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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

HADLEY

N ervous doesn’t even begin to explain how I’m feeling right now.

Honestly, the thought of his mother being here any minute has me ready to throw up.

“Hadley, don’t hate me.”

As I open the door from the bathroom, I find Rowan standing in the middle of the hallway with a laundry basket filled with things...things that look like my belongings.

My eyebrows pull together. “What’s wrong?”

“I have to move all your stuff to my room.”

My eyes flash to his, widening as I stare at him. “Why?”

“Do you really think my mother is going to believe we’re engaged if she sees that you’re sleeping in my guest room?” His eyebrows lift, waiting for me to give him an answer that is different from the one we already know to be true. “If we are going to sell this engagement thing, it has to be believable. ”

“So, I’m going to have to stay in your room, with you, while she’s here.” I let the words sink in, feeling something in my stomach and chest that I know I have to ignore. Dear God, I cannot even begin to consider giving those feelings any attention.

They will get me nowhere fast.

“Yep,” he says, popping the p with his lips. He begins to walk past me, carrying my belongings into his room. “My bed is big enough for two.”

I follow after him, hot on his heels as we walk into his bedroom. He comes to a halt and I let out a breath as I almost collide with his back. “I’m not sleeping in your bed.”

He sets the basket down, turning around, and I realize how goddamn close I’m standing to him. I have to tilt my head back to look up at him. His eyes shimmer from the sunlight shining through the window and I notice the almost black rings around the perimeter of his irises.

“I promise I don’t bite,” he says quietly, winking as he reaches toward my body. My breathing stops, my heart coming to a standstill as I anticipate his touch. He grabs my necklace, his fingertips brushing against my skin as he slides the gold strand, repositioning the heart charm to the front. “Unless you ask me to.”

He lets go of my necklace, not taking a step away as he stares down at me, his gaze penetrating mine. My heart kicks into overdrive but again, I have to shove every little feeling back down into a box. I clear my throat, pulling myself out of whatever daze he just pulled me into .

“I promise that won’t happen,” I tell him, straightening my spine as I square my jaw. Tension sizzles in the air, but I refuse to crack under it. I know better than to play with an electrical current.

Rowan chuckles, brushing past me as he heads toward the door. “Sure thing, outlaw.”

There’s a loud knock coming from downstairs, followed by the sound of the front door opening. “Hello? Is anyone home?”

Spinning on my heel, I quickly meet Rowan’s gaze. He simply smiles and waves for me to come with him. “Shit.” I grab the small velvet box from the laundry basket, popping it open before sliding the ring along my finger.

“Yeah, shit,” he says, his expression unreadable as his gaze drops down to my hand. He stares at the ring with a pregnant pause before looking back at me. “It’s showtime.”

Sasha Taylor is just as I remember her from the last time I saw her. It’s hard to believe it’s been a few years. When I dated Beau, he made sure to keep me out of sight of his family, which, to this day, I still don’t understand why.

“It’s so good to see you again, Hadley,” Mrs. Taylor says as she pulls me in for a hug. She smells like lavender, just as I remember from when we were younger. It feels like I’m stepping back in time for a moment, except things are so different now .

Rowan Taylor isn’t just someone I’m admiring from afar, sharing silent glances within the hallways of his childhood home. No...Now I’m admiring him from up close as I help him take care of his infant daughter and pretend to be his fiancée.

“It’s good to see you too, Mrs. Taylor.”

“I see old habits die hard.” She laughs as she releases me and takes a step back. “You make me feel old and you’re not a teenager anymore. Please, call me, Sash.” She turns to Rowan. “Where’s my grandbaby that I have yet to meet?”

I see Rowan wince as he grabs the chain around his neck and adjusts it, but he quickly recovers. As if on cue, Lucy lets out a soft cry and we all walk into the living room, finding her waking up from where she was sleeping in the pack and play. Sasha walks right over with Rowan, watching him as he lifts Lucy into the air and hands her to his mother.

