Page 220 of Force Play
“You bought a coffee maker?”
“I boughtyouan espresso machine. I know how much you love peppermint mochas, but they’re seasonal. It’s easy to find peppermint syrup online, though. Use the syrup, milk, and ground espresso, and you can have your favorite drink whenever you want. We have regular espresso right now, but you can find decaf as well.”
I smile at his absurdly sweet gesture and drape my arms around his neck. “You know pregnant women can still have some caffeine, right? We also still have no idea if I’m pregnant.”
Ari gives me a sheepish grin and brushes my hair out of my face. “Still just dreaming for now, Spitfire.”
I take his hands and rest them over my stomach. “If not now, one day. One day, your child will be right here. For now, we live our lives and wait for that time. We have forever, Ari.”
“Yes, we do.”
He kisses me tenderly before we’re distracted by his phone ringing.
We seem to always get interrupted by the phone.
Ari sighs and grabs his phone. His features harden when he looks at the screen.
“It’s your dad, isn’t it?” I ask.
“Yeah. Don’t really want to talk to Tom Morgan right now, but I also don’t want to get torn a new asshole the next time we talk for ignoring him today.”
I pull myself up and sit on the counter next to him. “Well, I’m beside you now. You choose whatever you want to do.”
Ari gives me a soft smile, kisses my cheek, and reluctantly answers the call.
“Hey, Dad,” he says, and his tone is so different than what I usually hear. When he talks to his mom, he’s lively and happy. He’s the exact opposite right now.
I can’t hear anything his dad is saying, just a stern voice that’s unintelligible on the other end. If this is how he always sounds, I understand why Ari doesn’t enjoy talking to him.
“Yes, I’m aware that I’m thirty.” He leans his head back against the cabinet. “It’s not disrespect; I was just acknowledging what you said.”
I rest my hand on his thigh and give him a reassuring squeeze.
“No, I still have no interest in joining the military, Dad. I enjoy my current career.”
Ari sighs, and I can see him shrinking in on himself. I’m really not liking this.
“No, I’m not planning marriage right now, but I do actually have a girlfriend.” He’s silent as he listens to whatever shit his dad is saying now. “Yes, I know, but we’ve been together for a couple of weeks. I’m not rushing into marrying her.” He gives me a sympathetic smile before he says, “I’m with her right now. Would you like to meet her?”
He throws the phone on speaker, and I muster as much faux-sweetness as I can. I may be irritated with the man already, but he’s still my boyfriend’s father. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Wow, you really do have a girlfriend,” he says gruffly.
Ari pinches his brow. “Why would I lie about that?”
Before his dad can reply, I state, “My name is Lucia.”
“Lucia?”
“She’s Spanish,” Ari replies quickly. “Her parents are from Spain.”
“It’s lovely to meet you,” I chime.
Ari looks at me and chuckles at my attempt because we both know this won’t be lovely.
“Yeah,” he replies dismissively, and I can already feel anger flooding me. His dad is a piece of work. “At least she’s a girl.”
I look at Ari in confusion, and he just shrinks even further in on himself. “Yes, we wouldn’t want anybody to talk now, would we?”
