Trying to Score

An Assassins Novel

Toni Aleo

© 2012 Toni Aleo. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-1-105-65941-6

Because a mother’s love is unconditional, this book is for my two blessings:

Michael Noel and Alyssa Irene

I love you both so much.

Prologue

Fallon Parker had done it.

Even with all the negativity from her parents and sister about leaving home to go to school out west, she had done it. Fallon had completed her first year at Stanford University. Yeah, she had gained the dreaded freshmen fifteen, but it didn’t matter.

She had done it.

Without anyone’s help — not her parents, her sister, her friends — she had kept her 4.0 grade point average.

Yeah, she was feeling pretty awesome.

On cloud nine, Fallon jumped into her Charger and drove down to San Jose to meet her friends. They were all going out to celebrate and she couldn’t be more excited about the fake ID in her purse. Fallon had been such a good girl her freshman year, but now she was a sophomore and she was gonna live this summer. Fallon was on a mission.

Get drunk, find a guy, and hook up.

Maybe not sex, but at least make out some. Other than that it was simple really, and Allison, her roommate, had said that the Trails Pub was the place to do all three.

After parking her car beside Allison’s, Fallon headed inside.

“ID please,” said a big black man standing as high as a giant who, according to his nametag, was named Pinky. Fallon had no clue what was so pinky about him, but she had learned quickly that in California, ya kinda just go with it. Fallon smiled nervously as she opened her clutch and pulled out the ID she had made. “Thanks Amanda, have a nice night,” Pinky said with a grin as he handed her back her ID.

Fallon looked confused but then remembered her name was Amanda on the ID. “Why thank you so much, have a nice night yourself.”

Pinky smiled again as Fallon made her way into the bar. She spotted Allison with Hannah and Kristin, the girls from the dorm across the hall from hers, at a corner booth by the bar and she made her way to them with a big grin on her face.

The Trails Pub was packed wall to wall with every type of person imaginable. As Fallon made her way towards her friends, she noticed guys glancing her way with appreciative looks on their faces. She smiled confidently, knowing the short jean skirt and dark red tank that matched her boots was a great combination for man-catching.

“Damn Fal, looking good!” Allison said when Fallon reached their table. Hannah and Kristin smiled and waved as Fallon sat down. They weren’t used to sexy Fallon; the Fallon they knew, walked around campus in sweats all of the time.

That was freshmen Fallon, sophomore Fallon was sexy.

“Thank you, thank you,” Fallon gushed as she looked around the bar.

“A round of shots, Teagan!”

The bartender smiled over at the girls before very efficiently pouring four shots and handing the drinks to a waitress to bring to them. The waitress laid each shot in front of the girls, and they picked them up, bringing the glasses to the middle for a toast.

“Here’s to the first of four years done!” Allison exclaimed as all three girls joined in with her, clanking their glasses together and taking the shot quickly.

It burned down Fallon’s throat. She wasn’t sure what the awful liquid was, but Lord it was disgusting. Fallon looked off to the side, seeing that there were some good looking men in the bar that night. Fallon was giddy with excitement at trying to pick one up ─ she was so used to keeping to herself over the past year and was ready to branch out.

As Fallon’s eyes skimmed the bar, they met with a pair of smoking gray ones. Fallon blinked twice as her eyes were held hostage by his. He was gorgeous. Shaggy dark brown hair framed his face, and his nose was wide but fit his face perfectly. His lips were thin, she noticed as he brought his bottom lip in between his teeth. He had a very ‘boy next door’ kind of look to him but with an edge. A dangerous edge, Fallon decided as he slowly stood. He was tall with big arms, one covered in tribal tattoos, the other bare. His eyes never left hers as he went around the bar, away from the table of equally huge guys, to lean against the bar as he watched her.

He was just staring at her like he didn’t care who noticed or if it rude. It was as if he saw what he wanted and he was waiting to pounce. It was the craziest thing ever!

“Jeez, that dude is staring at you hard Fal,” Hannah said.

“Like really hard,” Kristin said.

Fallon looked back at her friends, but only for a second before looking back at the dangerous guy at the bar. He was wearing a nice tailored suit; he had left his jacket as the table, and the shirt was a masculine pale green that was rolled up to his elbow showing off his tattoos. The first couple buttons of his shirt were open, and she could see that there was writing on his chest. She wondered what it said, and she wondered why his friends were wearing the same thing.

Who were these guys?

“Go talk to him Fal!” Allison yelled, “He’s flipping hot!”

He sure was.

“I don’t know,” Fallon said nervously, as the thoughts from the ‘freshman Fallon’ intruded her mind. What if he was some guy with the mob or something? He’s was muscular and dark and sexy and…mmm…

“Don’t be a puss! Go!” Allison said, interrupting Fallon’s thoughts.

Fallon looked back at the guy, and then looked back at Allison. She nodded before slowly getting up and making her way towards him. As she sauntered towards him like a girl on a mission, his face broke into a grin so wide that she was blinded by his straight white teeth. He had dark hair dusting his chin. He looked rugged, lustful. Fallon didn’t say anything as she leaned against the bar, feeling him rake his eyes over her body before returning to her face.

“A beer?” the bartender asked.

“Yes please,” Fallon said before the beer appeared in front of her.

“Four bucks.”

Fallon went to get her cash out her pocket when, out the corner of her eyes, she saw the guy shake his head, “Put it on my tab, Teagan.”

“Yup,” Teagan said before going off to do bartending work.

Fallon looked up at the guy, a sexy smile on her face. “Thank you.”

“Sure,” he said as he held his beer out to her. Fallon clanked her beer to his before taking a hefty sip. The cool liquid went down her throat and she wanted to gag.

It was her first time drinking beer, and she decided that it too was disgusting.

“Don’t like it?” he asked. Fallon shook her head.

“I usually only drink wine.”

“No wine here, baby girl. Teagan, a Mule please.”

“A Mule?” Fallon asked as the bartender nodded and went to work on her drink.

“Yup, good stuff. Tequila, ginger ale and lime juice. Drink of champions.”

“So I guess you’re not one since you’re drinking a beer?”

They both looked down at the beer he held in his hand; he then chuckled before looking back up at her. “This is my warm up drink.”

“Oh is that right?”

“Sure is, try it,” he said as the bartender laid the drink in front of her. She picked it up and took a sip.

It was fantastic. Fallon couldn’t even taste the tequila, not that she knew what it tasted like. All she knew was that the drink was good.

“It’s good, no bite at all,” she said with a nod.

“No bite now, but tomorrow, you’ll be singing a different tune if you have too many.”

Fallon laughed as he chuckled along with her. “I’m Lucas, by the way.”

Lucas held out his hand, and Fallon took it. He had huge hands, they swallowed hers and people said she had big hands. “Fallon.”

“Fallon? Interesting.”

“Thanks,” she said with a grin.

“You live around here?”

Fallon looked up and her eyes were drawn to his again. Before when she was across the bar, she couldn’t see how gray they were. Now that she was closer, she could see his eyes were like smoke or maybe a dark rain cloud. They were so captivating, hypnotic even.

“I do. I’m a sophomore at Stanford,” she said, while still being dazed by his eyes.

“Oh really, a smarty pants then?” he asked with a lazy smile.

She giggled, “Something like that.”

“Wait; if you are a sophomore, you’re what? You’re not 21."

Shit on shingle.

“Um, well,” Fallon sputtered as she looked towards Allison for help, but Allison was giggling and flirting with a guy that had come over to the table. When she looked back up at Lucas, he was leaned in close, a naughty grin on his lips.

“Oh, someone has a fake ID huh?” he whispered as Fallon turned deep red.

“Are you going to tell on me?”

The words flew from her mouth before she could stop them and she wished they hadn’t when she saw the devilish grin that crossed his face. God, she sounded so damn young!

Seductress? YEAH RIGHT!

“I don’t know. What do I get if I don’t?”

Fallon weighed his statement for a moment, before looking up at him. She had nothing to offer him but money, and by the way he was dressed, she was sure he had enough of his own. If he thought she was gonna give him sex, he might as well go on and turn her in! So she blinked twice at him before saying, “Um, what do you want?”

**********************************

Lucas Brooks chuckled as he looked down at the beauty that had walked into the bar.

After losing the Stanley Cup Playoffs earlier that evening, he was feeling pretty crappy but then she walked in. Lucas’ eyes had been drawn to her as soon as he heard the click of the naughty little red cowboy boots she was wearing. Didn’t she realize that red is an eye catcher? He was sure she wanted attention, and he wanted to give it to her.

Fallon ─what an awesome name─ was by far the most gorgeous girl in the bar. She looked like a porcelain doll. Yeah, her breasts were a little smaller than he liked, but her ass made up for it. He liked big asses on girls and she had one. It might have been her hair too; it was long and wavy, a golden brown that brought out her heavy-lidded, deep caramel, wide eyes. She had a deer- in-headlights look to her but he knew, just by talking to her, that she wasn’t dumb. Her nose was small and dainty, and when Lucas set eyes on her luscious glossy red lips, he knew he had to talk to her — and have her.

Fallon wasn’t much younger than him, he was 21, but her innocence made him feel like he was 40. Like the Big Bad Wolf trying to hook up with Little Red Riding Hood, but Lucas’s Little Red Riding Hood was gorgeous and she had no clue who he was, a big plus in his book.

“It’s quite simple really,” he said with a wink of his eye. “Just a simple kiss, and my lips are sealed.”

Fallon giggled, looking off to the side before looking back up at him. He liked a lot that she was tall, usually the girls he messed with were shorter and the tall ones were models that didn’t eat anything. He couldn’t stand them. Lucas loved to eat and when he was stuffing his face, he hated having a female watch him with a ‘please feed me’ kind of look.

“If your lips are sealed how you supposed to kiss me?” she asked in a low, intimate voice.

Ooh, she had a little country flair to her. The way she drew out the e in me, told him she wasn’t from California. Mm, he liked that too.

“Naughty girl, who said anything about open-mouth kissing?”

He was rewarded with a deep blush and a shy smile. “I just assumed.”

“Or you were hoping.”

She giggled, and rolled her eyes. “Oh shut up, and kiss me already.”

A slow grin went across his face before he took her chin in his fingers and slowly lowered his lips to hers. When Lucas’ lips touched Fallon’s, he swore his whole body caught on fire. She slowly moved her hand into his hair, bringing him closer, so their bodies molded together. When she slowly parted her lips, he drove his tongue into her mouth, sweeping and swirling his tongue with hers. He had never kissed a girl with such passion, never put his whole self into it, never felt the so-called sparks. With Fallon, he did.

When they parted, only for air, she smiled sweetly up at him.

“So my secret is safe?”

Lucas was still stunned as he nodded. “Oh you are safe with me baby girl. Come here.”

Lucas wrapped her back up in his arms, kissing her senseless, excited for the future that was before them. Yeah, after a kiss like that, he was looking at the future because he knew he had just found The One.

Chapter 1

Nine years later……

Fallon Parker’s feet hurt.

Bad.

Her decision to wear a brand new pair of black Kate Spade ankle boots on the night of the Assassins’ holiday party would haunt her for weeks. She wanted to look cute though ─ she knew she would be seeing a lot of customers and some of her friends, so she had to dress to impress. Wearing a high-waisted black pencil skirt with white lacy shirt, she knew she had done that.

Even if her feet were killing her; it was the price of fashion.

Fallon tried to walk lightly as she made her way around the bar to look over the crowd of 500 that had gathered at the Luther Arena to celebrate the New Year. The party was in full swing; not only was the crowd celebrating the New Year but also the run for the Stanley Cup. The Assassins were doing great from what Fallon was told, not that she cared.

Those days were over.

All Fallon cared about now was that the sponsorship was perfect between Rocky Top Wines and the Assassins. For the most part it was. Rocky Top Wines had its own level in the Luther Arena AND a restaurant. But what Fallon really wanted was a cellar in the arena, somewhere customers could pick up a bottle of their favorite wine for the after party at home. It was her dream, and she was working hard to make it a reality.

Fallon slowly leaned against the bar, sipping on her own glass of the company’s Chenin Blanc. It was one of her favorites, going down smoothly as she took in the scenery of the arena. The team colors, purple and black, covered every inch of the arena. People moved around her, buying bottles and getting refills of their favorite wines as Fallon watched and answered any questions anyone had.

God, she loved her job. Being surrounded by wine all the time?

Who could ask for more?

A smile broke across Fallon’s face when she spotted one of her dearest friends. Of course, Elli Adler was dressed to impress in her floor length black sparkly dress. Her beautiful brown hair was in an intricate updo and her makeup was done up to the nines. No one would ever be able to tell that Elli had just had a baby two months ago. No matter how many times Fallon told her that, Elli still didn’t believe it but it was true. Elli was beautiful. She was also the team’s newest owner, which made her the center of attention that night. Elli wore a full smile as she wrapped her arms around Fallon, hugging her tightly.

“Now I know you’ve been here at least an hour! Why am I just now seeing you?” Fallon teased as Elli rolled her eyes.

“You know I gotta go around sucking up to people! You become the darn owner and everyone wants a piece of you!” Elli said as she talked with her hands, “Plus, why am I gonna come on over here to my favorite wine bar when I can’t drink?” Elli asked with an annoyed look.

Fallon stood there for a moment, confused. Was she missing something? “Huh?”

Elli slowly nodded her head, “Shea knocked me up again!”

Fallon’s mouth dropped as Elli just shook her head. “You just had Shelli two months ago!”

“I know! He’s on me like white on rice! I swear he’s gonna have me pregnant for the next three years!”

They both shared a laugh at that. If Shea Adler, the Assassins’ captain, had his way, he probably would. “Well the good thing is that your kids will be like me and my sister. We are 10 months apart and the bestest of friends.”

“Yay.”

Fallon laughed as Elli just looked over at the wines longingly. “Oh come on, I know you’re excited.”

A small sweet smile went over Elli’s face as she said, “I am, but it’s gonna suck the next couple months with him being gone all the time.”

“I thought he was quittin’.”

“He said he will when this baby is born, but I know he won’t. He loves it too much and who am I to ask him to quit?”

Fallon was green with envy as she listened to Elli talk about her perfect relationship with her hunky, gorgeous husband and perfect baby girl with another on the way. Fallon couldn’t be happier for Elli. She loved Shea and baby Shelli, but Fallon wanted it all.

Why couldn’t she find her Shea Adler that wanted to impregnate her all the time?

“So when is this big wine party?” Elli asked, bringing Fallon back to reality.

“March first. I’ll be by the office to drop off tickets and stuff soon.”

“Great, Shea will be on a break,” Elli said with a grin. She still got that dreamy look to her when she talked about her husband. It was expected though; they had only been married for 10 months.

“I know, that’s why I planned it like this. I need all the players. I need everything to tie together. Hockey and wine will work.”

“Isn’t it beer and hockey?” Elli asked with a grin.

“Not no more, we are gonna sophisticate this damn sport.”

“Good luck with that,” Elli said with a laugh before a pair of arms came around her. They both looked up to see Elli’s gorgeous husband smiling down at them.

“Hey Fallon,” Shea said before placing a kiss on Elli’s cheek.

“Hey Shea,” Fallon sang as she smiled up at him, “heard ya knocked her up again.”

“Sure did,” he said with a bold grin. “Gotta keep the baby train going. We’re knocking on 30’s door.”

“Oh Lord! Not 30!” Fallon said in mock horror, making everyone laugh.

“It’s the excuse he’s using,” Elli said with a laugh.

“I think it’s all a ruse, he just likes making babies,” Fallon giggled as Elli’s cheeks warmed with color.

Shea let out a booming laugh before saying, “You got that right!”

They shared a laugh before Fallon took a drink of her wine. She loved hanging with Elli and Shea, they were so cute and perfect together. Even if their love made her want to puke, she still loved them.

“Fallon is going to sophisticate hockey,” Elli said with a grin for Shea. He laughed as he looked back over at Fallon.

“Are you now?”

“Yes, I am. I can do it. I’m awesome.”

Elli giggled as Shea smiled, then Elli said, “You sure are babe! Oh Shea, there’s Ricky Owen. Hey, excuse us Fallon, I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Sure, great seeing y’all,” Fallon said. She watched as they walked away, hand in hand, with big smiles on their faces. They were so stinkin’ happy, it was sickening. But then she thought of what they had to do to get to where they were, and she couldn’t help but be happy for them.

What could she say; she was a sucker for love.

Fallon stood for a little while longer before she starting noticing guys checking her out. Since dating was the last thing on her mind, she took that as her cue to start working the room. She grabbed a bottle of the Rocky Top’s Big Orange Cabernet Sauvignon and started towards the crowd.

Fallon always walked with confidence ─ she had to or no one would buy from her. She knew what she had with her products and knew that with only one taste anyone would fall in love with Rocky Top’s wine. It was that good.

It had been in the family for over 80 years; there wasn’t a moment from Fallon’s childhood were she didn’t remember being in the fields, picking grapes to eat. She grew up with dirty feet and grape-stained clothes. She loved it, she lived it, and now that Fallon ran the PR department, it was finally getting to the level it needed to be. Rocky Top needed to be at the top and if Fallon had anything to do with it, it would be.

After working the room handing out business cards and vouchers for free bottles, Fallon spotted Elli standing with some older guy that had an empty glass. Since he looked like he had money, Fallon made her way towards him. She always liked to schmooze the big money guys ─ they always bought case after case for their companies. If Fallon got lucky, they usually hired them as the wine for their parties.

Which was always great for business.

“He has a bad rep. Money, booze, females, I don’t know,” the older guy said when Fallon reached the group. It was only Elli, Shea and the older guy, and Elli didn’t seem very happy.

“He’s clean, I feel good about him,” Elli said sternly. The older guy shook his head.

“I don’t know Mrs. Adler, Brooks is a fighter.”

Fallon blinked a few times, totally stunned. It had been a long time since she had heard that name.

“Yeah, but he’s second in the league for goals.”

“And first for penalty minutes. He’s a got a huge chip on his shoulder.”

“I’ll knock the damn chip off it for him if I need to, or hell maybe we’ll get Fallon to sophisticate him,” Elli said with a grin when she noticed that Fallon was just standing there staring at them. “Ricky Owen, Fallon Parker with Rocky Top Wine. She is one of our biggest sponsors.”

“Who?” Fallon asked totally ignoring Ricky’s hand, and hoping like hell that there was another Brooks in the NHL that fought a lot.

Because she only knew one…

“You probably don’t know him, Lucas Brooks? He was just traded in from the Sharks.”

Fallon wasn’t sure how the bottle of wine slipped from her hands, but the next thing she knew it was in pieces around her beautiful boots. Cabernet Sauvignon was everywhere, and Fallon’s face was beet red as she tried to catch her breath. Everyone looked down in shock before looking back up at Fallon’s stunned face.

Shea starting laughing as everyone still looked at Fallon in shock, then he said, “Or maybe she does.”

Oh, Fallon knew Lucas Brooks alright.

He was coming to Nashville?

Great, that was just fucking great.

**********************************

“You know back in the day, we would be hung over instead of moving into a new house on New Year’s Day.”

Lucas Brooks looked over at Levi Moss, his best friend, and laughed as he nodded in agreement. Levi was right – five years ago, they both would still be face down in their own puke or in some female’s breasts on New Year’s Day, not moving into their new house.

“You’re right, but I would probably be broke and without a job too,” Lucas added.

“True, very true indeed,” Levi said as he nodded his head.

Lucas smiled as he piled the boxes by the stairs that needed to go upstairs. The new house he had bought was huge. He had asked for a simple home and got this — nine bedrooms, six baths, two dens, and to top it off there was an ice rink on the lower level. Lucas had to admit that was the best part of the huge house, but still. It was too big for just him and Levi.

Lucas still couldn’t believe he was in Nashville, Tennessee. After living in San Jose for the past nine years, he couldn’t believe he had moved or even left the Sharks. He loved his team, he missed the guys and he had only been gone a week but moving to Nashville was much needed. Lucas needed a new set of faces and a new team, no matter how much he missed the guys. Lucas was getting into too much trouble in San Jose and if he wanted to stay sober, he had to leave where the temptation was.

And everything in San Jose was a big temptation.

Lucas knew the spots, he knew the women, he knew how to get in trouble and the past four years had been hell trying to be good, so he had to leave. He just had to. Thankfully, Levi supported him, uprooted his life, and followed Lucas to Nashville with no question at all. Lucas figured that Levi knew they had to get out of San Jose or he was gonna relapse. Lucas’ mom was happy too ─ he was only eight hours from his home town of Eaton Rapids, Michigan now, and that made Molly Brooks a very happy woman.

So all around, moving to Nashville was going to be great as long as he got along with his team. Lucas had played the Assassins many times and hated playing their defense. They were intense, hard-hitting assholes, and a game didn’t happen without him fighting someone from that team.

Now he was going to play with them.

Yay.

After taking all 14 boxes up to his room, Lucas looked around the room that was his and nodded his head. The home decorator, Beth, had done a great job with giving him what he wanted. He wasn’t sure about the colors he wanted, but after talking to Beth, she seemed to know what he wanted. She wanted to base his room off his eyes, so the walls were a perfect shade of gray, and the bedding was gray with black and white accent pillows. The headboard to the massive California king bed (something he couldn’t leave in California) was black and reached up to the ceiling. He had always liked big beds, and luckily the room was still massive even with the bed in it.

Along the walls, there were black and white portraits of him as a kid — him with his mom and dad, some of just his dad — and then a lot of him during his years playing hockey. His favorite picture was the one that was on the wall across from his bed — it was of him when he was four with his dad, James, on the first day he had ever played hockey. James’ face was bright with excitement and Lucas’ matched it — it was one of the best days of his life and he loved waking up to that picture.

Tearing himself from the picture that held so many memories, he looked over at the closet that held every stick he had ever played with and smiled. When Beth said ‘I’d be damned if there is going to be a room for your old sticks, I will think of something’ he didn’t even think twice about her statement. What else was she going to do with 46 sticks, but she had surprised him with the closet. After cutting and gluing each stick to the wall around his closet, he decided that Beth King was a pure genius and he couldn’t wait for his mom to see it.

Now all he had to do was unpack his personal stuff. He was doing just that when Levi came in with a box in his hand. Lucas didn’t pay any attention to him as he hung his clothes up until Levi said, “Please explain to me why you brought Fallon Parker’s stuff with us to Nashville?”

Lucas turned quickly, seeing the blue box that he could have sworn he had grabbed was in his best friends hands.

Shit.

He walked over to Levi, took the box from him, and placed it at the bottom of his closet.

“I’m waiting,” Levi said. Lucas rolled his eyes.

“What was I supposed to do with it? Leave it in California?” Lucas asked with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Yes! Or hell, here’s an idea, throw it away!”

Lucas ignored him as he went back to hanging his clothes up. “I just don’t understand it. It’s been a billion years since she left. You haven’t seen her or talked to her. Why keep her things when we both know it still bothers you,” Levi asked.

“Nothing in that box bothers me, it’s just memories.”

“Memories you need to throw away. There is no reason why you still have all the clothes she left, or her hair supplies, or…”

Lucas glared over at Levi. “You went through the box?”

“Yeah, like five years ago. Come on, dude. It’s crazy! Why do you need her hairbrush?”

“Why does it matter?”

“Because it’s weird and I think you need help.”

Lucas rolled his eyes as he went back to hanging up his clothes. “I’m fine, I just like having them.”

“Why?”

“Because I do, don’t worry about it. Don’t you have something to do?”

Levi laughed as he shook his head. “Jeez Luc, still sensitive after seven years? Maybe you do need help.”

Lucas shot Levi a maddening look before Levi left the room, leaving Lucas with thoughts of Fallon and her box of things. He had thought about her from time to time, but finding her box when he was packing had opened the can of worms he had tried sealing a long time ago wide open. Even with his alcoholism, losing Fallon was his epic failure. How he could have fucked up something so beautiful and so perfect would disturb him for the rest of his life.

Lucas looked back at the door, making sure that Levi was really gone before pulling the blue box back out and opening it. The first thing he saw was a picture of him and the caramel-eyed beauty on the beach outside his house. Fallon was so beautiful with her wide eyes and sweet smile. She was everything a man wanted, and he had ruined it. He moved the picture aside to see a t-shirt that had the Rocky Top Wines’ logo on it. Fallon had worn the shirt almost every night to bed. It was her favorite shirt, and he loved the way the orange brought out her tan skin.

Lucas had asked Levi to do some research about Rocky Top Wines a while back and he found out that Rocky Top Wines was still in business and doing very well from what the article said. Levi also said that Rocky Top Wine was a proud sponsor of the Assassins, and that brought hope to the fact that Lucas might see Fallon again.

His heart skipped a beat at just the thought of seeing her again. He couldn’t even fathom seeing her, or touching her. It had been so long ago, so much had happened, so much had changed. They were two different people now. Who was to say she would even want to see or talk to him. Lucas shook his head as he held her bright orange shirt in his hand and knew that there was one thing for sure.

If Lucas ever got the chance to be with Fallon Parker again, he wouldn’t fuck it up.

***************************************

Fallon didn’t remember anything after dropping the wine bottle. All she could think as she drove home from the arena was Oh fuck, Lucas is coming to Nashville. She hadn’t seen him in seven years, and she kind of wanted to keep it that way. Lucas Brooks was a fungus, and she refused to be infected by him again. The thought of possibly running into him again made Fallon nervous. She lived in the heart of Nashville and she worked right alongside the Nashville Assassins, the team he was gonna play for. Even if she tried, there was still a big chance that she would run into him.

She had to move.

That was the only thing she could think of when she pulled into her driveway. She put the car in the park and just sat there for a moment. What the hell was she going to do? She wouldn’t even know what to do or how to act if she saw him. He still affected her so much, and she hadn’t even seen him in seven years.

Thoughts of Lucas ran through her head as she gathered her things from the day. It was well past 11 p.m. and she was glad to be home. It had been a long, rough day and the ending of it didn’t make it any better. As she walked up the sidewalk she noticed that her sister, Audrey, was sitting on the steps. Audrey waved as she looked across the yard at the complex across the street. Fallon turned and looked over there, seeing a moving van and a man unpacking things from it.

“Audrey, what the hell are you doing?” Fallon asked, looking back at her sister. Audrey sat with her long brown hair in a messy bun, no makeup, and a bright yellow Juicy Couture jumpsuit on. Audrey and Fallon could be twins — not only were they 10 months apart, but they looked just alike. The only difference was that Audrey was a little heavier with big boobs while Fallon’s breasts were nonexistent.

Audrey smiled up at Fallon before looking back towards the man. “Watching the show,” she said pointing to across the lawn. “Not only am I intrigued by the fact that he is movin’ in at 11 o’clock at night, but the dude is sexy Fal! Like super sexy, Antonio Banderas sexy.”

“Oh Lord,” Fallon groaned as she rolled her eyes and laid her briefcase down beside her sister. She slowly slid her boots off, standing on the cold sidewalk in her socks.

It felt great after the night she had.

Fallon glanced over at the guy and saw that he was older, way older.

“Jeez Audrey, he’s like 45…eww.”

Audrey laughed. “Nah, but late thirties for sure though.”

“Still you’re only 27. Go find someone your age.”

“No, guys are stupid at my age. I want a man with some age to him, someone that knows their way around the bedroom.”

Fallon scoffed at that. “Good luck with that! Older men can’t keep it up without help, which would involve you giving a lot of head or him going on medication, or both.”

“Oh yeah,” Audrey said as a look of disgust came over her face, “back to men my age.”

Fallon starting laughing just as the door flung open and out came Fallon’s favorite rambunctious six year old. She smiled widely as he grinned a toothless grin back at her. Seeing Aiden always brought so much joy and love into her heart and she couldn’t imagine her life without him.

He was her everything.

“Why is Momma’s favorite boy out of bed?”

“I was waiting for you!” he gushed as he came down the stairs, running at speeds only a six year old could have manage.

When Aiden’s arms came around her middle, she smiled as she hugged him back. She loved her baby’s hugs — they made her days worth living — but Fallon’s smile fell when he looked up at her with his happy, innocent gray eyes.

The same gray eyes his dad has.

The same gray eyes as Lucas Brooks.

Chapter 2

How was Fallon going to tell Lucas about Aiden, or even better, how was she going to tell Aiden about Lucas? She had never lied. When Aiden would ask where his daddy was, Fallon would say that they weren’t together anymore and that his daddy was a very busy man but he did love him. Aiden didn’t seem to mind, probably because Fallon and Audrey loved him enough for a whole army of daddies. Of course, she knew Aiden needed a father and planned on looking for one — one day — but right now she was more concerned with her career and raising Aiden to the best of her ability.

When Fallon found out she was pregnant, she picked up the phone millions of times to tell Lucas, but she would chicken out and hang up. With no other opinions she finally called Audrey.

“Hey sissy,” Audrey said in her happy-go-lucky tone, but Fallon was far from happy.

More like devastated.

Fallon sat in her bathroom with 19 boxes of pregnancy tests around her, all of them saying the same thing — that she was pregnant. What was she gonna do? How was she gonna make it? It was her senior year, how was she supposed to raise a baby and go to college with no help from no one? Her dad would flip, oh God, Lucas was gonna flip.

“Audrey,” Fallon tried to say without crying but a sob tore through her and she started crying so hard.

“Fallon, what’s wrong?”

“I’m pregnant.”

Nothing was said for what seemed like hours when the statement left Fallon’s lips as she sobbed into the phone. She prayed no one heard her, especially her new roommate.

“Pregnant?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh God.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Fallon agreed as she started to gather all the sticks that confirmed her pregnancy.

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know, but I can’t stay here.”

“I know that, but dad is gonna freak, like seriously flip the fuck out,” Audrey said, and Fallon realized she had started crying.

“Oh Audrey don’t cry, I didn’t call to upset you.”

“I know that, I’m scared for you.”

“Me too,” Fallon said as she started crying again. They sat on the phone crying as they both racked their brains, trying to figure out what to do. Finally, Audrey came up with something.

“Clean out your bank account, take it all.”

“Audrey, that’s over 10 THOUSAND dollars! Where am I supposed to put that kind of cash?”

“In your suitcase. After you do that, call mom and dad. Tell them. They are gonna freak and demand you come home.”

“I know but why am I cleaning out my bank account?” Fallon asked confused.

“Because you and I both know that dad is gonna cut you off, and you’re gonna need that money to survive on.”

Oh yeah, Fallon thought. Thank God Audrey thought of that because if she hadn’t, Fallon would have been screwed.

“You need to apply Vanderbilt, like today. Make sure you get in before you call dad.”

“Audrey, I can’t go to school and raise a baby!” Fallon said in distress. She was already freaking out about having to come back home a failure, and now Audrey wanted her to go back to school too?

“You have to Fallon, or he will disown you, or worse. Please, just believe me. I’ll help you,” Audrey pleaded. Fallon sat for a moment, tears gushing down her cheeks as she tried to figure out how she could have let this happen.

How was she going to ask her sister to help her raise her baby? Audrey needed to have a life too. This was her and Lucas’ problem, there was no reason to bring Audrey into it. She needed Lucas’ help, but how was she gonna tell him?

“Whose baby is it?” Audrey asked.

“You don’t know him,” Fallon answered.

“Okay, have you told him?”

“No, we aren’t together.”

“Why?” Audrey asked.

“Cause he’s a cheating bastard.”

“Okay then, are you going to tell him?”

Fallon sat for a moment. Was she gonna tell Lucas? She couldn’t even look him in the eyes, never less talk to him. How was she gonna tell him they were having a baby?

She wasn’t.

“No, I’m not.”

Fallon didn’t even realize she had started crying until tears fell on Aiden’s head. He looked up and made a face just as Audrey said, “Why are you crying?”

“I’m not, something got in my eye,” Fallon said playing it off as she wiped her eyes. “Now come on Aiden, let’s get to bed.”

“Alright mommy,” Aiden said as he skipped up the stairs, giving Audrey a kiss before heading into the house. Fallon grabbed her things and started up the stairs but was stopped by Audrey when she grabbed her free hand.

“You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine,” Fallon said again as she put on a fake smile for her sister and started back into the house.

Fallon laid her things on her brown suede couch and headed up the stairs to Aiden’s room. With every step she took, a picture of Audrey, Aiden and Fallon smiled back at her. She had made sure to take a picture with Audrey when she was nine months pregnant, the three of them when Aiden was born, and then of the three of them ever since, for the last six years.

It had always been just her and Audrey with Aiden against the world. She couldn’t thank her sister enough for the sacrifices she made for them, and Fallon could honestly say she couldn’t have done it without Audrey. When everything happened, and Fallon made the call home to tell her parents about the little baby that was growing in her belly, her father, William, freaked. He told her to get an abortion and of course, Fallon said no. He then threatened to take everything, but Fallon had already taken all the money so she was good.

After packing up everything in California and getting on a long plane ride home, Fallon came home to the apartment Audrey had already gotten for them. Fallon started at Vanderbilt and it was actually easier than she thought it was gonna be, but that was all thanks to Audrey. She did everything to make sure Fallon was taken care of. Sometimes Fallon wondered which one of them was the oldest, because Audrey sure did act like she was. Not so much anymore, but back then she was running things while Fallon was a basket case. Not only was she pregnant but she was also trying to mend a broken heart.

Hard feat for a pregnant woman.

It was three months before William found out about Fallon living with Audrey, and he again flipped out, saying Fallon was dead to the family and that if Audrey didn’t kick Fallon out she would be dead to him too. Audrey argued that Fallon was still in school, working hard to support herself — which was true — but William wouldn’t even talk to Fallon to find that out, Audrey had to tell him. He left that afternoon in a huff and didn’t talk to either one of them until the day Aiden was born.

Fallon shook her head as she reached her baby boy’s bright blue door. It seemed like a lifetime ago when everything happened, but in reality only seven short years. William still didn’t talk to Fallon much, but he did trust her enough to be the senior chief public relations manager, and he did love Aiden something crazy, so really how much more could Fallon ask for?

Her trust fund would be great.

Fallon pushed the door open and Aiden stood in the middle of his bright blue room with his army men in hand. “Mommy, Captain Timber is gonna kill everyone!”

“Yay!” Fallon gushed as she walked around the room, picking up as Captain Timber killed everyone. Aiden was so full of life, so busy. Sometimes he reminded Fallon of Lucas so much that it just blew her mind. How could he be just like his father when he had never met Lucas? It made no sense, but his face was Lucas all over. It probably had everything to do with the fact that Aiden looked nothing like Fallon and everything like Lucas.

Fallon looked over at her active little guy and smiled. He was taller than most kids his age, with shaggy brown hair that came into the exact same gray eyes of his father’s. His little nose was probably the only thing he got from Fallon because his lips were his dad’s. Aiden was a little stocky but not fat, more like thick. The kid could wrestle Fallon to the ground and have her screaming mercy in two seconds flat, just like his dad. Lucas had loved to wrestle, in and out of bed.

The kid was his daddy 10 times over.

And Fallon was the worst person ever for not telling either of them.

“Mommy, why are you staring at me like that?”

Fallon blinked twice before she smiled sweetly at him. “Cause duh! I’ve missed you all day! Come here and give me some kisses!”

Aiden grinned widely and ran to her, wrapping his small arms around her. Oh, Fallon had fucked up, and she had a feeling that things weren’t going to work themselves out. She was gonna have to face Lucas Brooks and tell him the truth, and then she was gonna have to tell Aiden.

Fallon just didn’t know how she was going to do that.

*****************************************

“I just got done checking your e-mail. You have practice tomorrow morning at six, a meeting with Mrs. Adler at two, and then interviews at three and on.”

Lucas looked over at Levi from the chair he sat in, a mouth full of food and nodded.

“Good, I’ll go with you to everything, just in case.”

“Sounds good,” Lucas said with a nod after swallowing his food.

“Um, I refuse to do that research for you.”

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. “Fine, I’ll get someone else to do it.”

“Why? Just let it go dude,” Levi said aggravated. Lucas knew that Levi hated that he still cared for Fallon and wanted to know what she was up to, but Levi didn’t understand. Lucas had never loved a woman the way he loved Fallon. She was everything to him, and after just one night of stupidity, he lost her. Fallon wouldn’t deal with a cheater, she was stronger than that. Levi had said that if she really loved him, she would have worked it out with him, not leave, but Fallon had made it pretty clear many times that she wouldn’t deal with being cheated on. Who could blame her?

“I did her wrong, she’s my one regret,” Lucas said before taking another bite of food.

“I just think it’s a waste of time.”

Lucas shrugged his shoulders again. “Then don’t worry about it. I’ll make some calls.”

A file appeared in front of Lucas’ plate and he looked up at Levi. “Fallon Parker is the senior chief public relations manager for Rocky Top Wines. She has taken the company from the bottom to the top-selling wine in the U.S. Rocky Top Wines and the Assassins are partners,” Levi said with a look of disdain.

“No shit, really?”

“Yeah, they have their own restaurant in the arena, supply all the wine to all the parties, and even have VIP seating to go with their own level of seating. Fallon has made a name for herself.”

“Is she married?”

Levi rolled his eyes. “Not that I read. Everything says she single.”

Lucas bit his lip. “I won’t know until I talk to her, or see her hand. She’s very secretive about her personal life. Remember how she wouldn’t even hold my hand in public.”

“Yeah, weirdo. More of a reason to cut her loose.”

“Shut up, she wasn’t weird. She was just private. It was nice. Most girls want to flaunt me to everyone.”

“I guess,” Levi said as he took a piece of the chicken that was on Lucas’ plate. “She’s throwing a huge party for the anniversary of some old wine.”

“Get me tickets.”

“Apparently, your boss will give them to you tomorrow,” Levi said with a pointed look. “You have to impress Mrs. Adler, Lucas, she’s huge right now. People LOVE her.”

“You know I impress females easily.”

“Yeah normal ones. This chick is intense from what I hear. She makes her uncle look like a puppy.”

Okay, that was nerve-racking because Bryan Fisher was a beast from what Lucas had been told, but he had been told that Elli Adler was a sweetie pie. What the hell did Levi know?

“I don’t get it. She’s supposed to be real nice.”

“Oh she is, that is until you fuck with her team. She knows what she wants and she thinks she’s got it with you. Don’t let her down.”

“I won’t.”

“I know you won’t, but if you get caught up in the whole Fallon thing, you’ll start fucking up,” Levi added as he took another piece of chicken.

“I will not!” Lucas said, smacking his hand against the marble island. “I played great when I was with Fallon.”

“Yeah and then when you guys broke up, you went to shit.”

“Cause I was depressed,” Lucas said. “It was hard.”

“And what if that happens again?”

“I would never cheat on Fallon again if I ever got a second chance with her, and damn do you have any faith in me?”

Levi smiled. “You’re my best friend Lucas. I don’t want you to mess up anymore. You’ve done well for the past couple years. When Fallon left, shit was bad. I won’t stay this time.”

Lucas put his hand on Levi’s shoulder. “It won’t happen again.”

Levi nodded as Lucas’ phone started ringing. He pulled it out and saw his mom’s picture smiling up at him. “Hey Mom.”

“Hello sweetie, how are you?”

“Good, moved in, getting comfortable,” Lucas said as Levi left the room with a wave. Levi worried too much, but Lucas loved him like a brother and would always appreciate what he did for him. As Lucas sat listening to his mom talk about how great it was to have him so close, all he could think about was Fallon.

Lucas would never forget the morning after the first time they met. She was so beautiful, so sweet, so young. He knew after one night that she was the one for him.

Lucas came out the bathroom to see his night mate sitting up in the bed, her head laid on her bended knees with her arms around her legs. She looked worried, but still she was so beautiful. Her hair fell in a curtain around her back and arms, her tan brown skin was so soft-looking and he knew it was. It was magic when his skin touched hers, another reason he knew she was the one for him.

No woman ever made him break out in goose bumps, but Fallon did.

“Why the long face?” he asked as he walked slowly across the room. Lucas crawled into the large bed with her, wrapping his arms around her so that she was basically in his lap. “You are thinking too hard.”

“I feel like a slut. I never go home with a guy after one night.”

He smiled against her shoulder, kissing it as she settled in against him. It was so easy between them, like they were meant to be. It was weird. How did he know after just one look that she was the one for him? He felt like he could trust her with his life and she would never hurt him. “Don’t, I know you are not. That’s all that matters.”

