Page 20 of Daddies on Ice

And there are ways to deal with that.

I take a deep breath and square my shoulders. “I agree, Carl. We need to get out in front of this. First thing, ask…Krista…to take a NIPP test?—”

“NIPP?” Jake asks, raising an eyebrow. From the gleam in his eyes, I can tell what he’s thinking and shoot him a frown.

“Non-Invasive Prenatal Paternity, N.I.P.P.,” I emphasize. “Not short for nipple.”

Ash chokes out a bark of laughter. Carl clears his throat several times as if trying not to laugh. Jake, though, stares at me with wide eyes, a dark red stain making its way up his neck.

Apparently, the guys didn’t think I’d be able to follow Jake’s dirty line of thinking.

I fight back a smile and stare at Jake with a deadpan expression.

“What if she refuses?” Jake asks. “I mean, why would she agree to such a test when she’s not pregnant, at least not by me. She’s gotta know we never had sex. She wasn’t that wasted at the party.”

“Then we get a court order,” I say without pause.

“That might not be so easy and could expose us to the press,” Carl interjects.

“I don’t think it will be that difficult to get. We just need to express to the court that such accusations could be detrimental to Jake’s career and image.”

Carl nods thoughtfully.

“But there’s still the press,” Ash says with a frown. “There are reporters who hang out at courthouses just to see what cases go before judges and which ones they want to report on. If Jake has to go to court to get this order, the vultures will pounce.”

I nod. “It’s a chance we have to take. Besides, even if the press finds out, there will at least be some doubt casted Krista’s way. The first time they hear anything about it will be with Jake demanding she take a prenatal test.”

“Maybe there’s a way we can do this secretively.” I don’t think Carl even knows he is speaking out loud. His eyes stare straight ahead, not focused on anything.

“It could work,” he says, blinking his gaze back into focus.

I turn to Jake and point at him. “You can’t have any contact with her,” I warn sternly. “None. If she calls, don’t answer. If she runs up to you in a store, run the other way. All contact must be between the attorneys, if she has one.”

Jake raises his arms in the air in surrender. “I won’t.”

When I give him a doubtful frown, he stresses, “I won’t. I swear! I don’t want anything to do with that woman, and I especially don’t want to help her case.”

We talk for a little while longer, then Jake and Ash leave, which puts me in the office, alone, with Carl. “Well, I should get to work writing a few press release versions. Not that I expect to have torelease them,” I hurry to explain when he frowns at me. “But I like to be prepared.”

He nods, then gestures at the door. “Close the door, Trisha. We need to talk.”

8

CARL

I regret hiring her. At least, that’s what I thought at first.

Trisha had walked into my office looking so damn hopeful, and I caved. A single mom, right before Christmas, blindsided with a layoff—how could I say no?

I know what it feels like to carry the weight of a child, to wonder how the bills will get paid.

I didn’t think she had the backbone for this job, not with the circus that is Thunderwolves PR.

But Ash vouched for her, and hell, there weren’t exactly candidates lining up outside my door.

If I’m being honest, though, there was another reason I hesitated.

The first time I laid eyes on her, I’d almost told her no on the spot—not because she lacked credentials, but because she was too damn beautiful.