The Workaholic and the Realist (New Hampshire Bears #2) (10 page)

“I love you, Keaton Michael.”

“I love you, Grams.”

She hugged me, and I rested my chin on her head. I’ve been taller than her since I was thirteen, but she could still whip my ass.

Someone cleared their throat, breaking Grams and my connection. “Sorry to interrupt, I was heading to bed.”

Grams pinched the inside of my arm. It hurt like a bitch, but I knew the meaning for it.

“Um…Felicia…I apologize for being rude to you this morning.”

Her eyes grew wide. “Well, thank you.” She looked at me as if I had more to say, but I didn’t. “I’m going to head up because I have an early interview.”

“Good luck, dear.” Grams beamed as Felicia headed to the spare room.

When she was gone, I hugged Grams once more and told her I needed to head home and get some studying done. I felt better when I reached my apartment because I’d patched up things with Grams. Not so much with my
mother
.

Chapter Thirteen

Harlow

Meadow and I were completely flabbergasted as we listened to everything Maxima told us. We’d all met up at Meadow’s house for a weekly girl’s night to watch
Chicago Fire
, when she began telling us of Remington’s proposal. I couldn’t even tell you what was going on with station 51 because I was too engrossed in her story.

“What are you going to do?” Meadow asked. Not one of us had touched our wine glasses yet.

“I don’t know.”

“This is serious. Very serious.” Meadow shook her head in disbelief.

“I have to agree with Meadow on this. One, you’ll be lying to a judge saying you’re in love and engaged. Two, he has a child, and you’ll be an important part of her life. Three, you’ll be a contributing parent. Four, this is fucking insane.” I couldn’t even wrap my mind around the situation she was in.

“I thought about all those things.” Maxima was almost in tears.

“I’m not trying to upset you.” I reached for her hand, trying to give her some comfort.

“I know.” She sniffed and Meadow handed her a tissue. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to say sorry. We both understand how hard this is.” Meadow patted her back. “We’ll help you through this.”

“Ditto,” I reassured her.

Maxima offered a long sigh. “When I have a big issue, I usually talk out the situation. This time, every time I try to talk about it, I burst into tears.”

“Well, try it now,” I suggested. “We have wine, tissues, and plenty of time.” I smiled at her.

Up until midnight Maxima, and with a lot of tears, went through all her pros and cons about agreeing to be fake engaged to Remington. She did want to have a family someday and marry a man who loved her as much she loved him. She was fearful her emotions would get the best of her and playing house with him for too long she might actually fall into the lie. If she wouldn’t be able to follow through, it would hurt more people than just her. She didn’t want to be the person who caused Remington to lose his daughter.

All of her reasons were smart, sound, and understandable. Being in her position would be harder than imaginable. I doubted I could remain this calm. Maxima finally called it a night, and we all headed home. I had just changed into my shorts and tank top when the rapid knocks came at my door. Opening it up, I knew it would be Keaton’s eyes I would see.

“It’s after midnight.” I tried to sound mean, but my body was humming for him. When he licked his lips, I almost had an orgasm where I stood.

“You look wide awake.” He strolled into my house.

“What are you doing up and about?”

“Just finishing homework. Thought I come over here and we’d have a night cap. We haven’t seen each other since Valentine’s Day. I’ve missed you.”

“Missed me?” My heart picked up pace.

“Did you miss me?” He wrapped his arms around my waist.

“Maybe.” I played it cool.

“I came by earlier but you weren’t here. Out on a hot date?”

Giggling, I said, “No, I was with Meadow and Maxima. She was having a serious issue.”

“Maxima?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.”

By his tone, I knew he knew something. “She’s having a
big
issue.”

“Because of a question asked of her?”

He definitely knew. “Yes. How do you know?”

“I gave my word not to say anything.” He squeezed my hips.

“I gave my word, too.”

“Then how is she?” he asked with concern.

“Dealing with it.”

“Him too.”

We stared at each other before Keaton asked, “Would you do it for me?”

Without a second or a blink of hesitation, I replied, “Yes.”

Keaton released me and stepped back.
What the hell was I thinking?
Did I just tell him the truth? Now, doesn’t seem to be the right time to tell him. I know he doesn’t want anything more than I was giving him. I could live with that, and no, it didn’t bother me because I knew already. Keaton didn’t walk into my life and say, ‘Hey wanna be in a relationship?’ and then use me as a fuck thing.

“Let’s forget it.” I started to rush past him, but he tugged me back into his arms.

Silence surrounded us, but it said a lot as he gently caressed my cheek with the pad of his thumbs. His blue eyes pierced mine, and he leaned in, capturing my lips. Normally, his kisses were hard and domineering, but this time, it was softer and more passionate than normal. He gripped my thighs tightly as he lifted me up, I wrapped my legs around him.

Tonight, I knew he wouldn’t pound into me. Tonight, he would shower me with the softer side of Keaton Jaco.

And I was right.

I woke up on my stomach and turned to see Keaton sleeping the same way but facing the other direction. He had stayed all night. It was a first for us.