“I can’t believe it though. All you did was buy me a drink, and my tongue was down your throat. I wasn’t even drunk!”

Lucas laughed against her neck, moving her hair off it so he had full range of her neck. “When you know, you know.”

“But I don’t know. I bet when I leave this bed, this house, I’ll never see you again.”

Lucas couldn’t even form words. How could she think that? He was so engrossed in her; he had stayed up all night talking to her, finding out about her family’s business, about her goals and aspirations. How she wanted kids but was scared to be a mother. They had made love, didn’t she feel what he felt? He felt like he knew everything about her, and still felt like he didn’t know enough. He couldn’t even fathom her leaving either. He felt like he needed her to breathe.

Lucas had the whole summer off, so did she, so why did she have to leave?

“Don’t leave then,” he whispered against her skin.

Nothing was said for a moment, only their breathing filled the room with sound. He felt her heart beating uncontrollably and he prayed that she didn’t run out the room screaming he was a freak ‘cause for some reason he felt like one.

When the hell did he get diarrhea of the mouth?

Fallon slowly turned in his lap, a small grin on her face as she position her legs on either side of his hips. Her glorious core was only inches from his growing shaft. He felt like he was home when he was inside her. She was so tight, so sweet. God, he didn’t want her to leave.

“What do you mean?”

Lucas gave her a small smile as he looked up into her eyes. “I mean, don’t leave. You have the summer off, I do too. We can spend some time here, I’m going to Cabo in two weeks, and I can get you a ticket. I gotta go see my mom too. She would love you. Basically I’m saying, don’t leave,” he rambled. She made him nervous, but in a good way. Fallon raised an eyebrow as she looked at him skeptically; he bit his lip before giving her another shy smile. “You don’t have to worry about anything, I’ll pay for everything and all you’ll have to do is be with me. I don’t want you to leave Fallon.”

“I can pay for myself,” she said as she traced his abs with her fingernail.

“Okay, whatever. Just don’t leave,” he said, and he hated that he was basically begging her. She didn’t seem too excited about the idea of spending the summer with him, but she didn’t seem against it either.

When she looked up with a small sexy grin on her lips, his breath caught.

Damn she was beautiful.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay.”

Lucas’ face broke into a huge grin before he leaned over kissing her deeply; when they parted he smiled against her lips. “Get ready for the summer of your life, baby girl.”

Fallon giggled, before she placed another kiss on his bottom lip, “Or maybe you should get ready.”

Oh yeah, Fallon was the one for him.

Lucas sat with a full grin on his face as his mom ran her mouth. That summer was the best of his life, and it still blew his mind that two years later, to the day almost, was the day she left.

He wondered if she looked the same. She had blocked him from Facebook, so he couldn’t see her profile pictures, and since it was hard for him to navigate the web, he kind of just waited until Levi brought it to his attention. The file that Levi had left sat in front of Lucas, and he moved his plate to open it. The first thing he saw was Fallon’s bright caramel eyes looking up at him.

She wore some tight black jeans and a bright pink shirt that hung off her shoulder. Her hair was long, coming down her shoulders and over her small breasts. She was wider in the middle, and his mouth watered at the sight of her curves. She was wearing more make up than he ever remembered her wearing, and her eyes didn’t have that deer-in-headlights look to them anymore — more like hurt. She looked sad but she had a big wide smile on her face. She was faking it, and only he would be able to tell that.

Lucas had known Fallon inside and out. He loved her with everything inside him and still couldn’t believe she was gone. What was she doing? Was she married? Had kids? Did she think of him? Did she still love him? So many questions that he didn’t have answers to.

But he would soon enough.

With a smile on his lips Lucas closed the file, and for once he was excited about the upcoming months.

When Fallon came downstairs, Audrey sat at the kitchen table in front of her computer, typing away. She smiled up at Fallon as she passed and went to the fridge to get a glass of water. Fallon went to the table and sat down beside Audrey, waiting for her to get done before saying anything.

“You ready to tell me why you started crying outside?” Audrey asked without missing a beat as she typed her little heart out.

“Yeah,” Fallon answered as she ran her finger around the rim of her cup. “Aiden’s dad is in town.”

When Fallon looked up, Audrey was looking at her with her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide.

“Say what?”

Fallon nodded her head. “I found out tonight at the party. He’s the new forward for the Nashville Assassins.”

“He plays hockey?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh my God Fallon, you’ve been struggling with putting Aiden through private school, and all the other things you do that bust your bank, and his dad is a pro hockey player?”

“I didn’t want him in Aiden’s life, Audrey.”

“Are you kidding me? You could at least suck him dry for his money!”

“That’s wrong. I would much rather do it on my own than ask anything of him,” Fallon said with a sad smile.

“Well he’s gonna be in it now. He’s gonna see you, you know he will. What are you going to say? ‘Oh hey! By the way, I have a kid, and guess what, he’s yours!’”

Fallon shot Audrey a dirty look before looking down at her glass. “I don’t know Audrey, I’m hoping I don’t see him.”

“Oh my God, you’re being dumb. Who is it?”

Audrey followed hockey and loved it. Fallon knew for a fact that Audrey knew who Lucas Brooks was. She thought he was hot, which he was.

“Um, well,” Fallon bit into her lip hard before saying in a rush, “Lucasbrooks.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, WHOA! Lucas Brooks? San Jose Sharks’ Lucas Brooks?”

Fallon couldn’t look Audrey in the eyes as she slowly nodded her head. Nothing was said for a moment as Fallon kept running her finger along the rim of her glass. If she had a hard time telling Audrey who Aidan’s dad was, how was she gonna tell Lucas, or hell, even Aiden?

All of a sudden Audrey started laughing uncontrollably. Fallon looked up at her laughing sister, confused. What the hell was funny about this situation?

“Not only did you date a pro hockey player, but you got knocked up by one. One of the hottest ones in the NHL. What the hell?” Audrey kept laughing as Fallon glared at her.

“What does that mean?”

“It means that no wonder you haven’t dated anyone since coming home from California. Once you’ve been with a hockey player, no man can live up to the size of their sticks,” she said in a fit of giggles.

“For the love of God, is that all you think about? Sex?!”

“Yes! I’m horny!”

Fallon rolled her eyes as she got up, moving to the sink to wash her cup. “You’re no help,” Fallon complained as she looked out the window into the small backyard that held Aiden’s playthings. Fallon wanted a house with a yard, but she couldn’t afford it, so the condo would have to do. Once she got the plan of having the cellar in the arena going, then she would have the extra money to buy a house.

Then she would have everything thing she wanted.

Well, except a husband.

“You’re gonna need to tell Aiden, Fallon.”

“I can’t, he’ll wanna meet him.”

“Don’t you think he should?”

“No, I don’t ever want to see Lucas Brooks again.”

Fallon felt Audrey’s arms come around her waist as Audrey laid her chin on her shoulder. “You might not want to babe, but Aiden wants a dad and if Lucas can be one…”

“He wouldn’t want to be one though. He was a womanizing man whore.”

Audrey paused for a moment before saying, “Okay, go find Brooks, see how he is, then decide.”

“No, I’ll wait for him to find me.”

Audrey shook her head. “You’re setting yourself up failure, Fal.”

Oh she knew she was; all because she was deathly scared of the unknown. What if Lucas tried to take Aiden from her? What is Aiden loved Lucas more than her? What if Aiden decided he wants to live with Lucas, and what if Aiden went to spend the weekends with him?

Oh God!

Fallon couldn’t do it, it scared her too much. So she would sit on her secret and wait. Hope that everything stays the same, that Lucas would never see her or her son.

Why did Fallon feel like that was like hoping for world peace?

Chapter 3

Jesus, these people don’t joke around during practice!

Lucas skated back and forth for the 14th time across the ice. When people talked about Shea Adler being a hard ass back in California, Lucas didn’t think anything about it. He thought it was all talk, but no, it wasn’t. Adler was hardcore, angry, and mean on the ice; even with him being younger than Lucas, he was still a little intimidated by Shea.

“Brooks! You are slow! Show us the reason you were traded to this team!” Adler yelled as he passed Lucas. Lucas dug into the ice, passing Adler, and then Welch. When he came back and passed Adler, Adler nodded as he dug in and went faster up the ice.

Lucas was known for his speed and accuracy, but that was when he had a good night of sleep, and last night, he hadn’t. He had stayed up all night thinking of Fallon.

Pathetic right?

But he just couldn’t shake his thoughts about her. He thought of their whole two-year relationship, the good, the great, and the bad. There were more good times than bad, but when it was bad, it was bad. Fallon tended to shut down when Lucas would get mad — he would yell at her and she would just stand there staring at him, and when she started crying, he knew he had fucked up majorly. Lucas hated when Fallon cried, he couldn’t handle it. He felt like he was kicking a puppy or something. Fallon’s eyes were so wide that her tears looked like big puddles coming down her cheeks — just thinking of her crying gave him chills.

Because of his sleepless night, Lucas woke up lagged and tired, and this six a.m. practice time wasn’t working for him. The Sharks never practiced this early, but they hadn’t won a cup in years, while the Assassins were going for their third in a matter of three seasons, so maybe this six a.m. practice had better start working for Lucas.

If he wanted the Cup.

After doing six more laps, Lucas skated towards the bench. Once there he grabbed his drink bottle and chugged it. When he was done, he was about to skate off when Adler stopped him.

“You’re slow today,” he stated.

Lucas nodded. “I’m tired. I just moved in to my new house, and I’m not used to sleeping in my new bed.”

Adler gave him a dirty look. “Well get used to it. Be better tomorrow or don’t even bother coming back.”

With that Adler skated off, and Lucas shook his head.

Yeah, this was a great start to his season with the Assassins.

*****************************************

Fallon quickly walked through the Assassins’ headquarters, praying to God that she didn’t see Lucas. She hated that she was living like this, always looking over her shoulder and watching out for him. It was ridiculous, but she had brought it on herself. She had worried herself sick the night before because she knew she had to come here today. As soon as Fallon hit the main offices’ floor, her stomach dropped. Fallon knew the guys had practice today, but it was earlier this morning, so she hoped she was good and wouldn’t see Lucas.

Fallon’s beautiful Chie Mihara black bootie heels clicked against the purple floors as she walked down the hall that would take her to the main office of Mrs. Eleanor Adler. It was still weird calling Elli that — she had always been plain ole Elli — but now she was married to the most powerful player in the NHL and was one of the most powerful women in the NHL after her uncle gave her full rein of the team. It blew Fallon’s mind how different Elli was now that she was with Shea. He brought out something great in her, and Fallon couldn’t be happier for them.

When Fallon reached Elli’s assistant’s desk, no one was there. Fallon waited patiently but nervously, hoping Lucas didn’t walk out the office or come around the corner because she would have nowhere to run! Elli’s office was at the end of the hall. If he came down, she would have to talk to him or look like a crazy person when she screamed and ran around him. At the moment though, the latter was sounding pretty good.

Finally the door open and out came Elli’s assistant, Janet.

“Hey, Fallon!” Janet said brightly as she went behind the desk and sat down.

“Well hello Ms. Janet! I have a surprise for you!” Fallon gushed, causing Janet’s smile to become brighter.

“Ooh! I love presents!”

Fallon smiled as she placed the bottle of vintage Big Orange Cabernet Sauvignon on the desk. She knew Janet wouldn’t be excited about the wine but when she opened the envelope that was attached she was gonna freak.

“Oh yay, wine,” she said with a fake smile, causing Fallon to laugh out loud.

“Oh hush, that’s a vintage bottle thank you, but the envelope is the real present.”

Janet must have not seen the envelope because when her eyes set on it, she tore it off, ripping it open before she started jumping around like a crazy person. “CLUB SEATS!” she screamed as she jumped up and down.

“Yup, my season tickets for next year, all yours.”

Janet looked up at her, and Fallon swore she had tears in her eyes. Janet was the biggest University of Tennessee football fan that Fallon knew aside from her granddaddy and dad, so when her dad gave her the tickets for next season, Fallon knew who to give them to.

Fallon hated football, especially UT football. It was something about the color that just messed with her head.

“You’re the best.”

“I know,” Fallon said with a grin, “Maybe you’ll start drinking wine?”

“No, but Elli will love this for when she has the baby, thanks for my gift to her,” Janet laughed. Fallon joined in as Janet called into Elli’s office. “Mrs. Adler, Ms. Parker is here.”

Fallon watched as Janet nodded and then hung up. “Go on in.”

“Thanks Janet, enjoy!”

“Oh I will! Thanks so much again!”

“No problem, babe!” Fallon gushed as she walked over to Elli’s door and threw it open. Elli stood beside her desk in a pair of wool shorts with a cute black blouse. Topping the outfit off was some thigh high suede boots that if Fallon could wear she would take. Like always, Mrs. Adler was dressed to impress.

“Hey Fallon!”

“Hello Mrs. Adler, looking amazing as always,” Fallon said with a jealous look, causing Elli to laugh.

“Please, you’re the hot one!”

Fallon looked down at her light blue wool dress that had a large black belt under her breast. She was looking pretty good, but while she was wearing Ralph Lauren, Elli was rocking Gucci, probably. Oh what Fallon would do for her Gucci days back.

“I am looking good today,” Fallon joked as she laid everything she brought with her on Elli’s desk while Elli giggled. “So I know your husband is a wino, so I brought him a bottle of our vintage Big Orange, and a couple bottles of our Moscoto. Also I brought the packets for all the players and staff that have all the tickets and other cool things in ‘em. Make sure you get everyone to go please.”

“It will be mandatory, don’t worry, and Shea will love you for forever while I will hate you because I can’t drink.”

Fallon laughed as Elli put the bottles of wine behind her desk and opened one of the packets. “I also brought an idea for you.”

Elli looked up from the packet as Fallon handed over the proposal she had been working on for weeks. “Rocky Top Wines thinks that we need to tie in closer with the Assassins, and the way we want to do it is with a campaign featuring one of your players. I don’t know which one ‘cause I only know two from the team and I doubt you and Harper would be okay with females all over your men.”

“You are right on that one,” Elli said with laugh as she looked through the proposal.

Fallon smiled as she went on. “So we would want a single, late twenties, good-looking guy that has all his teeth for the campaign.”

“Fallon honey, the whole team is missing teeth,” Elli laughed, making Fallon laugh.

“I know that but they would need to wear their teeth for the creative shoot.”

“Gotcha, let me run this by my uncle. We’ll set up a meeting and see what else you got for us. I hate to rush ya babe, but I have an appointment coming in, so can I call you when I got a time for you?”

“Sure can,” Fallon said as she stood, meeting Elli by the desk to hug tightly.

“I’ll talk to you soon,” Elli gushed as they parted and Fallon started for the door.

“Thanks so much, can’t wait to hear from you,” Fallon said as she opened the door and started out it. If the campaigns happened, then hopefully Fallon could propose the cellar idea. She knew it would be a hit, just as the campaign would be — as long as they got the right guy. They needed someone sexy and dangerous that had a soft, sophisticated side.

Lucas Brooks would be perfect.

A fit of giggles came out of her when she got on the elevator and pushed the main floor button.

Thank God that would never happen.

*******************************************

Lucas was nervous.

If Eleanor Alder was anything like her husband, he was in for it. Adler had been hard on him all through practice, yelling and taunting him while he tried to do his best. But Lucas couldn’t keep up, he was dog tired.

“It’s going to be fine, Lucas,” Levi said from the other side of the elevator. Lucas looked over at him and shrugged his shoulders.

“I sucked at practice today,” Lucas stated.

“Yeah, but you were tired, they understood that. You’ll be fine tomorrow.”

“I hope so,” he said as the doors opened and they both exited. They walked down the purple and black hall and came to a large black desk that held a gorgeous blonde. Levi’s mouth twitched when the girl stood and said her greeting. The girl was thick, and Levi loved thick women. Levi was about to spit some game at the luscious blonde, and Lucas couldn’t wait for the show that would happen.

“I’m sorry what did you say? I was completely distracted by your gorgeous face. I love your eyes, they are so blue.”

Like Lucas expected, the girl giggled as she turned bright red.

“Mr. Brooks.”

Lucas turned to see his new boss in some sexy little shorts, leaning against the door. Adler already hated Lucas so there was no way in hell he was going to give him more of a reason by checking out his wife.

“Mrs. Adler, how are you?” Lucas asked as he came towards her, taking her hand in his when he reached her.

“I’m great, better than you from what I hear,” she said as she led him into the office. He walked in before her as she shut the door. “Have a seat.”

Lucas did as she asked as she came around her large black desk and took a seat. The bright blue chairs stood out in the black and purple room, but who was he to judge her décor? Pictures of her brand new baby girl were on every surface in the office, along with a huge picture of the whole Adler clan above her desk.

“So practice didn’t go well?” she asked again, and he looked across the desk at her.

“I’m extremely tired. I swear, tomorrow will be better.”

“Sure do hope so. We come off break in six days, I need you ready to go.”

“No problem,” Lucas said with a nod.

“Good. Now I’ve gotten a lot of flak for wanting you on my team Mr. Brooks…”

“Lucas,” Lucas said. He hated when people called him Mr. Brooks. He wasn’t that damn old.

“Lucas,” she said with a grin, “but I believe in you. I know you’re a great player if you can stay out of that damn box. We need your stick, we need more shots on goal, and I know you can do that.”

“I can,” Lucas agreed.

“Good, Shea seems to think so, too.”

Lucas’ eyebrows shot up. “Adler thinks so? I thought he hated me.”

“No, he’s still a little pissed about you breaking his nose a while back but he thinks you’re a great player. A great addition to the team.”

“Wow, that’s good to know,” Lucas said, and it was. He was nervous the team didn’t like him and if he knew one thing, there had to be a brotherhood between the players for a team to work.

“You’ll fit in great, the guys are a hoot.”

“Sounds great.”

“Now, ground rules,” she said as Lucas nodded, “no sleeping with any of the staff, dancers, or wives/girlfriends of a player.”

No shit.

“No drinking, smoking, drugs, anything on game days.”

“Won’t happen anytime,” Lucas said, and she smiled.

“I know but I gotta say it anyways.”

“Of course,” Lucas said with his flirty smile, but then changed it when he remembered that Eleanor Adler wasn’t some girl he was trying to have sex with but his boss. It was so weird having a female as his boss, but he knew Mrs. Adler was no joke. She knew what she wanted and who to kill to get it.

Mrs. Adler moved a stack of papers in front of Lucas and he froze. He looked down at the stack of paper and all the words started to jumble together.

This was about to go bad.

“Let’s go over some other rules. You can read along with me as I point out the big ones.”

“Um, well, you see.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Lucas looked around the room as he tried to figure out what he was gonna do.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I, uh, I forgot my glasses at home. Yeah! I didn’t know we would be doing paperwork, my manager/assistant is out in the waiting room, can I go get him? He can help me.”

“Uh sure, I’ll call him in,” Elli said before picking up the phone and telling her assistant to send Levi in. A few minutes later, Levi walked into the room with a confused look on his face until he saw the paperwork in front of Lucas. Lucas watched as he put on his ‘Ladies love me’ grin and held out his hand for Mrs. Adler.

“Mrs. Adler, so much more beautiful than I was told,” he said as they shook hands.

“Why thank you, and you are?”

“Levi Moss, Lucas’ manager.”

“Wonderful, we need to go over the Player Regulations paperwork and Lucas forgot his glasses.”

“He can’t read anything without them, so let’s do this.”

For the next hour, Lucas sat and listened as Mrs. Adler went over the paperwork. He hated when these things happened, but that was what Levi was for. To always be there when Lucas wasn’t able to read something. It was hard to admit that Lucas had dyslexia, but he did. He couldn’t read without taking an hour on each word. He felt like it made him less of a person, and if people knew about his condition that they would judge him or think he was stupid. And Lucas didn’t do well when people called him stupid. That was the main reason why no one knew except for his mom and Levi about the condition.

Oh…and Fallon.

Lucas didn’t mean or even realized he had said her name out loud, until both Mrs. Adler and Levi looked over at him. Levi had an annoyed look on his face while Mrs. Adler had a surprised one of hers.

“What did you say, Lucas?”

“I’m sorry, I was just thinking, do you know Fallon Parker?”

She smiled sweetly. “I do. She is a very good friend of mine and is the reason we are partners with her family’s wine company.”

“Um, well, I used to know her, and since I’m in town now, I would love to see her again,” Lucas said. Mrs. Adler smiled again as Levi glared at Lucas.

“Well she is throwing a party at the Belle Mead Mansion in March, everyone’s invited from the team. I know it’s a while away but if you asking me for her number I won’t give it to you,” she said with a mischievous smile. “But I will tell her that you were asking.”

“No, don’t do that. I’ll wait or maybe I’ll run into her.”

“Maybe,” she said with a knowing grin.

This was why Lucas didn’t like a woman boss — if Mrs. Adler was a Mr. Adler and Lucas asked about Fallon they would have just let it go, but not Mrs. Adler. She had that look in her eyes, and Lucas knew that look.

Fallon would know about him asking about her as soon as the door to Mrs. Adler’s office closed.

***************************************************

“Mommy, can I be the Marshmallow Man for Halloween?”

Fallon shook her head as she looked up from her computer before looking over at Aiden, who sat on the couch watching Ghostbusters. “Honey, Halloween isn’t for nine months.”

“I know, but I want to get my costume now,” Aiden whined.

“Honey, let’s wait ‘til at least September before we start buying costumes,” Fallon said as Audrey came out the kitchen with a bag of marshmallows in her hand. When she took off running towards the couch, Fallon looked up again.

“Or! We can eat this whole bag of marshmallows and hope we turn into the marshmallow man!!” Audrey exclaimed before she started stuffing marshmallows in her mouth. Aiden started laughing but then he joined in, leaving Fallon to shake her head.

“Y’all are nuts,” she said just as her phone started ringing. It was Elli. “Hey,” Fallon said as she stood up to leave the room because believe it or not, consuming marshmallows to become the marshmallow man was a very loud event.

“Hey girl, talked to my papa, and he wants to set up a meeting next month, the 17th at 10 a.m.,” Elli said. In the background Fallon could hear sweet baby Shelli making sweet baby noise.

“Sounds good, I’ll make sure we are ready for you. You want to do it at the office right?”

“Yeah, I think everyone will be there.”

“Cool school, I’ll be ready.”

“Sounds good. Also you know how I had that meeting today after you left?”

Fallon stopped writing and looked up, “Yeah?”

“Well it was with my newly traded player, Lucas Brooks.”

“Yeah,” Fallon said with dread filling her. She prayed that Elli didn’t tell him about Aiden or that she wasn’t married or anything. She should have told Elli not to tell him anything about her. She knew Lucas would ask questions, especially when he saw that Rocky Top Wines was a sponsor.

“Well, he was asking about you today, and I remember you breaking a bottle of wine at the sound of his name so I thought I would call, give you his number, so maybe y’all could talk,” she said in suggestive voice. Fallon took a deep breath, knowing that Elli hadn’t said anything.

“I’m good. Do me a favor too. Don’t give him anything of mine and don’t tell him anything about me.”

Elli was quiet for a moment; the only noise was the sound of Shelli eating. “Okay, can I ask why?”

“Just an old flame. No big deal.”

“Okay, why do I feel like your hiding something?”

Fallon sat for a minute, listening to Audrey and Aiden as they became marshmallow men, while trying to figure out what she was gonna say to Elli. She had known Elli for a long time, even before the sponsorship. Elli had done a lot of the photo work for Rocky Top Wines. She also had taken all of Fallon’s personal pictures for her. She loved Elli, and she wouldn’t lie to her, but it would be a cold day in hell before she told her the truth.

“Because I am, Elli. I’m asking that you hang with me for a little bit. Everything will come into light sooner than later.”

Elli didn’t say anything right away, but then Elli said what Fallon knew in her heart she would say. “Okay, just let me know if you need anything.”

Chapter 4

How Lucas had done it would always been a mystery to Fallon.

She stood in the middle of her dorm room in complete awe. Every surface of the room was covered in little pink post-it notes with what he said was all the reasons he loved her. There had to be over a hundred of them!

Fallon walked around the room, reading each one.

I love you because you are there for me.

I love you because of your laugh.

I love you because you believe in me.

I love you because of your integrity.

I love you because you love my mom.

I love you because just like how you warm my hand when we are sleeping, you warm my heart just with one look.

I love you because you are great in bed…haha.

I love you because you are mine.

I love you because you play goalie for me, even though you are scared shitless of the puck.

Fallon’s smile grew wider with every one she read. Lucas was incredibly sweet. It was their two-year anniversary and he was in New York for a game and still had done all this for her. How did she get so lucky to be with a man that loved her so much?

In the middle of her bed was a big bouquet of white lilies with some kind of red flower she had never seen in her life in the middle. All around the bouquet were little wrapped boxes, so she tore into each one, finding a different shade of her favorite lip gloss in each box. In the last box, there wasn’t a tube of lip gloss but a ring. It wasn’t an engagement ring, but it still took Fallon’s breath away. It was platinum with small pink diamonds lining the whole band. When she looked inside the ring, there was an inscription.

For the woman that takes my breath away – love you, Lucas.

Fallon’s heart warmed as tears rushed down her cheeks. She slid the ring on her finger quickly before she tore open the card, and then the tears came faster as she read.

My Fallon,

I could go on for days telling you the reasons I love you. I love you because I do, because you are my everything. The flower is a Kadupul flower and it’s the rarest flower that I could find. I got it because you are the rarest person I have ever met. You blow my mind with your awesomeness and I just love you Fallon, more than you’ll ever believe.

Happy Anniversary baby, here’s to a hundred more.

Love, Lucas.

Fallon dug her phone out of her pocket and saw that Lucas was probably on the ice, but she had to tell him thank you — she would leave him a voicemail. It only rang twice before someone surprisingly answered. The roar of a crowd filled the phone as the guy yelled into the phone.

“Ms. Parker, just a second, he is finishing up his line. He’ll be off…now.”

“Oh my God,” Fallon said breathlessly as she heard the phone being transferred. He had someone waiting for her call? He was perfect!

“Happy Anniversary, baby girl,” Lucas said and then Fallon heard the guys razzing him.

“Oh my God, Lucas, you’re amazing. I only got you that stick you wanted with my name on it!”

His laughter rang over the phone. “And I loved it. I’m sorry I didn’t call earlier.”

“It's okay, I love you.”

“I love you more, baby girl,” he said with all the love in the world in his voice, “so much more.”

“Go score for me?”

“I’m always scoring for you.”

“I do love you Lucas.”

“And I love you.”

It was sad really, that a post-it note that said ‘You have two messages’ was what triggered that memory. Rob, Fallon’s assistant, always used post-it notes to tell her things and would leave them on her computer screen. It was the first time Rob had done it since Lucas had come to Nashville and when she saw the little pink post-it note, her breath caught as that moment came back to her.

It had been a month since Lucas had come home.

A long, looking behind her back, checking corners and not going anywhere month.

She was pathetic.

Fallon knew she should just face Lucas and get it over with, but each day it got harder and harder. Every time Aiden looked at Fallon, she wanted to cry because not only was she keeping the secret from Lucas, she was keeping it from Aiden. Aiden deserved a better mom, one that wasn’t scared of some guy who broke her heart into a billion pieces.

“Why are you just standing there like that?”

Fallon turned quickly, seeing Rob Slater in the doorway with his hands on his waist. His extremely long brown hair came over his shoulders, his tight pink shirt under his blazer jacket had Madonna looking back at her. His pants were, of course, tighter than Fallon’s, and all Fallon could think was how the hell she was gonna take him to this presentation when he looked better than she did.

“Dazed out,” Fallon answered as she fell into her plush pink chair.

Gosh, she loved this chair. It was so pink and fluffy. Since the company’s color was orange, Fallon made sure that her office was bright pink, and it was just plain gorgeous. Every surface was either pink or white, with glitter here and there. Pictures of her, Audrey and Aiden filled the office. She loved it, and it made her happy inside. The best part was her dad hated it, and that made Fallon happy all in itself.

“You’ve been weird the last couple weeks,” Rob said as he sat down, crossing his legs. It made Fallon sick how great Rob’s legs looked. Her legs didn’t even look that good.

“Lots of stuff going on.”

“Like? Come on, you tell me everything.”

Not everything, she thought as she started gathering her notes for the presentation.

“Don’t worry about it; are you almost ready to go?”

“Yuppers, everything is packed in your car,” Rob said before standing and heading for the door. That was the great thing about Rob, he always knew when Fallon needed to be alone.

“Thank you,” she said as the door shut. She looked up at her screen and tore the post-it note down and threw it away.

That memory really messed with Fallon’s head and her hands shook from the images that played through her mind. Fallon hadn’t thought of that day in years, okay, maybe on the anniversary of the day every year, but not all the time. At that moment though, it was like the whole night was replaying in her head.

Lucas had come home early the next morning. They made love, slow and sweet, before lying in each other’s arms until sunrise. He told her he couldn’t live without her and that he loved just her and she told him the same, that her life wasn’t complete without him. Then just a short week later, he broke her heart.

A stray tear ran down her cheek, and Fallon quickly wiped it away. How was she still so raw after seven years? Just with one image of the day he broke her heart and she was in a puddle of tears.

Why?

Why did he have to come to Nashville?

There was a knock at the door and Fallon quickly wiped her tears as the door opened. Aiden came running into the room with a big white Gerber Daisy in one hand and a grin on his face. “Mommy! AA brought me over to wish you luck and to give you a flower and a kiss before school!”

Audrey came in behind him, and bless her, with a large Starbucks cup in hand.

“A kiss! Oh my goodness! Just want I needed! Come here and give me that sugar!” Fallon exclaimed as Aiden threw himself into her lap, wrapping his arms around her neck before he covered her with sticky kisses. Fallon giggled along with Aiden and Audrey and couldn’t have felt more loved.

“Goodness me, did AA give you a sticky bun this morning?”

Both Audrey and Aiden had guilty looks on their faces before Aiden stuffed the flower in her face, trying to distract her. “I got you a flower Momma!”

“And I got you coffee!” Audrey joined in.

Fallon laughed as she took her sweet gifts from her two favorite people. “Well thank you very much, but y’all are still in trouble! No sticky buns Audrey! You know that!” she scolded jokingly. She wasn’t really mad, she couldn’t be. They had brought her gifts and kisses!

“But Mom…” Aiden complained.

“Yeah Mom, he was hungry. I don’t do well when he puts his sad eyes on. They get me every time.”

Fallon shook her head before she kissed Aiden loudly on the cheek. “No more sad eyes for your AA, she forgets that she is 27 years old and needs to keep your teeth clean,” Fallon said as she cut Audrey a look. Audrey looked away as Aiden nodded.

“Yes ma’am.”

“Okay good, now y’all gotta go before you’re late for school!” Fallon said before covering Aiden in kisses. “Have a great day?”

“Duh, I’m awesome!”

Fallon and Audrey laughed as Aiden gave them a cocky grin. “I’ve been saying that since you were born, come on kid. Let’s roll!” Audrey said as Aiden jumped off Fallon’s lap. “Good luck today, sissy.”

“Thanks, I love you both.”

“We love you,” they both said. Then they looked at each other before breaking out in a fit of giggles as they left.

“Crazy kids,” Fallon said with the biggest grin ever on her face. “Well that sure did make my day,” she said out loud as she went back to preparing for the meeting.

The morning was going quickly and it was almost time for her to go when her phone dinged from Rob calling her.

“Yeah?” she asked as she slid her shoes on.

“Um, some guy is on line one. He said his name is Lucas Brooks and that you know who he is?”

It was like her legs had come out from underneath her and she fell back into her chair. How the hell did he get this number? It isn’t that hard Fallon, Yellow Pages? Duh! She thought as she sat with her mouth hanging open.

“Fallon?”

Fallon took a deep breath, she had to tell him to leave her alone or she was going to lose her mind.

“Yeah, sorry, um. Don’t transfer him, ever. I want you to repeat exactly what I say okay?”

Rob sounded worried as he said, “Um…okay?”

*****************************************

Lucas sat in his car outside the practice rink, waiting for Fallon to answer. Levi had come through and gotten him Fallon’s work number. It took 20 minutes to figure out which number was Fallon’s but he finally got it and some guy claiming to be her assistant answered. Another five minutes passed before the guy came back on the line.

“Um, I’m sorry Mr. Brooks, but I’ve been told to tell you,” the guys took a deep breath and Lucas swore he heard him praying for forgiveness, “She said to tell you to fuck off and never call this number again.”

Lucas laughed out loud while the poor guy sat there in complete confusion. So Fallon could still be feisty as hell.

Awesome.

“What was your name?” Lucas asked.

“Rob?”

“Rob, do me a favor, tell your angry boss that I will see her and that when I do, I will be cleaning that mouth out and if she’s lucky it’ll be with my tongue.”

Lucas hung up without saying bye and just laughed. He loved Fallon’s angry side; it made him hard for days because she hardly got mad. When she did, he tried so hard to make her happy again just to get her in bed. Just one cuss word out that pretty mouth of hers and he was ready. Hell, she still turned him on and she hadn’t even said it — Rob did — but just the thought of her saying it did it for him.

His phone rang and Levi’s picture came up, interrupting his fantasy of Fallon saying very dirty things to him in bed. He let out a frustrated breath and answered the phone. “Hey bro.”

“Hey, did you talk to her?”

“Nope, she told her assistant to tell me to fuck off.”

“Hmm, so new Fallon is angry. I like it,” Levi laughed.

“She’s always had a little angry side. I love it.”

“I bet you do. Anyway, you need to get home and get your crap. The bus is leaving in an hour.”

“I’m on my way.”

Lucas hung up the phone and was grateful with how no one had really said anything about Levi always being with him. No one minded that Levi rode on the bus with the guys or that he was always in the locker room. He was just there, and no one said anything. It was awesome.

Lucas put the car in drive and started for the house. He was still on fire from just being so close to hearing Fallon’s beautiful sweet voice. He couldn’t wait until he did, and he stood by his word. When he saw her, he would clean that mouth out.

With his tongue, he hoped.

**************************************************

I will see you and when I do, I will be cleaning that mouth out and if you’re lucky it’ll be with my tongue.

Fallon’s body had been burning from the inside out ever since the words left Rob’s mouth. How did her angry rant turn into Lucas flirting with her? How did he know what to say, after all these years, to make it where she couldn’t even concentrate on giving a proper presentation! He drove her straight crazy! It was all her fault she was letting him affect her! If she would just ignore what he said then she wouldn’t even be affected! Yes! All she had to do was ignore it, not think about his mouth on hers. His tongue in her mouth or in other places…..

Oh Lord, she wasn’t gonna make it through this meeting.

Sweat dripped down the middle of her back as Fallon tried to get through the meeting. Elli sat beside her uncle while the rest of the executives sat around the large table. Fallon was never nervous when it came to public speaking, but today she was convinced that every person at that table knew she was thinking of Lucas between her legs.

“Lordy me! Are y’all hot?” Fallon asked, fanning her face. Rob shot her a warning look while Elli looked at her confused.

“Sure are, honey,” Mr. Fisher said. “Mr. Slater, can you please open them doors, let some air in here. That’s alright, right darlin’?”

“Yes sir,” Fallon said as Rob got up to open the doors. The air didn’t help at all though, so Fallon pushed past her unwanted fantasy and went on with the rest of the presentation.

It wasn’t easy.

Every time she talked about the hot, rugged, dangerous looking man that they needed for the campaign, all she could think about was Lucas. She knew for a fact that THAT man had the body of a God. Perfect and rugged, with hair on his chest, and sexy yummy tattoos. Oh Lord, she was getting hot all over again.

“Fallon, are you still hot? You’re all flushed,” Elli asked as Fallon stood waiting for questions from everything.

“Just a little, I’ll be alright,” Fallon said as she groaned inwardly. What the hell was wrong with her? She was always professional and composed! She was acting like a freaking school girl!

“I’m sorry about the heat Fallon, hun, but I won’t have you wait long since I’ve kept you hot through the whole meeting,” Mr. Fisher said.

All Fallon could think, was that Mr. Fisher wasn’t the one that kept her hot but she sure wasn’t going to say anything.

“So I’ll just let you know now, that yes, we want to do the campaign. Sounds good, I’ll let you and Elli decided on what player y’all want.” Mr. Fisher stood and came to Fallon, shaking her hand while Fallon was about to burst with happiness.

She had done it! Yes!

Everyone stood, coming over to Fallon and shaking her hand before shaking Rob’s. Elli was last and instead of shaking Fallon’s hand, she hugged Fallon tightly.

“Great presentation, you are just so passionate about it. I loved it.”

“Thank you Elli,” Fallon gushed as Elli smiled and started for the door. “I’ll be in contact.”

“Wonderful babe, see ya later.”

Fallon watched Elli walk away as Rob came over to her. “You know I wasn’t hot at all through the whole meeting.”

“Shut up, Rob,” Fallon said glaring over at him.

“I’m thinking that someone couldn’t get a certain someone’s statement out of her head.”

Fallon rolled her eyes as she picked up the mockups of the campaign.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said. When she looked over at him, he started to laugh.

“Oh, I’m sure I do. I’m thinking you were thinking about the same guy that you had me say very rude things too.”

“Shut up, Rob,” Fallon said once more before letting out a frustrated breath.

If Lucas affected her this much and she hadn’t even seen him, what was going to happen when she did?

*******************************************

“It was so embarrassing Audrey, so stinking embarrassing.”

Audrey giggled before picking up her glass of wine and bringing it to her lips. They sat around their kitchen table, drinking a celebratory drink while Aiden was upstairs sleeping. Fallon was explaining her day and what had happened after the dreaded phone call from Lucas.

“I say when you see him again that you attack him! Give him a kiss he’ll remember for the rest of his life!”

Fallon giggled at that. “Oh please, I’ll probably just stand there, like a fish out of water, my mouth opening and closing!”

Fallon demonstrated how she would look and that had them both laughing.

“I don’t see why you are letting him affect you? I mean he is hot and all, but apparently he’s something if he’s got you, Ms. Calm, Cool, Collected, on edge,” Audrey said. Fallon smiled as butterflies filled her stomach.

“Oh Audrey, you just don’t understand,” Fallon expressed, “I lived when I was with him.”

“Huh?” Audrey asked confused, “You’re not livin’ now?”

Fallon mouth picked up at one side as she thought back to all the amazing times she and Lucas had. “I am, but in a different way. Lucas could make me laugh just the way Aiden does now. He could get me in a hockey goal and shoot pucks at me and I would know I’m safe. We went on amazing trips, ate amazing food, sat on the beach, and just lived together. He loved me, and Lord, did I love him.”

When Audrey didn’t say anything after a few minutes, Fallon looked over at her. Audrey was looking at her with wide eyes and a confused look on her face. “Fallon, I’ve never seen you talk about a man so passionately. Me, Aiden or your job, you always talk like that, but never a man.”

“’Cause there hasn’t been anyone since him,” Fallon answered sadly.

“’Cause you haven’t tried to be with anyone else,” Audrey pointed out. “A lot of guys want a piece of your crazy hot ass.”

Fallon laughed. “I’m not crazy hot, and plus after being with Lucas, no one could ever compare. That’s probably why I haven’t been with anyone. I’m still so raw.”

Audrey shook her head. “Fallon, it’s been seven years, and I have never heard of him. Now, not only do I know who Aiden’s daddy is, but I know that this dude was your dude. What the hell?”

Fallon slowly shrugged her shoulders as she bit at the skin around her index finger. “Maybe I’m over him,” she then laughed, “Or maybe I know the truth is coming out, so I gotta tell someone!”

Audrey laughed. “I don’t think you’re over him, sis. If you were, he wouldn’t affect you the way he does.”

“Maybe you are right ‘cause Lord, I’m so scared about seeing him again.”

“You should be, he is sexy as all get out,” Audrey gushed as Fallon smiled.

“You have no clue on the amount of sexiness there is when that man takes his clothes off,” Fallon said breathlessly as she waved her hand in her face. It was suddenly very hot in Fallon’s small kitchen.

Audrey giggled as she placed her face in her hands, looking up at Fallon. “Oooh, do tell!”

