Page 27 of Bartender's Surprise Baby

My mind raced with this new information as I slid off Levi’s body, and he tucked me against his chest, holding me as he drifted off to sleep.

It was as perfect a night as I’d ever had with a man, and when we woke up later and did it all over again, he transformed my dinner into something amazing while we swapped life stories, shared laughter, and reveled in our growing connection.

16LEVI

"Hey, this is Rob, and I'm not available right now. Leave a message." Rob's cheery message mocked me.

I stood outside Mt. Holiday Bakery, where she was fifteen minutes late meeting me. I gave her the first fifteen minutes because she was a woman, a model, and pregnant. But now, I was starting to get worried. And yeah, maybe a little bit angry because she wasn't answering her phone. Again.

"Hey, Levi, what's up?" Torey stopped in front of me with a concerned expression on her face. "Everything okay?"

Rob hadn't told anyone about the pregnancy yet, so I didn't either. "Just waiting for Rob."

Her mouth spread into a wide grin. "You're worried."

"No," I answered too quickly. "I mean, yeah, obviously I am."

"Don't torture yourself," she said and gave my shoulder a squeeze. "Go find her before you make yourself crazy."

She was right, of course. "Thanks, Torey." I took off, deciding to simply walk to Rob's house since it wasn't too far from the bakery. It was quicker than walking two blocks in the other direction to get my car, but I slowed my pace before I drew theattention of the entire town. I tried calling again, but it went straight to voicemail. Again.

As I got closer to her house, I saw the reason she'd forgotten about me. The reason was that she had her arms wrapped around a tall, good-looking blond in expensive clothes. And really great hair.

Fury pulsed through me. My anger came instantly, and on the heels of that anger was humiliation. I was worried about my growing feelings for her getting in the way of me making a decision about the baby, when she was still seeing other people. Ain't that rich? For my entire adult life, I kept women at arm's length, making sure they never got too attached, and now karma had shown up to kick me in the nads.

A part of me wanted to make a scene and out her pregnancy, but that wasn't my style. I turned back the way I came and vowed that I'd get a paternity test before I decided anything.

"Levi!"

A bitter smile twisted my lips at the anguish in Rob's voice as she called after me, probably shocked she'd gotten caught. I didn't stop, didn't turn to acknowledge that I'd even heard her. So fucking stupid, I told myself and walked faster.

"Hey, man," a voice I didn't recognize called after me, a lot closer than I expected. Then his hand gripped my shoulder and stopped my steps.

I turned slowly and glared at the man. "Get your hands off me, man." It didn't matter to me that the guy had at least four inches on me, because I had at least thirty pounds of muscle on him.

But he wasn't intimidated or angry. Instead, he seemed amused. "Oh, you're feisty. I like that in a man." His smile was wide, drawing my attention to his perfectly straight and electric-white teeth. His smile grew a little more, as if he was waiting for something.

Seconds later, I realized that he was waiting for me to catch on. "Right. Got it."

He threw his head back and laughed, as if it was the funniest thing in the world. "I'm Xavier, sometimes male model and stylist extraordinaire." He offered his hand, holding it out insistently.

"Levi," I finally said as I took his hand.

"Oh, I know. She didn't tell me just how hot of a lumberjack you were."

"Bartender," I clarified. "Not a lumberjack. Are there even lumberjacks anymore?"

Xavier motioned in my direction. "Whatever this is, I love it. And I love it even more because you clearly have it bad for Rob. Does she know?"

I shrugged. "I haven't said." Shit was already too complicated as it was, and yeah, maybe I was a little bit of a coward for not just outright telling her how I felt.

"This is the biggest downside to men, feelings terrify you above all else."

"Not entirely inaccurate."

Xavier laughed. "Believe me, I know. Been there, done that, and have the scars to prove it. But we're talking about you and Rob, not me. What's the plan?"

"Hell if I know." I wasn't much of a planner, but once I was sure in my feelings, there was no stopping me.

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