Play Me by Diane Alberts Read Free Book Online

you planning to get married to someone sometime soon?”
    “Don’t be ridiculous,” he said, shaking his head. But the way she tightened her hands on the edge of the table and narrowed her eyes on him gave him pause. She looked ready to flip out. And she definitely looked jealous. “You know what I meant.”
    “You swear you won’t ask me for more, or abandon us?”
    He held his hand to his heart. “I do.”
    “Fine. We’ll try it out,” she agreed hesitantly. She avoided his eyes. “But you need to be there for Chris, one hundred percent. He won’t be happy at first.” She pointed a finger at his chest. “And you better not break your promise. No one hurts my kid and gets away with it.”
    “I won’t.”
    “Yeah. That’s what they all say.” She cleared her throat and continued before he could reply. “When do you want to do this? The last month?”
    Right now . “Is tomorrow good for you?” he asked.
    “What? No way.” Her gaze swung back to him. “I think the last month would be best.”
    “Nope.”
    She wrung her hands in front of her. “The end of the school year?”
    “Not acceptable.”
    “Why do you need to move in so fast? We have months before the baby comes.”
    “But Chris is there now. I want to give him time to get used to me being there before the baby comes. Time to be the only child in our little family, so to speak.”
    He could see he’d won her over with that one even before she nodded. “Fine. Next month it is.”
    “Nice try. I already rejected that one.” He crossed his arms. “Next week.”
    She pursed her lips and eyed him. “I can see you’re going to be stubborn about this.”
    “Very,” he agreed. He tapped his fingers on the table. “I want to be there for you. For Chris. And for our baby—during the pregnancy and after. I have a right to be part of all of it, Kiersten. You know that.”
    Her face fell, and she dropped her head to hide from his view. “Ugh. Fine,” she said grudgingly. “What will you do with this place?”
    He cast a quick glance around him. “I’ll take care of that on my own, don’t worry. Ready to shake on our agreement?”
    He held his hand out as far as it would reach.
    “This is a bad idea.” She slowly stretched and shook his hand.
    He fought back the grin tugging at his lips. “Nah. It might just be the best idea I ever had.”
    She rolled her eyes and backed away from him. The chase was on.

Chapter Five
    Kiersten opened the door with shaking hands. In two days, Garrett was moving in, and they hadn’t told a single person yet. D-Day approached at rapid speed, and she didn’t have a single defense strategy in place yet. Didn’t know what to do to keep a safe distance from a man who tried to get closer with every word he said. This wasn’t exactly the scenario she would have picked but she also understood Garrett’s desire to be a part of the pregnancy. She remembered how Brianna’s first husband had behaved awaiting the birth of his children. He wanted to be part of every tiny thing—every kick, every doctor’s appointment, every moment.
    She also remembered her own father and how he wanted almost nothing to do with fatherhood, especially since her mother was dissatisfied with any attempt he made.
    Garrett wanted to be part of the baby’s life. And even if Kiersten had to compromise on the living situation, she couldn’t bring herself to discourage his interest. He was a good man, and he’d be an even better father…
    …and partner? Sure. But not that kind. Strictly platonic. She couldn’t trust her feelings around him. Around any man, really. The whole disastrous situation with Pete had helped confirm that.
    Still, having Garrett in her house would be torture. Seeing him every day would only remind her what she could have had, if only things had played out differently. If only she hadn’t pushed him away…
    If only she wasn’t so scared to let him into her heart.
    She swung the door open and nearly