Fallon giggled along as she just shook his head. “Oh Audrey, my favorite thing about him other than his eyes, was his chest. It was a little hairy but not much, his abs was something straight out of a magazine, ripped beyond all belief. He had this sexy ass tattoo along his pecks that said, ‘Never look back, never think twice’ and…”

Audrey cut her off before she could go on. “How in the world do you still remember what his tattoo says!”

Fallon gave her a shy, naughty smile. “When you’ve ran your tongue along them letters enough times, you tend to remember what they say.”

Audrey laughed out loud, holding her stomach as Fallon giggled uncontrollably. “He was everything I wanted. I loved him with everything inside of me,” Fallon said sadly when she stopped laughing.

They sat for a moment, and Fallon couldn’t help but think about seeing him again. It had been so long, what would happen? Would she do what Audrey said? Fallon knew that would stun him. It brought a grin to her face just to imagine the look on his face if she was bold enough to do it.

“Why did y’all break up?”

Fallon looked up and then back down as she shook her head. It hurt so bad just to think about. So damn bad. She would be lying if she said she didn’t think of him, if she still didn’t miss him, because she did. She hadn’t even seen him yet and just the thought of his eyes settling on hers brought her to her knees. That was why she was so nervous about seeing him. She may still be mad and not want anything to do with him but if he was persistent, the way she knew he would be, she wasn’t sure if she could resist.

There was just something about Lucas Brooks that could stop a full room from talking and make them look at him. He was so intoxicating, so full of life. He loved living, he was fun, he had a joke for everything, and he was always smiling, even after all he had dealt with. His body was her Wonderland, she could still to this day remember every tattoo, every scar, every ab, the line of hair that ran from his belly button down, everything. It still broke Fallon’s heart every time she thought back to that day.

The day that basically ruined her life.

“You’re zoning out on me Fal,” Audrey said with a laugh. Fallon looked over at her.

“He broke me,” Fallon said simply as she closed her eyes. When she opened them, Audrey was looking at her with a worried look on her face. Fallon gave her a small smile before she slowly retold why they broke up.

Chapter 5

It had been a long week since Fallon had seen Lucas. He had gone back on the road and she had gone home to see Audrey for a couple days. Fallon was beyond excited about finally seeing him tonight. Lucas said he was gonna meet her at the dorm and Fallon decided she couldn’t drive fast enough to get there.

Two years, it was still hard to believe. Fallon had never been with someone so long or hell, been in love so long. She knew she loved Lucas two months in, and hadn’t stopped yet. Yeah, he could make her so mad she wanted to rip his face off but within a minute, he had her laughing or on her back with him on top of her.

A slow smile went across Fallon’s face — she couldn’t wait to get home. She was ready to be with her man. When she saw his truck in the parking lot, she parked beside it and jumped out, heading up the walkway to the dorm. Once inside, she made her way upstairs praying that Allison was still in Houston visiting her family. If she wasn’t, oh well, she was about to see a show. Fallon giggled to herself as she ran up the many stairs to the hall that held her room. When she reached it, she threw the door open and stepped inside.

It was dark.

Fallon flipped on the lights and when her eyes adjusted, she couldn’t catch her breath.

Allison jumped up, throwing clothes on as Lucas just laid there.

Naked.

“What the fuck?” Fallon said once she found her voice.

“Oh God,” Allison whispered as she zipped her pants.

Lucas finally stirred, sitting up and looking around. When he looked at Fallon, his eyes went wide, and that was when Fallon’s heart broke. At that moment she knew he was going to try to hide this from her. That maybe he even planned it. Get some from Allison before she came home and then he would get it from her.

Fallon almost threw up.

“Fallon?” Lucas looked at her, than over at Allison. “Oh, fuck.”

He got up quickly, throwing his clothes on. For the first time ever, she couldn’t even admire his beautiful body. She was disgusted and wanted to hit something…or someone. Allison left the room quickly, passing by Fallon without a glance.

Coward.

Fallon slowly ran her hand through her hair while Lucas dressed quickly. Why wasn’t she yelling? Why wasn’t she trying to hit him? Fallon just stood there, staring at him. He came over towards her, and Fallon saw the tears in his eyes but she had to look away. It was too hard to look at someone she had loved for so long who had just been found in bed with not only someone Fallon knew, but her best friend.

“Baby…”

“No, don’t call me that,” Fallon whispered. “You lost that privilege, what an hour ago? How long have you been going at it?”

Not that she really wanted to know, she just wanted the point to get across to him that what they had was over.

“Fallon, please, it’s not what you think,” Lucas begged.

An empty laugh broke from Fallon’s lips as she walked past him, pulling the sheets off her bed. “Not only did you fuck my best friend, but you did it in my bed. Wow, way to go Luc.”

“Fallon, please baby, look at me.”

Fallon felt him walk up behind her, so she whipped around, her fist clenched as she looked up at him. “Get out, and never come back,” she sneered as his face twisted with guilt.

“Please, you don’t mean that.”

“I do, go.”

“Fallon, baby, please I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened, I was… I don’t know, baby please.”

Fallon turned back around as the tears rolled down her cheeks. She couldn’t believe it. She felt like her heart was just smashed into a billion pieces and all he could say what that he didn’t know what happen?

“It's pretty cut and dry Lucas — you fucked my best friend.”

“I didn’t mean to,” he pleaded.

Fallon turned, completely disgusted with him. “You didn’t mean to?”

“Yeah.”

She waited for him to go on and when he didn’t, she turned around again because she was pretty sure she as gonna deck him in the throat. “Get out Lucas.”

“No, not until you talk to me.”

“I ain’t gonna talk to you, ever again. So leave. We’re through.”

“No!” He turned her around with his large hands and she looked up at the desperation on his face, but she didn’t care. She pushed him away and he stumbled back into the wall.

“Don’t touch me. Get out.”

They stood for what seemed like hours, staring each other down. Tears rolled down her cheeks as his eyes watered with tears she knew would never fall. Lucas didn’t cry, he always said that after his daddy died nothing would ever hurt him as bad.

“I’m going to go, but I’ll be back. We’re not through,” he said before he started for the door, and just as he was about to shut it, Fallon said, “We are, and come back if you want, but I won’t be waiting. Ever again.”

Fallon couldn’t get through the whole story without crying. Audrey held Fallon’s hand as she went over the events of that day.

“What did he mean ‘he didn’t mean to’?” Audrey asked once Fallon had calmed down.

“I don’t know, and I really don’t care. The whole experience was so surreal. Like when we would talk about how if one of us would cheat, I would always say how I would kick his ass,” Fallon let out a soulless laugh, “then it happens, and all I did was change the sheets.”

“Fallon, you were in shock,” Audrey consoled.

“It just sucks, ‘cause... ‘cause I feel so guilty Audrey,” Fallon said as she started crying again. “I feel like I should have told him about Aiden when it happened, but I was so hurt, so upset that he hurt me so bad.”

Audrey wrapped her arms around Fallon, holding her closely to her chest. If that day never would have happened, she would still be with Lucas. They would be married; they would have Aiden, and probably more children. Aiden wasn’t planned, of course, but Lucas wanted kids. Another reason why telling him about Aiden was gonna be bad. He was gonna freak about not being in Aiden’s life for the past six years.

For the love of God, what the hell had Fallon done?

***************************************

Lucas looked left, then right, before passing to Welch. Welch only had the puck for a split second before he directed it right into the goal. Lucas threw his arms up in the air before the guys all wrapped up in a hug, tapping each other on the head. Thank God, Welch got that in because if he hadn’t the score would be 4-0. At least if the Assassins lost it wouldn’t be a shutout. Even with Lucas playing hard, trying hard to get shots on goal, it wasn’t their game, and they lost 4-1.

Lucas slowly walked down the hall behind his teammates, his head hung low. It was the first game he had lost as an Assassin, and he would be lying if he said he was okay with it. He didn’t come to the Assassins to be a loser, but to be a winner.

When he looked up, he saw that the coaches and Eleanor Adler stood lined up by the locker room, nodding and tapping each guy on the head as they walked into the locker room. It was crazy; he had never been on a team that was much more like a family than a team. When Lucas reached Elli, she gave him a small smile.

“Good game Brooks, great pass.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Adler,” he said with a nod.

She smiled sweetly at him, and he smile back. It was the first time he had ever smiled after a lost. Lucas decided then that he was going to love playing for the Assassins. They were a family, and he could always use one.

Later, Lucas didn’t know why he was thinking of the day he lost Fallon on the bus ride to Columbus, but he was. Maybe it was calling the office that morning, or maybe it was because the Assassins had lost in St Louis. Since he already felt like shit, he figured he might as well think of the worst day of his life.

All Lucas could remember was not only the cold, dead look in Fallon’s beautiful caramel eyes, but the way she was just plain disgusted with him. He still to that day didn’t remember getting into bed with Allison, and he really didn’t remember having sex with her. He was too drunk and high to remember anything from that night.

Lucas shook his head as he thought back to that night.

Lucas just wanted to see Fallon.

It had been a long week, and he needed his Fallon fix. She was like a drug and he was addicted. The week had been hard, he had gotten hurt during a game against the Devils and when the doctor prescribed him Lortabs, he should have known he was in trouble. He started popping the pain pills every chance he got, mixing them with his favorite drink. Lucas soon found that it took him to cloud nine and he loved the feeling.

Fallon had called that afternoon saying she was getting in at seven. When Lucas woke up at six, he rushed to get ready and headed towards Palo Alto to be there when she got there. The choices he made that night were plain stupid. Not only did he drink and drive but he was high from the pills too. He could have gotten killed, or worst, killed someone else.

When he got to the dorm, he opened the door to Allison sitting on her bed in a little tee. She was supposed to be in Houston. What the hell was she doing home?

“Oh, hey Lucas,” she purred as she stood up. Lucas should have known right then to leave. Allison was known as a ho in the locker room, she had been with Levi and a couple of the guys from the team. Lucas knew better, he knew better then to mess with anyone but Fallon. But Lucas was so drunk and so high that when Allison tipped toed over to him in that little bitty t-shirt and wrapped her arms around his neck for a ‘hug’, he couldn’t help but to hold her closer than needed.

When her lips touched his, he didn’t think, he just acted and it was the last thing he remembered.

Now Lucas was paying for it. Even with Fallon saying that she wouldn’t be there the next day when he showed up, he went back, and more than shit she was gone. He would forever hold that look she gave him right before he walked out as the last memory he had of her. He spent weeks trying to find her and then was told she went home. He figured there was no point in chasing after her, she didn’t want him.

So he turned to drugs and alcohol.

“Why do I feel like you’re thinking too hard?” Lucas looked over, seeing that Levi was staring at him, his Kindle in his lap.

“Because I am,” Lucas chuckled as he looked out towards the front of the bus. All the guys sat with their laptops, eReaders, and books, while Lucas just sat there. Sometimes he brought his DS but it was hard to play a game when sometimes he had to read what he needed to do. Lucas hated asking Levi to read his games to him, so mostly Lucas just people watched and looked out the window or slept on bus rides.

“Want to talk about it?”

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. He knew Levi was sick of hearing about Fallon, but he was the only one he could talk about Fallon to. Lucas’ mom still missed Fallon — she had been convinced that Fallon was going to be her daughter one day — and having to tell his mom why Fallon left him was probably the second hardest thing he had to do.

The first being the day he buried his dad.

Lucas slowly shook his head. “I am so fucked up.”

“Huh?” Levi asked looking over at him.

“I was an alcoholic turned pill popper all because I couldn’t cope with losing my dad or my condition. I then decide that instead of fixing the problem when Fallon left me that I was going to do more, and I almost lost everything.”

Levi nodded his head, shutting off his Kindle as he turned slightly to look at Lucas. “But look at you now, you’ve been sober for four years, you are in a good place in your life…”

“I’m lonely.”

“I’m here and your mom is, and you can have any female you want.”

“I want her.”

Nothing was said as the two men looked each other in the eyes. Levi looked away first, shaking his head and biting down on his lip as he looked everywhere but at Lucas. “Dude, I don’t see it happening. Let it go.”

“I need her, she made me feel normal. I didn’t need the booze when I was with her.”

“You don’t need it now,” Levi pointed out.

“I don’t need it but I want it. With Fallon I didn’t need or want it. I was happy, she made me happy.”

“You haven’t really tried since Fallon, Lucas. No one is ever good enough.”

“Yeah, because when you have had perfection, how do you get past that?” Lucas asked with a grin.

Levi rolled his eyes as he took a deep breath in. “You act like you guys were perfect. You guys weren’t.”

“Who is? No matter what though, we loved each other.”

“I know dude, but I just don’t understand why you’re so caught up on her still,” Levi emphasized. “It's been so long.”

“Because I still love her,” Lucas said simply, like it was already known.

“Oh come on!” Levi yelled, causing a lot of the guys to turn and looked at them. Lucas rolled his eyes before leaning his head back into the chair. “You cannot still love her! You haven’t even seen her.”

“I do,” Lucas said. “Why don’t you want me with her?”

“It isn’t that I don’t want you with her, I just think it’s unrealistic. You…you fucked up dude. I don’t think she is over that.”

Lucas weighed his words for a minute before nodded his head. “She might not be, but I learned from my mistake and I would never do that again.”

“I don’t know dude, I think you’re grasping at something that isn’t there.”

Lucas nodded slowly. “We’ll see.”

The party Fallon was throwing was in the couple of weeks, and Lucas already had a suit picked out. He would go, he would see her, and he would get her back. The statement from earlier when he called was just her not knowing how to handle talking to him again. When they saw each other in person, everything would be fine. It had been so long, she still couldn’t be that mad.

Right?

**********************************************

“Why did I let her talk me into this dress?”

Fallon stood in front of her wall length mirror, looking over the short black mini dress Audrey had talked her into buying for the party that night. It was a strapless sweetheart mini dress with big white flowers with hand-beaded centers going down the side. The flowers were what sold Fallon on the dress, and she felt so confident when she paired them with her sparkling silver Badgley Mischka Humbie pumps, but now she stood in front of her mirror doubting herself. Even with her amazing hair and perfect makeup, she couldn’t help but feel like she was about to walk into the gas chamber.

Fallon knew tonight was the night she would see Lucas.

Her stomach clenched and she was convinced she was gonna puke. Audrey thought it was such a great idea to wear something hot to make him see what he lost, but all Fallon wanted to do was run into the closet and put something else on. She didn’t care if he thought she was hot….much.

“Stop over-thinking the dress, its hot,” Audrey said from the doorway. Audrey wore an orange and pink sequined tutu cocktail dress with insanely high pink platform shoes. Her hair was done up in a cute little bun and Fallon was convinced that if her hair and makeup were a little more drastic, Audrey could be mistaken for Lady Gaga.

“I don’t feel hot.”

“You look it. Love the hair by the way.”

Fallon smiled thanks as she looked herself over again. Her hair did look good, so did her legs, but that was because of the shoes. Oh God, she should just stay home. Fallon didn’t even know how she was gonna act around Lucas. What was she gonna say?

“I don’t want to go,” she groaned as she sat at the end of the bed.

“Oh hush,” Audrey said just as Aiden came flying into Fallon’s room. He let out a loud “Yeehaw” as he did flips and high kicks at the imaginary people he was beating up. All Audrey and Fallon could do was sit and watch him.

What Fallon would do to be Aiden and not know that the shit was about to hit the fan.

“I won, man I’m tired,” Aiden said breathlessly as Fallon smiled.

“I bet buddy, it must be hard fighting…what exactly were you fighting?” Fallon asked. Aiden gave her a lopsided grin.

“Four, six-headed hippogriffs. Nasty little things,” Aiden gushed, shaking his head.

“Goodness me, four?! Jeez, so wonder you’re tired,” Fallon gushed, grinning ear to ear. Aiden’s imagination always made her smile.

“Kid’s a beast, he gets it from his awesome AA,” Audrey gushed taking him into her arms.

Or his dad, Fallon thought as she watched them hug each other tightly.

“Isn’t Momma pretty, Aiden?” Audrey asked.

Aiden nodded his little head quickly, “Yeah Momma, you’re really pretty. I like your flowers.”

“Thanks baby, now I feel on top of the world,” Fallon boasted as she looked back in the mirror.

“You look pretty too, AA,” Aiden said making Audrey blush.

She leaned over, pinching his cheeks. “Thanks babe, come here and give me kisses.”

As Audrey gave him numerous kisses, Fallon heard the doorbell ring, so she headed downstairs to answer it. Fallon had asked her mom to come watch Aiden since both she and Audrey were needed at the party. Her mom loved watching Aiden, and she jumped at the chance of spending the night with him. When Fallon opened the door, her parents, William and Nora stood on the other side.

Nora, always pristine, had her dark brown hair down in curls. Her makeup was flawless as was her youthful face — thank you Dr. Swartz. Nora Parker would never admit to the plastic surgery to any of her friends, but Fallon and Audrey knew good and well that a lot of their mother’s face was fixed. Nora was wrapped up in a big puffy coat so Fallon couldn’t see what she was wearing, but she was sure it was a track suit.

William stood tall in his dark jeans and big black coat. His dark brown hair was dusted with gray and so was his beard. Fallon always thought her father was a good-looking man, very young looking without the help of Dr. Swartz. William used to be Fallon’s favorite person, not so much anymore.

“Hey Mom…and Dad,” Fallon said.

What the hell was he doing there? Usually it was just her mom that came to watch Aiden, not her dad too.

“Fallon honey, aren’t you looking pretty,” Nora said, hugging her tightly before walking past her. Like always William just walked by with only a nod for his first born. Fallon let out a long breath as she shut the door. This was not the way she was trying to start her night. She was already nervous about how she looked; now she was gonna have to deal with her dad.

Oh Lord, hopefully he didn’t want to go to the party.

As Fallon turned she heard Aiden running down the stairs, with Audrey right behind him. Aiden flung himself into William’s arms, hugging him tightly.

“Grandpa, I didn’t know you were coming to watch me!”

William laughed, his eyes wrinkling at the sides, as he hugged Aiden tightly. “I have the night off, what better way to spend it but with my favorite little guy.”

Fallon’s hands clenched, causing her nails to bite the inside of her hands. Why it bothered Fallon so much when William said that, she would never know, but it did. Fallon didn’t know if it was jealously, or if it was the fact that William was very adamant about Fallon getting an abortion back then but now Aiden is his favorite guy? It seemed a little contradictory to her.

“Awesome! Let’s play Xbox! Bye Mom, bye AA!” Aiden yelled as he jumped from William’s arms and started to drag him up the stairs.

“Hello to you too, Aiden James!” Nora yelled. Aiden stopped in his tracks, and turned slowly with a shameful grin on his face.

“Sorry Grammie, hi,” Aiden said, wrapping his arms around Nora’s waist as she laughed.

“Hello my darling, how are you?”

“Good, a little tired. I killed four, six-headed hippogriffs this afternoon,” Aiden said with a straight face while Audrey and Fallon couldn’t help but giggle.

“Four?! Great balls of fire! And six heads? Goodness me!”

“Yeah, it was intense, but I’m awesome, and can do anything,” he said with a shrugged of his shoulders causing everyone to laugh, even William. Fallon came around the couch, wrapping Aiden up in her arms.

“Yes, you are my sweet baby. I gotta go. I’ll see you in the morning,” Fallon said before giving him a kiss and going to get her jacket.

“Bye bud! Tomorrow, me and you, waffles,” Audrey said making Aiden jump in excitement.

“Yay! Bye Momma! Bye AA!” Aiden yelled with a big wave.

“Y’all have fun,” Nora said as William picked Aiden up, putting him over his shoulder. “Be careful,” Nora added as she walked with them to the door.

“Bye Daddy!” Audrey said. Fallon rolled her eyes and didn’t bother saying bye to her dad as she walked out into the chilly March air. It was getting warmer, but not much. Fallon couldn’t wait for spring. Her favorite thing about spring was the tulips at Centennial Park, and she couldn’t wait to see them. They always made it a point to head out to the park to admire the flowers, something Aiden also loved to do.

Fallon and Audrey waved once more at Aiden, who stood in the window with William. They jumped into Fallon’s Acura TSX Sport Wagon and drove off towards the Belle Mead Mansion. With every mile that passed, all Fallon could think was what the hell was she doing? She should turn around, go home and climb into bed. Fallon knew this was not going to be a good night.

For Rocky Top Wines, yes, but for her, no.

Chapter 6

The 70th anniversary vintage, Big Orange Cabernet Sauvignon, was not only being drunk by almost everyone at the party but was completely sold out in seven minutes. Fallon couldn’t contain her excitement as she slowly walked through the party. She was basically bouncing at just the thought that 100 cases were brought to be sold and all of them did. When everyone learned the wine was sold out, people started doing outside orders.

It was turning into a great night!

Not only was the wine a hit, but the party was in full swing and Lucas hadn’t showed. When she hadn’t seen him when everyone else arrived, Fallon could actually breathe. She was sure he wasn’t coming, and that made her smile brighter as she walked through the party. Fallon glanced around, looking at all the beautiful people that had shown for the party. She could point out every one of the Assassins’ players out of the whole crowd. Fallon was sure they were the sexiest group of guys she had ever seen. Each one dressed to the nines with a beautiful woman on his arm.

Fallon also decided that she was the only single person there. Well, other than Rob, but he didn’t count. He liked being single, Fallon did not. She hated the lonely feeling she felt when she would see a man and women together, or how her breath would catch at just the sight of a man putting his hand on a woman’s face lovingly. That was when she really felt alone. Lucas always held her face in his hand. It was her favorite thing that he did, and she missed it. Fallon knew that Lucas could have her begging on her knees just by cupping her face in his large hands.

It was the little things that made their relationship beautiful, so perfect.

“Hold my hand,” Lucas said before grabbing her hand in his. She pulled away, shaking her head.

“No, people can see,” she said before looking around. Fallon knew it bothered him that she didn’t like to hold hands, but it just made her so nervous that it would get back to her dad about her dating Lucas. Lucas was a famous hockey player, and Fallon knew her dad would freak at the thought of her with him.

“So? I want to feel your hand in mine,” Lucas said before stopping to face her. They were walking through Guadalupe River Park and Gardens to work off the food they had just inhaled before heading back to his beach house. People walked past them as Fallon looked around.

“I told you, I don’t like holding hands in public,” she whispered. “I’m worried about someone telling my dad.”

“It’s been six months and you still haven’t told them? You spent the whole summer with me.”

“I know but it’s just complicated. My dad made it a point to tell me not to get involved with anyone.”

Lucas rolled his eyes before starting to walk away. “Whatever,” he grumbled. Fallon rushed to catch up with him and stopped him by grabbing his wrist.

“Don’t be mad,” Fallon asked, looking up into his dull gray eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“I just want to be able to touch you when I want, no stipulations,” he said, not looking her in the eye. “When we’re alone, you are all over me. In public, it’s like we’re friends. I can’t be friends with you Fallon. I want you too much.”

A slow grin went across her face as she looked up at him, waiting for him to look at her. When he finally did, he couldn’t help but smile back at her. Fallon decided at that moment that if her dad did find out, oh well, because this man was hers, and she needed him to breathe. Fallon took a step towards him, locking her pinkies with his. “I can’t promise that I’ll be all over you, but I can guarantee you that I will always be touching you.”

Lucas smiled as he squeezed her pinkie with his. “Like this?”

“Like this, it’s our thing.”

“And always will be,” Lucas said before he gave her a warm, slow, slanted grin. He then leaned over and softly placed his lips against hers. She welcomed his invasion and basked in the feel on him.

She was gonna love this man for the rest of her life.

What a crock of shit, she thought as she looked out onto the party. There was no way in hell she would ever love that man again — okay maybe a small part of her did but she would never admit it to anyone. She would forever keep those feelings locked up in the case they were in and not let them out. She would never let him have the power he had over her ever again. He didn’t deserve it. Yeah, he deserved an apology for keeping Aiden from him, but Lucas Brooks did not deserve her heart. He would…

“And I thought you were gorgeous back then, Fallon Parker.”

Fallon froze.

She would forever know that velvet smooth voice anywhere. Fallon would always remember the way it sounded when he would lay her down on his bed before he would thoroughly make love to her or when he would console her when she was sad. It was the voice of the man that she had loved with a fierceness no one could touch. It was the same voice of the man that broke her into a billion pieces in a matter of seconds.

Fallon slowly turned to see Lucas Brooks standing only inches from her with the same grin her son always wore. Her breath caught at the sight of him, and she swore time stopped as they looked into each other’s eyes. Neither of them said anything as their eyes roamed each other’s bodies, checking each other out. All Fallon could do was hope that she looked as good as she did back then, because Lucas sure did. He wore a fitted gray suit with a black shirt underneath it and the top buttons unbuttoned, showing a little of the tattoo that used to drive Fallon crazy. His hair was done to the side and she noticed it was longer than the last time she had seen him. His eyes were bright with excitement, and his mouth was twisted in a grin that made it hard for Fallon to breathe.

It wasn’t fair, Lucas was still freaking gorgeous! Fallon couldn’t catch a break! Why couldn’t he be a little fat, or maybe have one eye or something! Why did he still have to be so damn gorgeous that he took her freaking breath away!

“Lucas,” she gasped as she looked up in his eyes.

“Hey baby girl, long time no see.”

His old nickname for her stung as she looked off to the side. She couldn’t let him affect her — she had to be strong — or he would have her in bed in two point three seconds.

He was that good.

“Yup, a long time of me not being your baby girl. You know my name Lucas, use it.”

*********************************************

Oh, how Lucas had missed Fallon’s sassy side. He chuckled as his eyes grazed her beautiful body. He loved that she had filled out in the hips and breasts, loved that her face was exactly the way he remember it. She was still his Fallon, or at least looked like her. The dress she wore was tight and hugged every curve she had. It came right to mid-thigh and his mouth watered at the sight. Lucas would do anything to be able to slide his hand up that skirt to the sweet spot between her ass and thigh. It used to drive him crazy to do that, and he imagined that it would make his day, hell his year, shit maybe even his lifetime, to do it again.

Lucas had an obsession with Fallon’s ass that was borderline disturbing. It was so round, so perfect and was second best to her mouth. He loved that mouth. The things it said, the things it did, and the way it smiled. Like right now, it was glossed up to perfection and his lips begged to be on hers.

After nine years, he stilled wanted her like he did the day they met.

“Oh, I know your name Fallon,” he said before leaning towards her. She took a step back, but didn’t get far before he whispered, “I’m pretty sure I’ve yelled it out a few times.”

Fallon rolled her eyes as disgust went over her face. “Really? I haven’t seen you in seven years and that is the way you talk to me?”

“I’m just stating facts baby girl, you look great. Brings back nice memories.”

Fallon let out an aggravated breath, and his dick twitched at the sound. “For one, I am not your baby girl, and for two, you’re a pig.”

Lucas laughed, and Fallon looked away again, but he saw her hiding her grin. Her face was flushed and he knew she was thinking of those nice memories, just like he was. “How have you been?”

She looked back over at him, shrugging her shoulders. “Fine and you?”

“Alright, lonely.”

“Like I believe that,” she scoffed.

He smiled. “I have been.”

“I doubt that, you have no problem finding women, Lucas.”

Okay, not the topic he wanted right now.

“I tried to get a hold of you when you left,” he said without thinking. It was like he was 21 again, with diarrhea of the mouth. Fallon did that to him, made him share things he wouldn’t even share with Levi.

“And I ignored you,” she said so coldly that he was convinced he had frostbite.

Lucas slowly nodded, this was not going the way he thought it would. He thought that with one look she would remember everything they had, and maybe she would forgive him. He needed her forgiveness because he needed her. Lucas had needed her for years, but never had the chance to get her back.

Now, he did.

They stood, staring at each other while in Lucas’s head, Gavin DeGraw sung about not being over the girl he loved. Lucas could kill Levi for listening to the song on the way to the party because now it was the theme song of his reunion with Fallon.

“Why?” he found himself asking.

Fallon let out another aggravated breath before looking away. “I’m not doing this here. We had our awkward reunion, things are over, and nothing will change. So let it be.”

“Why does it have to be like that, we were good together.”

“Until you fucked it up, but it don’t matter, I have a boyfriend.”

Lucas narrowed his eyes. He knew when Fallon lied, and at that moment she was lying her ass off. Her face always turned red, and her eyes would go wide as she searched for something to look at so she wouldn’t have to look at him, just like she was doing now. What did she think? If she had a boyfriend he wasn’t going to try to get with her? Or maybe that he would move along. Shit. She belonged with him, no dude would come between that. He wasn’t going anywhere until he had her. So why was she lying? Lucas looked down at her a little longer before a slow grin went across his face when he realized the reason.

She wasn’t over him.

**************************************************

Damn it!

Lucas always knew when Fallon lied, and she knew he was on to her. Why she thought saying she had a boyfriend would stop this little reunion was beyond her.

They both knew it wouldn’t.

Lucas was the kind of guy that if he set his mind to something, he wasn’t gonna quit until he had it. So basically she was screwed. He was gonna be her permanent hemorrhoid unless she called the cops and got a restraining order.

Hmm….not a half-bad idea.

“You should dance with me,” Lucas said. Fallon looked up to see his eyes filling with lust.

Lord, he was gorgeous. She knew exactly what Lucas was always feeling with just one look in his eyes. They said so much about him, they were what made him to Fallon. She loved when he would give her that look — the one that told her exactly what he wanted to do to her. By the way his eyes swept over her body, it didn’t take much to guess what he wanted to do. Fallon’s eyes said the same, he was a beautiful piece of man meat…but it didn’t matter!

Even if he was gorgeous, he was a pig! For seven years she hadn’t heard from him and one of the first things he brings up is sex! Even if it did make her hot from head to toe — because she could very well describe in detail how it sounded when her name was being screamed from his lips — it still screamed pig to her. There was no way in hell she was gonna let him see his child! He was still the same man-whore he was back then, and no way would she subject her beautiful, sweet boy to this monster!

Fallon rolled her eyes and looked away. “I told you, I have a boyfriend. He wouldn’t like me dancing with other guys,” Fallon lied, because really, she couldn’t handle being so close to him.

His body against hers? Um, No.

She’d forget all the reasons why he was the worst idea imaginable.

“I know you don’t have a man Fallon. If you did, he would be beside you. I know I would be,” he said with a knowing grin.

“He’s here,” Fallon said quickly as she scanned the room for Rob. She hadn’t seen him all night, and when her eyes fell on him, she wished the next statement wouldn’t have left her lips. “His name is…Robert Slater and he’s right over there actually.” Fallon pointed to where her assistant stood clad in his orange suit.

Why is God’s name did she say Rob was her boyfriend?

Lucas looked over at Rob, and his mouth pulled up at one side. “That’s your boyfriend? In the orange suit?”

“Why yes, company pride. You wear your team colors,” Fallon said defensively. Truth was she didn’t know why the hell Rob insisted on wearing such a God-awful suit. He looked plum crazy!

“So you want me to believe that you have a boyfriend that wears an orange suit that is tighter than your dress?” Lucas asked with laughter dancing in his eyes.

Fuck. She had forgotten that factor. Why did she feel that her plan was not working?

“Yes, he likes things fitted.” Just then, Rob made his way towards them with a big bright smile on his face. Fallon smiled up at her ‘boyfriend’ until she noticed his eyes were extra dark.

Damn it! He had eyeliner on!

“Fallon darlin’,” Rob said in his squeaky flamboyant voice, “I hadn’t seen you ‘til now, you’ve been hiding?”

“Oh honey,” Fallon said, begging Rob with her eyes to act straight. “I’ve been busy selling the wine.”

“Oh, of course, gorgeous as always,” he said with a wave of his long pale hand before looking over at Lucas. “And who is this hunk of a man?”

Oh Jesus. Really?

Of course, Lucas couldn’t contain his laughter and about fell over on the floor as he giggled. Fallon glared as Rob looked back over at Fallon.

“Was it something I said?” Rob said.

“No honey, ignore him,” Fallon said as Lucas sat up.

“So how long have you guys been together?” Lucas asked. Lucas’ eyes watered from trying to keep in his laughter, and Fallow swore if she could hit him, she would.

“Together?” Rob asked looking over at Fallon.

Acting before thinking - not one of her best traits - Fallon nodded before leaning up and placing her lips on Rob’s. It was only for a second but it felt like an hour because everything went quiet around her. Lucas stopped laughing and Rob froze underneath her lips. She swore the whole room stopped, but really it didn’t. Oh gosh, this just kept getting worse by the minute.

When she pulled back, she smiled up at Rob’s shocked face and said, “A long time, right honey?”

Fallon glanced over at Lucas, one of his eyebrows was arched as his face quirked up on one side. It made Fallon’s heart skip a beat since it was the exact same smile Aiden would give her when he was amused. “It is that serious that you had to kiss this kid to make me believe you have a boyfriend?”

“He is,” Fallon answered.

“Who? Me?” Rob sputtered.

“Yes you, silly! Goodness me! Am I that horrible?”

“No,” Rob said with his hand in front of his chest, “not at all.”

“Thanks Rob,” Fallon said, and at that moment, Fallon knew her plan had just gone to shit. Rob was still wiping his mouth as Lucas just grinned widely at her.

“So Rob, this hot woman, is your girlfriend?” Lucas asked, and Fallon shot daggers at him with her eyes.

Rob looked at Fallon before looking back over at Lucas. He started to shake his head no as he said, “Yes, she is.”

That had Lucas in a fit of laughter as Fallon glared something crazy at him. “Thanks a lot Rob.”

“I’m sorry, but who picks an openly gay guy as their boyfriend!” Rob said throwing his arms in the air. “I’m wearing an orange suit!”

“A nice suit at that,” Lucas added.

“Thanks!” Rob said before looking back at Fallon, “but really, I’m the worst person to pick for a fake boyfriend, since I like guys.”

With that Rob walked off, leaving Fallon extremely embarrassed and actually considering firing him. She would if he wasn’t so good at the marketing reports that made her head spin. Fallon couldn’t help but to watch her ‘boyfriend’ clad in an orange suit walk away. She wished like hell that Rob wasn’t gay so he could act like her boyfriend because this reunion between Fallon and Lucas was not going the way she wanted it too.

Posing a gay guy as her boyfriend? Not one of her best ideas.

Fallon wanted to look successful, sexy — a stronger woman then he left behind. She basically wanted to make Lucas jealous, not give him the entertainment of the night! That’s what she paid the band for! She hated that she had made a mess of things. Lying was never her strong suit; and she knew Lucas wasn’t gonna let her live this down.

“So how about that dance, since I think your boyfriend is gay,” Lucas determined.

Heat filled Fallon’s face as she wished Lucas to the fiery depths of hell. “Oh fuck off, Lucas Brooks.”

As Fallon turned and walked away, Lucas couldn’t help but laugh. He stopped when he heard the sound of her high heels clicking on the floor. He looked over, his eyes falling on her fine ass swaying from side to side. Lucas couldn’t form a word or even breathe as he watched her ass move in that tight little black dress. His dick was rock hard and it begged to be inside her. Lucas knew she probably thought he was a dog because of how he was hitting on her, but it was hard not to. He had to have her. Plus, Lucas knew she used to like it when he openly hit on her.

But maybe that was something else that had changed about her?

Fallon was so different now, but so much was the same it blew his mind. She was polished but still knew how to cuss like a sailor and that alone turned him on. She was successful now, and he loved that because he knew how much she wanted that when they were together. She wanted her independence from her father, and Lucas could tell she had succeeded.

She was still single, which surprised him and also made him feel on top of the world. How was she still single after all these years? He expected that she would be married by now with a child or two. She always said that she wanted kids before she was thirty, but she didn’t have any. Lucas too wanted children, and at one point they both decided that they would want them as soon as they were married. But what if she did have a child? Surely, she would have told him if she had one. He couldn’t try to score with a mommy; that was wrong.

But then again, mommies needed love too.

So he would ixnay that last thought — even if Fallon had a kid he would still pursue her. He could deal with baby daddy issues and a little one, hell he loved kids, so no big deal. The big deal was getting Fallon back, and he was dead set on doing that.

No matter what.

“Lucas, I thought you weren’t gonna show.”

Lucas turned quickly and saw his boss and captain standing beside him. “Mrs. Adler, Adler,” he said shaking hands with both of them. “I was running late tonight.”

“Oh, well I’m glad you came, did you happen to meet up with Fallon?”

“Only for a second, she’s very busy,” Lucas said with a grin as Shea Adler glared at him.

Shea and Lucas were still not seeing eye to eye. Shea thought Lucas should jump when he said jump, and Lucas couldn’t disagree more. He wouldn’t say they hated each other, but they did dislike each other.

A lot.

“Really? She is never too busy for me. Where is she — oh there she is, Fallon!”

Lucas turned to see his past lover stop in her tracks as she glanced their way. He could tell that she was wishing she was any place but there as she made her way towards them with the fakest smile imaginable.

Apparently Mrs. Adler was right; Fallon wasn’t ever too busy for her.

Good to know.

*********************************************

Fuck, fuck, fuckity, fuck.

Fallon sang as she made her way over towards Shea, Elli and Lucas. Elli wrapped her arms around Fallon and they hugged tightly before she broke away from Elli to kiss Shea’s cheek.

“Hey guys, enjoying the party?” she asked before she noticed that Lucas had his cheek out for her. She scoffed and turned back to Elli. Cold day in hell before her lips came anywhere near that man’s face. The sounds of Lucas’s chuckles ran down her spine as she tried to concentrate on what Elli was saying.

“I’m sorry, what Elli?” she asked when Elli just stood there looking at her.

Elli smiled, “So y’all know each other, right?”

Fuck. Shit. Hell. Damn it. Fallon mentally prayed for the Lord to take her anywhere but there as she tried to figure out what to say. She had already told Elli that she and Lucas had dated, why the hell was she bringing it up?!

“We used to date when Fallon lived in California.”

Fallon looked over at Lucas, hatred filling her eyes. How dare he throw their business out for the world to see! She wanted to keep what they had quiet!

“Oh really? When was that?”

“Seven years ago,” Lucas said again, and Fallon decided she was gonna kill Lucas Brooks. He must have not known that he was on his way to heaven because all he did was shoot her a cheeky smile.

“I didn’t know…” Elli stopped and looked back at Lucas. Fallon watched as the realization of who was standing in front of Elli sunk it. Fallon had never told anyone about Aiden’s father, but she had said once that it was some guy from California. Fallon felt like her world had just been pulled out from underneath her when Elli focused her eyes on her.

Elli Adler knew who Aiden’s daddy was.

Fallon’s eyes were wide and filled with worry as the two women stared each other down. She hoped that Elli knew not to say anything, not to utter a word about Aiden because she just couldn’t tell Lucas.

Not now, not ever.

“Um, well look at the time, I gotta go!” Fallon basically yelled as she started to back away, begging Elli with her eyes not to say anything. Elli nodded and Fallon almost fell to her knees to thank her.

As Fallon rushed off, she felt Lucas’ eyes following her every move. He made her self-conscious, and nervous. The same way he did nine years ago.

Yeah, this was not good.

Chapter 7

Fallon laid her face in her pillow later that night. She hated crying, she did, but after the night she had there was nothing left for her to do but cry. Why did she let Lucas affect her the way she did? He basically had won the whole time they were around each other. She knew that he was trying to get under her skin, and she had let him. She let him win.

After she promised herself she would never ever let that happen again.

Why did she do this to herself? Why couldn’t she just be over him? It had been so long, he was nothing to her anymore.

Right?

Right!

Yeah, they had a kid together but still, he didn’t even know! She had no reason to even deal with him anymore, or better yet talk to him. So why was she letting one night of seeing him affect her to the point of tears?

When her door opened, she wiped her face on the pillow before glancing over to see Audrey in the door way, still in her tutu dress. Fallon smiled sadly since Audrey looked so darn cute before moving her face back into the pillow. Audrey didn’t say anything as she tiptoed across the room, crawled into bed with Fallon and snuggled close to her.

“I heard you crying,” Audrey whispered, causing Fallon’s eyes to shut.

Great, if Audrey heard her that meant that Aiden could hear her if he was awake. Thank God he wasn’t.

“Sorry,” Fallon hiccupped before turning her face back into the pillow again.