We finally fell into exhausted sleep as the sun was beginning to rise. We would make love, talk, and then repeat. This talk was different than our others. I learned Keaton was the definition of a workaholic. If he wasn’t on the ice, he was studying. If he finished studying, he would read or workout. He wasn’t into TV or movies although he watched Netflix from time-to-time, and he didn’t really listen to music. I had known he was super smart, but this confirmed it.

I eased off the bed, grabbing his t-shirt and slipping it on, before heading down to the kitchen. I turned on the coffee pot and started grabbing items from the fridge to make breakfast. The last time I fixed breakfast was a long time ago. Actually, it had been my last serious boyfriend. Three years ago? Wow, time does fly.

Now, it was Keaton.

I cut the potatoes and started the bacon. I whipped the eggs and then made myself a cup of coffee as everything began to cook up.

Staring out into my backyard, I didn’t think about anything particular, except for how thankful I was the snow finally melted away. I could feel the spring approaching, and I couldn’t wait. I caught the reflection of Keaton coming toward me. He wrapped one arm around my waist and the other around my shoulders. I leaned my head against his bicep, reveling in the comfort.

“Morning, puppy.”

He kissed my cheek. “Good morning, honey-bunny. The smell of coffee and breakfast woke me.”

I smiled. “Make yourself a cup, and I’ll finish breakfast.” I didn’t want to move from his arms, but I needed to.

As he made his coffee, I began to plate up everything. We were wrapped in silence again, and I knew we would have to discuss what I’d said last night, but I’d wait until he brought it up first. If he never did, then it’d just be an unspoken topic between us.

I put the plate in front of him, and I freshened up my coffee. When I sat down, I noticed he hadn’t touched his food.

“Something wrong?” I figured he wouldn’t have any trouble with a simple breakfast.

He smiled and dived into the food. He’d burned a lot of calories over the past twenty-four hours as have I.

Of course, Keaton finished his food, long before I did, and fixed himself another cup of coffee while I continued to eat. I could feel his eyes on me.

“You know I’ve only loved one woman in my life.”

I quickly swallowed my food.
Where was this going?
“Okay.”

“Grams. She’s been the only one I could count on.”

“I believe it.” Exactly what does one reply with? “She raised you.”

“She threw me out the other morning.” Keaton began a long in-depth detailed explanation on why his grandmother tossed him out of the house and how he needed to treat his mother better. I partially agreed with her. People do change and remain better than they once were. He told me how he apologized and what was said between him and his grandmother.

“Do you trust Grams?” I asked him as I’d done before.

“More than anything.”

“Then give your mother another chance. At least, this time, she’ll be closer to you in proximity, and you can keep an eye on her.”

He nodded, and we fell back into silence. I gathered up our dirty dishes and put everything in the sink.

“Did you mean what you said last night?”

I froze in place. He was bringing it up again. “Yes.” I went back to busying myself with the dishes. I heard him push back his chair. His bare feet padded over to me.

“Why?”

I turned off the water and faced him. “Because you mean something to me.”

“So, you would marry me?”

“No.” I shook my head. “I would become engaged to you to help you out.”

Keaton searched my face, and I knew he was already thinking of a million question to ask.

“Do you like me?”

There’s question number one.
“You know I do.”

“Have you ever been in love?”

“I’ve been in serious relationships where I deeply cared for the person.”

“That’s bullshit. Answer me honestly.”

“Yes, I have been in love.”

“Would you ever marry someone?”

I shook my head. “Marriage is a waste of paper. Love, trust, and kindness is what holds a relationship together. Not a piece of paper.”

“People get married to solidify their love.”

“They could just as easily do it with buying a house or car.” I tried to make my way around him, but he countered my move.

“Would you marry me?”

I gasped. “Excuse me?”

“If I asked you, would you marry me; what would be your answer?”

“No,” I rushed out. “And you don’t ask a female that unless you’re dead serious. Plus, you don’t want to get married.”

“I always thought that.” He gazed at me with lust in his eyes.

He could easily throw me up on the counter and have his way with me, and I’d allow it at this point.

“Harlow?”

I looked around Keaton to see Dacey walking into the room.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” She dropped her head and stared at the floor.

“You’re fine, Dacey. Head up to the office and catch up on the emails.”

“Okay.” She bolted from my kitchen and Keaton’s naked chest and low riding jeans.

“I need to get some work done.” This time, I did make it past him, or so I thought until he spun me around to face him.

“Go out with me.”

I should have said yes, but I stopped myself. “When was the last time you were on a date?”

“A long time ago, but it doesn’t mean I don’t know how to treat a woman or how I want to treat you.” His blue eyes didn’t blink, and neither did mine.

“Okay,” I answered, wondering what the hell just happened.

“So, you’re going on a real date?” Meadow took a sip from the wine glass.

I nodded. “When he comes back into town Sunday.”

“Wow, but you know what? You two hit it off right away. I shouldn’t be shocked.”

Meadow and I were sitting on opposite ends of her couch, getting ready to catch up on a couple of our shows.

“He’s never really dated though.”