She stares at her for a moment, tears brimming along her waterline as she pulls her in close to her body. “Oh my gosh, look at this precious little thing.” She trails her fingertips over her cheeks. “How amazing.” She looks at Rowan. “I don’t even know if I can be upset with you over this anymore.”

“I’m going to go get her a bottle,” I tell the two of them, giving them some time to themselves as I duck out into the kitchen. I can hear their voices as they talk amongst themselves about the situation with Lucy as I get everything ready. I take longer than normal, giving them some extra time.

The last thing I want to do is feel like I’m imposing on their conversation when it’s really meant to be between the two of them.

It takes me a good five minutes to get Lucy’s bottle ready and when I walk back into the living room, Rowan immediately looks at me with a smile on his face. Lucy’s wearing a different pair of pants, but I don’t comment on it or ask what happened as I hand the bottle to his mother so she can feed her.

I take a seat on the opposite end of the couch and Rowan walks over to me, lowering himself down onto the cushion beside me. His thigh presses against mine, his hand landing on my knee as he looks over at me with a reassuring smile. I’m surprised by the action but I know what he’s doing. We have to make this believable.

If the courts want statements or to question anyone from Rowan’s life, they have to be convincing enough. We don’t have to worry about any of his friends. When Rowan told them that we got engaged so he could get custody of Lucy, no one questioned it. They all get it. They know what could potentially be at stake here if Lucy’s mother were to decide to come back into the picture.

His family, however, is a completely different story and we’re at an advantage with them living farther away. It’s an easier sell and shouldn’t be difficult to convince them that this is a real engagement. And then it eliminates the guilt of asking them to lie.

Instead, it’s just the two of us lying.

Sasha tears her gaze away from Lucy’s face and I can feel her staring at Rowan and me. I know I can’t let my expression give anything away. All I have to do is pretend. I let my eyes roam across his face, memorizing the way his eyebrows shift, the strong line of his jaw, his perfect lips. A smile lifts my own as my gaze lands on his deep blue eyes.

He’s a work of art.

His face softens, his lips parting as a gentle breath escapes him.

“So, the two of you,” Sasha starts, pulling us out of our own private moment and back into the living room with her. She knows how toxic my relationship was with Beau, so I’m grateful that she doesn’t even bring it up. “I won’t lie, this was all a little unexpected.”

Rowan nods, turning to look at his mother. “Honestly, it was unexpected for us too.” He pauses, glancing at me with a tender look. “We ran into each other about six months ago and one thing just kind of led to another.”

Sasha looks back and forth between us, the softest of smiles cresting her lips. “When you know, you just know, right?”

Rowan smiles, tipping his chin at her. “Something like that,” he tells her, looking at me again as his eyebrows jerk upwards. “Honestly, I don’t know where I’d be without Hadley right now,” he tells his mother as he directs his gaze back to her. “She has helped me with Lucy without any judgement, which I know has also been a difficult adjustment. It has been for both of us, honestly.”

“The fact that her mother didn’t tell you about her until she gave her up still blows my mind,” Sasha admits, her voice barely audible as she shakes her head. She looks back at me. “Thank you for being here for Rowan and sticking by his side. I know this must not have been easy for you at all.”

My breath catches in my throat, my heart stumbling over itself. “I would have never left him to figure this out on his own.”

“Thank you for taking care of both of them.”

Unwanted tears spring to my eyes and Rowan squeezes my thigh. I lay my hand over his, the recessed lights in the ceiling catching on the diamond on my finger as I wrap my fingers around his. Rowan’s throat bobs as he swallows hard, the muscle in his jaw twitching as he stares at the ring.

“You don’t have to thank me, Sasha,” I tell her, my gaze finding hers once more as I smile. “It’s truly my pleasure.”

She smiles at me, bowing her head as she looks back down at Lucy. “Such a sweet, beautiful girl.”