“Why are you crying, Fal?”

Fallon slowly shook her head, she couldn’t speak. She couldn’t express the way her heart felt like it was breaking all over again. She thought she could be so strong through this, but she couldn’t. With just one look at Lucas, she felt like she was still the 21-year-old woman that ran all those years ago.

“Why ain’t I over him AA? Why?” Fallon said into the pillow. She wasn’t sure that Audrey heard her until she felt Audrey’s hand on her back, rubbing softly.

“I don’t know Fal.”

“I just don’t understand,” Fallon cried as she sat up looking over her. “Is it ‘cause of my secret or is it because I truly still care for him? How though? It’s been so long, and he hurt me so bad. How can I still care for him? I. just. don’t. understand.”

Audrey’s face filled with worry as she wrapped Fallon in her arms. “I feel so stupid, like a weak little whiny baby. I’m not that person. I am strong, I am amazing, I am successful. I am the best fucking mom ever! And look at me! I am a mess, cussing left and right. He fucking does this to me!”

Fallon hated that she was putting all this on Audrey, but she didn’t know what to do, who to talk to about it all. All she knew was that she was hurting and she needed someone to tell her what to do.

“Fallon, I don’t know baby. Love is tricky, intense. I don’t know what to say,” Audrey said into her hair. Fallon nodded slowly, knowing that her baby sister wouldn’t have the words to console her.

Who would?

No one knew about Lucas, no one knew what he did, no one knew the mess he could turn her into. Only she knew and only she knew how to deal with him, and that was to completely cut him out of her life.

She had to, or she was gonna go bat-shit fucking crazy.

*************************************************

If looks could kill, Lucas would have been dead at least five times that night. He didn’t know that Fallon could give such deadly looks but she could, and they kind of scared him.

Just a little bit though.

Seeing Fallon would have been everything he wanted if she would have been a little nicer. She was feisty and a little rude, but he liked it. He liked that she didn’t take his shit, he liked that she was a little angry. She had been so submissive when they were together, and now it seemed that she was standing up for herself.

And that was one hell of a turn on.

Call him sadistic but he liked a girl that knew what she wanted and how she wanted it. All he had to do was make her realize that he was the one she wanted. That he had changed, and that he could be the man she needed and trusted. He didn’t know how he was going to do it but he would.

There was only one thing bothering Lucas though, and that was the way Fallon and Elli looked at each other when he said that they had dated seven years ago. Something wasn’t right; Fallon had stared Elli down after the words were spoken, and then she did everything but fully run away from them. What was that about? The owner knew something, and he was determined to find out what it was.

The next morning, Lucas skated around the rink for the morning warm up along with his team. When he stopped by the boards for a drink, Sergei Arshan skated up beside him, also grabbing his drink. Lucas nodded towards him before smacking Sergei’s shin with his stick.

Sergei did the same before saying, “We’re going out tonight, you should come.”

Lucas laughed before squirting some Gatorade in his mouth. “It is Sunday.”

“So?”

“I’m good, catch me on a Friday or Saturday and I’m yours,” Lucas said with a smirk on his face.

There was no way he could go out tonight even if he wanted, not that he did. He had an early morning flight to catch. He was going up to Michigan to see his mom for a couple of days. Since he was on a break before heading out on a six-game road trip, he figured using that time to see his mom would be best. He would be gone for three days and when he came back home, he planned on going to Fallon’s office. By then he figured she would be all buttered up since every day for the next week her office would be filled with presents. Little tokens of his love for her.

He was calling it ‘Operation Get Fallon Back’, and he was going to succeed.

Or he was going to die trying.

**********************************************

Fallon sat cross leg in the middle of her bed with a black box in front of her. Audrey had taken Aiden to the park for a couple hours so that Fallon could do what she needed to do, and that was to get rid of anything that reminded her of Lucas. She had already gone through all her clothes and put all his old shirts and shorts in a black trash bag, the only thing left to do was go through their box.

Fallon had started putting the box together the day after they started dating and it was filled to the brim with things from their relationship. Plane tickets, movie tickets, picture strips, bracelets, dead flower petals — everything was in that box. As Fallon dug through it, she remembered every little thing about each item and tears slowly ran down her cheeks.

Everything was so simple then.

She picked up a buddle of letters that were wrapped in a red bow and couldn’t help the grin that came over her face when she opened each one, reading Lucas’ backwards handwriting. Fallon was the only one that could decipher his writing with no problem, and she soon became the only one he wrote for. She used to love getting his letters, or his little notes. They would make her day.

As she read over one of the last letters he wrote her, she couldn’t help but wonder if he was still struggling with his dyslexia. Fallon used to work with him on his reading and writing and he had started to progress throughout their relationship, but no matter what, it was just so hard for Lucas. He had hid the condition from his family growing up and when they found out about it he was already in high school. The teachers said it was too late for him to be taught the right way, but Fallon couldn’t have disagreed more. She worked extremely hard with him whenever he would let her. Lucas was a proud man and hated showing weakness. Since he classified his dyslexia as a weakness, he wouldn’t read for Fallon much. He said she would think he was stupid, which was nowhere near the truth. Fallon thought he was the smartest, sweetest man in the world, and loved him like he was.

With a shake of her head, she threw the letters back in the box. When she moved a picture of them on the beach in Cabo, she saw the little black Arpel’s box. Her breath caught as she slowly picked the box up, opening it to see the little silver ring that held the most gorgeous pink diamonds ever. Man, how she loved that ring. It took two years for Fallon to take it off after she and Lucas had broken up. Two damn years. The day she took it off was the day she knew she was never going to tell him about Aiden, or that she would ever see him again.

Fallon toyed with the small ring, moving it from finger to finger before she slid it on her right ring finger. It still fit perfectly. As Fallon glanced down at the ring, she knew she couldn’t throw it out. She might not wear it, but how could she throw away something that was so important to her at one time in her life? Maybe she would give it to Aiden when he met the girl of his dreams; he could give it to her. Or maybe, she would just keep it. Keep it for the moments when she needed a reminder of the greatest love of her life.

Fallon slowly put the ring back in its box before placing it back in the big box and closing it tightly. She climbed off the bed and stuffed the box back under her bed before going to the bag of clothes that sat in the corner. She opened the bag and started taking out all of Lucas’ old shirts. Each one was faded, and if she held it to her nose long enough, she would get a small whiff of Lucas’ scent. A rustic smell, something woodsy and manly.

She walked over to her closet, hanging each shirt back up on the hanger that she had pulled them from. She refolded all of his old shorts and boxers, placing them back in the drawer where they belonged. Fallon had done the exact opposite of what she had set out to do that afternoon, but maybe she wasn’t supposed to forget him. Maybe she was supposed to forever have him in her heart — he was the greatest love of her life. Didn’t that mean something?

How could she throw away things from her past that molded her future? She wouldn’t be who she was today if it wasn’t for Lucas. She would still be a scared little girl that submitted to anyone, her father being the main one, but because of what she went through, she stood up to him when he told he to get rid of Aiden. Fallon didn’t think she could ever forgive Lucas for what he did, but she didn’t regret their time together. She wished it hadn’t ended but if it hadn’t, no telling what she would be like now. Lucas toughened her up, and she would always be grateful to him for that.

Fallon thought she couldn’t breathe without Lucas but in reality she could, so was it really that bad to keep things to remember him by? Yeah, he affected her the same way he did back then, but it was the first time in years that she had seen him. So she got a little crazy around him, she might as well get used to it. She knew Lucas and she also knew that he wasn’t going to stop after last night. He was going to pursue her, so she might need to learn how to deal with him again.

Fallon was also going to have to learn how to resist him, or she was gonna end up right back in his bed.

And that would be dangerous.

********************************************

Fallon sat her desk the next morning, doing morning reports when her phone rang. She ignored it and went back to typing since she knew Rob would pick it up. When the phone kept ringing she glanced over at it again and wondered why Rob wasn’t picking it up.

What the hell?

Fallon reached for it, putting it to her ear before holding it with her shoulder as she went back to typing. “Fallon Parker with Rocky Top Wines speaking, how can I help you?” she said.

“I can think of a lot of things you can do to help me, Ms. Fallon Parker.”

Lucas’ honey-smooth voice filled Fallon’s ear, causing her hands to stop before she closed her eyes. Good Lord, his voice still turned her on, which was bad.

Bad Fallon! Bad!

Why the hell didn’t Rob answer the damn phone? When Fallon opened her eyes, she took a deep breath in. The whole night before she had dreamt of nothing but Lucas, and hearing his voice at nine o’ clock in the morning wasn’t helping her to get him out of her brain at all.

“Well, Mr. Brooks, I will not be helping you with any of those things you can think of.”

His chuckles made her girlie parts scream before he said, “Come on Fallon, don’t be mean to me so early in the morning.”

“Don’t flirt with me.”

“I have to baby girl,” he chuckled. “Anyways, I was calling to let you know I was going out of town for a couple of days,” he said. Fallon narrowed her eyes at the computer screen, imaging it was Lucas as she sat there confused.

“Why would I care if you are going out of town?”

He chuckled again and Fallon begged her girlie parts to relax. Damn man and his sexy chuckle!

“I just wanted you to know, in case you needed to get a hold of me. I’ll be in Michigan, seeing my mom, so if you need me just call.”

Fallon was dumbfounded. Was she being punked? What the hell was his deal? “Okay for one, I don’t care what you do, for two, wish your mother well for me, and for three, I will not be needing you,” Fallon said with a little more sass than needed but she had to get her point across.

“We’ll see about that beautiful, I’ll talk to you soon.”

The line went dead and Fallon sat staring at her computer screen, completely and utterly confused.

What the hell just happened?

Fallon placed the phone back on the receiver before shaking her head and getting back to work. It seemed that only a minute passed before her office door opened and Rob leaned against it.

“Where the hell were you? Lucas called!” Fallon complained before a man appeared with a bouquet of red roses in his hand. Fallon stood, her mouth hanging open as man after man came in with a bouquet in hand.

“You have a delivery,” Rob stated as her office slowly filled with dozens of red roses.

“You think?” she asked as the guys left, leaving every surface in her office covered with bouquets of the beautiful bright red roses. Fallon noticed a card in the middle of the bouquet that sat in the middle of her desk and picked up quickly, tearing it open.

Fallon,

I want what we had back,

Love, Lucas

“Wow. No reason beating around the bush, huh Lucas?” Fallon said as she reread the note. Someone had written it for him, probably Levi or maybe even Rob, because Levi would never put hearts around Lucas’ name. Fallon shook her head, dropping the note on her desk.

What the hell was she gonna do with him?

The next day, it wasn’t roses that filled Fallon’s office but white tulips. Lucas sent so many that some had to go out into the waiting room. He also sent a little tree that held all her favorite shades of Chanel's Rouge Double Intensity lip gloss. She didn’t understand his game, how did he remember her favorite lip gloss, or even her favorite flower? It had been seven years! Really?!

The gifts had set Fallon on edge, but the note about sent her over it.

The meaning of tulips is generally perfect love, but the white tulip means forgiveness.

Forgive me Fallon, please.

Love, Lucas

Forgive him?

After everything he did! He wanted her to forgive him, seriously? Was he freaking crazy? And what did he mean by perfect love? Why did he have to put that on there! Was he trying to drive her straight into a mental institution? Fallon reread the note a hundred times before she finally decided that either she was crazy or he was.

How does someone go seven years without seeing a person and after one night of seeing them decide they want the person back! What the hell did Fallon do to cause him to want her back to the point of expensive flowers and lip gloss? Her behavior shouldn’t have been rewarded with amazing gifts, it should have made him want nothing to do with her!

What the hell was going on!?

Fallon sat with her hand in her hair totally dumbfounded as she flicked a tube of lip gloss with her finger. The door open and Audrey stepped in, looking too cute for words in her bright purple sweater dress and thigh high purple boots. Audrey glanced around the room before raising an eyebrow at Fallon.

Fallon didn’t move, she was too confused.

“What’s up with the flowers?”

“Lucas,” Fallon said as if that answered the question perfectly. “What the hell am I gonna do about him?”

“He sent all this? Oooh, lip gloss,” Audrey gushed as she came to the desk, looking at all the shades that hung from different branches. Fallon swore Audrey had ADD or something. The girl couldn’t focus for shit.

“Audrey! Focus!” Audrey looked up and smiled.

“I like lip gloss, especially this kind.”

Fallon let out an aggravated sigh before letting her head fall into her hands. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Tell him to leave you alone.”

“I did, he ignored me.”

“You told him, ‘Lucas do not talk to me anymore, I don’t want your gifts’.”

Fallon thought for a moment. “Well no, but I thought he would get the hint with how rude I’ve been.”

“Oh my gosh, you want the gifts!” Audrey accused as she pointed her finger at Fallon, “If you didn’t, you would tell him to leave you alone!”

“Whatever! I don’t want none of it!” Fallon yelled back. She looked around the room, looking for the piece of paper that held Lucas’ number. When she found it she dialed the number quickly as Audrey watched her.

“What are you doing?”

“Calling him!” Fallon exclaimed just as he picked up.

“I knew the lip gloss tree would get you,” he said in his egotistical way.

Ah! He drove her crazy!

“I do not want your gifts, stop with them, and stop talking to me!”

Fallon slammed the phone down and crossed her arms.

“See,” Fallon said, only inches away from sticking her tongue out at her sister.

“Oh my beautiful sister dear, all I see is a very confused woman that not only likes the gifts but still likes the guy that sent them to her.”

Before Fallon could say anything, Audrey was out the door with nothing but a wave. Fallon looked down at her desk, scared out of her mind as the tears welled up in her eyes.

Because Audrey was probably right.

*****************************************

Lucas smiled like a Cheshire cat as the line went dead after Fallon hung up on him. He was getting to her, and it had only been two days.

Damn he was good.

“What’s that smile about?”

Lucas looked up as his mom laid a big plate of food in front of him. She smiled down at him and he smiled back before saying, “I’m just looking forward to something.”

Molly smile stayed in place as she sat across from him. Her bright blue eyes locked on his as she said, “About?”

Lucas smiled as he looked across the table that held the woman that he loved more than life. Molly hadn’t changed at all over the years. She was a little heavier, and wrinkles lined her eyes but to Lucas she was still the most beautiful woman on earth. Her brown hair fell bone straight along her shoulders with only a piece pulled up in a barrette. Her smile was still as bright as the sun, as Lucas’ dad, James, would always say. Lucas couldn’t have felt more loved then he did when he was under her gaze.

But how was he going to tell her about Fallon?

“Um, well, I saw someone from my past.”

“Who?” Molly said as she picked up a piece of bacon and took a bite. “Do I know them?”

“Yeah, you do.”

Molly raised an eyebrow. “Who?”

“Fallon,” Lucas said quietly. Molly’s face changed from happy to worried within a second.

“Fallon?”

“Yeah.”

“Ok, so why are you smiling about Fallon? She left you,” Molly pointed out.

Lucas grimaced before looking back up at his mother. “Yeah, but wouldn’t you have left Dad if he cheated on you?”

Molly smiled, nodding her head. “Why yes I would, but you do no wrong in my eyes.”

“But you know I’ve done plenty wrong,” Lucas laughed as Molly joined in. “But really, I hurt her, I didn’t deserve her.”

“Maybe not, but why are you smiling about her now?”

“I met up with her again, and I want to try again with her.”

Molly scoffed. “And what did Ms. Parker say to that? Wait, she isn’t married?”

“Nope, and she isn’t too happy with me. That was who called.”

Molly laughed, shaking her head. “That girl was always a little feisty when she knew what she wanted.”

“Yeah, she’s feistier now though,” Lucas said with a smile. “You know I’m not over her.”

“I never thought you were. Fallon was your person, just like your father was mine. When you lose your person, you walk through life like a zombie, and sometimes you feel like, like…” Molly paused, a small smile on her face. “Basically if I didn’t have you, I don’t know what I would do. So I understand that you want Fallon back, and I wish you all the luck in the world on your endeavor to get her, because if I had the chance to have my James back, I wouldn’t stop until I succeeded.”

Lucas and Molly shared a long, sad look before looking back down at their food. There wasn’t a day that passed where Lucas didn’t think of James Brooks. He was the man that taught Lucas to play hockey, he picked Lucas’ number out, he did everything in his power to give Lucas everything to succeed in the hockey world. When Lucas’ condition came into play, James did everything to get the best help for him, even if it didn’t help or broke his parent’s bank. James didn’t care, he just wanted Lucas to feel normal.

James died the day before Lucas’ 18th birthday. Lucas would never forget the feeling when he saw his father fall at the end of their driveway, or how he screamed when James wouldn’t wake up. Lucas held his father’s body until his mother found them and pulled Lucas away.

Lucas looked down at his finger, seeing the fingers that at the time had been bloody and bruised from where he tried to get to his father while his mother held him back. Lucas was in such a state of hysteria that he had dug his nails into the cement, popping off two of his nails as he tried to get back to his father.

James was only 42 when he had the massive heart attack, and instead of getting the help he needed, Lucas turned to alcohol. Lots of it. He was drunk through the first year of college and pretty much through his first couple years of the NHL. He sobered up some for the two years he was with Fallon, but that was only when he was with her. When he was on the road, he was drunk because he couldn’t handle being alone. Even with Levi there, Lucas still felt alone.

“You’re father once got a fortune cookie that said ‘Love is like war, easy to start and hard to stop’. He looked at me, and laughed before saying, ‘Isn’t that the damn truth?’” Molly laughed before looking up at Lucas, “She’ll take you back honey, once she sees that you’ve changed. She will.”

Lucas smiled over at his mom, his rock. Lucas loved the little stories his mom would share about his father, they would always fill him with the love he missed from his father being alive. Most of all he loved Molly like a son should and would do anything for her. He believed anything she said, because he knew she loved him so much, but for some reason he was pretty sure it was gonna take more than Fallon finding out that he had changed for her to take him back.

“We’ll see,” he said with a grin. “I’m going to head out early tomorrow, I need to get back.”

“Alright, I just love that you’re only an hour plane ride away,” she gushed, reaching over the table to cup his face.

“Me too Mom, me too.”

“Can you do me one favor though?”

Lucas smiled. “Sure Mom, anything.”

“Shave your face honey; you look like a homeless person!”

Lucas laughed. “Mom, it’s almost playoffs season.”

“I don’t care. You know you better shave it, or Fallon might not take you back,” she warned with a grin.

A bashful smile went across Lucas’ face. He knew for a fact that Fallon liked his beard.

A lot.

Especially the feel of it between her thighs.

Chapter 8

Lucas should have known when he walked into Rocky Top Wine’s main office that he was going to have a problem. Fallon’s poor ‘boyfriend’ almost jumped out of his skin at the sight of Lucas before rushing to shut Fallon’s door. Lucas found that odd because when he had called earlier, Rob had said Fallon was out on lunch and wouldn’t be back until two, and it was only one.

Lucas stood in front of Rob’s desk that was surrounded by the flowers he had bought Fallon, begging Rob to do him a favor. As he looked around the office he wanted to laugh out loud. If she didn’t want the gifts, why were they still on display?

Because she wanted them.

“Okay now Rob, how much do I need to pay you to get you to do this for me?” Lucas asked, pulling his wallet out. Rob’s eyes became the size of quarters as he looked up at Lucas from his desk.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Brooks, but I cannot let you in Ms. Parker’s office. She’ll flip on me!”

“Fine, I’ll give you the post-it notes I have for her and you put them all over her office,” Lucas said, pulling the pack of post it notes out of his pocket. “I’ll give you a hundred bucks.”

“Are you kidding me?!” Rob exclaimed, looking as if his big eyes would fly out of his head.

“Okay, 200,” Lucas said, pulling another hundred out of his wallet.

“Oh my God, she’ll kill me and probably fire me! She specifically told me not to let you anywhere near her office!”

Why was that?

“Okay, 500 bucks and if she fires you, I promise I’ll hire you. I’ll pay you double too, but that’s only if she fires you,” Lucas added because he swore he saw dollar signs in Rob’s eyes.

“Fine, but I need that in writing!”

“Sounds good to me. Type it up and I’ll sign it.”

After an hour of negotiation, because for some reason Rob really thought Fallon would fire him, and explaining what Lucas wanted Rob to do, Lucas finally walked to his truck with a satisfied grin on his face.

If his plan didn’t work, he didn’t know what would.

****************************************************

“Elli, he had no teeth,” Fallon said as she looked at the picture of the man that had volunteered for the Assassin/Rocky Top Wine campaign. Martin Sidorov was a nice-looking man, but he didn’t have any teeth! And he said he refused to wear his dentures!

The horror!

“Sidorov is the only guy who volunteered that you would even consider taking, Fal. What am I supposed to do? Make a guy do it? I can’t do that,” Elli said, causing Fallon to look up.

“Consider taking? There was someone else?”

Elli looked down at her finger, picking at the nail. “Um, yeah.”

“Who?”

Fallon knew it was Lucas before his name even left Elli’s lips. “Lucas Brooks.”

“No fucking way,” Fallon said without thinking.

“Jeez Fallon, cuss much?”

Fallon giggled as her face turned deep red. “You’re just as bad.”

Elli shrugged her shoulders. “True, so anyways, since you brought up Lucas…”

“I didn’t bring him up,” Fallon countered but Elli went on.

“Aiden, Lucas…”

“Yeah,” Fallon nodded, waiting for Elli to look up so she could pin her with a glare.

“He doesn’t know, I take it.”

“You take right.”

Elli finally looked up and Fallon could see the worry in her eyes. “Oh Fallon, why? You’ve struggled to give that baby everything he wants, when Lucas could have been helping. Along with the fact that he deserves to know about his son.”

Fallon looked away. “I didn’t come to be lectured Elli. I know what I’ve done wrong. I don’t need you to tell me.”

“Fallon, come on. I love you and Aiden, you know that. I’m not lecturing you, I’m worried about you.”

“I’m fine, everything will be fine.”

“I don’t think so,” Elli warned.

“It will be,” Fallon promised, even though she really couldn’t do that. She didn’t know how Lucas was gonna take finding out about his son, and she really didn’t need to worry about it as long as she stayed away from him and everyone kept their month’s shut.

Simple, really.

“Why don’t you want to tell him? He’s a good guy, Shelli adores him.”

“She’s four months Elli, come on. She likes the sparkly ball I bought her a couple weeks ago, too.”

“Hey now, Shelli is smart for her age.”

Fallon rolled her eyes. “I know that Elli, I’m just scared that he will hurt Aiden the way he hurt me. Of course, he will love him — hello it’s his kid — but what happens when he gets married and has another. He’ll totally forget about Aiden and I’m not doing it.”

“I doubt that, you’re overreacting.”

“I’m being practical.”

“You’re being dramatic. Give him a chance, at least tell him.”

Fallon shook her head. “I am not!”

“Yes, you are, and you are going to regret your decision when Aiden gets older and really needs his dad. Right now he’s good but about when he needs daddy advice, or wants to play a real sport.”

Fallon rolled her eyes. “Oh Lord, there are other sports other than hockey, Elli.”

“No there isn’t. Everything else is a sissy sport, baseball being the biggest.”

“Oh hush, Aiden likes it.”

“Because he doesn’t know any better, poor baby. More of a reason to give him a chance to know Lucas, he’ll probably want to play a real sport,” Elli said with a grin.

“That is not a good reason to introduce Aiden to Lucas,” Fallon insisted.

“I think it is, but mostly because they need each other. Lucas deserves to know his son and Aiden deserves to know his dad. If Lucas decides to be a douche and not be a good father — which I don’t think that well happen — then at least Aiden will know who his daddy is and that he is a douche. Let him make up his mind on Lucas. It isn’t fair that you get to make that decision for him.”

Fallon knew that Elli was right, but that didn’t mean she was gonna run out and introduced them. Fallon hadn’t heard from Lucas since she called him, yelling. So hopefully, she wouldn’t even have to deal with him anymore.

********************************************

Why did Fallon think she wasn’t gonna have to deal with Lucas Brooks anymore?

Fallon should have known something was up when she passed Rob and he wouldn’t look her in the eye. Fallon stood in the middle of her office and was taken back to the day her dorm room was filled with post-it notes. Every surface of her office was filled and this time all of the notes said the reason why she should take Lucas back. Fallon moved behind her desk, seeing that all the ones that covered her computer screen were in Lucas’ handwriting.

We have fun.

Great sex, remember?

You make me laugh.

I’m always smiling when I see or think of you.

I love your smile.

I miss your face in my hand.

I miss you, all of you. Everything.

Fallon pressed her hands to her stomach, feeling like there were a million butterflies swirling around in there. How in the world did he know what to say? Why couldn’t he just leave her alone? Was he trying to drive her crazy? Fallon looked up at the screen again, reading the post-it note that was in bold writing in the middle of her screen.

I’m willing to talk about the problems and fix the problems that ended our relationship. Are you?

“Oh come on! You never liked to talk about emotional stuff!” Fallon screamed at the screen. Her door opened and Rob walked in with a post-it note hanging from his finger.

“He said to give you this one when you stopped screaming. Are you done?”

“Give me the fucking note Rob, ah! I’m so mad at you!” Fallon stood up, snatching the note from Rob’s hands.

Stop yelling and meet me for dinner tonight. Just me and you. Let’s make this work. I miss you.

Underneath was the time and place for where he wanted to eat. Fallon hands shook as she filled with worry and anger at the fact that Lucas wasn’t gonna give up.

Just like she knew he wouldn’t.

She looked up at Rob with nothing but fire in her eyes. Rob took a step back as Fallon crumbled up the note and threw in the trash. “I should fire you.”

“He didn’t come into the office, I did it all.”

Fallon eyes about bugged out of her head. “You did it! How dare you!”

“Whoa! I made 500 bucks and was guaranteed a job if you fired me! Don’t act like you wouldn’t have done it!”

“You went against what I asked for money? And I thought you loved me,” Fallon said, shaking her head. She was mad, but didn’t blame Rob. Hell, she would have put the post-it notes up for $500. Rob moved towards Fallon’s desk, leaning against it as he talked to her.

“I do love you Fallon, I just don’t get it. That dude is hot, and I mean you haven’t had a boyfriend in what? Not while I've known you.” Rob picked up the picture of Aiden and Audrey, smiling as he looked down at the picture. “Aiden needs a male fig- holy fucking shit, Aiden looks just like that guy! Holy shit, is Lucas his dad?”

Fallon’s face dropped down into her hands. How was it that she didn’t want anyone knowing about Lucas and Aiden, and now in a matter of days, two people did? Did Aiden really look that much like Lucas?

“Please don’t say anything Rob,” Fallon groaned as she started tearing post-its off her screen and putting them in a pile in front of her. She couldn’t throw them away, they were in Lucas’ handwriting. She loved his hand writing.

“Oh my God, he doesn’t know!?”

Fallon looked up. “Please, promise me, you won’t say anything.”

Rob blinked twice, total shock on his face. “I promise.”

“Thank you,” Fallon said, letting the breath she was holding out in a whoosh.

“Are you going to tell him?”

Tears welled up in Fallon’s eyes. She knew Lucas wasn’t gonna stop and if she was honest, she would say that she kind of didn’t want him to. She did miss him; everything he had put on the post-it notes on why he missed her were reasons she missed him. Everything was so simple when it came to them, it was so easy between them but then she had gone seven years hating what he did to her. Being mad at what he ruined, and hating that he never came after her.

Did he really not ever love her?

But he had to have, because if he didn’t then why was he trying to get her back now? Why did he wait seven years? What the hell was really going on!

And why was she again asking the same fucking questions!

Fallon looked up again, shrugging her shoulders in defeat. “I just don’t fucking know.”

“By the way, love the cussing,” Rob said with a laugh. Fallon smiled weakly as he went on, “Okay, well are you going to dinner with him tonight?”

“Absolutely not,” Fallon said because even if she did miss him, or even wanted to find out the answers to all her questions, until she told him about Aiden, she just couldn’t risk it.

**************************************************

“Please don’t tell me she fired you,” Lucas said when he answered the call from Rob. He told Rob not to call unless he was being fired or worse, like Fallon went ape shit on him. Lucas was a little worried too, because he hadn’t heard from Fallon and was worried that maybe Rob didn’t do his job. Maybe that’s why he was calling.

“No she didn’t, but I thought you should know that she isn’t going to dinner with you tonight,” Rob said quickly and quietly.

“You are kidding me, right?” Lucas said in disbelief. He was sure that the plan would work! Two pads of post-it notes full of reasons he missed her and still wanted to be with her didn’t work? What the hell?

“No, I just asked, and she said she ain’t going.”

“Son of a bitch, is she there?” Lucas asked, madder than hell. How dare she blow him off! He put his heart on the line letting her know how he felt and she couldn’t even call and tell him!

“Yeah, but I can’t transfer you,” Rob whispered. “She’ll kill me.”

What Rob didn’t know was that Lucas was driving down West End and Rocky Top Wines was located on 16th Avenue when he called. Lucas turned onto 16th, heading towards Fallon’s office.

“Fine don’t, I don’t care.” Lucas hung up and tried to control his breathing. He was done with their games, she was going to talk to him and she was going to do it now.

Lucas parked his truck along the side of the building and got out, pushing the lock button as he walked towards the front door. He rode the elevator to the third floor and when the doors opened Rob looked up from his desk. As Lucas stepped off the elevator and headed towards him, Rob stood up, sputtering something along the lines of Lucas wasn’t allowed in Fallon’s office.

But when did Lucas ever go by the rules?

Never, and he wasn’t going to start today.

Lucas threw Fallon’s office door open, slamming it behind him before Rob could come in. Fallon looked up from her computer with a pair of naughty little glasses sitting low on her nose. Her eyes went wide as she stood up quickly. His heart skipped a beat at the sight of her wearing an oversized dark green sweater that hung along her thighs. Her legs were covered by tight black stretchy pants and her hair was down along her shoulders. She looked beautiful, even in everyday clothes. That was one thing about her that he just couldn’t stop loving, he loved that she could be dressed to the nines and then dressed in sweats and still be the most beautiful girl in the world.

“Lucas.”

“Yeah, hey, so you weren’t going to call me or meet me for dinner tonight?”

“What?”

“You heard me, I worked hard on all the things I did for you this week and you can’t even give me one dinner?”

“I never asked for them!” she yelled, coming around the desk.

“I don’t care, isn’t it common courtesy that when a guy does something nice for you, you should do something nice for them? Isn’t that the way you country folk do things down here?!”

“Oh my God, get over yourself, I don’t want anything do with you, what don’t you understand?!”

“Oh come on, it’s been years! I’m sorry for what I did, I just want another chance!”

“And who said I want to give it to you! Who says you deserve it?!”

“I do! I’m not that person anymore. Give me a chance to prove that to you!”

Yeah, this Fallon wasn’t the girl he cheated on back then. The girl he knew wouldn’t have been in a screaming match with him; she would have just ignored him and waited for him to leave.

But not new Fallon — she was set and ready to fight back with him.

Damn it turned him on!

“I don’t want to give you a chance, you ruined me! You broke me! So why would I give you another chance to do it all again?!”

“I see you can still be a little dramatic,” Lucas said nonchalantly, even though everything she said hurt a little. He knew he had hurt her, but broke her? Damn.

“You said you loved me! You’re a liar because you never, ever, ever did! If you did you wouldn’t have fucked my best friend!”

Lucas couldn’t help but laugh. “Are we really quoting Bruno Mars right now? Do you want me to carry on the next part, and then we can join in together at the chorus?”

Her eyes got dark with something, maybe lust…or hatred, either way he smiled. When he saw her mouth twitch at the side, fighting the smile that was threatening to show, he couldn’t help but say, “What did you do, sit up all night listening to that song, figuring out ways to use it when you yelled at me?”

“Fuck you, Lucas!”

“Anytime baby girl,” Lucas said with a grin. God, she was fun to mess with. The way her face flushed and her eyes narrowed turned him on to the point of no return.

Damn, she was hot.

A heated moment passed through them as their gazes locked and their breathing quickened. She could cause him to be hard for weeks with nothing but one look. When she puckered her little lips the way she was doing as she looked at him, he swore he could go right there. He loved her mouth and he loved when she did naughty things with it.

He loved her.

************************************************

Fallon looked away, she had to. Lucas was giving her that, ‘I’m about to throw you up against a wall and screw your brains out’ look and she couldn’t handle it. Just being in the room with him was making her hot from head to toe. She moved past him, wanting to get to the door so she could kick him out. When she reached it and turned, Lucas took a step towards her, making her take a step back, trapping her between him and the door.

Fuck. He was too close.

He gave her a knowing smile as he put both his hands on the wall, trapping her head between them.

Fuck, Fuck, Fuckity, FUCK!

“Oh, baby girl, why do you fight it?”

Fallon took a deep breath, trying her damndest not to be affected by his sexy grin or smoking gray eyes as she looked up at him. “I’ve told you many times, I’ve not your baby girl, and I ain’t fighting anything.”

Lucas just laughed as he moved in closer, his body only inches from hers. When she felt the heat of him, she wanted to melt into a puddle of goo. He was the best person to sleep with when it was cold, he gave off so much heat that Fallon didn’t even need a blanket when she slept with him.

Aiden was the same way.

Before she could say anything, Lucas came in close, his lips so close that if she only moved a little she would be kissing him — something she had thought about a lot since the first night she saw him again. It was something about his lips; the way they were so thin, and with the way he was always biting them, it just made her hot. Period. They were just so damn sexy!

“Oh, you’re fighting the fact that we are supposed to be naked and in bed, baby girl and I need you to quit, because we both know that I’ll do you good. That we’re good together.”

Forming words wasn’t happening. Fallon knew she looked like a fish gasping for air as she looked up at him. How dare he? Be just so blunt about the fact that they used to have spectacular sex, but never again. She would never do it, she just couldn’t.

Right?

Lucas slowly moved his hand to the side of her throat and Fallon knew he felt her pulse going nuts. She felt like her heart was about to bust out of her chest.

“I know I still affect you, and damn baby girl, you just don’t understand what you still do to me,” he whispered before moving his nose against hers.

Fallon’s eyes closed slowly as she took in a choppy breath. Fallon knew she was losing the battle against resisting him; he was too smooth, too sexy, and Lord knew, she wanted to get laid. What was the big deal? Have some fun, chuck some deuces and never talk to him again.

But she just couldn’t do it.

Fallon moved her hands up his strong hard chest before stopping and pushing him away. She caught him off guard and he stumbled backwards. He looked at her confused while all she could think was that she could never sleep with him again. For one, he had hurt her more than anyone ever had and, two, she still hadn’t told him about Aiden. Not that she was going to, because this was over now.

“You lost me, and you’ll never have me again. Stay away from me Lucas, I mean it.”

Fallon moved past him as the tears threaten to fall. Why did it feel like she was breaking up with him all over again? Why did he affect her like this? Why wasn’t she over him? Why did she ask the same questions over and over again! Damn it, she needed an answer!

Oh God, she still loved him.

She had to brace herself against her desk as she took in deep long breaths. How? How did she still love him after everything he did to her? After everything she lost when she came home pregnant with Aiden, and how she had struggled since. He didn’t deserve her love. He didn’t deserve anything from her but Fallon still loved him, she had never stopped and she couldn’t understand it.

Fallon whipped around, anger filling her as she glared over at Lucas. He stood there with his cocky grin that drove her half past mad, and she decided then that she was done with Lucas Brooks.

“Why are you still here? Go, never come back.”

“You don’t mean it,” he said confidently as he fell back into the chair that sat in front of her desk. “Not only are you trying to convince me that you don’t want me, but you are trying to convince yourself. Is it working?”

Fallon rolled her eyes. “I do mean it, you jerk, so go.”

“I’m not going anywhere until you come over here and sit on my lap. Maybe give me a sweet kiss from those naughty lips of yours,” he said, crossing his legs and smiling over at her.

Unfortunately, Fallon’s breath caught but she recovered well, glaring and dismissing him with her hand. “Go, or I’ll call security.”

Lucas let out a gut-busting laugh before looking over at her with a look that said he didn’t believe her at all.

“Yeah, right.”

************************************************

Fallon called fucking security on him.

He couldn’t believe it. He was convinced he had gotten through to her when he had her up against the wall, but nope. She had him thrown out on his ass, in the cold.

What the hell?

Lucas stood in front of the doors of Rocky Top Wines, not knowing what to do. All his plans did not work, which freaking blew his mind because before they would have. Fallon was easy to make happy — buy some lip gloss and flowers and the girl was goo in his hands, but now he was stuck. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know the new Fallon, and she wasn’t giving him a chance to get to know her.

“Damn it!” he yelled out just as a curvy little brunette came around the corner. She looked up at him and Lucas froze. She was a thicker version of Fallon. She wore a bright yellow sweater dress with thigh high black boots that had chains all over them.

“I know you!” she gushed, pointing at him.

“You do?” he asked, “’cause I think I might know you.”

“No you don’t know me, but you know my sissy. I’m Fallon’s sister, Audrey, and you’re Lucas Brooks.”

Lucas gave her a smirk. “I am.”

“Why are you standing outside my office building? There couldn’t be a chance of my sister coming down to meet you?” she asked with a big grin.

“No, not at all. She just had me thrown out by security.”

Audrey started giggling before rolling her eyes. “Goodness me, she’s so dramatic. So again, why are you standing out here?”

“’Cause I’m thinking of my next plan. I’m a very persistent type of guy,” Lucas said before giving her his best smirk.

Audrey smiled sweetly at him. “You’re a smooth one, no wonder she’s so taken with you.”

Lucas grinned big. “Really?”

“Yeah, and because she is, and I believe in true love, I’m gonna help both of you out.”

Lucas’ grin stayed in place, because he just found his in with Fallon.

Chapter 9

Fallon’s body was still on fire.

Being only inches away from Lucas had really messed her up. Not only was she hot, she was dripping wet. All he had to do was pin her with those smoky eyes and she was a goner, primed and ready for some lovin’. If his lips were to even graze hers, she wouldn’t even know what to do. Probably jump him like a cat in heat.

It was disgusting.

Something was terribly wrong with her because men didn’t do that to her. Fallon had been on plenty of dates with men, and none of them had ever made her panties soaked the way Lucas did with just one damn look.

One Look! One!

And then his mouth would curve in that little smirk of his, and Fallon swore she came at the sight of it. Just imaging that mouth on her, sucking and biting every piece of her, was going to make her crazy. Lucas wasn’t joking when he said he would do her good, because he could. Really good, like make-a-person-scream-very-naughty-things good. He had this way of making Fallon ask for things that a good girl shouldn’t be asking for. When he would run his tongue down the hollow of her neck, she was putty in his hands. When he slid his hand in the crease between her ass and thigh, she swore she could come at just the feel of his hands. He was toxic and hot and Lord help her, but she wanted to fuck to his brains out again.

Like now.

What the hell was wrong with her!? He broke her heart, he ruined her for any other guy, and for God’s sake, he hadn’t spoken to her in seven years!

Fallon’s face fell into her hands as she cursed her lady parts for wanting someone that was not only dangerous but — hello — the father of her son that he had no clue about! Jesus, she needed help. Fallon heard her office door open but didn’t look up. She prayed that it wasn’t Lucas coming back for round two.

“Goodness me, what’s wrong with you?”

Fallon looked up at her sister and wanted to cry.

“I just called security to remove Lucas from the office building,” Fallon groaned. “I’m pretty sure he’s pissed.”

Audrey laughed. “Why did you do that? And why does it matter if he’s mad?”

Fallon shook her head. She didn’t know why it mattered that he was mad, but it did. She hated the look he gave her as the officers escorted him from her office. He was so surprised she had kicked him out, hell, she was even surprised.

“I don’t know why,” she whined, sounding a lot like Aiden, “but I care and I think it’s ‘cause I wanna have sex with him.”

Audrey laughed again. “Wow, so didn’t see you saying that.”

“Something is wrong with me,” Fallon cried. “He just drives me insane, and I wanna screw his brains out but I know that can’t happen because I haven’t told him about Aiden and because I’m supposed to hate him because he’s a cheating bastard, but I can’t help it! He so freaking smooth and dangerous and Audrey! He is the best lay ever!”

