmured. She could feel herself blushing. He was sweet, yes, and she was glad he was still making an effort. But she had to stay committed to her mission. If they liked each other and wanted to keep dating, fine. There was absolutely no reason they couldn't take things slowly.
The elevator doors opened and the three walked to Lance's door. It finally occurred to Paige that he'dplannedthis, just like he said, and he was walking her right into an ambush.
Lance opened his door, and Paige's jaw dropped. His condo was gorgeous—tall, vaulted ceilings; hardwood floors that gleamed in the sunlight; and an incredible view of the Boston skyline through the living room's floor-to-ceiling windows.
She stepped in, still in awe. “This place isamazing,Lance.”
“Thanks. I told you that you'd love it, didn't I?”