“She is, isn’t she?” Rowan murmurs from where he’s still seated beside me. I look over at him, catching his unwavering gaze as his eyes burrow holes through my own, tunneling directly into my soul. There’s a warmth inside my chest and a tingling feeling trailing up my spine.

I take a mental picture of the way he’s looking at me and tuck it away inside my mind for safe keeping. I store it for a later date, for a time when I’m going to need that memory to get me through the day.

For a time when I won’t have him right here in front of me.

I stare down at the mattress against the center of the wall in Rowan’s room. He’s on the other side, going about his business as he disappears into the bathroom to brush his teeth. I already went and did my nighttime routine before slipping into a pair of fuzzy pajama bottoms and an oversized t-shirt.

His mother is sleeping in the bed I’ve been occupying. After she came and while she was busy with the baby, Rowan changed the sheets while I moved my toiletries to his bathroom. There couldn’t be a trace of my existence in that room.

And now here I am, trying to figure out where I fit in his bed instead.

“I can take the floor if you would prefer that,” Rowan says softly as he strolls back into the room from the bathroom. I didn’t notice him at first and I lift my gaze, immediately meeting his from across the bed.

He must have discarded his shirt while he was in the bathroom because now he’s just in front of me in a pair of low-hanging sweatpants. I immediately pull my gaze away from his chiseled abdomen.

“I don’t want to do that to you,” I tell him, shaking my head as heat begins to creep up my neck. “I could always sleep on the floor instead. Or I could just go down to the couch and give her an excuse in the morning if she sees me.”

Rowan stares at me for a moment, a look of disapproval sliding across his features before he lets out a soft breath and shakes his head. “You’re not sleeping on the floor or the couch,” he says in a huff, although there’s a lightness to his tone.

I don’t move as I watch the muscles in his arms flex as he grabs the covers and pulls them back before climbing into them. My breath feels like it’s caught in my throat and all I can do is watch him.

“Get in the bed, Hadley,” he murmurs, pulling the covers back for me on the other side. It’s a king-sized bed, so it’s definitely big enough that we can sleep without being close to each other. “Remember my promise? I don’t bite...unless you ask,” he adds with a soft chuckle.

My heart pounds erratically in my chest as I weigh my options before ultimately deciding to climb into the bed with him. Rowan moves farther away and the distance feels like it stretches. There’s room for two other people between Rowan and me, but I grab one of the extra pillows and place it between us on the mattress.

Rowan watches me with amusement before my gaze meets his again. “What’s this for?” He lets out a low chuckle, the sound vibrating through my spine.

“In case you decide to get handsy.” I bite back a smirk and shake my head. “I’m kidding. This is more for me so I don’t accidentally cuddle you,” I explain as I lower my head onto the pillow. “I’ve been known to do it in my sleep and I don’t want to subject you to that.”

His eyes do a slow scan of my face as a sheepish grin pulls on his lips. “I might not be opposed to that.” He rolls over, reaching for the light. It flickers off, leaving me in the darkness. “Good night, outlaw,” he says softly.

“Good night, Rowan.”

Rolling away from him, I pull the covers up over my shoulder and close my eyes as I try to get my heart to calm down. I count my breaths, attempting to count sheep to fall asleep and pretend Rowan isn’t behind me.

He’s too close and too distracting...but he’s comforting at the same time.

A few moments pass before his voice breaks through the silence again. “Hey, Hadley?”

“Yeah?” I whisper into the darkness. I hold my breath for a beat, waiting to hear his voice again. Just when I think maybe he fell asleep, he speaks .

“For the record, a pillow wouldn’t stop me from getting to you.”

Holy shit.

He doesn’t say anything else, settling deeper into the pillows as I lie staring at the wall, eyes wide, adjusting to the dark. We both lie in silence and I’m acutely aware of his presence. I listen to the sound of his breathing as it begins to grow even, transforming into a soft snoring sound as he falls asleep.

Me, on the other hand...I don’t think I’ll be falling asleep anytime soon.

This is going to be a long night.