Audrey couldn’t even hold in the laughter Fallon knew she was trying to hold in. Audrey giggled as she leaned against the door frame. “Gosh, he does have you in knots. I think it’s funny.”

Fallon scoffed. “Some sister you are.”

Audrey really laughed at that as she came around the desk, wrapping her arms around Fallon’s neck. Fallon closed her eyes. Audrey gave the best hugs. They were so warm and so loving. Audrey was honestly her best friend. “Fallon, you’re tripping out babe. Why can’t you just have sex with him? Maybe it will give you some closure and you won’t want him anymore.”

Fallon laughed. “If I have sex with Lucas Brooks, I will still want him. A lot. So that isn’t gonna work, plus I haven’t told him about Aiden yet.”

“So tell him, and then get it on girl. Make me another nephew or niece.”

Fallon shook her head. “Even if I tell him about Aiden, I can’t have sex with him, I can’t. I don’t ever want to give him my heart again. He hurt me so bad AA, I just don’t want to go through that again.”

Audrey kissed her cheek. “People change Fallon, and he has to regret what he did.”

“He does, but that doesn’t make it better. How can I forgive him Audrey? Why does he want me back now? Seven years. Seven long, fucking years,” Fallon said as tears began to fall. “I’ve cried myself to sleep every night since I found out he was coming to Nashville. Scared because I knew this was how I was gonna get. The first time I met him, he had me kissing him in the middle of a bar. I slept with him that night, and I spent the whole summer with him. I didn’t even go home at all. I bought a new wardrobe, and bought new toiletries, everything. I was his that whole summer. I gave him everything, and for two amazing years, he was mine.”

“Fallon, goodness me, why haven’t you ever told me any of this?” Audrey asked, coming around the desk to look at her. “How did you keep all this bottled up inside you?”

Fallon wiped her face, moving her hair out of her eyes as she took a deep breath. “Because when I opened that door and found him naked in bed with my best friend, I felt like I failed. That it was my fault that he was in bed with her. That I didn’t give him everything he needed or wanted. I felt like it was my fault.”

“Oh, come on, Fallon, it was not your fault.”

“I know that now, but back then I was so in love, so engrossed in him, and for him just to break my heart like that, I just don’t know if I could do it again. Even though my body sings for his, I couldn’t imagine doing it again, because like I said, I was so in love. He did that to me, made me love him, everything about him, even the bad.”

Fallon watched her tears fall on the desk as all the emotions from the last seven years hit her hard. Audrey didn’t say anything for a long moment as the tears fell; she just wrapped Fallon in her arms, holding her close as she cried.

“That’s why you don’t want him to see Aiden huh? ‘Cause if he is around you’ll fall for him again.”

Fallon nodded against Audrey’s chest. “Not only am I scared he’ll hurt him, but I’m afraid he’ll hurt me again because I’ll fall for him like I did before. I thought I had stopped loving him, but I haven’t Audrey. Why?”

Her body shook as she cried, and Audrey just held her, letting the tears soak her shirt. Audrey really was the best sister ever. It had to be hard dealing with a sister that was close to being a basket case, but Audrey handled it like the champ she was. Fallon didn’t know what she would do without her.

“I think you should talk to him,” Audrey said when Fallon pulled back, wiping the mascara from her eyes.

“Why would I do that?”

“’Cause he needs to know. Tell him how you feel and you need to tell him about Aiden.”

Fallon shook her head. “After everything I’ve said, you still think that?”

Audrey gave her a small smile. “Fallon I love you so much, but you’re being selfish. You’re thinking of yourself and how this is going to affect you but what about our little guy? Or hell, Lucas? You don’t know the person he is now, people change so much in a year — you haven’t seen him in seven. Give him a chance, not for you, but for Aiden. He needs a daddy. I can’t do it for you, no matter how much I want to.”

“I don’t expect you to,” Fallon said, “but I much rather keep it just us, why bring someone else in?”

Audrey shook her head. “You’re so freaking stubborn. Fine. Let the shit hit the fan Fallon, it’ll be on you.”

Fallon didn’t say anything as Audrey got up in a huff, heading for the door. She didn’t mean to make Audrey mad, but really why did they need Lucas in their lives? Didn’t she see the way Fallon turned into a crazy person when it came to Lucas?

Before Audrey closed the door, she looked back at Fallon. “We have dinner reservations at J’s at six, me and Aiden will be waiting.”

Fallon nodded. “I won’t keep you long; I should be done here by 5:45.”

Fallon gave Audrey a smile since they all loved J Alexander’s and always enjoyed their family dinners, but Audrey didn’t return it. She just nodded before saying, “Good, text me when you get there.”

“Okay.”

Fallon watched as Audrey gave her one last look before shutting the door. Fallon opened the drawer to her desk, pulling out the little post-it notes that Lucas had written for her. Tears welled up in her eyes and began to fall again as she admired his messy handwriting. She found her two favorites and placed them back on her computer screen.

I miss you, all of you. Everything.

She missed him too, but her fears of being hurt kept her from doing what the next note requested of her.

I’m willing to talk about the problems and fix the problems that ended our relationship. Are you?

No, she wasn’t.

**********************************************

Fallon was running late.

Like always, she got caught up in work and made it to the restaurant 10 minutes after six. She pulled her phone out, texting Audrey that she was there as she went to the hostess stand. “Audrey Parker?”

“Um,” the girl looked down at her list as Fallon hit send and started tapping her toe. She hated being late, she always felt like Aiden and Audrey were secretly mad when she would make them wait for her. She didn’t mean to, she just always got caught up with something. Wine was a very distracting business.

“I don’t see a Audrey Parker,” the girl said.

Fallon looked down at her phone to see if Audrey had texted her, which she hadn’t before looking back up at the girl. “Maybe Fallon Parker?”

The girl looked back down at her list just as Fallon felt someone come up behind her. She took in a deep breath when she felt the heat from the person’s body as she quickly turned, seeing who she knew would be Lucas.

“Sorry, she’s with me,” Lucas said as his hand came up against the middle of Fallon’s back. He led her away from the hostess podium just as Fallon’s phone went off, but Fallon couldn’t even look at her phone, she was stunned by the look he was giving her.

The look.

He always pinned her with it when he wanted her naked. She couldn’t count the times he would be across the room at some function they were at and he would give her the look. Fallon’s breath caught as they just stood in the middle of the restaurant looking in each other eyes.

When Fallon’s phone went off again, she broke their intense staring match to look down at her phone. When she saw that the text was from Audrey, it was like she was being hit with a ton of bricks.

Audrey and Aiden were in the restaurant.

Oh, God.

“Whoa,” Fallon moved away from Lucas, pulling the text up, so she could quickly text that Lucas was there and for Audrey and Aiden to run. When the text came up, and Fallon read it, her body caught on fire with anger.

We’re not there, but Lucas is. Eat with him sis, give him a chance.

The traitor! Fallon was gonna kill her!

Fallon looked up at Lucas’ smiling face and had to look away. “Listen, here is how this is gonna happen,” she said quietly. “We are gonna walk out of this restaurant without causing a scene. You will go to your car and I’ll go to mine and we will never see each other again. Got it?” she asked as she looked up.

“What?”

“I will not be having dinner with you, and when I find out how you got my sister on your side, I’m pretty sure I’ll be calling to cuss you out, but for right now we are gonna leave like we are just old friends. Because if you embarrass me in front of the people in the restaurant, I might just kill you,” Fallon, said, looking up into his eyes. “I sell here, don’t fuck with where I sell at.”

“I wasn’t going to, but I thought we could at least sit down for dinner,” Lucas said, getting madder by the minute. Audrey must have not told Fallon to meet him because he could tell Fallon was about to blow.

Shit.

“Let’s go outside,” she said through her teeth as she smiled at someone off to the side. Lucas looked around him before looking back down at her, he was beyond pissed. He had everything ready. He knew what he wanted to say and how he was going to convince her to give him a chance, but with the way she was looking, Lucas knew it wasn’t going to happen.

Lucas nodded as she turned to leave. He followed her outside and towards her car. When he saw her stop by the black Acura, he raised an eyebrow. “What happened to the Charger?”

They had had some good times in that car. It was the sexiest damn car he had ever seen, just like its owner.

“I sold it, now what do you want?” she said in her snooty little voice as she opened the door and placed her purse in the passenger’s side seat. Lucas found himself rolling his eyes like a girl because this woman frustrated him beyond belief.

“I want to go back inside and eat.”

“No, I told you in the office, I don’t want anything to do with you. I can’t do us, Lucas. I can’t,” she basically pleaded.

A normal man would have walked away, but Lucas wasn’t normal.

“You are not giving me a fair chance.”

“You cheated on me! You’re lucky I’m not decking you in the face.”

“I was a different person; give me a chance to explain. I know you still care for me.”

She shook her head and he saw the tears in her eyes that were threatening to fall. He didn’t want her to cry, he wanted her to be happy. With him. Was he being selfish? Maybe, but he knew what he wanted and he knew Fallon still cared for him, maybe even loved him.

“Even if I do Lucas, I can’t do this.”

“Why? We are different people, give it a chance. We are so good together.”

“We were good together. Like you said, we are two different people now and the new me can’t do what we had. It was too toxic, too intense.”

“It was perfect, and you know it. Stop fighting it.”

Fallon rolled her eyes. “I mean, what do you want? Do you just want to go fuck and get it over with?”

Hearing that risqué word leave those luscious lips had Lucas rock hard. He had to fight the lust that screamed for him to say ’YES’ to say no, because that wasn’t only what he wanted. He was ready to be with someone, he was ready to be with Fallon.

“No baby, I want you. All of you. I promise I won’t mess up this time, I just need you to believe me,” he pleaded, taking a step towards her, but she put her hand on his chest, stopping him.

“I…I need to- I can’t.”

Fallon jumped into the car, starting it and whipping it out of the parking spot before Lucas could even move.

But this time, he wasn’t going to let her get away.

**********************************************************

“I love you Audrey I do, but do you know I could fucking kill you right now!” Fallon screamed as pulled out onto the main road.

“Oh my God, Fallon, over dramatic much? And what’s up with all the cussing? It’s weird.”

“I’m serious Audrey. You had him meet me at the place we sell at! What if we got into a screaming match, what would have happened then? You not only risk my sanity but also our contract with J’s!”

Audrey let out a frustrated breath. “Okay, this over dramatic shit is getting old. I am trying to help you! You still love him, tell him about Aiden, let them meet, have sex with him and then get married so you can stop driving me up the fucking wall!”

“What the hell does that mean?! I don’t drive you up the wall!”

Audrey let out an empty laugh, and Fallon swore she was gonna get into an accident. She was driving like a lunatic. “You know damn well what it means! I can’t live my life ‘cause I’m worried about you and Aiden.”

“Oh please!” Fallon yelled, “We are not holding you back!”

“Yes you are! I can’t go find me a man and get married because I’m too worried about my big sister and her baby. I love you guys and I want y’all to be happy. I’ve been going years thinking that maybe you were just waiting for the right guy or hell that you might be gay! But no, you’re still caught up on some dude that I never even knew about! Get your head out of your ass and tell him about his kid, and see what happens. Stop being such a whiny little bitch!”

Fallon eyes went wide as the line went dead.

“That bitch!”

Fallon threw her phone down on the seat and took a deep breath in. She and Audrey hardly ever fought but when they did, it was bad. That was usually how it was with Fallon though. She was easy going until someone pissed her off, then she was a crazy person. For example, in one day, Fallon had cussed at three people. Something was seriously wrong with her and it wasn’t hard to guess what.

It started and ended with Lucas Brooks.

Fallon knew that she shouldn’t go home because more than likely it would be round two between her and Audrey, but she was tired and she wanted to see Aiden. When she pulled into her driveway, she sat for a minute, taking a deep breath in and then letting it out through her nose. Fallon gathered her things before opening the door and stepping out of the car. She was looking down at the e-mail that had been sent to her phone as she walked around her car when she heard his voice.

“I wasn’t done talking to you.”

Fallon looked up quickly, taking in a sharp breath when her eyes met Lucas’.

“Oh fuck,” Fallon whispered as she looked down at her phone.

She needed to text Audrey to keep Aiden in the house, but before she could even get a word written, Lucas snatched her phone away, throwing it across the yard. “Listen to me!”

“No, you gotta go. Like now. You aren’t welcome here,” Fallon pleaded as her heart pounded against her chest. He had to go; Aiden was a matter of feet away, probably killing hippogriffs or something.

“No, we are going to talk, or at least you’re gonna listen to me.”

“Damn it Lucas, you gotta go! Please I’ll go wherever, you just can’t be here.”

“Why? Stop trying to blow me off and fucking talk to me!”

“What do you want Lucas! Hurry, tell me so you can fucking leave and never come back!” Fallon screamed.

They stood only inches away from each other, both their chests raising and falling at the same time as they shared a long tension-filled look. This was such a bad idea — he had to go — but Fallon knew until he said what he needed to he wouldn’t leave her alone. So all she could do was pray that Audrey looked outside and saw him.

And that Aiden stayed in the house.

****************************************************

Lucas took a deep breath in. He hated fighting with Fallon, but she was being so damn difficult. There were so many questions swirling around in his mind, but like always when he was around her, he got diarrhea of the mouth and said the first thing that came to mind. “I feel like a piece of me dies every day I go without you, Fallon.”

Fallon face scrunched up as she looked up at him. “What?! That’s what you needed to say? Are you crazy!?”

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. That wasn’t the response he thought he would get, but he was dealing with the new Fallon. “I don’t think so,” he answered before she threw her arms up in the air.

“Seven years! Seven fucking years Lucas and I don’t hear a word from you. You come to my hometown and now you want to be with me? Sounds like convenience to me,” she yelled.

“No, I looked for you, but you blocked me from your MySpace and Facebook!”

“Oh please! Social networks don’t rule the world! Levi could have found me if you really wanted to see me. You are just full of shit and you don’t even really wanna be with me, you just want to fuck me probably!”

Lucas rolled his eyes because he was tired of her yelling stupid crap at him.

“Why now Lucas? Seven whole years have passed, why now?”

There was no way he could tell her while standing in her front yard the reason why he didn’t look for her after she left. Telling Fallon that he was a recovering drug addict and alcoholic did not seem like a good thing to say when trying to get someone back. So he did the next logical thing — he grabbed her by her shoulders and pressed his lips against hers.

It was as if fireworks went off when their lips touched. She went to pull away but he wouldn’t let her. Lucas moved his arms around her, holding her tightly to him as he deepened the kiss. When she relaxed beneath him, he moved his tongue into her opened mouth and slowly played with her tongue. His eyes were shut tightly, basking in feel of her lips that he had missed so much. When he felt Fallon’s hands come up his chest, wrapping around his neck so she could move her fingers into his hair, he felt like had just scored the game-winning goal.

Reluctantly, he pulled back first because he couldn’t breathe. When he looked down into Fallon’s beautiful flush face, he smiled. “I want you because I still…”

“Mommy? What are you doing?”

Fallon froze in his arms. She then looked behind her, and he did the same to see a little boy on the porch.

“Oh God,” Fallon whispered as she covered her mouth, moving out of his arms, but Lucas couldn’t move. His eyes were glued to the little boy that stood only a couple feet from him.

A little boy that looked just like him.

Chapter 10

Fallon felt chills run down her spine and back up as she glanced up into Lucas’ eyes. He had a slanted grin on his face. One that told her he was feeling what she was feeling, and that was that she didn’t want to move. She wanted to stay in his arms forever, drinking from that sexy mouth of his. Their eyes were locked as he smiled down at her, and all she could do is think that she was home.

That Lucas’ arms were her home.

“Mommy? What are you doing?”

Fallon froze. Oh no, Fallon thought as she looked behind her to see her perfect little guy wearing Spiderman pajamas with his hair a mess. His face was covered in chocolate and even though she wanted to smile at his cuteness, she couldn’t.

The shit was about to hit the fan.

“Oh God,” she whispered as she moved out of Lucas’ arms. When she looked up at him, his eyes were wide, his mouth was hanging open some and she was pretty sure his heavy breathing wasn’t from their intense kiss.

More like from the shock of seeing his son for the first time.

“Mommy, who’s that?” Aiden asked. Fallon looked back towards Aiden, trying to form a word, but it wasn’t working. She didn’t know what to say. She glanced back at Lucas, but he hadn’t moved an inch as he held Aiden in his shocked gaze.

“Aiden baby, go on inside please,” Fallon answered, not knowing what else to say. She wanted to run to him, protect him from Lucas’ intense gaze, but what would that help? Lucas had already seen him, and now Aiden was looking at him with a puzzled looked.

“But who’s that?”

“Someone I know, now go inside,” Fallon demanded.

“Your boyfriend?”

“No Aiden, just someone I know. Please go in the house.”

“But I saw you kissing him,” Aiden persisted with a disgusted look on his face.

“Aiden James, get in that darn house before I pop that bottom.”

That was when Lucas broke him gaze on Aiden to look at Fallon. She couldn’t read his expression, it was somewhere between shock and anger.

“But Mom!”

“Aiden James, I swear on God’s green earth, don’t make me come up them stairs.”

Aiden shot her a dirty look before running in the house and slamming the door. Lucas looked back up at the door, then down at the ground. He was still breathing extremely hard and it was starting to worry Fallon. She hoped he wasn’t having a heart attack because she felt like she was having one. Her heart was beating extra hard inside her chest and she tried to catch her breath, but it wasn’t working. It seemed like hours passed as she stood there looking at him, while he stared at the ground.

Finally she couldn’t take it. It was not like him to just stand there when something big happened, he was extremely emotional. He screamed, he yelled, he threw things, Lucas Brooks was never speechless. Fallon took a step towards him, clearing her throat. That was when he looked over at her and when his eyes met hers, she couldn’t breathe. There were tears in his eyes, tears that were threatening to fall at any moment.

“Lucas, I’m sorry,” she found herself saying, “I never meant for you to find out like this.”

Before the last word left her mouth, he turned and started for his truck. Fallon watched as he walked quickly to his truck, slamming the door and starting it up. She expected him to roll the window down and start screaming at her, but when he just pulled off, she felt like she was about to pass out.

What the hell was he doing?

**************************************

Lucas wasn’t sure when the tears started falling, but it was somewhere between Fallon’s house and his. He felt like his heart had been ripped from his chest at the sight of the little boy that he knew was his. It only took one look in the little boy’s eyes to know. Not only did the little boy, Aiden, have his eyes, but his hair, his cheeks, his lips, his chin, everything. The only thing he had from Fallon were her dimples and maybe her nose. It was so surreal, looking at Aiden and knowing that he was his son. How could Fallon do that to him? How could she be so heartless? How could she keep a child from him for seven years?

Especially after Lucas losing his father.

Lucas believed that no child should grow up without a father, and now his son had. How was that fair, why would she do that? Put aside what he did to her, yeah, he was a douche, but didn’t he deserve to still know his child? Did he really fuck her up that bad that she couldn’t even tell him about his own son? That she decided raising him by herself was better than giving Lucas the chance to be a father. Did she really think that lowly of him? Was he that big of a piece of shit?

Lucas sat in his truck for what seemed like hours before he finally got out. He didn’t know anyone was there until he stepped in and saw a curvaceous blonde going into the kitchen. She wore only a small tee that didn’t even cover her bare ass as she walked slowly to the kitchen. When she turned to looked at Lucas, he saw that it was Eleanor Adler’s assistant, Janet. Since he was in a state of shock, he only shook his head as he headed towards the stairs that would take him to his room while poor Janet let out a girlie scream. Before he reached his room, he saw Levi heading down the stairs in only a pair of boxer. It didn’t take much to figure out what was going on and Lucas would have been a little upset with Levi if he wasn’t having a mental break down.

When his door closed behind him, he went to his bed, falling face first into it. Lucas buried his face into his fluffy bedding, letting his tears fall. He never cried, but he couldn’t help himself. Sobs ribbed through him as the guilt and hurt tore through his body.

Seven years. Seven years that poor innocent boy went without a father when one was available. Fallon couldn’t be a father and a mother. Lucas had no doubt that she was the best mom imaginable, but she couldn’t do both. Other than not telling Aiden about Lucas, Lucas knew that Fallon was caring, sweet, and more than capable of taking care of a child. He just wished that she had more faith in him to know that he could have been a father too.

Or could he?

He was pretty fucked up back then — of course she didn’t know that — but still, he was. Would he have gotten his shit together and taken responsibility for Aiden, or would he have turned back to the bottle like he did for everything else? There was no way to tell, but Lucas still would have liked to have known about Aiden.

The apology Fallon gave him wasn’t good enough, and he would expect another one when he was able to confront her. She had to know that she was wrong for what she did. After everything they talked about as a couple, about how he would never want his children growing up without a father because he knew how it hurt, how it could fuck a kid up. He was a prime example and what killed him the most was that there was a child running around with Lucas’ father’s name and he didn’t even know who he was.

How was that fair to either one of them?

Lucas must have fallen asleep because he woke up to Levi standing over him by his bed. Lucas rolled over, wiping his nose as he looked up at his best friend.

“What the hell is your problem? Fallon blow you off?” Levi asked with a smirk. “That chick is going to be hard to catch.”

“I have a kid,” Lucas whispered, causing Levi’s eyes to go wide. He never kept things from Levi, and this was something huge that he needed to know about.

“Excuse me?”

“I have a kid, Aiden.”

Levi face twisted in shock as he tried to focus of Lucas. “I’m sorry I must have not heard you, did you say you have a kid named Aiden?”

“I did, because I do.”

Levi fell onto the bed, breathing in through his mouth and then out through his mouth. “How do you know? Whose is it? Fallon’s?”

“Yeah, and if you would have seen him, you wouldn’t disagree with me. The kid looks just like me,” Lucas said breathlessly as he thought back to the moment when his and Aiden’s eyes met.

The exact same color, shade and shape. His father’s eyes, now his son’s.

“So you don’t actually know if he is yours?”

“No, I know. I’m telling you Levi, one look is all you need to know,” Lucas said sadly. He just couldn’t get over the fact that there has been a little person running around with his DNA and he had never met him. Even tonight, he wasn’t introduced to Aiden, he just saw him.

What did he like?

Did he play sports?

Did he like hockey?

Did he ask about his dad?

What did Fallon tell him about Lucas?

But most of all, did he have dyslexia?

So many questions, and Lucas had no answers.

“We’ll we need to get a hold of Richard Price, get some paperwork going. Probably going to need a paternity test, and find out the legal shit. I mean, is there going to be back child support?” Levi asked as he stood up and started pacing the bedroom.

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t care about that stuff, I just want to get to know my son.”

“Not until we get some answers,” Levi said, giving him a pointed look.

Lucas sat up quickly, pinning Levi with a look that told him not to fuck with him. “I didn’t even know I had a son an hour ago, and now you’re telling me I have to wait to get to know him?”

“Lucas I am doing this for you. Have I ever steered you wrong?”

Lucas shook his head. “No.”

“Okay then, give me a couple days. We’re going out of town anyways for that game in New York, by the time we get back there shouldn’t be an issue with you seeing Aiden.”

Lucas slowly nodded; he’d give Levi a couple days, but nothing more.

****************************

“Mommy, who was that guy that you were kissing?”

Fallon looked over at Aiden from the book that she was reading. It had been hours since Lucas had left and Aiden hadn’t said anything. While her emotions were going crazy, she was thankful he hadn’t asked but she knew in her heart that it was bound to happen. Fallon slowly shut the book, taking a deep breath in.

“Just someone I know.”

“What’s his name?”

“Lucas.”

Aiden nodded. “Lucas what?”

“Lucas Brooks.”

Aiden looked up at her. “Like my name.”

“Yeah, like yours.”

Aiden looked back down at his hands, and Fallon prayed Aiden didn’t ask if Lucas was his dad. She just couldn’t handle it, not until she talked to Lucas and found out what he was thinking.

“Is he your boyfriend?”

Fallon shook her head. “No, honey.”

“But you were kissing him.”

“I know, but sometimes adults kiss other adults.”

“Oh, okay,” Aiden said before looking up at her. “Will Lucas came back?”

Fallon shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know honey.”

“Do you like him?”

Fallon smiled. “Sometimes.” Aiden giggled as he cuddled closer to her.

“I wanna meet him. Can he come back?”

Fallon didn’t know why the words stung but they did. Fallon knew that Lucas knew Aiden was his son just with one look. Could Aiden tell? Maybe he was just being his six-year-old self and wanting a man around. Aiden loved Rob. Audrey had once said that Aiden starves for male attention, was that all this was?

Or did he really know that Lucas was his daddy?

“I don’t know honey, if he wants.”

“Can you call him?”

“I don’t know Lucas’ number, but I’m pretty sure he’ll call me.”

“And you’ll invite him over for dinner?”

Fallon bit her lip, she didn’t want to promise something that she didn’t know could be true. So she smiled, snuggling close to her favorite guy before saying, “We’ll see.”

**********************************

Lucas was basically playing the worst game of his life two days later.

“22! Get your shit together or get off the fucking ice!” Adler screamed from the defensive zone.

Lucas shot him a look before getting ready for the face off. He wasn’t going anywhere, he started this game, and he was going to fucking finish it. Lucas won the faceoff, skating forward as Adler passed him the puck. Lucas skated hard, keeping the puck from his opponent before sending it across ice to Welch. He skated towards the goal just as Welch passed it back to him for him to shoot. He pulled back for the shot and when he released, he totally missed the puck, causing one of the Rangers to steal it before heading down ice towards their goal.

Lucas never missed a shot.

God, he was fucked in the head.

When he heard the buzz off, his head fell. Not only was he sucking, but their defense was off too. Jakob and Shea weren’t doing what they usually did, they were lagging. And because of it all, the Assassins lost their third game in a row. Lucas followed his teammates into the locker room. Once inside, he walked straight to his bench, falling onto it as he leaned his head down, taking in deep breaths.

Man, he hated losing.

When he heard the door slam, he looked up to see Adler with his face red with anger.

“That game was bullshit! What the hell guys? We are better than this!” he yelled as he threw his helmet and gloves into his locker area. “Brooks, what the fuck? You missed all your shots tonight. Nothing went in and you had open shots!”

Lucas looked up at Adler before standing slowly just as Mrs. Adler walked in with the coaches. “I know you are not talking to me about my game? They got past you and scored three fucking times.”

“That might be the case, but I played my ass off, what the hell did you do? You looked like a fucking zombie out there!” Adler yelled taking a step towards him.

“I played my ass off, too!” Lucas yelled right back, taking a step towards him. Jakob came over, standing beside the guys. Probably in case someone did something they shouldn’t.

“You did not! What the hell was going on!?”

“Nothing, some people have off nights! You should know all about that, you sucked tonight!”

“I just had a baby; I’m adjusting!”

Lucas faced turned red with anger and he got right into Shea’s face. “And I just found out I have a fucking kid, so back the fuck up.”

The locker room went quiet except for the intake of breath that Mrs. Adler took in. Lucas glanced over at her and finally knew what his boss knew that he didn’t. Shea took a step back, and Lucas did the same before going to his locker to take a seat. Everyone was staring at him as he took deep breaths in and out.

It had been two days since he found out about Aiden and he was a mess. He hadn’t called Fallon or even gone to see her because he was having such a hard time dealing with it all. Aiden had been on his mind from sun up to sun down, and he was driving himself crazy with questions about the little guy. He was so scared that Aiden wasn’t going to like him. He didn’t know how to be a dad and it scared him to think of all the things he could fuck up. He worried about what Fallon was going to say to him when he asked for the paternity test, but most of all he was scared she was going to keep Aiden from him.

Lucas hadn’t moved from the locker room. He sat with a towel on his head, listening to everyone leave. No one had said anything to him, they just walked by. Some of his teammates placed their hands on his shoulder or they tapped his head, but no one said anything. Lucas was glad they didn’t too, because he didn’t know what to say back. He hated when he let his anger get the best of him and he spoke before thinking, because now the whole team knew that he had a kid. A kid that he never knew about or taken care of.

What a man he was.

When Lucas heard the click of a pair of heels, he tore the towel off his head and looked up to see Mrs. Adler coming towards him, with Shea behind her. She had a small, sad smile on her face as she came over and sat beside him on the bench. Shea leaned against the locker, not looking Lucas in the eyes. Lucas focused on the holes in the foam floor as Mrs. Adler placed her hand on his back.

“How you holding up, Lucas?” she asked in a low voice. Lucas shook his head. He had no one to talk too. Levi didn’t understand, all he cared about was the legal stuff and Lucas couldn’t even think of telling his mom yet. She would flip out and would be on the first plane to Nashville, ready to take over. He didn’t need that right now.

“I’ve been better,” Lucas answered.

“When did she tell you?”

Lucas still didn’t look at his boss as he shook his head. “She didn’t. I went to her house and Aiden came out on the porch. She never told me anything.”

Out the corner of his eye, he saw Elli shake her head. “Damn fool woman,” she whispered before moving her hand up and down his back. “What did Fallon say?”

“That she was sorry.”

“At least she did that. What did Aiden say?”

“He wanted to know who I was, and she just said I was someone she knew.”

Why was he telling his boss all this? What was wrong with him? He never told people his business, but here he was losing his damn mind.

“I’m so sorry Lucas. I told her she needed to tell you, like seven years ago.”

Lucas smiled, wishing like hell that Fallon had done that. “Woulda been nice.”

She laughed. “I know.”

They sat in silence for a moment before Lucas asked, “Is he a good kid?”

Lucas looked over to see Mrs. Adler wearing a beautiful, bright smile. “Oh yes, he’s a darlin’. Such a sweet boy.”

Lucas nodded his head. He knew that Aiden would be a good kid, Fallon was a good person — minus the withholding information business.

“I don’t know what to say Lucas, and I understand if you don’t want to do the campaign with Fallon anymore?”

Lucas thought for a moment, did he really want to be around someone that hid the biggest secret ever from him?

“No, I still want to,” he said quietly.

Mrs. Adler didn’t say anything, and since Lucas didn’t know what to say, he just sat there. She kept her hand going up and down his back, and then she stopped. She got up, leaving the room as Lucas ran his hands through his hair. Lucas looked up and saw that Shea was still standing there, staring at him.

“I’m good if you are because I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot of each other from now on,” he said. Lucas nodded as a smile pulled at the side of his mouth.

“Yeah we’re good,” he agreed before looking down at his bare feet. When he saw Shea’s Converses come into his view, he looked up to see Shea looking down at him with compassion in his eyes.

“It’s hard at first, but it will click and you will never love someone the way you will love him. I’m here if you need someone,” Shea said, tapping him on the head before moving away. Lucas watched as he walked towards the door that led out into the hall.

“Thanks Shea,” Lucas said. Shea looked over his shoulder and smiled before walking out the room, leaving Lucas alone with his thoughts.

At least one factor in his life was working out; now all he had to do was get a relationship with his son.

************************************

Fallon didn’t know what to do.

It had been three days since Lucas had seen Aiden. Fallon hadn’t heard from him or from a lawyer. She would be lying if she didn’t say she was nervous as hell. Since he was a hockey player, getting his number was extremely hard and since she didn’t want Elli to know what was going on, she didn’t call her. It was a mess and all she could do was sit back and wait.

And she hated waiting.

“Mommy, I need sugar,” Aiden said, knocking Fallon out of her musings. She had been doing that a lot, ever since she watched Lucas walk away with no word at all.

“Yes, of course,” Fallon said, handing him the cup that held the sugar. Fallon watched as Audrey came into the room, going to the fridge.

They hadn’t spoken to each other in three days.

Fallon hated fighting with Audrey, but she’d be damned if she apologized. Fallon didn’t feel like she had done anything wrong, and if Audrey had an issue with helping her then why didn’t she tell her earlier? Why let it go seven years to the point where they were screaming at each other and calling each other names?

Aiden smiled up at Audrey as she came over, kissing his cheek.

“We’re making cookies!”

“I see that bud, having fun?” she asked.

“I am. You should help,” Aiden said sweetly. Audrey sent a look towards Fallon, but Fallon ignored it, pouring milk into a measuring cup.

“Okay buddy,” Audrey said with a grin, leaning against him as she picked up the spoon that would be used for mixing. Fallon handed Aiden the next cup and the cookie-making process proceeded in complete silence.

God, Fallon hated this. She hated a quiet house, she’d rather scream at Audrey than have her give her the silent treatment. So she swallowed her pride and looked over at her sister.

“How’s work?”

Audrey shrugged her shoulders. “It’s work.”

Fallon smiled. “I hear ya, it seems like problem after problem with this damn campaign. Elli is being kinda difficult.”

“Elli? Difficult? I don’t believe it,” Audrey said with a confused look on her face. Usually Elli was easygoing, but not with the campaign.

“She is making me use him,” Fallon said with a look. She didn’t want Lucas in the campaign. She didn’t want to work side by side with him. She didn’t want to hear his take on things, she didn’t want to be around that cocky smile, that sexy body, and most of all she didn’t want to see other females on it either.

“Have you heard from him?”

Fallon shook her head just as Aiden asked, “Who?”

“No one, honey,” Fallon answered quickly.

“That’s weird huh?” Audrey asked.

“Very,” Fallon agreed, and Audrey gave her a lopsided grin, causing her to grin.

“What’s weird?” Aiden asked as the doorbell rang. Audrey gave Fallon a look and Fallon shrugged her shoulders. It was late, and they weren’t expecting anyone.

“Nothing baby, mix the cookies,” Fallon said, wiping her hands on the towel that sat on the island.

“Who do you think that is?” Audrey asked as Fallon moved from the kitchen.

“Probably the neighbor,” Fallon said as she reached the door, but when she opened the door it wasn’t the neighbor.

It was Lucas.

He stood with Levi beside him, but Fallon couldn’t even take her eyes from Lucas’ to acknowledge Levi. Lucas’ eyes were so dull, so sad, and Fallon couldn’t catch her breath as she looked up at him.

“We need to talk,” Lucas said, knocking her out of her trance.

Fuck.

Chapter 11

“We do?”

It figured that Fallon still turned him on, even after everything she had done.

Just figures.

Fallon had flour on her nose and basically all over her. She wore a very low cut blue shirt that showed off her beautiful, perky breasts. Her jeans hung low, tight along her thighs and he was pretty sure if she turned around, her ass would have his dick hard with just one glance.

He wasn’t here to check her out though, or to try to get her in bed. He came to talk about his son.

“Obviously Fallon, come on,” Lucas said.

“Oh, well. Uh, we’re kinda busy, you should have called,” she stuttered, causing his eye to twitch. His eyes always did that when his temper was about to snap, but he knew he couldn’t yell at her so he took a deep breath in.

“I don’t have your number, so I came over. This can be done between us, or I can get lawyers involved — your decision.”

Fallon’s face heated as she took a step towards him. “Don’t threaten me,” she all but growled out.

“I’m not trying to, I just want to talk about our…”

“Who is it Mommy?”

Fallon turned quickly, revealing Aiden.

Aiden James.

Lucas’ little boy.

Lucas took in the sight of the gorgeous little boy. Aiden looked so much like him that it blew his mind. How did he make a person that could be his twin? When Aiden smiled, it took Lucas’ breath away.

He smiled like that.

It was his lady-killer smile, and it filled Lucas with such pride to know his son could do it at the age of…Yeah, that was sad, he didn’t even know how old his kid was.

“Hey! You’re back,” Aiden said with a grin. “I’m Aiden James Brooks,” he said, holding out his hand. Lucas didn’t move.

Aiden James Brooks? Fallon had given Aiden his name?

Yeah, Lucas was pretty sure he was having a heart attack.

He reached out, taking the boy’s small hand in his massive one. Aiden’s grin was infectious, and Lucas couldn’t fight the smile that formed on his face.

“I’m Lucas James Brooks.”

Everyone was silent for a moment as Aiden slowly nodded his head, the same big grin never leaving his sweet little face. “Hey we have the same name, except I’m Aiden and you’re Lucas.”

“Yup, okay honey, isn’t it time for you to go to bed?” Fallon asked, causing Aiden to pull away from Lucas. Lucas felt empty as the little guy looked up at his mother with his eyes wide, and his arms slamming against his side.

How did this little boy already have his heart with just one grin? Or was it three days ago, when he asked who Lucas was?

“Mom, it’s Friday!”

“That’s right Mom, gosh!” Audrey said, coming up beside Aiden. “Go get your shoes bud. Let’s go out for a while. Mommy and Lucas need to talk.”

Lucas looked over at Fallon, seeing that she was freaking out silently. Her eyes were wide as her mouth opened and closed like a guppy. Gosh, she was so cute.

“Oh so, Lucas can’t come?” Aiden asked as Audrey smiled at him while Fallon made a face of distress.

What was that about?

“No baby, like I said, they need to talk grownup stuff. Let’s go get ice cream, and maybe go to the movies!”

“Really?! Awesome!” Aiden ran off with nothing more than a punch in the air. Kid was quick. Lucas smiled. He was probably fast as hell on skates.

Just like his daddy.

“Audrey, you don’t have to leave,” Fallon said through her teeth. Lucas couldn’t help but smile. She was so cute when she didn’t like the situation she was put in. Too bad he didn’t care because they had things to discuss.

“Yes, we do. Aiden doesn’t need to witness World War Three between you two,” Audrey said before she pinned Levi with a look. Lucas looked over to see his best friend checking out Fallon’s curvy sister. “Hey, you, you’re coming with us. They need to do this alone.”

Levi looked at Lucas and all Lucas did was shrugged his shoulders. “She’s probably right.”

“Don’t sign anything,” Levi said before giving Fallon a look.

“Oh get real Levi, like I would screw him over,” Fallon said with disgust in her voice.

Levi laughed. “This coming from someone that kept someone’s kid from him for seven years.”

Fallon’s face twisted with anger and maybe guilt as she looked over to see Aiden running towards them. When Aiden reached them, he grinned up at Lucas before looking over at Fallon.

“Ready to go, bud?” Fallon asked, moving her hands through his hair. Aiden nodded his head quickly.

“Yes ma’am. Will you be here when I get back Lucas?” Aiden asked, looking back at Lucas as he took Audrey’s hand in his.

“I don’t know, we’ll see okay?” Lucas said, his heart beating so hard that he was sure it going to come out of his chest.

Lucas smiled, he couldn’t help himself. He found another person that made his heart race. That must mean something because there was only one other person that could, and that was Fallon.

Lucas looked up at Fallon, and she looked sad as she bent over to kiss Aiden’s cheek. “Have fun, bud.”

“I will, love you, bye!”

After everyone left with goodbyes, Fallon just stood there with worry all over her face. Once she shut the door behind everyone, she glanced over at Lucas. She didn’t say anything as she walked off towards the kitchen. He followed her through the small home and was surprised that it was the place she lived in. When he had come there three days ago, he thought the whole building was their home but as he got closer tonight, he saw that there was another door and that blew his mind.

Why were they living in a little bitty condo?

He knew damn well Fallon had money, lots of it. She always got mad when he paid for stuff when they were together. She always said that she wouldn’t depend on a man. It was a refreshing, even though he paid anyways.

Lucas took in all the pictures along Fallon’s walls. Aiden graced most of them, but there were some of just her and Audrey. The sisters could have been twins. Audrey was just a little thicker. Lucas had never even seen a picture of Audrey or really knew much about her. Fallon never talked about her family when they were together. She would bring Audrey up but never told him about her. Then again, Lucas never asked — he was too consumed in Fallon, or his addictions.

Now he wanted to know everything because of Aiden and because he was still just as curious about Fallon as he was the day he met her.

When Lucas looked up, he saw that Fallon was pouring two glasses of wine. He didn’t say anything as he watched her hand shake. She looked everywhere but at him.

“I don’t drink Fallon,” he said quietly. She looked up before she stopped pouring.

“Oh,” she said before picking the glass up and throwing it into the sink, breaking it in the process. The loud sound of breaking glass made her jump before she looked back at him with a shocked look on her face. When she looked away, throwing herself into the closest chair, a smirk came across his face. Fallon then started to guzzle her glass of wine, and that caused him to smile fully at her.

Yeah, this was going to be fun.

“So what do you want?”

Lucas shook his head as he sat across from her. “Obviously to talk about the little guy we made.”

