Page 25 of Dirty Puck

“We can go in my truck.”

“Excuse me,we?”

“Did you or did you not agree to our arrangement?”

“Well… yes, but?—”

“Get your boy. We’ll get her to the store.”

“I need his car seat.”

“Right. New plan. You and me head to Kohl’s to grab a car seat and then we come back here to get Miss Claudia and Benny.”

I cocked my head at the man still in total confusion or disbelief. Maybe a bit of both. “You shop at Kohl’s?” I asked.

“Listen, babe. I might be a better goalie than most men, and we both know I’ve got a bigger dick and way more skills when using it, but I put my pants on one leg at a time just like those other men. I grew up going to Kohl’s and when my mom comes to visit, if she wants to grab something, we go to Kohl’s.”

How could I refute that logic?

“Why would you want to buy a car seat? Just take me to my car and then we can all go in mine.”

“First. I’m driving. I don’t ride bitch. Second. I don’t fucking fit in that little death trap of yours.”

“It’s not a death trap.”

“It’s tiny.”

“Fine, it might be tiny, but it has a good safety rating for a compact car.”

“If we’re dating and you have a boy, and I do the driving,then I’m going to need a car seat to transport your boy when we go places.”

That made sense. “Why do you do the driving? I’m a great driver.”

“I’m sure you are. Listen, it’s not a chick thing. Ialwaysdrive. When I was seventeen, I was in a pretty bad car crash. My buddy was driving. I saw the other car coming, but my buddy didn’t have the reflexes to move us out of the way fast enough. The car hit on his side.” Pain etched lines in his forehead and around his eyes. “He didn’t make it.”

I gasped.

“Reece.” I whispered his name, lifting my hand to rub his arm. He’d been incredibly honest with me for it being a fake relationship. He didn’t owe me his explanation, and I had so many more questions. Was he injured? Could it have been a career ender? But if he didn’t offer, then it wasn’t for me to know. Still, I felt for the man and relented. “Let’s go get a car seat.”

With his arm dropped to the small of my back, he ushered me out of the kitchen. “Miss Claudia, can you keep an eye on Benny? Reece drove me home last night, so I don’t have my car and he doesn’t have a car seat.” Then pointedly looking at Reece I finished, “Then we’re going to run and grab my car.”

“Not a problem. Benny and I will wait right here for you.”

After hugs for my boy and Miss Claudia, my new fake boyfriend led me out of the apartment down to his truck. He opened the door for me like a gentleman and helped me up inside.

“I worry that this’ll be too high for Miss Claudia to climb into.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll help her out. Always do for my mom.”

This man kept upping his surprise game.

How? Well, we had the helping his mom into his mammoth truck thing, but then he knew exactly how to get to Kohl’s from my apartment, never tapping the GPS on hisphone. Not even once. I’d been living here for three years and still used the GPS to find new places.

Reece found a parking spot and when I hopped out of the truck, he rounded it to drop his hand to the small of my back, ushering us toward the doors. Several men wrenched their necks in comical double takes once they discerned that yes, Baker Reece was entering their local Kohl’s.

He stopped to snap selfies with everyone who asked. I liked getting to see this side of Reece. Given our interaction back at Sumpter, I never would’ve guessed that this man existed. He cared about his fans. He’d been incredibly sweet to Miss Claudia and to Benny today. The man rattled my brain.

As I held the last guy’s phone trying to get the perfect shot, a group of women wandered up to him, giggling and flipping hair or batting eyelashes.Ugh—please. They walked right into the shot.

---