Page 72 of Power Play Daddies

“Okay,” I whisper, my eyes already heavy.

Slim jumps onto the bed as Kieran leaves, curling up next to me like a warm little heater. It doesn’t take long before I’m out again.

When I wake up, sunlight’s streaming through the window, and my phone buzzes on the nightstand. I blink a few times, grabbing it to find a message from Beau.

>>Paddleboarding? Morning’s too nice to waste.

A small smile tugs at my lips, and I type back quickly.

>>Yeah. Sounds good. When and where?

He replies just as fast with the location.

I scramble out of bed, pulling on a bikini and some denim shorts. The nausea I’d been dealing with before telling Kieran about the baby seems to have vanished, and I can’t help but think it was nerves all along.

I grab a towel, my sunglasses, and my keys before heading out to meet Beau.

The beach is quiet this early, the water calm and glittering under the sun. Beau’s already waiting near the rental shack, his board propped up beside him. He waves when he sees me, a lopsided grin on his face.

“Ready to get wet, Trouble?” he teases, his tone light but his eyes warm.

I roll my eyes, shoving his arm. “Keep it PG, Beau.”

He laughs, handing me a paddle. “All right, all right. Let’s go.”

We wade out into the water, the boards bobbing as we climb on. It takes me a minute to find my balance, but once I do, it’s peaceful—just the sound of the water and the occasional seagull.

Beau paddles beside me, his movements easy and practiced.

After a while, he breaks the silence. “You good? With… everything?”

I glance at him, then back at the water. “Surprisingly, yeah. You guys handled it better than I thought.”

His laugh is soft. “We’re not total assholes, you know.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” I tease.

Beau shakes his head, grinning. “You’re stuck with us now. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, I know.” I meet his gaze, and for a moment, everything feels okay.

His eyes are on me, the teasing fading into something softer. “You okay with that? With all of us crowding your life?”

I meet his gaze, shrugging. “Guess I’ll survive.”

We fall into a comfortable silence, paddling farther out where it’s quiet. The sun’s hot, and the water is cool against my legs as I sit back and trail them in. After a while, I glance over at him.

“How’d you even get into this? Paddleboarding doesn’t exactly scream Blaze.”

He smirks, resting his paddle across his knees. “Funny story. Went on a date once—some outdoorsy chick. She thought this was romantic or whatever.”

I snort. “Bet she regretted that.”

“Not as much as I did,” he says, laughing. “She fell off in the first five minutes, dragged me in with her, and broke her nose on the board.”

“No way!” I burst out, laughing so hard that my board wobbles. “That’s terrible.”

“Yeah, it was a disaster,” he admits. “But I stuck with it. Turns out, I’m pretty good at this shit.”