Fallon shrugged her shoulders. “What is there to talk about? I don’t need anything from you, I don’t want anything, we’re fine,” she said in her snotty little voice.

Lucas had prepared himself for this; he knew she was going to be bitchy, and proud. That was Fallon when she didn’t know how to handle a situation. Before, when her dad would call when they were dating, she would be the worst person ever to deal with for at least an hour after talking to him. She always apologized, saying that she didn’t know how to handle being hurt or scared. She always lashed out at someone and even with that flaw he had loved her.

Still did.

“I just want to know my kid and,” Lucas held open his jacket, pulling out some paperwork that his lawyer had put together for Fallon. “And, I need you to fill this out. My lawyer needs some information, and I don’t doubt that Aiden is mine — I know he is — but we need a paternity test.”

“Whatever,” she said, snatching the papers from him and throwing them down on the table before crossing her arms across her chest. She had an I-don’t-give-a-fuck look on her face, and he knew that she was freaking out so bad that she was close to shaking. “So I guess you want to spend time with him, be a part-time dad and all that jazz.”

Wow, that stung a little. He wasn’t going to be a damn part-time dad!

He shook his head. “Damn, you can still be a bitch when you feel threatened, huh? What the hell is your problem? Am I yelling at you? Am I slapping you with lawsuits for keeping my son away from me?”

“No! But I bet it’s fucking coming and you can go on with that shit. We’ll run and you will never see him again,” Fallon yelled before standing up and going to the sink. Nothing was said as he watched her pick up the glass from the sink.

“I wouldn’t do that to you, and you know that.”

“I don’t know shit. You told me you’d never cheat on me neither, but look how that went.”

Lucas rolled his eyes. “Come on Fallon, let it go. We have more important things to worry about.”

She turned, going to the trash and throwing away the glass that she held. “I’ll fill out the paperwork Lucas. I’ll have it ready for you tomorrow. What else do you want from me?”

He could name a lot of things, starting with her mouth on his, but that would have to wait.

He had a little guy to get to know.

**********************************

Fallon was freaking out.

She didn’t know what Lucas was thinking and she hated that. Before she could predict what he was about to do before he even did it, but now she had no clue. They were older, there were bigger factors in play, and she was just plain scared out of her mind of him. Why did Audrey have to leave? If she wouldn’t have left, Fallon could have done this better. Fallon was being a bitch and she knew that Lucas could only deal with so much of her bitchiness before he started yelling.

“I just want to know my kid Fallon, that’s all,” Lucas said as he looked down at the table, scratching at something, probably cookie residue. “How old is he? Seven?”

“He’ll be seven in two weeks, the 26th,” she said, even though she felt like she was giving him a piece of her. She didn’t know why she didn’t want him to know Aiden. It was wrong. Aiden was his son, but it just hurt Fallon. Aiden took to him instantly, and that bothered Fallon. She didn’t want them to have a connection because it took from her connection with Aiden. She had been his everything for almost seven years, and now she had competition.

She was jealous.

God, she was disgusting.

“Are you having a party?”

Fallon nodded her head. “Yeah, at Centennial Park.”

Lucas nodded his head, still not looking at her. “You can come, Lucas, if you want,” she said quietly, because she felt bad. She didn’t like what she had done to Lucas, but her jealousy was still eating at her, hardcore.

What if he bought Aiden something amazing, while all Fallon could do was afford the party?

God, this sucked.

A slow smile went over his face. “Thanks, I’ll be there.”

Fallon nodded, looking off to the side because she couldn’t take his smile right now. She was raw with emotion. He was in her kitchen, seeing that she wasn’t as successful as she should be by now. He now knew that she had kept something from him that could be considered the worst thing ever to keep from someone. She felt like a failure.

When they were together, she had talked so big, and she wasn’t half of what she thought she would be by now.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Fallon grinned over at Lucas. He was naked, the sheet hanging low along his hips as Fallon was tucked up beside him, also naked. They lay with all the windows open, letting the fresh ocean air into the room. The air was filled with salt, and Fallon swore she could taste it. She loved the ocean, she loved days like this. She just loved being thoroughly loved by Lucas.

Fallon nuzzled her nose against his pecs before putting her chin in her hand as she traced her finger along the beautiful words along his chest.

Never look back, never think twice.

It was his motto, and now it was hers.

“I wanna run Rocky Top Wines. I want to make our wine the best-selling wine in the country. I want to be the most powerful woman in the wine business. I want to have people scared of me because I am the best.”

He smiled, moving her hair behind her ear. “And?”

Fallon gave him a shy smile. “I wanna be married.”

“To me of course,” Lucas said with a smile, which she returned.

“Oh, of course, and I wanna have three kids. Two girls and one boy.”

He laughed. “Oh come on, three boys.”

“No, I want girls!” Fallon giggled, as he ran his hand down her back, taking a good chunk of her bottom in his hand.

“I don’t want any girls, I could never love another girl the way I love you.”

Fallon shook her head. Before she would never be jealous of his relationship with their children, she’d wanted it. But that was before, when nothing else mattered but them. Before, when she hadn’t lied to anyone. Before, when she thought he would never cheat on her.

“What school does he go to?”

Fallon looked up. “New Life Christian School, off Broadway, by the arena.”

“What grade is he in?”

“First,” Fallon said with all the love in the world. She was so proud of Aiden’s schooling.

“Is he good Fallon? Does he struggle with…” he stopped and Fallon’s heart broke.

He was scared that her baby had dyslexia.

“No Lucas, he is fine. Smartest kid in the class. An accelerated reader.”

Lucas smiled proudly. “So he has my good looks and your Stanford brain?”

Fallon smiled as she nodded. “He’s you all over, Lucas. Every day, he does something that reminds me so much of you.”

“He’s got your nose though,” Lucas said, grinning at her. Fallon couldn’t help herself, she grinned back.

“That’s about it. He’s busy like you. He likes to fight. He’s extremely imaginative.”

“Good, and, of course, he likes to fight and that’s not because of me. Remember I’ve seen you at a hockey game.”

A slow grin went across her face before Fallon quickly hid it. “I’m not that person anymore.”

“No one loses the kind of passion you had when I played. I’ve never seen a woman want to fight a grown-ass man until I met you.”

“Whatever,” Fallon said with a shake of her head. “I’m not like that. I’m calm, cool, collected.”

Lucas raised an eyebrow. “Fallon, you’ve cussed me out every time I’ve seen you.”

“You make me angry,” Fallon said simply.

“Alright Fallon, keep on denying your passion, but I don’t know why you do. I think it’s hot. You know I like your dirty mouth.”

Fallon’s body went on fire. Her nipples pressed against her thin t-shirt, and her panties became damp instantly.

Damn man!

“Aren’t we were supposed to be talking about Aiden?” she all but groaned out. When she looked up at Lucas, she found that his eyes were looking down at the little peaks her nipples made.

Fuck!

Fallon crossed her arms quickly. “Pig.”

“Oink oink, honey,” Lucas said as Fallon rolled her eyes. “Come on, you can’t expect me not to stare at two of the most beautiful nipples that I’ve ever had in my mouth, can you?”

“I expect you to act like a gentlemen,” Fallon said through tight lips.

He inched a little closer to her as his eyes filled with lust. Fallon moved back a little, scared he was going to try to kiss her again. She could still feel his lips from last time, so no kissing. Fallon, no kissing, she repeatedly told herself as he said, “I don’t remember you wanting me to be a gentlemen when those nipples were in my mouth.”

Yup, Fallon was pretty sure she just came.

“Oh my goodness, you’re disgusting! Why are you messing with me?!”

Lucas gave her a lopsided grin. “For one, it’s so easy to, and I love the blush that goes on your face and for two, I want you Fallon. Bad.”

That dumbfounded her, he wasn’t mad? “Even after everything?”

He was quiet for a moment. “You know, I thought when I came over here we would have a screaming match, but I’m not mad at you. I’m hurt, but I can let it go because I’m going to know my son and I’m going to change the way you think of me.”

“Okay,” she said in a mocking voice. She didn’t believe him for a minute, even if her body screamed for him.

“Don’t underestimate me, Fallon,” he warned with a cute little grin.

“I know you Lucas. This little act you’re putting on about wanting to be a dad will last until you find a woman that will fuck you seven days to Sunday, and then you’ll leave Aiden behind ‘cause y’all will be having babies.”

Lucas shook his head. “You are delusional. I don’t want any other female but you and now that I know about Aiden, I will be his dad.”

“Okay, sure. I’ll believe it when I see it,” she said breathlessly.

Oh, this was not good. She couldn’t let him know that him wanting to be with her made her heart beat like a jackhammer against her chest, or that her panties were basically soaked after being under his lust-filled gaze.

Fallon looked up at him and their eyes met, sharing a heated look. Their emotions were high as they both took in deep breaths, still staring into each other eyes. She could get lost in his eyes and hated that she let him affect her like this. He had her hot one minute, freaking out about him taking Aiden another, and then to the point of wanting the knock his head off because he thought he could change what she thought of him! He was the exact same person!

The perfect manipulator!

When he looked away, Fallon took in a jagged breath as he asked, “Does he know about me?”

Fallon shook her head, still trying to catch her breath. “No, I told him that his daddy was too busy to be a daddy, but that he loved him very much and that he was lucky to be loved by someone that he didn’t even know.”

Lucas face flushed with anger. “I would never be too busy for my son.”

“Well you got busy with my best friend, so I just went with that.”

Lucas shook his head as he looked off to the side, and she swore he was going to start yelling but he didn’t. He just asked, “You are not going to let that go, are you?”

“Not today,” Fallon answered as their eyes met. “Don’t hope for tomorrow neither.”

“Fallon, what can I do to make it right? What can I say? I don’t want you to keep throwing that in my face, I want us to move on.”

Fallon shrugged her shoulders, “I’ve been angry for seven years, how do I just move on? Don’t I have to forgive you?”

“It would be nice,” he said with a small smile.

Fallon looked away. “I don’t know if I can.”

“Can you try?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“Okay,” Lucas said, irritated. Seven years and she was still angry? Come on, get real, let it go, Lucas thought as he watched her moving her fingers through her hair. “I’m really sorry about that night Fallon. There are a lot of things that you don’t know, and I need to tell you.”

Fallon shook her head. “I don’t want to know.”

“Yes you do, not today but give me a chance to explain what was wrong, what I was dealing with,” Lucas pleaded. “I swear I’m not that person anymore. I was fucked up back then, not my true self.”

Her eyes shot up as her face filled with anger. “So what, everything between us wasn’t real?”

“No baby, everything was real, everything. I was myself when I was with you,” he pleaded.

“So what? I don’t get it,” she asked with so much sass in her voice. He swore she was the queen of sassiness, and he was getting fed up with it.

“Fallon, you know what I don’t get?”

Fallon gave him a pointed look. “What’s that?”

“Why you didn’t tell me I have a son.”

Fallon looked away, moving her hands up and down her thighs. “I didn’t think you could be a dad. I was scared out of my mind. I didn’t know what to do but I knew that I didn’t want anything to do with you.”

“So you let one mistake keep me away from my child?”

“That one mistake was sorta big. Hello, it broke my heart,” Fallon answered.

“So you did it to hurt me? I find that hard to believe,” Lucas said as he continued to look deep into her eyes.

“Because I didn’t do it to hurt you. I had every intention of telling you. I mean, I named him after you and your dad. I gave him your last name. But every time I went to call and tell you, I couldn’t. I was scared that you would reject us. You had already rejected me.”

Lucas shook his head, getting madder by the minute. “I didn’t reject you, and I would never reject our child. I loved you. I wanted to be with you. You are the one that left without even giving me a chance to explain.”

“I left because you cheated.”

“I didn’t mean to! I was drunk and high, Fallon! I was fucked up.”

“So that’s a good excuse?!”

Lucas stood up and started pacing the kitchen. “I know it isn’t, but you have to know I wouldn’t have done it if I wasn’t. Allison came on to me, and I was so horny and I missed you. I was so drunk that when she kissed me, I kissed her back. After that I don’t remember anything. All I remember from that night is waking up and seeing you look at me the way you are now.”

Fallon’s eyes filled with tears as she began breathing hard. Guilt washed over Lucas as he started to feel the exact same way he did the day everything went down. He never wanted any of this to happen. He thought he had lost everything when she left, and in all reality he did. He lost his love, and his baby.

He could never get those years back.

“I’m sorry Fallon, really I am. I never meant to hurt you, and I’m sorry it took so long for me to tell you that. But you have to believe that I’m not going anywhere now that I know Aiden is here. You and I may never see eye to eye, or may never get back what we had, but I will have a relationship with my son.”

A tear leaked over Fallon’s face and it killed Lucas to watch. He wanted to wrap her up in his arms and kiss the pain away. He just wanted to hold her, be her rock again, but he knew she wouldn’t let him.

He watched as Fallon cried silently, not knowing what to do or say. After a few minutes, Fallon looked over at him as the tears dried against her cheeks and said, “I hope you know that what you’re asking for is for forever. ‘Cause I’ll be damned if you gonna come into my baby’s life and twine yourself into his life and then just rip yourself away. I won’t let you do it to him.”

“I know that and I won’t.”

“Yeah, well you did it to me.”

“And I regret it every day,” Lucas answered wholeheartedly. Fallon looked down at her hands, moving her fingers along the inside of her wrist.

“And you still want him?” she asked quietly.

“Fallon I still want you, and when you are ready to let go of what I did to you, I’ll be standing here waiting. And, yes, I want him like I want to breathe. I love him already.”

“I don’t believe you,” she whispered, “I just don’t trust you.”

Lucas took in a deep breath, “Then I’ll have to prove it to you,” he said before letting out a whoosh of breath. “But that’s not the question.”

“What is?” she asked sadly. It pulled at his heart strings, but he had to know.

“When are you going to tell Aiden I’m his dad?”

Chapter 12

Fallon’s heart banged against her chest as Lucas looked down at her. She hadn’t even thought about that. When was she gonna tell Aiden Lucas was his dad? How does one go about doing that? Is there a book or a movie that she could watch that would help her tell Aiden?

Would he be mad?

Would he hate her?

Would he understand?

Would he want to live with Lucas?

Would he love Lucas more than her?

Fallon’s heart hurt. She was so scared, so afraid of the unknown that she was seriously thinking of running. She never ran from a problem, she had learned not to after leaving Lucas. She always stood up to it by being the biggest bitch in the world, but right now Lucas scared the living shit out of her.

“I don’t know,” she answered sadly as she leaned against the back of her kitchen chair.

She felt like she was going to cry. His apology hurt because it wasn’t closure. He couldn’t give her a reason — except for the fact that he was drunk — for why he had cheated on her. Fallon wanted to know what she did wrong, how she could have kept him from cheating on her. Was she not good in bed? Did she not please him? Did she not love him the way he needed to be loved? What? What did she do wrong?

“I haven’t thought that far,” she added after moment when she felt his gaze on hers.

“Well maybe you should, because I have to tell my mom, and you can only imagine how that’s going to go,” he answered with a nervous smile.

Fallon smiled. She had loved Molly Brooks like she was her own mother. The woman was a saint, and the most beautiful person inside and out. She believed in true love, and knew that there was only one man for every woman. Hers was James, and she always said Lucas was Fallon’s.

Fallon used to believe her.

“Can we give it a week or so? Maybe after his birthday?”

Lucas shook his head. “I want my mom to come to his birthday party.”

Fallon nodded. Was she really ready for the wrath of Molly Brooks? Molly was fiercely protective over Lucas, which after losing her husband who could blame her? Fallon was the same way over Aiden and totally understood Molly’s love for her son, but could she really handle how Molly would act towards her? She wasn’t bound to be nice to Fallon, hell, Fallon was surprised Lucas was being as nice as he was. She was sure he would be furious, throwing things, cussing her out, everything short of knocking her out was what she expected from him. Maybe Molly would surprise her, and not try to kill Fallon, but who would blame her if she did. Fallon’s mom would kill anyone that took Aiden from her…

Fallon took in a sharp breath.

She had to tell her family.

Oh no, her dad was gonna kill Lucas and her mother was gonna be so upset. Oh shit, this was gonna be bad.

“What’s wrong?”

Fallon looked up at Lucas, horror all over her face. “My dad is gonna murder you.”

Lucas laughed. “I doubt after seven years he would want to kill me. I mean come on, people do get over things after a couple years. Oh, but wait, he is your father.”

“Oh shut up, I’m serious. He almost killed me for not telling him who got me pregnant. This could be bad. Are you sure about this?”

Lucas rolled his eyes as he leaned against the counter. “Your father will not keep me from my kid, so get that out of your head.”

Fallon shrugged her shoulders. “Just letting you know. You’re the one that brought up your momma.”

“Mom won’t want to kill you. Smack you maybe, but I’ll protect you.”

When Fallon looked up at him, he had a sexy little smirk on his face and she glared as she looked away. “I don’t need your protection.”

“Okay, whatever. Anyways, a week?”

Fallon swallowed loudly. “A week?”

“Yeah.”

“Um, okay.”

“We’ll do it together. I wanna get to know him this week, and we’ll tell him at the end of it.”

“Um okay? He’s on spring break, he was gonna stay at the office with me.”

Lucas thought for a moment. “Can I take him during the day?”

“Don’t you have to play?”

“I’m practicing all week, but I won’t be playing. Elli wants me to take some time off.”

“Oh,” Fallon gulped. So, Elli knew.

“Yeah, so I’ll practice early in the morning and if it’s okay, I’ll come get him from the office and we’ll get to know each other.”

Fallon nodded. “Okay.”

“Cool, do you guys have plans tomorrow?”

Fallon shook her head. “I have to work, and Audrey was going to keep him.”

“Can I take him tomorrow?”

Fallon looked down at the table. “Sure,” she answered sadly.

And so it starts.

“Hey, I’m not going to let anything happen to him.”

“I hope not, I usually don’t let anyone take him.”

“He’ll be fine.” Lucas pulled his phone out of his pocket, sliding it over to her. “Put your phone number in my phone, and call your phone so you have my number when you need call me.”

Fallon caught the phone before it slid off the table before looking up at him. “So you’re still having problems with the dyslexia?”

Lucas looked away, his cheeks warming as he shrugged his shoulders. “Sometimes…yeah.”

Fallon nodded, hating that he was still suffering with the condition. Couldn’t he get help? Wasn’t there something they could do for him?

Fallon programmed her number into his phone. She then took a quick picture of herself, noticing that there was flour all over her face. Great, she was a mess. Fallon set the phone up so he could find her by her picture. After that, she called her phone and it rang, giving her his number. She handed Lucas back his phone before programming her phone just as he said, “I thought you would be living somewhere bigger.”

She looked up quickly. “What does that mean?”

Lucas looked down at her. “The house is small, there’s no backyard.”

“There’s a park right across the street, and we sacrifice living somewhere bigger so that Aiden can go to the top private school in Nashville. New Life is expensive.”

“Let me help then,” he answered, “so my kid can live somewhere nicer.”

“Whoa, screw you! My house is nice, thank you.”

“It’s small, a boy needs room.”

“Aiden is fine, and I don’t need anything from you for the fifth time. You want time with Aiden? I’ll give it to you even though I don’t feel right about it. But don’t you dare think I’m gonna start taking money from you so that when you’re ready to go, you’ll think your dues are paid,” she snapped.

“I wouldn’t do that, for the hundredth time, I am just trying to make sure Aiden has the best of the best.”

“He has lived without it for seven years, so he doesn’t need it now!”

“I will make sure he does, like it or not, I really don’t give a…”

The door flew open and Aiden came barreling into the house with Audrey and Levi coming in behind him. He grinned up at the two of them and put his hands on his hips. “I had ice cream, lots of it, but there wasn’t a movie I wanted to see so we came home. Did I say the ice cream was good?”

Lucas and Fallon were both breathing hard as they looked down at the cute little bundle of sugar they had made together. Fallon put aside her emotional issues with Lucas and smiled at her precious boy. “Did you have fun?”

“Loads, what are y’all doing?”

Lucas smiled as Fallon said, “Just talking. Lucas is gonna hang with you tomorrow, if you want.”

Aiden’s head bobbled like a bobblehead as he looked up at Lucas. “Sure! That would be awesome.”

“Awesome, I’ll pick you up at …” Lucas looked up at Fallon, but she just shrugged her shoulders.

“I go to work at 10 tomorrow, but Audrey will be here all day, right?” Fallon asked Audrey.

“Yeah,” she said with a nod.

Lucas looked down at Aiden. “Do you want to sleep in?”

“No, I’ll be ready by nine, all my shows will be over by then. Maybe you could come over and watch ‘em with me. Mommy could make us pancakes and we’ll watch my shows then go,” Aiden said excitedly. “Is Levi coming?”

“No bud, just you and Lucas tomorrow. I got work to do,” Levi answered.

“Cool, so are you gonna come over early?” Aiden asked, basically bouncing as he looked up at Lucas. When Fallon saw him put on his sad eyes, she couldn’t help but smile. Lucas was about to be putty in Aiden’s hands.

“Is that okay?” Lucas asked Fallon. She nodded. She liked that he asked, that he didn’t just assume or tried to overstep. “What time bud?”

“Seven.”

“I’ll be here.”

“Cool!”

Lucas smiled widely at him before looking over at Fallon. “Well since I got to be up early, I need to go home and get some sleep.”

“Okay, well Aiden honey, say goodnight to everyone, it’s time for bed,” Fallon said, moving her hand along Aiden’s back.

“Goodnight! See you tomorrow Lucas,” he said with a big grin as he headed for the stairs.

“Can't wait,” Lucas said with a wave. Fallon watched as Aiden waved and started up the stairs.

“I’m gonna go get him settled. Lucas, always nice seeing you. Levi,” Audrey said giving Levi a pointed look as she started for the stairs.

“Audrey,” Levi said as he watched her walk away.

Okay, that’s creepy. Fallon would have to warn Audrey about Levi. He was the epitome of a man whore.

“Goodnight Audrey. Thanks,” Lucas said as she walked by him. They shared a smile before Audrey disappeared up the stairs. Fallon went to the door, opening it as she waited them to leave.

“Fallon,” Levi said as he passed by with nothing more than a nod. Fallon stuck her tongue out at him just as Lucas stopped in front of her. Fallon looked up at him and froze as he reached his hand up, cupping her face in his hand. Fallon lost all sense of time as she basked in the warmth of his hand on her cheek. He moved his thumb along her cheek and down her lip before looking deep down into her eyes.

“Thank you Fallon,” Lucas said, and all Fallon could do was nod.

Oh, how she had dreamed countless nights of his hand on her cheek, and it felt just the way she remember it. Gosh, she missed it.

A cocky grin came across his face before he leaned in, pressing his lips against her nose. Her eyes slowly closed at the whisper touch of his warm, thin lips on her nose. She took a deep breath in and when she opened her eyes, Lucas was moving away from her with only a grin on his face. She watched as he walked confidently to his truck and climbed in before giving her one last look.

With that one look, Fallon knew she was in big trouble because Lucas Brooks was on a mission.

And she was the target.

*************************************

Lucas sat on the bed, his phone in his hand as he tried to get the balls to call his mom.

The night had been crazy.

Fallon was just like he knew she would be — mean, bitchy, and scared out of her mind. He didn’t understand why she was scared, he would never take Aiden away from her, but he would make sure Aiden was taken care of. He hated to fight with her. He didn’t like to watch her cry either, and that was all they did the whole night. When she wasn’t being a bitch, she was crying, and when she wasn’t crying, she was grinning at him. It was like she was bipolar when he knew she wasn’t. He hated that he drove her to the point of bipolar behavior, but he wasn’t going to stand by and let his kid run around with a father.

Wasn’t going to happen. Lucas had too much pride and too much love in his heart to let a child go without his father.

Lucas leaned his head down in his open hand, begging his fingers to find his mom’s number so he could tell her about her grandson. He knew that she was going to freak and want to jump on the first plane to Nashville, but he would beg her not to. He needed his time with Aiden — he needed to get to know the little person that was walking around looking just like him.

Lucas scrolled through his phone, looking for his mom’s picture. When he found it, he pressed the green button and waited for her to answer.

“Hello?”

“Hey Mom,” Lucas said, his face still in his hand.

“Sweetheart, are you okay? It’s late.”

“I’m fine, but I need to talk to you about something.”

“Okay, at midnight? What’s wrong?”

Lucas had forgotten the time difference and felt bad for calling his mother so late. For worrying her, but what else was he supposed to do? He had already gone three days without telling her about Aiden. He had to tell her.

“Mom, um, I don’t know how else to tell you but to just say it,” Lucas began.

“You’re scaring me sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

“I have a son, mom.”

Lucas closed his eyes as he tried to breathe evenly. Saying that he had a son always knocked the breath out of him. It was such a shock that he had made someone. It just blew his mind, and broke his heart at the same time because Aiden had to live without him for so long.

“I’m sorry sweetheart, I must have heard you wrong. Did you say you got some sun?” Molly asked. He could tell her breathing had picked up and that she was getting out of her bed.

“No, Mom, I have a son. As in a little kid that looks like me.”

Molly took in a deep breath. “You are messing with me, right?”

“No, I just found out.”

“What! With who!? Are you sure he is yours?”

Lucas nodded even though Molly couldn’t see him. “Yeah, he looks just like me — one look was all I needed to know he was mine.”

“Oh my God,” Molly gasped as Lucas stood up and started pacing his bedroom. “I’ll be on a plane tomorrow.”

Lucas smiled. “No Mom, not yet. Let me get to know him before you come.”

She was quiet for a moment before saying, “How old is he?”

“Six.”

“Six! Oh my god. I’m coming down there.”

“Mom, no. Give me some time with him.”

“Oh, I’m not coming for you or to meet the boy, I’m coming to beat the living crap out of the woman that had him and didn’t think to tell anyone! Who is it?”

Lucas was actually scared to tell her. She was going to be furious when he said Fallon’s name but he had no choice. He couldn’t lie to her. Lucas let out the breath he was holding and said, “Fallon.”

It was as if Molly took in the breath he let out, before saying, “No, I don’t believe it. Fallon would never keep a child from someone.”

“I wouldn’t think so either, but I saw him. He’s mine.”

“Oh, my goodness, what did you do to that poor girl?”

Fucked her up good, Lucas thought as buried his face in his large hand. “Messed her up to the point of keeping my child from me.”

“My God, this is nuts!”

“No kidding,” Lucas scoffed as he started to rub his eyes with his fingers.

“What did she name him?” Molly asked after a moment of Lucas listening to her heavy breathing.

“Aiden James Brooks,” Lucas said proudly. “He said it just like that to me.” Lucas started to grin, ignoring the cry that came through the phone when he said James. He knew that would make Molly cry, more than just knowing about Aiden.

“Even with wanting to slap the girl silly, I still could kiss her. She has a good heart, she just didn’t know what to do, I guess.”

“I guess,” Lucas agreed as he waited for Molly to go on.

“So what are you going to do?”

“We have paperwork in motion. I got to get that from Fallon tomorrow, but meanwhile, I will be getting to know my little guy.”

“When can I come see him?”

“His birthday is in two weeks, I’ll fly you out for that. I’ll have Levi send you pictures tomorrow.”

“Good, okay. Goodness, this is so much at once,” Molly said with a huff.

Lucas smiled. “I know. I still don’t believe it myself.”

“How’s Fallon?”

Figures she would care about Fallon. Molly loved Fallon like the daughter she never had. That was one of the main reason he loved Fallon so much. His mother did.

“She’s being her regular bitchy self. It’s all just a defense mechanism though, she’ll be okay. She knows I won’t do anything to hurt Aiden.”

Lucas looked up at where a picture of him and his dad hung. As his mother went on about how it must be hard on Fallon, all he could do was wonder if his dad was disappointed in him, because Lucas suddenly felt like he had failed at everything in his life.

Not keeping his father alive, his addictions, not being able to read, and then losing Fallon. The only thing he was actually good at was hockey.

Lucas then decided that there was no way in hell he was going to fail at being a father. Just thinking of Aiden made Lucas smile and he knew in his heart that he was going to be the best damn dad in the world.

No matter what Fallon wanted.

**********************************

Fallon still wasn’t breathing right as she climbed the steps to the upstairs. With the way she was acting, the feathery light touch of Lucas’ lips on her nose might as well been a full on mouth kiss, with tongue. Her heart still hammered against her chest, sweat dripped down her back, and Fallon swore she was dizzy.

The man straight blew her mind.

Which was bad, very bad.

Fallon shook her head as she walked down the hall to the bathroom, but before she could reach it she heard Aiden say, “Lucas is cool.”

Audrey laughed as Fallon leaned against the wall, waiting for the conversation to go on. “He is nice.”

“I think he is awesome. He has the same name as me! That’s cool, ‘cause I’m cool.”

Fallon smiled as Audrey giggled. “I know that’s right.”

Fallon heard the splash of water before Aiden said, “Do you think him and Momma will get married?”

Audrey cleared her throat and Fallon heard the shower start. “Aiden, they aren’t dating honey. He’s just a friend.”

“Maybe they could get married. Will you ask Momma to? Lucas is so cool.”

“Aiden James, you don’t even know him! He could be a hippogriff!”

That made Aiden giggle and Fallon tried to smile past the tears, but she didn’t succeed. Aiden wanted a father so bad, and it killed Fallon that she had done this to both of them. She was basically the worst person imaginable.

“No, he’s too cool for that. I feel good around him. Like some people, I feel weird around, like the janitor at school! He’s creepy!” Aiden gushed as Fallon wiped away her tears before smiling. She needed to look into this creepy janitor. Something wasn’t right if her little boy didn’t feel right around him. “But Lucas, I think he’s good. He’s big too! I bet you he could kill a billion hippogriffs!”

“I don’t know bud. I think they are just friends,” Audrey insisted.

“Can you ask please? Momma listens to you.”

Fallon couldn’t take any more. She turned quickly, going back down the stairs as a sob ripped through her. Aiden was gonna hate her. How was she supposed to explain the reasoning for why she kept father and son from each other?

Aiden, your father cheated on me, and well I was too scared to tell him. Sorry honey, but hey! He says he ain’t going anywhere now!

No, that wouldn’t work. What the hell was she gonna say?

Fallon fell into the closest chair beside her in a huff, hating the position she had put herself in. If she had just been braver then, not scared of what Lucas would say or do, then she wouldn’t be having these issues. She wouldn’t be scared shitless that her child’s father might steal her child from her or that her son might hate her when she told him.

Fallon glanced down at the stack of paperwork Lucas had brought over. She knew that once she filled those papers out everything would be real. Lucas would have rights, and he would use them. Even though she told him that she didn’t believe him, she knew in her heart that he was telling the truth. She knew that Lucas was fiercely protective like his mother; he would do anything for someone he loved. When he said that he already loved Aiden, she believed him. Just like Lucas, Aiden had the most addicting personality. He was so sweet, and silly, he was the most popular kid in class because everyone just loved him. He was personable, just like his daddy. The only thing that was bothering Fallon was the ‘what if’? What if he found someone that he wanted to have a family with and left Aiden behind. She believed that he wanted Aiden now, but what about in the future?

Fallon got up from the table, getting a pen out of her junk drawer before sitting down. She opened the first page and read over how the forms were for establishing paternity. She had filled out the first couple of pages before Audrey came into the kitchen.

“Well since y’all are both alive, I’m guessing it didn’t go that bad.”

Fallon shrugged her shoulders. “He was very understanding, which makes me think he’s up to something. The guy I knew would have lost his damn mind and probably try to tear me apart.”

Audrey smiled while getting an apple out the fruit bowl. “Maybe he’s not that guy anymore.”

“So he says. We’ll see.”

“I think he is a good guy Fallon. You know, I know men.”

Fallon laughed, “Now I know that’s not true. If it was, you wouldn’t be giving Levi Moss googly eyes. That guy is dirty, stay away.”

Audrey giggled as her cheeks brightened. “Hey, if I wanna get laid, what’s the problem?”

“No problem at all, just know that Levi is a dog. Don’t start anything with him.”

Audrey nodded, a small smile on her face. “I won’t.”

Fallon looked back at the papers and saw that she needed her tax information. She got up, going to the filing cabinet in the back room before going back to the table to finish the paperwork.

“What’s all that?”

“Establishing paternity paperwork,” Fallon said sadly. “Lucas’ lawyer drew them up, I guess.”

“Okay, what do they mean?”

“Basically a bunch of paperwork giving Lucas rights to Aiden. Then we gotta do some blood work, and then I guess I’ll get child support, even though I don’t want it.”

“Don’t be proud Fallon, it isn’t cute,” Audrey said with a grin. Fallon stuck her tongue out at her as she went on. “Is there back child support?”

Fallon made a face. “Lord, I don’t know. I guess I need to get my lawyer involved which sucks ‘cause it’s Uncle Phillip. Oh, Audrey, how am I gonna tell Mom and Dad?”

“I don’t know, that’s gonna suck butt. Eeek!!” Audrey exclaimed. “It don’t matter what they say though. The main thing you need to worry about is Aiden.”

“I know, how am I gonna tell him?” Fallon asked as tears welled up in her eyes.

“I don’t know. This is all so surreal,” Audrey said, not looking up at Fallon. “Aiden already likes him. He wants you to marry him.”

Fallon smiled sadly. “I know. I heard him.”

“It's crazy ‘cause, it’s kinda like he knows that Lucas means something.”

“I know. Damn kid is so intuitive.”

“He sure is. When are y’all gonna tell him?”

“At the end of the week,” Fallon answered. “I’m scared though.”

“Why?”

“Because what if he hates me?” Fallon asked sadly.

“Fallon Ryane Parker! That boy loves you something fierce! Don’t you ever think he would not love you!”

Fallon looked down, embarrassed. “Fine, what if we tell him and then Lucas runs in a month. I can’t pick up my baby’s broken heart, ‘cause we both know he’ll fall for Lucas. It scares me so bad.”

“You gotta have faith in this guy. If he didn’t want to be a father then he would’ve ran at the beginning, not come around with paperwork or want to spend time with Aiden.”

“Yeah, but he did it to me.”

“Fallon,” she said, and when Fallon wouldn’t look up, she said, “Sissy, you gotta let that go. Y’all were just dating — this is his son.”

“I thought he loved me.”

“People make mistakes. I’m not saying forgive him, but at least let him know his kid. It’s gonna be okay Fallon, really and if he does decide to be an idiot, we’ll kill him.”

Fallon looked up and they both started giggling, knowing that neither one of them was capable of killing anyone. “It’s gonna be okay.”

Fallon nodded before she said, “I hope you’re right.”

Chapter 13

When did Fallon start caring about making perfectly circular pancakes?

“Mommy! When’s Lucas gonna be here?”

Oh yeah, she started caring when Lucas Brooks was coming for breakfast.

“Honey, I don’t know. It’s not even seven yet,” Fallon said, glancing at the clock. She had three minutes until he would be there and she was dreading it. She had stayed up all night, tossing and turning with worry about seeing Lucas again. He drove her crazy with his sly smiles, his cocky swagger and now that he was going to get to start knowing Aiden, she was scared out of her mind that Aiden was gonna love Lucas more than her.

Aiden let out a frustrated breath before running towards the window, where he promptly sat. Fallon rolled her eyes, plating the little Mickey Mouse and heart pancakes she had made. Aiden was very particular on the shape of his pancakes, and never could pick between Mickey Mouse and hearts. So Fallon always made both — it was their Saturday thing.

When Fallon’s windows started to shake, she knew Lucas was there before Aiden started yelling that he was. That was one thing that must have not changed; Lucas loved his music loud and his bass down low. Fallon smiled to herself as she started to sing the lyrics to the popular club song while Aiden threw the door open, running out on the porch to greet to Lucas. When Aiden let out a loud, ‘Hey Lucas,’ Fallon turned to see Lucas walking up the stairs with a grin on his face and eyes only for Aiden.

Lucas looked devilishly sexy in his fitted blue jeans and black team tee. His hair was wet under his black ball cap, and Lord help Fallon, he hadn’t shaved. Fallon’s eyes slowly shut as she could distinctly remember the feel of his stubble on her. She used to crave the rough sandpaper feel along her neck and breasts. When he went between her thighs though, it was magic — pure freaking magic.

“Um, are we interrupting something?”

Fallon’s eyes flew open at the sound of Lucas’ voice. Her face flushed at being caught in a private moment before Aiden started to giggle.

“She’s always a zombie this early in the morning,” Aiden said as he sat down at the kitchen table. Lucas scoffed and when he eyes met his, she knew that he was on to her. She looked away quickly before pinning Aiden with a look.

“I am not,” Fallon complained as she moved to the stove where the pancakes sat warming as her son’s giggles filled the room.

“Morning, Fallon,” Lucas said.

“Morning, Lucas,” she said since he said morning to her. If he was nice to her, she would be nice to him.

She could at least do that.

When she looked up at him, Lucas gave her a small smirk before he looked down her sweat clad body. Fallon knew he was coming over, she should have worn something tighter, sexier – whoa! Why would she do that? It doesn’t matter what he thinks!

Fallon snatched the plate off the stove, hating herself for caring about what Lucas thought about her before going to the table to serve them. “Mickey or hearts?” Fallon asked Aiden.

“Um? I don’t know, which one do you want Lucas?” Aiden asked, glancing over at Lucas. Fallon did the same and Lucas wore a small smile on his face.

“I want your hearts.”

He said it so simply but with such meaning that Fallon’s breath hitched as her heart skipped a beat. Lucas shot her a knowing grin and she glared as she stabbed four of the hearts and placed them on his plate.

Aiden then said loudly, “Me too, Mommy!”

“You can have all my hearts,” Fallon said just for a stab at Lucas.

Aiden grinned up at her and when she glanced back at Lucas, he was wearing the same exact grin. The only difference was that Aiden was completely innocent while Lucas had nothing but heat in his eyes. Fallon finished serving them before getting her own plate and going to sit down. Aiden had already dug into his food, while Lucas watched Fallon’s every move. It felt so weird having him watch her like he used to. It used to make her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world — now it just made her nervous.

She stumbled twice before finally making it to the table. She placed her plate down before grabbing the syrup from the middle of the table. When she looked up at Lucas, he was grinning as he cut up his pancakes.

What the hell was he grinning about?

Nothing was said as the two ate. Aiden never really talked when he ate, he was too busy shoveling food into his mouth to even get a word out edgewise. The boy was an eater and when Fallon looked next to Aiden, where Lucas sat, she saw that the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Lucas too was shoveling pancakes into his mouth. Syrup dripped from the sexy stubble that covered his chin and her mouth watered at the sight. Fallon no longer wanted the syrup that covered her pancakes. More like the syrup from his chin, and lips, or hell, just dump it on him!

Ugh, she had to get out of there. Something was seriously wrong with her and she needed to seek help or get laid. It had been a while, maybe that’s why she was lusting after Lucas.

Or maybe it was just him.

Fallon shook her head in disgust and got up from the table without even touching her pancakes. She took her plate to the sink and when she turned, both Lucas and Aiden were looking at her.

“Mommy, you didn’t eat.”

“I’m not hungry honey, go ahead and finish up. I’m gonna go get ready for work,” Fallon said as she started out the kitchen. She heard him say okay before she hightailed it up the stairs. If she couldn’t even sit at a table with Lucas while eating breakfast, how the hell was she going to handle the next 11 years?

********************************

Lucas watched as Fallon hurried out the room and rolled his eyes.

What the hell was her problem?

He looked over at Aiden and thought the boy was thinking the exact same thing by the way he watched Fallon run up the stairs. Fallon was being weird, had been since he had gotten there. When he walked in and saw her face flushed and her mouth parted, he knew she was thinking something naughty. He would have done anything to be inside her mind, just to know what gave her that look. It was the look she used to give him when she was ready to skip breakfast and go straight back to bed.

Lucas really liked that look.

Aiden looked up at Lucas and shrugged his shoulders. “She’s weird sometimes.”

“She’s probably just tired,” Lucas said, since he didn’t know what else to say.

“Yeah, so what are we doing today?”

“Anything you want,” Lucas answered. “My whole day is yours.”

“Cool,” he said as a slow grin went across his face.

Lucas smiled back, and went back to eating because these were the best damn pancakes ever. Fallon was a kick-ass cook. Lucas could eat for days when she cooked, and before had begged her to go to culinary school. But Fallon was dead set on owning the wine business, and who was he to tell her otherwise?

Aiden finished up at almost the same time Lucas did. While Aiden ran into the living room, Lucas took their plates to the sink, cleaning them off before joining Aiden on the couch. Color flashed from the screen as a kid changed into all kinds of crazy-looking monsters.

“What show is this?” Lucas asked settling into the couch.

“Ben 10, it’s super awesome! My favorite!” Aiden said with a lot of enthusiasm. Lucas looked back at the TV with a smile on his face. Aiden was so full of life, and the more Lucas watched him, the more Lucas found that what Fallon said was true.

Aiden was him 10 times over.

As they watched the show, Lucas thought it was pretty entertaining, or maybe it was Aiden, because the kid couldn’t sit still to save his life. He would jump up, start kicking and fighting like the Ben kid on the TV. After fighting whatever creature that was on the TV, Aiden always looked back at Lucas with a grin. Lucas would smile back, which made Aiden’s smile brighter. It was heaven, and Lucas could honestly not think of any other place he’d rather be then with his son.

**********************************

Fallon looked herself over in her floor-to-ceiling mirror. The jeans she wore made her ass look great, and the low-cut yellow blouse made her skin look perfect. Her hair was in a perfect high ponytail, and her makeup was fierce. It was pretty obvious why she was worried about what she wore to work that day — it had everything to do with the man that sat on her couch watching cartoons. Before Fallon had no problem with wearing sweats to work on Saturdays since no one was there, but not today, not with her ex sitting on her couch downstairs. Nope, she had to look good.

Because she was crazy.

Why did it matter? Who cared what he thought?

She did, which was sad all in itself.

Fallon rolled her eyes and slid her feet into her yellow flannel Kate Spade flats. She went to her closet, grabbing a bag that matched her shoes before transferring everything over. Once she was ready, she slowly walked out her room, passing by the bathroom where the shower was running. Audrey was up late this morning, which was surprising. Audrey was always up early.

Fallon shrugged her shoulders as she went down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, she looked up to see that Aiden’s last show was about to end. Her heart started to pick up when she thought about Lucas leaving with Aiden. Where would they go? What would they do? Would Aiden miss her?

When Lucas stood up suddenly, Fallon’s eyes went wide. He moved his arms up, stretching, and Fallon could see every muscle in his back move underneath the shirt he wore. Her mouth watered at the sight, and her fingers itched to touch each of the muscles of his back. Fallon had to force herself to look away just as Aiden turned to see her.

“Lucas’ whole day is mine, Momma! Isn’t that cool!” Aiden exclaimed.

Fallon smiled as she nodded. “Sure is honey, so what are y’all gonna do?”

Lucas turned, shrugging his shoulders. “Not sure, what are we going to do bud?”

Aiden thought for a minute. “Can we go to the zoo?”

Lucas nodded with a grin on his face. “That sounds great.”

“It does. Aiden loves the zoo,” Fallon said as she came around the couch, wrapping an arm around her perfect little boy. “Don’t you, honey?”

“It’s pretty much my favorite place, other than the Adventure Science Museum.”

“We’ll go there Monday since I’ve never been. I haven’t been to the zoo either, so I hope you’re a good guide.”

Aiden nodded his head quickly. “I am, ain’t I Momma?”

Aiden looked up at her with his smoky gray eyes glowing with excitement. “The best,” she basically croaked out as her eyes filled with tears. Oh God, this was hard.

“Okay, well you ready buddy?” Lucas asked as he clapped his hands together.

“Yup! I gotta get my shoes,” Aiden said, running around them to go to the stairs.

“Grab your coat too, Aiden James. It might get chilly,” Fallon added before he ran out of sight. She looked over at Lucas and he gave her a reassuring smile.

“He’ll be okay with me.”

“I know,” Fallon said quietly. “I’m just nervous.”

When he took her free hand in his, she quickly looked up at him. “Don’t be.”

She blinked twice before looking down at their hands. The palm of her hand burned against his but it felt at home. She cleared her throat before pulling her hand away and tucking it into her back pocket.

“Um, you can’t listen to what you were listening to when you pulled up,” she blurted out. Lucas started to laugh.

“What?” he asked with an amused grin on his face.

“The music, when you pulled up. I know that you weren’t listening to Justin Bieber. Basically don’t listen to rap around Aiden.”

Lucas’ eyebrows pulled together. “Why? He doesn’t understand that stuff.”

“I don’t care. I don’t want my kid listen to men rap about fucking bitches and slapping hoes. If you can’t do that, then he ain’t leaving with you.”

“Oh come on, it’s not that bad, and you used to like that music,” he challenged, and by God, Fallon would never tell him she still did. She loved her rap music as much as he did, but Aiden didn’t know anything about it, neither did Audrey.

“I don’t anymore,” she lied as she looked away. “Listen to the radio.”

“I hate the radio.”

“Fine, Aiden can bring a CD for y’all,” she said. Fallon turned to look up the stairs, waiting for Aiden to appear. When he did, Fallon said, “Aiden, bring a CD. Lucas doesn’t have anything good in his car.”

“Okay, Mommy!”

“Yes I do! I have the best rappers ever in my car,” Lucas said through his teeth.

Fallon knew she was hitting a cord with Lucas. She knew not to mess with his music. He was very adamant about what he listened to and what he liked. Fallon wanted to laugh out loud at the face he was making but figured she didn’t want to fight with him this morning. Well, at least not more than they already had.

They both looked up the stairs as Aiden came running down with a CD and coat in his hands.

“I’m ready, Lucas!” he gushed as he jumped off the last step, stumbling into Lucas’ legs.

“Whoa buddy, be careful,” Lucas said nervously with his arms bracing Aiden’s shoulders.

“Sorry,” Aiden said before looking over at Fallon.

“No don’t be. I just don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

Aiden looked up at Lucas as the brightest grin came across his face. It made breathing unfeasible, her baby was so beautiful.

“What CD did you bring?” Lucas asked. Aiden held the CD up as high as he could for Lucas.

“Big Time Rush! They are the best.”

Fallon choked on her laughter as Lucas’ eyes went wide. “There are still boy bands?”

She had to look away or she was really going to laugh in his face. Fallon didn’t answer as she turned, going towards the door for her light jacket.

“Yeah and they are the best!” Aiden gushed as Fallon put her jacket on.

“I don’t know if I agree with you on this kid,” Lucas said, still holding the CD up as he looked at the back. Aiden stood there grinning as Fallon came over, wrapping her arms around him.

“I gotta go honey, have a good day. If you need me, call me okay. Lucas has my number.”

“I will Mommy, bye,” Aiden said before placing a sweet kiss on Fallon’s lips. She took Aiden’s hand in hers and they headed out the door, with Lucas behind them, still looking at the back of the CD. Lucas was parked behind her, so she opened the back door for Aiden, seeing that Lucas had gone shopping for a car seat for Aiden.

“Is this even music?” Lucas asked. Fallon watched Aiden climbed into his seat, buckling his seat belt.

“Bye honey,” Fallon said before shutting the door. She turned to looked at Lucas, “Sure, it’s great.”

Fallon knew she was wrong for lying but hey, just the thought of Lucas driving around a huge black Escalade, rocking out to Big Time Rush would have her grinning the whole day.

“I’m pretty sure you’re lying to me,” Lucas said with a grin on his face. He looked down at her. “But if you give me a sweet little kiss, I’ll forgive you,” he said with a wink.

Fallon laughed as she turned away from him, heading for her car. “Good thing I’m not looking for forgiveness.”

She gave him another smile before waving at Aiden and getting into her car. She took in a deep breath as she watched Lucas shake his head and get into his car through her rearview mirror. He opened the CD, and placed it into the CD player with a look of disdain on his face. When Aiden’s head started moving to music, Fallon couldn’t help the wide smirk that came across her face, or the giggle that escaped when she saw Lucas roll his eyes.

**********************************

Lucas wanted to bash his head in.

“Your boy boy b-b-b-b-b-boyfriend. Your boy boy b-b-b-b-b-boyfriend,” Aiden sang.

While his son sung about being some girl’s boyfriend, all Lucas could do was bite his tongue. Who in the world made these guys famous? This wasn’t even music, more like torture in the form of sound. Lucas looked in his rearview mirror to see Aiden breaking it down as he sung the chorus, his hand moving with every note he hit. The kid could sing, but Lucas wished it was something better than this crap.

When he saw the sign for the Zoo, he almost yelled out in happiness. He reached for the volume button, turning it all the way down.

“Hey, it was getting to the good part,” Aiden complained.

There was a good part?

“Sorry bud, we don’t want to scare the animals do we?” Lucas asked as he rolled down his window to get his parking ticket.

“Yeah, you’re right. Your car is really loud. I like it!” Aiden gushed from the backseat as Lucas grabbed his ticket.

“Thank you,” Lucas said to the guy before driving off. “Cool, I’m glad you like riding with me.”

“Mommy would, too. She likes her music loud, even though she won’t do it when I’m in the car, but I always here when she comes home. AA always says that Mommy is gonna blow her eardrums out!” he said with a giggle. It made Lucas smile.

There wasn’t a time in the car when his and Fallon’s music wasn’t ear-splitting loud. They both liked it like that, the feel on the bass shaking the car or the way it tickled their chest. Even though he still rode with his music loud, it was the best when he had Fallon’s hand in his.

Boy, how he missed those times.

Lucas parked the truck and got out, letting Aiden out too. They walked beside each other and when Aiden’s hand slid into Lucas’, he couldn’t breathe. He looked down at Aiden, and he was looking ahead of them, a smile on his face. A wide smile went across Lucas’ face as they crossed the road and went to the ticket booth. While Lucas paid, Aiden grabbed them both maps and was basically bouncing with excitement beside Lucas.

“Where to first, bud?” Lucas asked as he put his card back into his wallet before sliding it in his back pocket.

“Um, monkeys!”

Lucas laughed as Aiden practically pulled him through the walkways towards the monkeys. He had to admit, the monkeys had always been his favorite too.

“Mommy doesn’t like the monkeys, her favorite is the elephants. She usually sits on the bench while I watch,” Aiden said after 10 minutes of watching the monkeys be monkeys.

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. “I love the monkeys and the elephants.”

Aiden face broke into a grin. “Awesome.”

They watched some more before Aiden directed them to the elephants. The Nashville Zoo was beautiful, each exhibit was done perfectly and Lucas loved that he was sharing his first time there with his little guy. As they walked in silence, taking in the beautiful scenery, Aiden looked up at Lucas.

“Do you work?”

Lucas nodded. “I do. I am a professional hockey player for the Nashville Assassins.”

“Really!” Aiden gushed, bouncing up and down. “AA loves that team, and the Predators. She just loves hockey altogether. Mommy hates it though.”

Lucas scoffed. “I doubt that. I remember when that was the only sport your mom liked.”

Aiden looked confused as he said, “She says she don’t like it.”

“Maybe she doesn’t. I really don’t know your mom now.”

“You used to know my mom?” Aiden asked with his eyebrows drawn in together.

“Yup, we used to be… friends,” Lucas lied, and hated it, but he didn’t know what to say. Fallon and he should probably discuss that.

“Oh, that’s cool.”

“Yeah.”

“So do you leave a lot? Mr. Shea does, and Mr. Jakob.”

“I do. I play with them, but right now I’m on break,” Lucas said as they passed some really fat-looking pig. He wanted to stop and look at it but it seemed that Aiden was on a mission to get to these elephants.

“Why?” Aiden asked.

“Um well, I just moved here and I needed some time to get used to things,” Lucas said. It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the truth. Truth was, he had had a break down in front of his team and Elli told him to take a week.

“That’s cool. Do you like living here?”

“I do, do you?”

“Yeah, my mommy and AA are cool. So are my Grandpa and Grammie. I like my school and its way better than Shelbyville, that’s where the vineyard is.”

Lucas nodded. “Cool, I’ve never been there.”

“It’s really boring. Just a whole bunch of grapes and stuff. No kids for me to play with, but sometimes Grandpa will play with me, which is cool.”

“Yeah,” Lucas agreed. They both leaned against the gate, looking out the field at the four large elephants that roamed the grounds. “Wow, those are some big elephants.”

“Yeah, Mommy’s favorite is Rosy. She is that one,” Aiden said, pointing to the fattest elephant of the bunch. “They did a party here once and Mommy got to feed her.”

“That’s awesome.”

They watched the elephants some more before leaving for another part of the zoo. Lucas learned that Aiden liked to talk a lot. The kid jumped from subject to subject faster than Lucas could pass the puck. They had covered the best superhero, which they both agreed was Spiderman. Best food? Waffles, hands down. Favorite drinks? Aiden was a strawberry milkshake kid, while Lucas preferred chocolate. Lucas hadn’t talked so much in life and was surprised that he loved every minute of it.

“Do you have a mommy?” Aiden asked as they watched the zebras.

Lucas smiled. “I do. Her name is Molly.”

“That’s a pretty name. My mommy’s name is weird. No other mommies have her name.”

“I think her name is pretty. Plus, like you said, no other mommies have her name, so she is one in a million according to you,” Lucas defended. He loved Fallon’s name, always had.

Aiden thought for a minute before a grin came across his sweet flushed face. “You’re right!”

Lucas laughed before they started for the exhibit. As they walked, Aiden asked, “Do you have a daddy?”

Lucas looked down at Aiden, but Aiden wasn’t looking up at him like he usually did. Lucas looked up at the sky, a small smile on his face. “I did, but he died a long time ago.”

“Oh,” Aiden said as he leaned against the rail, looking in at a red panda. “Do you miss him?”

“I do,” Lucas said with a nod, “He was the best.”

“What was his name?”

Lucas swallowed loudly. “James.”

“Like my name and yours.”

“Yup.”

Aiden nodded, and Lucas wondered if he knew that Lucas was his dad. Aiden looked away before quietly saying, “I don’t know my dad.”

Lucas couldn’t breathe as his heart hammered against his chest. Sweat gathered between his shoulder blades while he didn’t know what to say. So he just stood there, watching the panda climb a tree.

“My mommy says that he lives in another state. That’s why I can’t see him,” Aiden went on, but Lucas still could breathe or even forms words.

Neither one of them said anything as they left the exhibit and headed to the next one. His heart told him to tell Aiden that he was his daddy, but his brain knew to wait for Fallon. Not only because he didn’t know how to tell the innocent little boy, but because if he wanted even a glimmer of chance with Fallon, he needed to play by her rules — even if he didn’t agree with them.

He looked down to see that Aiden was looking up at him with sadness in his eyes. Sadness that didn’t belong there, and if Lucas said those four little words, they could maybe make Aiden happy. But what if it scared him, or hurt him? Lucas didn’t know, so he had to wait it out, and give Aiden a chance to see that he could be a great dad. Just like his dad was.

“Do you want to know your dad?” Lucas found himself asking a little while later when they were walking towards the flamingos.

Aiden’s head bounced up and down. “Yeah I do, but I won’t be able to till I’m older.”

“Why when you’re older?” Lucas asked. Aiden shrugged his shoulders.

“’Cause then I can do what I want. I can get on a plane and fly to the state he’s in or I can drive there. Right now Mommy and AA do everything for me. I gotta wait till I can do it myself.”

Lucas smiled. “You got it all planned out, huh?”

Aiden grinned up at him. “Yeah, I’m pretty smart.”

Lucas laughed. “You sure are. Come on, I saw an Icee hut that is calling our names.”

“You saw it too? Awesome,” Aiden gushed as they headed for the Icee hut. Lucas loved that Aiden planned things, and he hated to be the one to break up his plans, but he was pretty sure Aiden wouldn’t mind in the long run. Aiden was going to know his dad, and hopefully love him.

Chapter 14

“So do you think my mommy is pretty?”

Lucas looked up from the four hotdogs that sat in front of him. Aiden had mustard all over his face, a hotdog in each hand and a big grin on his face. Lucas smiled back, loving that the kid ate like he did, but a little confused by the question.

“Yeah, I do. Why?”

“Just wondering. A lot of dads think my mommy is pretty. Like my coach, he’s in love with my mom. AA always teases her.”

Lucas raised his eyebrow. “What coach?”

“My baseball coach.”

Lucas’ face scrunched up. “You play baseball?”

Lucas hated baseball, loathed it. Stupidest sport imaginable!

“Yeah,” Aiden groaned. “Mom makes me. I hate it.”

Aiden really was his kid.

“Me too, that’s why I play hockey,” Lucas said, hoping that Aiden would ask to play. That would make his day even better.

“Yeah, it’s dumb, but Mommy likes it, so does Grandpa. I have a game tomorrow, but I don’t want to go ‘cause the whole time Coach smiles at my mom. It’s gross.”

Lucas laughed, hiding the jealousy that ate at him. “Does your mom smile back?”

“Sometimes. They are weird.”

Lucas nodded before taking a bite of his hotdog. When he looked over at Aiden, he was looking up at him with his eyes wide. “Do you wanna come to my game tomorrow?”

Lucas smiled as he nodded again. “I would love too.”

“Cool!” Aiden said before he started stuffing his face. They ate in silence, with the random sounds of animals and families around him. Lucas was having the best day of his life; he just hoped Aiden was having a great day too. He seemed to be — he was always smiling — but maybe he was just a happy kid. Lucas hoped that he would tell Fallon that he had a great day, hopefully that would help things between them.

The whole day he thought of her in those extremely tight jeans. Her ass was delectable in them, and he was convinced that if he didn’t have to listen to that horrid music the whole way to the zoo, he would probably still be hard. Fallon was just that hot, and man how he wanted a taste of her again.

Aiden had polished off his fourth hot dog before looking up at Lucas. “Do you have a wife or kids?”

Lucas shook his head. “No. No wife, bud.”

He couldn’t answer the other question and was glad when Aiden asked, “Why not?”

“Just haven’t found the one yet.”

“Oh, well my mom doesn’t have a husband or boyfriend either.”

Lucas looked up and grinned. “I know.”

“Just letting you know,” Aiden said. When he gave Lucas an exaggerated wink, Lucas couldn’t help but laugh.

The kid was trying to fix them up.

Was it sad that he was actually excited about it?

Lucas shook his head before he looked over at Aiden. “Alright AJ, enough about that, let’s go.”

“AJ?” Aiden asked with a confused look on his face.

“Yeah, Aiden James, it’ll be your nickname from me.”

Aiden face lit up as he jumped up from the chair. “I’ve always wanted a nickname! Cool! AJ, I’m AJ now!”

Lucas laughed freely and from the heart, because his kid was freaking awesome.

************************************************

Aiden was an awesome kid, but — and there was only one but — he had the most horrible taste in music. Lucas didn’t think it could get any worse, but with every track it did. Lucas was determined to expose the kid to something better, no matter what Fallon said. Aiden was Lucas’ kid too, damn it, and he deserved the right to help Aiden in selecting good music.

After suffering through another half hour of that awful boy band, Lucas finally pulled up at Rocky Top Wines. Lucas got out, and then let Aiden out before they both walked, well Aiden skipped, into the building. No one was there as they made their way up the stairs to the elevators. Aiden obviously knew the place like the back of his hand and he led the way to Fallon’s office. When he threw the door open, Fallon looked up surprised before a wide grin came across her face.

“Hey honey!” she gushed as she stood up, wrapping her arms around him when he came to her. As she kissed his temple, her eyes met Lucas’ and it felt like someone had knocked him in the gut. Her beauty still did that to him. With Fallon looking up at him through her long eyelashes, her honey caramel colored eyes fixed on his, Lucas found that he was having a hard time catching his breath.

“Hey Mommy!” Aiden exclaimed as he broke apart from her. Fallon smiled down at him, cupping his cheek in her hand.

Lucas’ heart melted. Lucas loved watching Fallon when she was around Aiden. Even with her trying to hide the fact that Lucas made her nervous, he could tell that she would lay down her life for their son, and that alone made him love her more every time he saw her.

“Did y’all have fun?” she asked and Aiden nodded his head quickly.

“The best day ever!” he exclaimed as he threw a fist in the air. Lucas saw Fallon cringe but only for a second before she masked it with a bright fake smile. He hated that smile, especially when she pinned him with it.

“Did you like the CD?”

He chuckled. “I think my ears are still bleeding.”

She smiled before looking down at Aiden. “Well Aiden, say…”

“My name isn’t Aiden no more,” Aiden said so matter-of-factly.

Oh shit.

“Excuse me?” Fallon asked. She glanced over at Lucas before looking back down at Aiden.

“I’m AJ! Lucas gave me that nickname, isn’t it awesome Mommy?”

When Fallon looked up at Lucas as if he had just disfigured their kid, he knew he was in deep shit and that Aiden’s new nickname wasn’t as awesome as they both thought it was.

***********************************

AJ!?

AJ!

How can someone go and change such a beautiful name into something so horrid!

AJ?!

Ah!

Fallon felt like she was gonna kill someone, and she had her sights set on Lucas Brooks.

“Not so much, Aiden James,” she said through her teeth, “Lucas can call you AJ but I’ll call you Aiden,” she added, trying to keep her cool, but damn it, it was hard!

“No Mommy, I want everyone to call me AJ. AA has a nickname and now I do too. I like it.”

Oh Lord, help me to not kill my baby’s father, Fallon thought as she moved a stray piece of hair out of Aiden’s eye.

“I don’t like it much honey, Aiden is such a nice name. Mommy took a long time picking it out,” she tried to reason, but Aiden wasn’t having it.

“I’m too old to be an Aiden. I’m an AJ, right Lucas?”

They both turned to see Lucas inching his way to the door.

Coward.

Fallon gave him the dirtiest look imaginable and loved that he squirmed under her gaze.

“Well buddy, I mean, how about, well,” Lucas said, trying to get something out, but he wasn’t succeeding very well. “I got it bud, how about only I call you AJ,” Lucas then looked up at Fallon before saying, “It will be our thing.”

Oh well played, Lucas Brooks, well played, she thought, since she knew he said that to get to her. They always used to say that to each other. Everything was their thing; that was probably why she wasn’t over his ass.

“Okay,” Aiden said reluctantly before flopping down in one of her big chairs.

“Aiden James, you need to tell Lucas thank you for today and tell him bye,” Fallon said, not liking the way her son was acting. He could be so moody sometimes.

A grin formed on his beautiful little face as he ran to Lucas, wrapping his arms around his middle. Fallon watched as Lucas’ eyes drifted shut some, as he rubbed his hand up and down Aiden’s back. “I had a great day,” Aiden said when he looked up at Lucas.

Lucas took a deep breath in and smiled widely at her son. “Me too, buddy, the best.”

Fallon was sure that Aiden’s grin couldn’t get any bigger as he looked up at Lucas. It made it hard for her to catch her breath as she watched them together. Guilt washed over her, and she felt like she needed to apologize again, even though she knew she wouldn’t.

She was too proud.

“You’ll still come tomorrow, right?” Aiden asked.

“I’ll be there, what time?”

They both looked over at Fallon as she stood there blinking. What the hell was going on?

“Mom, what time is my game tomorrow?”

Oh no, oh no, oh no, Lucas could not go tomorrow.

“Why?” Fallon asked to buy herself time to figure out an excuse on why Lucas couldn’t come.

Maybe they could just skip the whole game?

“Lucas wants to come,” Aiden answered. Fallon looked over and saw that Lucas was eyeing her.

Shit!

“Um, well it’s at one.”

“So you’ll be there?” Aiden asked again, and Lucas nodded.

“Yup bud, I’ll see you then.”

“Aiden honey, play on my computer. I’m gonna walk Lucas out,” Fallon said, moving out from her behind her desk. She stopped, grabbing the packet of paperwork for Lucas before turning towards him. “Here,” she said as she basically threw the papers at him. She almost put her shoes on but decided against it since she needed to get Lucas out of there and say what she needed to say.

“Okay,” Aiden said as Fallon shut the door.

“You can’t come tomorrow,” she said as she leaned against it.

An arrogant look came over Lucas face as he leaned his head to the side. “And why is that?”

“Because my parents are coming tomorrow, and I haven’t told them about you.”

Lucas rolled his eyes. “What else is new? They never knew about me before either.”

“Ok smartass, duly noted. Can you not come, please?”

“Oh I’m coming, I already said I am.”

“I’ll make up an excuse, we’ll say you had to work,” Fallon suggested, but Lucas just grinned at her.

“I’m going tomorrow, and if you don’t leave it alone. I’ll wear a shirt that says I’m his dad,” he warned with a gleam of mischief in his smoky eyes.

“You ass,” Fallon sneered, but Lucas just grinned.

“I suggest you tell your parents.”

“I suggest you take your suggestion and stick it up your ass,” Fallon spat out before turning to walk away. She didn’t get far before Lucas grabbed her wrist, whipping her into his arms. She landed against his hard chest with a squeak as he looked down at her with nothing but heat in his eyes.

“You know I love when you talk dirty to me,” he whispered as she tried to get away, but he had her in a death grip.

“Let me go, Lucas,” she complained as she looked up at him.

“How bad do you want me to be hidden tomorrow?”

Fallon stopped trying to move and looked up at him. “Bad.”

“Enough to kiss me?”

Fallon bit her lip as her eyes drifted to his lips. She watched as he licked his lips before she looked up in his eyes, knowing she couldn’t do it. If she kissed Lucas, she wasn’t going to stop. The whole day she thought about him, and not in the ‘Is Aiden okay’ sense, more like the ‘God, I wish I could put aside everything and get naked with Lucas’ sense. She wasn’t proud of it, but hey, she was a horny female.

“Not that bad,” she croaked out.

Lucas scoffed at her. “Come on, a kiss on the lips gets you a hat and glasses. A kiss with tongue, you won’t even see me, only Aiden will.”

Fallon shook her head. “No way, I’ll take my chances with my dad. Now let me go.”

Lucas did what she asked even though they both knew he didn’t want to. They shared a long lust-filled look before Lucas turned and started down the hall. Before he reached the elevator, he looked over his shoulder at her.

“I’ll get you to kiss me again,” he warned.

Fallon scoffed as she put her hands on her hips. “Yeah, in your dreams.”

“I’m already kissing you there, baby girl, but in my dreams your face doesn’t turn that pretty little pink I love so much, so I’m on a mission.”

“What else is new?” she got out, but not without a hitch in her voice.

Lucas gave her a little smirk before turning to wait for the elevator to open. The doors opened and Lucas stepped on, giving her one more lust-filled glance before the doors shut. Fallon let out the breath she was holding as she leaned against the door. Fallon knew she couldn’t hold out much longer and that she had to stay away from Lucas, or he would complete that damn mission he was on.

**********************************

When the doorbell rang the next day, Fallon’s stomach sank. Before she could even get off the couch, Aiden was down the stairs with the door open.

“Grandpa! Grammie!” Aiden hollered as he wrapped his arms around Fallon’s parents.

“Well look at you, ready to play some ball?” Nora asked as they entered, grinning down at Aiden. Aiden posed proudly in his Cubs uniform. Fallon loved how the blue of the shirt brought out the color of his eyes. He was such a cute little thing.

“I am!” Aiden exclaimed as William picked him up, throwing him over his shoulder as he walked towards Fallon. Aiden let out a shriek as William threw him down on the couch with a grin on his face.

“Good, gotta hit something today son, okay?”

“Okay Grandpa!” Aiden said. Fallon looked up the stairs to see Audrey coming down in her ‘Aiden’s AA’ shirt.

“Hey Momma, hey Daddy,” Audrey said with a wave as she leaned against the couch, putting stuff in her bag.

“Hey, honey,” William said as Nora gave her a loving smile.

“Aiden James, go on up and get your shoes on. Make sure your socks are right,” Fallon said. Aiden nodded before jumping off the couch and heading upstairs. When Fallon heard his door shut, she looked over at Audrey. “Watch out for Aiden.”

“Okay,” Audrey said, since she knew that Fallon was gonna be telling Nora and William about Lucas before they left for the game.

Fallon had tried calling Lucas the night before to talk him out of coming but he wasn’t budging, and after the way Aiden talked about Lucas all night, Fallon knew it would break his heart if Lucas didn’t come. So Fallon decided to put her big girl panties on and tell her parents about Lucas.

“What’s wrong, honey?” Nora asked as worry filled her beautiful medically-enhanced face.

“Okay, listen,” Fallon started before taking a deep breath. Fallon’s approach on telling them would be like ripping a Band-Aid off. At least that’s how she planned it.

“Aiden doesn’t know, but his father moved to Nashville.”

Fallon watched as her mother’s face filled with surprise and William’s turned red with anger.

“That piece of shit decided to come to my state?” William growled. Fallon rolled her eyes as Nora’s hand came over her mouth.

“Okay, one, it’s not your state and two, yes. He wants to know Aiden, and well Aiden spent the day with him yesterday and they had a great day. He’s coming today. To the game.” Fallon said as she basically pulled her fingers out of their sockets. Her dad made her nervous and she knew that he was getting more and more pissed off with every passing second, but Fallon had to tell him. All he had to do was look at Lucas and Aiden together and he would know.

“That low belly is coming to the game?!” William bellowed.

“Oh for the love of God, I told you he didn’t know about Aiden! He didn’t do anything wrong!” Fallon yelled, even though why she was defending Lucas was beyond her.

“He got you pregnant!”

“I laid down with him Dad! I mean, it takes two to do the do!”

“Oh Fallon, please,” Nora pleaded while Audrey snickered from behind her.

“He hasn’t done anything for that boy,” William said through his teeth.

“Because he didn’t know!” Fallon yelled, hating how mad her dad made her. “Now that he does, he wants to be in Aiden’s life. It’s not your decision or even mine. It’s Aiden’s. So let it be. We are telling him this Friday, so please don’t say anything,” Fallon pleaded.

When she looked over at her mom and saw that she was crying, Fallon rolled her eyes, “Why are you crying, Momma?”

“’Cause this is too much for my baby. You really have messed up, Fallon Ryane!”

“Oh God,” Fallon groaned as she looked up at the ceiling. She already knew she messed up, she didn’t need her mother informing her off it too. Aiden started down the stairs carrying his bat and glove and all eyes turned towards him. Fallon looked over at her father and he was glaring at her.

“You disgust me,” he said through his teeth before he turned, leaving the house. When the front door slammed, Fallon jumped in surprise as Audrey and Nora looked over at her.

“What’s wrong with Grandpa?” Aiden asked. Fallon shook her head.

“I don’t know. Let’s go, bud,” Fallon said, heading for the door.

“Lucas is coming, right Momma?” Aiden asked as everyone headed out the door. Fallon nodded as she locked the door.

“Yes,” Fallon said. “Unfortunately,” she added for no one to hear.

Lucas had ruined her relationship with her father seven years ago, and not that it was getting better, but it had been a long time since William was disgusted in her. Fallon felt the same way she did back then, just this time she wasn’t nauseous because of the little guy that was growing inside her.

**********************************

“Lucas!”

Lucas turned to see his perfect little guy running towards him with the brightest smile on his face. Lucas knew that the same grin came across his when Aiden wrapped his arms around his legs. He had missed Aiden a lot, more than he had ever missed anyone. Even Fallon. There was something about the little guy that made Lucas feel complete.

Fallon walked with Audrey a little behind Aiden with a scowl on her face. As he hugged Aiden, he wondered what had made her mad. Lucas had told her the night before that he was coming, and he even wore his sunglass and hat so he wouldn’t be too noticeable.

Lucas’ eyes traveled down Fallon’s body, like they always did when she was around. She wore some tight stretchy black pants and a blue tee shirt that said ‘Aiden’s Mommy’. Her hair was down in curls and she wasn’t wearing much make-up. Like always, she was breathtaking.

Audrey wore almost the same thing but her shirt said ‘Aiden’s AA’ and her hair was in a high pony tail. Lucas put a grin on his face, while inside he was jealous as hell.

He wanted a shirt.

“Hey AJ,” Lucas said as he hugged Aiden closely to him. “Ready to play?”

“Yup! We’re gonna win!” he exclaimed as Audrey and Fallon came up behind him.

“Hey Lucas,” Audrey said brightly.

Lucas smiled as he said, “Hey Audrey, Fallon.”

Fallon only nodded as she looked behind her. Lucas looked to see what she was looking at and saw a very large man with a petite woman beside him. He knew instantly that it was Fallon’s mom. She had to be the one the girls had gotten their looks from because she was as gorgeous as Fallon and Audrey. Lucas figured by the way the large man was looking at him that he was Fallon’s angry dad.

Great.

“Aiden, honey, your team is warming up,” Fallon said.

Lucas looked down to see Aiden looking at the field. “Okay Mom,” he groaned, and then he looked up at Lucas saying, “You’re staying for the whole game?”

Lucas smiled as he put his hand on Aiden’s head, ruffling his hair. “Of course I am, maybe we can get some ice cream after.”

“Awesome!” and off Aiden went.

Lucas looked over at Fallon, but couldn’t tell if she was looking at him because she had put on some dark sunglasses. He looked at Audrey and saw that she had a big grin on her face. She clapped her hands before saying, “Well I’m gonna go get some food with Mom and Daddy.”

And off she went, leaving Lucas with a very pissed off Fallon. Her anger was radiating off her, and Lucas didn’t blame Audrey for running off. He kind of wished she had taken him with her, but then he glanced at the Fallon’s dad and decided Fallon would be easier to deal with.

“You look good today, Fal,” he said against his better judgment.

Fallon looked over at him. “Thanks,” she said sharply as she turned and started walking off. He shook his head as he jogged lightly to catch up with her.

“Is that your mom and dad?” he asked trying to keep up with her. He would have thought the high heels she wore would have slowed her down.

They didn’t.

“Yeah, why don’t you go introduce yourself?” she snapped, causing him to laugh.

“I’m pretty sure that would mean throwing myself to the wolves, so I’ll pass.”

“Good choice,” she mumbled as she climbed the bleachers.

Lucas followed a little behind her so he could admire her ass as she climbed the stairs. Call him a dog, but Fallon had a fine ass and he loved watching it in motion. She sat down and Lucas sat beside her, resting his arms on his knees as he watched Aiden warm up. When a tall lanky guy with a white curly hair came over to Aiden and started talking to him, Lucas looked over at Fallon.

“Who’s the dweeb?”

“Aiden’s coach,” she answered as the guy turned, looking up at the bleachers. When his eyes settled on Fallon, he waved and Lucas watched as Fallon put on her fake smile and waved back. The dweeb gave her a goofy smile before turning back to Aiden.

“You like that guy?” Lucas blurted out.

“I’m not in the mood, Lucas.”

“What? I asked a simple question?”

“A question that is none of your business,” Fallon warned as she looked down the bleachers. Lucas followed her gaze and saw her parents walking up the bleachers with Audrey. Audrey said something and kept climbing up the stairs, while her parents sat down with their food.

“Um, yes it is, if that dweeb is going to be around my kid,” Lucas replied as Audrey sat beside him.

“Shut up, Lucas,” Fallon snapped as she put her elbows on her knees with her face in her hands.

Lucas looked at her for a moment more before turning his attention to Audrey. “What the hell is her problem?”

Audrey rolled her eyes as she swallowed the bite of hot dog she had just eaten. “Her and Dad got into it about you.”

“Thanks, Audrey,” Fallon mumbled.

“Oh,” Lucas said as he turned his attention back to Fallon, “should I watch my back?”

Audrey started giggling and Fallon’s mouth pulled at the side but she didn’t laugh as she shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t care what you do.”

Lucas smiled as he leaned a little closer to her, and he was surprised when she didn’t move away. “Can I watch yours?” he whispered. Fallon turned her head to look at him.

“You can watch all you want, but you will never touch. Only Chase can,” she said in her snooty little way.

“Who the hell is Chase?” Lucas asked. He leaned back from her, hating that his flirting didn’t work.

Maybe she was becoming immune to his charm?

“The coach, and don’t let her lie to you, she don’t even like him,” Audrey said from his side.

“Shut up, Audrey,” Fallon snapped. Lucas laughed as he leaned against Audrey.

“Thanks, I couldn’t tell if she was lying. She has those damn glasses on.”

“Defense mechanism,” Audrey said as she threw a chip in her mouth.

“True that,” Lucas laughed.

“I do like him, thank you,” Fallon said, but Lucas ignored her as the game started. Aiden’s team took the field first, and Lucas sat on the edge of his seat. He was so excited to see Aiden play, even if he didn’t like baseball. It was just the fact that his boy was playing something that made him giddy with excitement.

“Is he good?”

Lucas didn’t know why he asked though — Brooks’ men were great at everything.

“Sure,” Fallon answered through tight lips.

“She’s lying again,” Audrey whispered. Lucas looked over at her.

“She is?”

“Oh yeah, I love him, but he’s terrible.”

“I so hear you right now and I am telling him you said that!” Fallon said.

Audrey giggled as Lucas looked over at Fallon. “He sucks and you’re still making him play?”

“Shut up, Lucas,” Fallon said for what seemed like the hundredth time.

Lucas rolled his eyes as he looked out on the field. He searched the field for his boy, and found him in right field. Even he knew that was bad, and he hated this sport. Aiden had his hands on his knees, ready for the ball while the left fielder chased a butterfly and the center fielder picked his nose. Why was his kid in right field? Especially with Coach Dweeb trying to sleep his Fallon! Obviously Coach Dweeb had no game.

A very large child came up to bat and Lucas seriously thought about asking for the kid’s birth certificate. He was huge! The little kid on the pitching mound threw the ball with all his might and the kid smashed the ball. It went past the first basemen out into right field. Lucas stood quickly, excited because there was no way Aiden could miss the ball.

But he did.

It went right through his legs and Lucas fell back into the bleachers, smacking himself in the head.

“It had a bad bounce,” Fallon said as Aiden ran after the ball.

“Okay, Bill Buckner,” Lucas laughed.

“Who is that?” Fallon asked.

Lucas looked at her like she was the dumbest person in the world and when he looked at Audrey, she also had the same look on her face.

“I’m gonna act like you did not just say that,” Lucas said as he looked back out onto the field.

Fallon let out a little huff of air but he didn’t pay her any attention. He had a game to watch. Lucas learned quickly that baseball, for a bunch of six, seven, and eight year olds, was not competitive at all. While he wanted to scream his ass off at the little fat kid on second that let the ball go by him countless times, he knew he couldn’t. Moms awed over their little ones as the dad’s played on their phones. Even the coach just stood there, not giving any kind of direction what so ever!

“Oh God, this is terrible,” Lucas mumbled as Aiden made his way to the batting box.

It was the fifth inning and it was Aiden’s first time at bat. Every kid had struck out.

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” Audrey whispered. Fallon shot her a dirty look.

“One more time, Audrey, and I swear,” Fallon warned but Audrey just giggled as the pitcher got ready to throw the ball. Lucas saw that Fallon held her breath as the boy beamed the ball across the plate at their kid. It even made Lucas nervous. Aiden swung missing the pitch, but it was a good solid swing.

“Kid needs a hockey stick, not a bat,” Lucas observed when the pitcher pitched again and Aiden missed.

“I know, right?” Audrey agreed.

“Whatever,” Fallon mumbled as Lucas watch Aiden strike out. Fallon stood up, clapping her hands. “It’s okay, Aiden. You’re awesome honey.”

When Aiden glanced up at the stands, Lucas saw nothing but embarrassment in his eyes. Fallon sat back down and Lucas looked over at her. “Fallon, this is wrong. The kid hates this.”

“He loves it.”

“No, he doesn’t.”

“I think I would know what my son likes,” she snapped, causing Lucas’ eye to twitch. He tried to calm himself down by counting to 10 but he felt his temper about to snap. He hated losing, and watching his son lose was making it really hard to keep his temper under control. Especially when he knew for a fact that Aiden hated baseball!

Lucas leaned back against the rail with his arms crossed against his chest. He would save Fallon the embarrassment of yelling at her in front of the whole baseball team. But, once they got to the car and Aiden was out of earshot, he wouldn’t hold back.

Chapter 15

Fallon knew she was pressing Lucas’ buttons, but her dad had her on edge. She could feel him watching them all through the game and she hated that he was disgusted in her. Why? She didn’t know. Maybe it was the need to make him happy, even though she knew that he would never be happy with her. Fallon was apparently the biggest fuck up in the world, and nothing she did would ever make him happy.

Fallon let out a long breath as she watched the boring baseball game. Aiden stood in right field, bored out of his mind but acting as if this was the biggest game in the world. He was showing off for Lucas, and Fallon hated that all Lucas could do was bitch about how bad Aiden played. Yeah, Aiden wasn’t the best baseball player, but damn it, at least he was trying.

The Cubs’ lost and Fallon was sure it was because of the 13-year-old pitcher from the other team. Someone should really check birth certificates out here, because that kid was huge. Fallon didn’t believe for a second that that kid was young enough to play in this age group.

Audrey and Lucas stood and started down the bleachers with Fallon behind them. She dreaded going anywhere near her dad. She had no clue what he would say to Lucas, and what bugged her all to hell was that she cared if William was rude to him. She didn’t know why, maybe because it wasn’t Lucas’ fault for her becoming pregnant. Like she told William, they both lay down and made Aiden. Even if it was an accident, it wasn’t anyone’s fault. Or maybe, it was because she still felt protective over Lucas. Don’t ask her why because she had no clue.

Fallon saw her parents get up and both of them looked right at Lucas. What surprised Fallon was that he actually stopped and held out his hand to Nora. Of course, Nora took it, placing a fake smile on her face as she shook his hand.

“My name is Lucas Brooks,” Lucas said. Nora nodded as William just glared.

“Nora Parker, this is my husband William,” Nora said sweetly.

Lucas smiled back, holding his hand out to William. “Nice to meet you both.”

William looked down at Lucas’ hand then back into his eyes before taking his hand in his. “Nice for you to finally make an appearance.”

Lucas chuckled. “Believe me sir, if I would have known I would have been here a long time ago.”

“Is that right? So this is all Fallon’s fault,” William said, and everyone turned to look at her. William was glaring, while Nora and Audrey looked at her with their eyes filled with sympathy. Lucas was looking at her as if she was the most beautiful girl in the world, and that bothered her. Why couldn’t he be mad at her, or fight and yell something! Why was he being so nice while she was the biggest bitch ever!

It was so frustrating!

Fallon felt like she was gonna cry, so she quickly passed by all of them, going down the bleachers to meet up with Aiden by the dugout. With every step she felt the tears threatening to fall, but she’d be damned if she let them fall. Yeah, it was her fault that Lucas hadn’t been in Aiden’s life, but what about what he did to her. Sure, she should have had the lady balls to tell him about his child, but how was she supposed to when she couldn’t even talk to him! He broke her heart! And look, everyone is so forgiving, so nice to the man that ripped her heart out of her chest and threw it against a wall.

Whatever.

Fallon shook her head as she reached the other parents that were fussing over their little ones. Aiden stood with a Capri sun and a pack of apples in his hands with all his equipment around his feet.

“You did good, baby,” Fallon gushed as she wrapped him up in her arms. He giggled as she kissed his cheeks and neck. He was sweaty, but she didn’t mind one bit.

“I sucked Mom,” he groaned before he took a sip of his drink. “Is Lucas still here?”

“Yes, he’s with AA and your grandparents,” Fallon answered, wishing that Lucas wasn’t. Why did they already have a bond? It drove Fallon crazy with jealously which was downright disgusting on her part.

“Cool, oh no,” Aiden was looking past her, and when she turned she saw Chase coming over to them. Chase wasn’t really her type, but he was a nice guy. He was extremely tall, six-foot-something, skinny as all hell with a very narrow face. The worst part was the large blonde fro. It scared Fallon, but he seemed to like it. He wore his Cubs shirt with a pair of jeans that did nothing for his ass. Yeah, she had been checking him out during the game, trying to make herself like him in the hopes that she would stop wanting Lucas.

It didn’t work.

“Be nice, Aiden James,” Fallon warned as Chase put a grin on his face and came right over to them.

“Hey Fallon, Aiden did great huh?” Chase asked in a nasally voice.

“Sure did!” Fallon said brightly. Maybe a little too brightly because Aiden rolled his eyes.

“I thought so, too,” Chase said with a grin. “So you’re looking beautiful as ever.”

Fallon smiled. “Thank you Chase, that’s so nice of you.”

“I only speak the truth,” he said and Aiden rolled his eyes again this time while letting out a bored sigh. All of a sudden, his face turn bright and Fallon knew that Lucas was coming over to them.

“Lucas!” Aiden gushed as he ran to him, a bright smile on his face.

“Hey, buddy,” Lucas said as he flipped his hat up with his finger.

“So, Fallon,” Chase said, bringing her attention away from Lucas and Aiden.

“Yeah?” Fallon asked as Lucas came over to them with Aiden’s hand in his.

“We’re still on for tomorrow right?”

Oh shit! Fallon had totally forgotten about dinner with Chase tomorrow.

“Yeah, of course we are,” Fallon said with a grin. She felt Lucas eyeing her but she stood confidently, trying to show that his gaze didn’t affect her at all. She hoped it worked.

“Great,” Chase said letting out a long breath, “I made reservations at the Wildhorse since you like to dance”

“Aw, great,” Fallon lied. Who the hell takes someone to a dance club on a first date?

“I gotta go, so I’ll pick you up from your office tomorrow. Five, right?”

“Right,” Fallon said as he started to walk backwards. As she waved bye, she felt someone’s hot breath on her neck. When she turned, Lucas grinned down at her.

“Going out with Coach tomorrow?”

Fallon rolled her eyes before she turned to pick up Aiden’s things from the ground. “None of your business, Lucas,” she said as she stood up.

She glanced up at him and he had a dazed look on his face. “I think you forgot something on the ground,” he said, pointing to the spot where she just picked up Aiden’s things.

Fallon turned looking down at the ground and nothing was in the grass. “I did not,” she said as she turned to look back at him.

He had a devilish smile on his face as he shrugged his shoulders. “I thought you did.”

Fallon eyes narrowed as she passed by him, smacking him in the chest as she did. His laughter ran down her spine as she made her way to her son and family. Lucas had been checking out her ass.

Before when they were together and she was cleaning the house, if she bent down in front of him, he always said she missed something just so she would bend over again. Fallon tried to be mad at him for his pigness but all it did was turn her on. Knowing that he still thought her ass was hot had her hot.

Which was bad, so freaking bad!

“Ready to go, bud?” Fallon asked as she put Aiden’s things in her bag.

“Lucas was gonna take me for ice cream,” Aiden said from on top of William’s shoulders.

“Okay. Make sure you bring him home early, he’s had a full day,” she said without turning to look at Lucas.

“You don’t want to go?” Lucas asked. “Everyone is.”

Of course, they were a big ole happy family. Well she’d be damned if she was gonna go have ice cream with one man that was disgusted in her and one that cheated on her.

Fuck that.

“No I gotta get home, have fun,” she said before throwing Aiden’s bag on her arm. She leaned up to kiss Aiden and he met her half way, giving her a sticky kiss. “Bye,” she said with nothing more than a wave as she headed towards the car. Fallon was almost to the car when she heard someone running behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see Lucas jogging towards her.

Fallon stopped turning to him. “Aren’t y’all leaving?”

“Yeah, but I needed to say something to you. Audrey is gonna put Aiden in the car.”

“What?” Fallon asked.

“Pull Aiden from his shit-ass sport. He doesn’t like it.”

Fallon rolled her eyes. “He likes it. He’s been playing since he was four.”

“And I bet he’s sucked. He doesn’t want to play.”

“I don’t care, Parkers don’t quit,” Fallon said before turning back around and walking towards her car. As far as she was concerned this conversation was over, but Lucas didn’t seem to think so.

“Well he is a Brooks, and we don’t suck at things. Pull him.”

“No,” she said, throwing her things in the back on her car.

“Fallon, I’ll find another sport for him,” he pleaded.

“Like what? Hockey?”

“Yes!” he yelled as his arms went up in the air. “I’m glad you’re finally seeing the light here.”

“I’m not and I’ll be damned if my child is gonna skate around on the ice running into people and slapping a rubber disk with a stick.”

“For your information, hockey is the greatest sport ever, and my boy will play.”

“Listen here Lucas Brooks,” she said getting right into his face. She could feel his breath on her lips, and she begged her body not to react, but when did it ever listen to her when it came to Lucas? She pushed past her lust for him and poked him square in the chest. “Just cause you are playing daddy right now doesn’t mean you get to start making decisions. I’m not pulling him. He started this damn sport, he’ll finish it.”

A slow sly smirk formed on Lucas’ lips and Fallon took in a sharp breath. “I’m not playing daddy. I am Daddy and you are Mommy. Shouldn’t we be making out instead of fighting?”

Fallon rolled her eyes, poking him harder in the chest. “Get your mind out of the gutter Lucas!”

She poked him again, and he took her finger in his hand as he grinned down at her. “Poke me one more time Fallon Parker, and I’ll poke you back, and not with my finger.”

Fallon’s mouth dropped in complete shock at his blunt statement; she didn’t even realize he was coming in for a kiss until his lips were on hers, moving ever so lightly. She froze under the heat of his lips. She didn’t even have time to push him away or smack him before he was walking away, his laughter the only sound as she leaned against the car trying to catch her breath.

Damn it!

*********************************

Lucas’ mouth tingled from his kiss with Fallon the whole time he sat with her family and Aiden at Ben and Jerry’s. He didn’t plan the kiss. He honestly wanted to talk to her about the baseball thing. But this whole argumentative Fallon thing drove him insane and he couldn’t help himself, he had to have her. There was something about her pretty little mouth saying such mean things to him that had him almost on his knees begging for her. Lucas licked his lip as he thought of that sweet mouth on his. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could take of them arguing and not getting naked.

He needed her.

Bad.

“I wish Mommy would have come,” Aiden said as he ate around at his strawberry shortcake. Lucas heart stopped at the sound of Aiden’s sadness. He hadn’t seen Aiden sad yet. He had always been happy. Why couldn’t Fallon put aside her issues with him and her father to come? Nora put her hand on his back as Audrey leaned over whispering something in his ear. A warm smile came across his beautiful face and they jumped up, going to the cashier.

“They are gonna get something for Fallon,” Nora said as Lucas watched them to see what they were doing.

“Oh, okay,” Lucas said with a grin before going back to his ice cream.

“You know it’s hard not to like you Lucas,” Nora said. Lucas chuckled.

“So I’ve been told. My mom says I could charm my way out of anything,” Lucas laughed, causing Nora to smile and William to chuckle. Lucas didn’t know what Fallon’s issues were with her dad, but Lucas thought he was a good guy. He was scary as hell, but still a nice guy.

Lucas looked over to check on Aiden and saw that Audrey was taking him to the bathroom. It surprised Lucas how protective he was over Aiden already. He always had an eye on him, making sure the kid was okay.

“Did you know Fallon long, before…you know?” Nora asked bring Lucas’ attention back to them.

“Yeah, we dated for two years.”

“Two years?” Nora asked as her mouth fell open.

“Yeah.”

“Two years, and we never knew,” William said with a shake of his head.

“Did you guys break up?” Nora asked. “Or did she just run? Do you know why she ran? It was all just so crazy. Fallon was such a good girl and next thing we know she was pregnant and wouldn’t tell us anything about the father.”

Lucas nodded and took a moment before answering. “I messed up and she broke up with me. I never saw her again.”

“You messed up?” Nora asked.

“I cheated,” Lucas said not looking the two in the eyes. “It was the biggest mistake of my life.”

Nothing was said for a moment as the three sat collecting their thoughts. Lucas felt their eyes on him, but he refused to look up to see the judgment or hate in their eyes. When he finally did look up, they weren’t judging him, they looked sad.

“So we probably shouldn’t like you?” William asked. Lucas smiled.

“I’m not that person anymore,” Lucas said as he looked up into William’s eyes. “If I could, I would take it all back.”

Nora smiled. “We learn from our past. The only thing I ask is for you not to hurt our baby.”

Was she talking about Aiden or Fallon?

“He doesn’t know anything yet. You could still go on as if you never had a kid,” William added.

Lucas shook his head. “No, I couldn’t. I love him.”

Lucas’ ears bled the whole way to Fallon’s house because not only did Aiden like that poor excuse for a boy band, but so did Audrey. They sang the whole way to Fallon’s and Lucas swore if he had to endure anymore of that music, he was going to bash his head in with a hockey stick. He pulled into Fallon’s driveway, and got out, letting Aiden out.

“Wanna come in?”

Lucas shook his head, “Not tonight bud, I gotta get up early. I have practice in the morning and then me and you are going to spend the day together again. If you want,” he added. He wanted to make sure Aiden still wanted, too. When the little boy nodded his head quickly with a wide grin on his face, Lucas felt like the world had been lifted off his shoulders. It was a great feeling knowing that his son wanted to spend the day with him.

“Yeah, I do!”

“Great, so I’ll see you tomorrow,” Lucas said.

“Ok, thanks for the ice cream. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Aiden gushed.

“No problem bud, I’ll see you later.”

“Bye Lucas,” Aiden said as his grin stayed in place. He waved before turning to run off towards the front door. Lucas watched him until he was safely inside.

“Bye Lucas. Thanks for ice cream,” Audrey said with a grin as she walked down the walkway.

“Bye Audrey.”

Lucas got into his car and waited for the front porch light to go out before he back out the driveway and headed home. Once on the main road, he called Levi.

“Hey bro,” Levi answered. Lucas smiled. He had been so busy lately with Aiden and hockey that he hadn’t got to spend much time with Levi, plus Levi had been really busy with the paperwork concerning Aiden.

“Hey, do me a favor,” Lucas said as he turned on the road that would take him to the house.

“Sure,” Levi answered. Lucas heard him moving something around, probably his computer so he could write down something.

“Find me a date for tomorrow and make me reservations at the Wildhorse for 6:30.”

“When did you start needing someone to find you dates?”

Lucas laughed. “I don’t feel like looking for one. I don’t care who it is, just make sure they know that this isn’t really a date. We’re just going as friends.”

“Okay weirdo, what’s going on?”

Lucas smiled as he said. “Fallon’s got date with some dweeb there tomorrow. I’m trying to make her jealous.”

“Say no more. I’ll get it done.”

“Great.”

Lucas hung up the phone and smiled. Since Fallon wouldn’t fall for his other advances, he was going to pull out his big guns. Fallon was crazy jealous before, and he hoped she still was because he was running out of ideas on how to get her back.

**********************************

Fallon was in no shape or form attracted to Chase Rodin.

Not only did he eat like a horse, but who takes someone out on a date in jean shorts?! Yes, it’s getting hotter, but they were on a date! He also didn’t know how to shut up and if Fallon had to hear one more thing about his pet rabbit, Earl, she was going to act as if she was choking on the fried pickles that sat between them, and run.

Fast.

“So you work a lot, right?”

Fallon nodded as she sipped her beer. She really should look into selling here. The only wine brand the restaurant carried was nasty as all hell, so she was stuck drinking beer. Not something she enjoyed but really, she had no choice. There was no way she could stay sober and deal with Chase.

“I do. It’s hard juggling being a mommy and working full time, but I manage,” she said.

“So Aiden’s father is not in the picture?”

Fallon bit her lip. She didn’t know how to answer that so she just said, “Not in my picture.”

Chase nodded as he smiled over at her. “You’re amazing Fallon, do you know that?”

Fallon smiled shyly as she took another drink of her beer. “Thanks, lately I haven’t thought so, but thank you.”

“Everything okay?” Chase asked with concern filling his face. He was a nice guy, just not sexy….not Lucas.

“Nothing, I can’t handle,” she said taking another swig of her beer.

Fallon figured if she was drunk that the date would go quicker and easier. Fallon was also on edge. Ever since yesterday when Lucas kissed her, he had been on her mind nonstop, and no matter what she did, he stayed there. She thanked the heavens above that Audrey met Lucas to drop Aiden off and to pick him up because Fallon wasn’t sure if she could handle seeing him today.

Music started and people filled the dance floor to line dance. Fallon loved dancing but hated line dancing. She didn’t like that everyone did the same thing; she liked to just dance. Chase was talking about his job as a groomer while Fallon watched everyone on the dance floor. When the song changed to a slow one, all the couple paired off, holding each other close as Katy Perry sang about thinking of someone.

Fallon hated that song.

It did nothing but make her think of Lucas and she hated when that happened. It was one of the main reasons she listened to such hard rap music, because they never rapped about the girl they lost. They were too hard for that, and when they had a girly moment, she just changed the song. Fallon looked over at Chase and tried to focus on what he was saying but she couldn’t. He did not interest her at all.

Fallon brought her beer to her lips as she looked towards the door, wondering how fast she could get there before Chase could catch her. But when the doors open and Lucas came through with a blonde, Fallon choked on her beer.

“Are you okay?” Chase asked.

“Oh, God,” she gasped. She tried to catch her breath while watching Lucas hold the blonde close to him. “Yeah I’m fine,” she said once she caught her breath.

Lucas and his date stood at the hostess podium hand in hand, and Fallon thought she was gonna scream. He, of course, came dressed to impress in his tailored black suit. The light gray of his tie made him look delectable. His hair was messy and God help her, he still hadn’t shaved! Lucas’ beautiful date wore a gorgeous purple dress that hung off her shoulders. Her heels were high and made her legs look hot, while Fallon was sure her legs look like tree trunks and her dress wasn’t that pretty. Hell, Fallon wasn’t even as pretty as the blonde!

Jealously ate at Fallon as she watched Lucas and his date follow behind the hostess to a table that was only feet away from Fallon and Chase. She then watched as he pulled the blonde’s chair out before sitting across from her. They opened their menus, laughing and talking about God knows what as Fallon wanted nothing more than to go over there and beat the crap out of Lucas. How dare he!? She knew he was there to make her jealous and what bothered her most was that he succeeded!

Why did she let him do this to her?

Her hands shook as she watched him laugh and joke with the gorgeous blonde. Poor Chase, she had no clue what he was saying and he didn’t seem to care, because he kept talking as she watched Lucas and the blonde. A waitress came over to get their orders and Lucas looked down at menu. She watched as his eyebrows drew together as the blonde ordered. He must have said he wanted the same thing she got because the girl laughed and he shrugged his shoulders. She must have ordered a salad.

Fallon hated that Lucas was still struggling with the dyslexia and wished that he would get help but she knew he wouldn’t. Fallon felt like a stalker as she watched the two and felt horrible when Chase just kept talking. Didn’t the man ever shut up?

When Fallon’s and Chase’s food appeared, Fallon made herself stop watching Lucas and his date so that she could eat. She hadn’t eaten all day and was starving, but it didn’t seem to matter. Her eyes kept drifting towards Lucas’ table. As she stuffed a French fry in her mouth, the blonde got up and headed to the bathroom, leaving Lucas by himself. Lucas looked around and when his eyes met hers, his mouth pulled up at one side as he slowly nodded at her. Fallon’s blood boiled and before she knew it she was out of her seat and stomping her way towards him. She heard Chase say something but ignored him as she made her way to Lucas.

“I know what you’re doing, and it isn’t cute!” she accused with her finger pointed at him. The chairs were high, so he was the same height as she was as she stood beside him.

Lucas laughed as he brought his water to his lips. “I don’t know what you’re talking about?”

“Yes you do! Bringing a girl here when you knew I was gonna be here with Chase.”

“Oh Coach Dweeb is here?” Lucas said looking past her. “Wanna sit together?”

“Hell no! I want you to leave!” she screeched, making him laugh harder.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Fallon’s face scrunched up before she stomped her foot and turned to head back to the table.

“It’s crazy that I still think you are hot even when you’re acting like a two-year-old,” he called out at her as she headed back to her table. She ignored him as she sat down, putting a forgiving smile on her face for Chase.

“Sorry, I saw someone I knew,” Fallon said. She picked up another fry and brought it her lips.

“It’s fine,” Chase said with a little bit of an attitude, not that she cared.

When an announcer came over the speakers introducing the act for the night, Fallon turned a little to look at the stage.

“The singer tonight is supposed to be pretty good,” Chase said.

Fallon nodded her head but then her eyes went wide. Lucas’ date strolled onto the stage with her guitar and two other guys beside her. As they all sat, Fallon looked over at Lucas to see him grinning at her. Fallon’s gazed locked with his as his date started singing the most beautiful song ever. When Lucas got up and started toward her, his eyes never leaving hers, her breathing picked up.

What was he doing?

“Hey there, Coach,”

Fallon looked up at Lucas with her eyes wide as Coach Dweeb looked over at him questioningly. Lucas wasn’t paying too much attention to the coach, he had eyes only for Fallon. Like always, she looked beautiful. She wore a tight cream colored dress that brought out the bronze color of her skin. The heels she wore had little naughty bows tying them together and Lucas wanted nothing more than to take them off of her.

With his teeth.

“Do I know you?” Coach Dweeb asked.

“Not really, but I’m a friend of Fallon’s and I want to dance with her. You don’t mind, do you?”

Fallon blinked twice as she took a deep breath. Coach looked over at Fallon before looking back up at Lucas. “I’ll bring her right back, just one song.”

Coach cleared his throat before nodding at Fallon. “It’s up to her.”

Lucas laughed/ “Okay then, come on baby girl.”

“I’m not dancing with you,” Fallon said once she found her voice. Lucas laughed again before looking back over at the coach.

“Did she tell you who I am?”

“Okay, let’s go,” Fallon said, getting up and pushing him to the dance floor. “Asshole,” she muttered. Lucas couldn’t help the grin on his face. He should have been angry with the fact that she didn’t want to tell people who he was, but he figured that it was probably for the best until Aiden knew. Lucas smiled up at Misty as she started a new song. She smiled back as Lucas took Fallon into his arms. She didn’t come willingly and tried to back up a couple of times, but Lucas wouldn’t let her get far. He loved the feel of her body against his too much to let her put distance between them. There had been distance between them for years and now that she was within his reach, distance wasn’t going to be an issue anymore.

“Isn’t this nice?” he whispered as he looked down at her.

Fallon looked up, annoyance all over her face. “It will be nice when I can get back to my date.”

Lucas chuckled. “We both know you don’t want to be with him. You don’t even listen to him when he talks.”

Fallon narrowed her eyes. “And how do you know that?”

A smirk came across Lucas’ face. “Baby, don’t you know that when you are anywhere beside me I’m watching you?”

Fallon rolled her eyes as she looked up at the stage. “Aren’t you supposed to be watching your date?”

“She isn’t my date, she’s Levi’s cousin. I’ve known her for years. She asked me to come down to watch her sing and to have some dinner.”

Lucas swore relief came across her face, but Fallon being who she was, she hid it quickly. “Don’t matter to me.”

“Sure it doesn’t,” he teased.

“Can I go now without you going and telling Chase about me and you?” she asked as she looked over at Chase.

“No.”

“Why? What the hell do you want?” she asked as she brought her eyes up to his.

“Just to hold you,” he said sincerely. He had missed the feel of her in his arms so much and wanted to bask in the feel of her. Even with her snotty attitude he couldn’t help but notice how his body responded to hers. He wondered if she felt the same heat, if she was as wet as he was hard. God, he wanted her.

They moved to the music for a moment before he said, “Maybe you could give me a little kiss.” Lucas was just teasing her, but all it did was pissed her off. Her eyes narrowed as she moved out of his arms.

“First, I am not the kind of woman to be on a date with one man and kiss another right in front him. And for two, fuck you for thinking I am. Don’t get us confused Lucas, you’re the cheater,” she sneered before stomping off toward her table. Lucas stood in the middle of the dance floor watching as she told Chase something before heading towards the exit.

“Shit,” Lucas said as he dug his hands into the pocket of his slacks.

Lucas needed to reevaluate his plans because something wasn’t working. Fallon should have already been naked by now and in his arms, not fighting with him and cussing him out. He had apologized, and he had gotten her gifts. He had done everything he could think of. What the hell was he doing wrong? As Misty sang, Lucas started to doubt himself. What if Fallon wasn’t lying when she said she didn’t want anything to do with him? Maybe she didn’t feel what he did? Maybe he should just get to know his kid and leave her alone.

Lucas stood there watching Misty as couples danced around him. A slow grin came across his face and he chuckled to himself because Fallon did want him. Even if she didn’t want to, she wanted him just as much as he wanted her. Lucas was going to know his son and by God, he was going to get Fallon. No matter what, because he still loved her.

And always would.

Chapter 16

Fallon could still feel Lucas’ arms around her well into the next day. Fallon hadn’t slept a wink the night before as she kept replaying Lucas’ words over and over again in her mind.

I just want to hold you.

How many times had she heard him say that before? A day didn’t pass without him saying it to her when they were together, and Lord how she had loved hearing those words. She loved being held by Lucas, loved the feeling of being in his strong arms and he didn’t fail to impress last night. His arms held her close to his chest, where she felt his strong heartbeat against her breast while the sweetest song played in the background.

It was the same song that she had been playing over and over again throughout the day. She couldn’t get the moment they shared out of her mind and playing the song wasn’t helping the situation any, but she needed it. As the girl sang about needing a hero, Fallon thought about Lucas’ breath along her cheek as her eyes drifted shut. The thought did nothing but make her nipples hard against her silk blouse and wet between her thighs.

Damn, she needed to get laid.

Maybe she could rethink Chase — he would be an easy lay. The only problem with that was that there was no way on God’s green earth she could get naked with him. He was too skinny, no muscle. She liked to be manhandled in bed, and unfortunately the only man to ever do that was Lucas. Everyone else was so gentle, so sweet and Fallon didn’t like that. Sometimes, yes, but most of the time she liked it rough. The feel of a man biting her lip, or throat. Or throwing her against a wall to fuck the hell out of her. Yes, please sign her up! That was what she liked, and Lucas had done it since day one.

“I don’t usually do this,” Fallon said breathlessly between kisses as they climbed up the stairs to his house.

“I know,” Lucas said before taking her lip in between his teeth and biting softly, “but aren’t you glad you are?”

Lucas picked her up, bracing her against the back door with his pelvis as he used his other hand to rip off her panties. “Oh yes,” she gasped as her cupped her ass in his hand, pressing his rock-hard dick into her soft wet center. He took her mouth with his again while wrapping an arm around her so he could hold her as the door opened.

Fallon’s mouth was too busy with his to look around his house as he carried her quickly to his bedroom in a hot frenzy. When they reached the bedroom, he threw her on the bed with a grin on his face. She looked up at him from under her eyelashes with lust pouring from her pores. He reached for her boots, throwing each one of his shoulder, the grin still in place. Fallon unbutton her jean skirt, and he yanked it down, his eyes going dark at the sight of her bare center.

“Damn, you are gorgeous,” he whispered before running his hands up her thighs and teasing her with his thumbs. “I could eat you up for days.”

Fallon pulled her tank over her head, throwing it across the room as her breasts sat bra-free for his viewing pleasure. “You are trying to kill me,” he whispered against her hip. Her giggles filled the room but stopped when he bit her hip. Fallon watched as he swirled his tongue along her hip and she took in a sharp breath when he opened her thighs. He glanced up at her through half lidded eyes before taking her whole in his mouth.

Fallon’s quiet moans filled the large room as Lucas took her on a rollercoaster of pleasure. He took her to the point of almost screaming then all of sudden quit, changing the speed and direction of his tongue. She was mindless with pleasure and she wanted more, and she wanted it now. Her hands slid down her body, feeling the sweat that started to perspire on her before moving her hands into his hair. Lucas started to go faster, his tongue moving in ways that was only imaginable to Fallon before. His fingers bit into thighs as her fingers dug into his scalp. When she finally hit her climax, she felt like she exploded into a thousand pieces.

Lucas sat up with a satisfied grin on his beautiful mouth, before wiping it with the back of his hand. Fallon lay totally spent as he removed his clothes. Her eyes traveled down his amazing body, his well-defined abs, then back up to the hair that dusted his chest. Underneath the hair was a sexy tattoo that said something she couldn’t see from the angle she laid at. He was covered in tattoos and Fallon had the desire to run her tongue along each one.

Especially the gun along his hip that pointed straight to his extremely large dick.

Fallon took in a sharp breath since she was pretty sure that thing was not going to fit. She had been with boys before, but now she was about to fucked by a man, and she dripped with desired at the thought. Lucas took his bottom lip in between his teeth as he looked over her flushed body. His gaze made her feel like the sexiest girl in the world, and when he pulled her by her ankles to the end of the bed, she swore she almost came. His bed was high from the ground, and her center was at the perfect height for him to push right into her while standing. He didn’t wait, he didn’t even warn her. He pushed into her.

Lights went off behind Fallon’s eyelids as he slammed into her, taking everything he wanted. His fingers held her hips in his hands as he slammed in her with passion-filled grunts. It hurt, but it was a good hurt and Fallon found herself wrapping her legs around his waist.

“Open your eyes,” Lucas demanded. Fallon couldn’t help but do as he asked. When her gaze locked with his, a smirk formed on his swollen mouth as he continued to plunge deeply inside her. Her climax was building again and Fallon couldn’t believe it. She had never came twice during sex, and it seemed as if Lucas wasn’t going to stop until she did. Lucas undid her legs from around his waist and pushed them up towards her head while lying against them, his glorious face alongside hers with his hands bracing him up. The change of position did it, and she came quickly as she screamed against his throat. The climax was intense, and when he groaned long and low in her ear with his own orgasm, she was convinced she came again.

They stayed liked that for a long time as their breathing regulated. When Lucas rolled off her, Fallon couldn’t do anything but lay there. She felt his hand grip hers, she opened her eyes and glanced over at his sweaty face. A smirk tugged at the side of her mouth.

“God, I’m glad I came home with you,” she groaned out after a moment.

Lucas’ laughter filled the room as he gathered her into his strong arms. When his mouth came down on hers, she kissed him hard and long before he pulled back, smiling down at her. “And just think, we are just getting started, baby girl.”

“Oh God,” Fallon moaned. She dropped her face into her hands. She could have done without that nice little trip down memory lane. Now all she wanted was for Lucas to pin her down on the bed and have his way with her, not that she would ever let him. Look what happened last time. She had become so in love with him that nothing else mattered but Lucas. Now she was still heartbroken, lonely, and horny.

So, no sex with Lucas.

Nope, none…but no one said she couldn’t fantasize and torture herself with ‘what ifs?’

And that was what she was gonna do until she found someone to take her mind off him.

“Fallon?”

Rob’s voice made Fallon jump in surprise as she tried to control her breathing. “Shit Rob, you scared the crap out of me.”

Rob’s giggles filled the room before he said, “Eleanor Adler is here to see you.”

Ah! Shit!

“Oh, okay, send her in.”

Damn it, why was Elli here? They didn’t have a meeting and she hadn’t heard from Elli in days. Fallon slid her shoes on as she shut her MP3 player off and fixed things around her desk. The door opened and Elli came in with Shelli on her hip.

“Awww, baby Shelli!” Fallon gushed as she stood up, going around the desk so she could get Shelli. Elli smiled as she handed the sweet baby over to Fallon. Shelli’s wide blue eyes looked everywhere but at Fallon as she held her close in her arms. “What brings you by?”

Elli smiled as she put a file on Fallon’s desk. “Had to drop off some paperwork and since I had Shelli today, I decided to come by and visit instead of having Janet do it.”

“I’m glad you did,” she said and she meant it. She loved seeing baby Shelli. She was probably the prettiest baby ever. Bright blue eyes, cherub cheeks, dark brown curls, and the sweetest little nose. She was perfect. “Well aren’t you the prettiest baby girl ever? I think so, don’t you?” Fallon cooed to the baby. She was rewarded with a bright smile from Shelli and it warmed Fallon’s heart. Fallon smiled down at Shelli as she said, “I swear Elli, she looks more and more like Shea every time I see her.”

Elli smiled as she sat down in one of the chairs in front of Fallon’s desk. “I know. Shea is hoping this one comes out looking like me, which I doubt it will. Shea has very strong features.”

“Oh hush, so you do. Shelli has some of you, just more of Shea. It’s like Aiden, spittin’ image of Lucas, but he has parts of me,” Fallon said with a grin on her face as she kissed Shelli’s cheeks.

“Since you brought up Lucas,” Elli started, causing Fallon to laugh since it was like the first time they ever talked about Lucas. “How’s he doing? I haven’t seen him.”

Fallon shrugged her shoulder. “Okay I guess. Aside from the fact that he is driving me crazy, him and Aiden are doing good from what I see, at least.”

Elli smiled as Fallon sat across from her, holding Shelli in her lap. “That’s good, when’s the paternity test?”

“Tomorrow. Audrey is gonna take him since I’m working most the morning.”

“Okay, so you guys are okay?”

Fallon laughed. “Nowhere near that. It’s crazy Elli, really it is. One minute we are arguing the next he is kissing me. He says the most crude remarks and he drives me insane! He’s a pig, I tell you.”

“You kissed him?!”

Fallon looked up from the curls she was admiring on Shelli’s head. “No?”

“Oh my goodness Fallon! I thought you said you didn’t want to be with him?”

“I don’t.”

“Then why are you kissing him?”

“He kissed me,” Fallon emphasized.

“Did you smack him?”

Fallon bit her lip as she looked back down at the cute little curls on Shelli’s head again. “No,” she whispered and Elli made a loud shriek. “Elli, I’m horny and the man drives me crazy!”

“You are crazy, and confused.”

“I know it’s crazy Elli! A part of me wants him while the other part knows he is the biggest mistake ever. But seeing him with Aiden makes my heart melt. He gets so happy when Aiden is around and Aiden lights up. It’s like he knows or something. I don’t know. All I do know is that I am scared shitless he will hurt me and that’s what has kept me from not falling for his advances.”

Elli shook her head. “How are you going to deal with the campaign Fallon? Y’all will be working side and side.”

Fallon rolled her eyes. “How am I going to deal with the rest of my life? I’m pretty damn sure if I don’t get laid soon, I’m gonna hump his face!”

Elli let out a gust-busting laugh and Fallon joined in as Shelli just looked around the room. “And the sad thing is, he would probably let me!”

That had the two women laughing so hard that Fallon had tears in her eyes. It felt good to have tears in her eyes that weren’t sad. She had been so torn up over the whole Lucas thing that laughing about him was a great change.

“You’re crazy, Fallon Parker,” Elli said once she could breathe.

“I know. I think I need to see a doctor,” Fallon giggled as she reached for her ringing phone. “Hello?”

“Hey, can you take Aiden to practice?” Audrey asked. Fallon stopped laughing.

“Um, no I got a meeting this afternoon. You can’t?”

“No, I have a date. Listen can I call Lucas and asked him?” she asked. Fallon could tell she was desperate because Audrey would never pick a date over Aiden.

“Um sure, I guess. Who are you going out with?”

“Okay good, no one you know. Thanks, I’ll see you tonight.”

When the line went dead, Fallon looked at her phone before hanging up in a huff.

Well, that was weird.

**********************************

“So I think today was better than yesterday.”

Lucas smiled as he looked in the rearview mirror at Aiden. Aiden wore Lucas’ number 22 jersey, in an extra small, that they had picked out in the pro shop. His face was covered with cotton candy residue, and his grin told Lucas that his statement was probably true because it was a pretty great day.

They spent the day at the arena where Lucas showed Aiden everything — the locker rooms, the ice, the penalty box, and the player’s bench. Aiden was in heaven as he walked around with the biggest grin on his face and asked question after question. Lucas loved hockey, but spending the day talking about hockey with his favorite little guy had him on cloud nine. The only thing that sucked was that it was time for Aiden to go home.

He had baseball practice.

“I think so too, bud.”

“Do I really get to go to one of your games?” Aiden asked.

“Of course you do, all of them if you like,” Lucas answered with a grin.

“Can my mom and AA come?”

Lucas heart skipped a beat at the thought of Fallon watching him play again. “Yeah, if they want.”

“Cool,” he said.

They rode along listening to a new CD Aiden had brought. It was some pop queen and at least she could sing, but it was still torture. Even with the bad music, nothing could bring down Lucas’ mood. He had enjoyed a great day with his son and after getting the chance to hold Fallon in his arms — even if it did end badly — he had had sweet dreams the night before. Lucas was slowly but surely breaking her walls down. She wanted him, he could tell, now all he had to do was get her to trust him.

“I think I want to play hockey. Can I try?”

Lucas couldn’t contain his grin or the way his heart pounded against his chest.

The chance to teach his kid to play hockey?

When could they get started?

“Sure, bud,” he said once he found his voice, “I think the people that are fixing my house will be done Friday. We’ll spend the day at my house, and I’ll teach you.”

Lucas was having hardwood floors put into the house since he hated the carpet. Since his house was so freaking big, it was taking a long time to get everything done. With nails, boards, and crap lying around, he knew that the house wasn’t a place for a six year old. Lucas was also having Aiden’s room redone so that it was bigger. He figured that Aiden would want to come and stay the night with him once he knew about him, so he wanted Aiden to have the best room ever.

The thought of telling Aiden made Lucas’ heart race, but Lucas felt that they were bonding and that they were already connected. He loved Aiden, and couldn’t wait for Aiden to call him dad.

“Cool,” Aiden said with a grin on his face.

“We’ll go shopping Thursday, since tomorrow you’ll be with AA.”

“What do we need to go shopping for?” Aiden asked as Lucas turned onto Fallon’s street.

“For your hockey equipment and maybe we’ll go shopping for other things.”

“I hate shopping,” Aiden said as he made a face.

Lucas laughed as he pulled into Fallon’s driveway. “That’s because you haven’t been with me. You’ll have fun. I promise. We’ll get Levi to go, too.”

“Cool!” Aiden exclaimed as Lucas parked the truck.

Aiden liked Levi but Levi hated kids, and he also didn’t believe Aiden was his son. He thought Fallon was lying. Lucas got so mad that Levi thought that, and for the first time, he threatened his best friend. Aiden was his son, he would never think differently. Lucas might not know how to fix things between him and Fallon but he knew that Aiden was his. Nothing was gonna change his mind.

When Lucas opened the door and got out, he noticed that Audrey was standing beside her car with Aiden’s baseball stuff in hand. He shut the door and smiled over at her.

“Hey, we aren’t late are we?” he asked as he opened the door, letting Aiden out. Aiden ran over to Audrey, hugging her tightly.

“Hey, honey,” she said before kissing Aiden’s forehead and looking back up at Lucas. “No, but can you take Aiden to practice? I got something to do.”

“Oh, sure,” Lucas said, thinking that he had nothing to do and since Aiden was spending the day with Audrey tomorrow, he was sort of glad to have more time with him.

“Thanks, is that okay Aiden?” Audrey asked looking down at Aiden.

Aiden nodded as he took his stuff. “Yup, I gotta tell you about my day though.”

Audrey smiled as she moved a piece of hair out of Aiden’s eyes. Lucas really needed to talk to Fallon about getting the kid a haircut, his hair was always in his eyes. “Tomorrow okay? Go spend time with Lucas. Mommy will be here when you get back.”

“Okay, love you,” Aiden said as he hugged her tightly again. She hugged him back before he broke away from her and ran back into the truck.

“I love you more, honey, have fun. Hit the ball for me!” Audrey said as she waved. Lucas took his bag from her, and threw it in the back. Lucas shut the trunk before making sure Aiden was buckled in. He then said bye to Audrey and got into the truck.

As Lucas pulled out the drive, he swore he saw a tear roll down Audrey’s face. He almost pulled back in but she got into her car and started it up. Lucas thought she was acting weird but he didn’t think she was upset and that worried him. It surprised him how much he cared and how he wanted to pull back in and make sure she was okay. In the process of getting to know Aiden, he was getting to know Audrey too. He was starting to consider her the sister he never had. She was a good girl, and she was loyal, plus she supported his advances on Fallon. That alone made him love her. He decided that he would check on her tomorrow and drove off towards the baseball field to take his boy to practice.

And to see Coach Dweeb.

**********************************

Not only did Lucas not like Aiden’s coach because he was trying to get with Fallon, but he found that he was starting to really dislike the guy because he couldn’t coach worth shit. Lucas understood making the sport fun for kids because it needed to be, but there needed to be structure too! There needed to be authority, and this guy had none. Kids ran all over the field while he asked for them to pay attention.

Asked!

Only two kids, Aiden included, actually stood listening and Lucas’ temper was climbing with every passing second. Lucas wanted to scream at the kids to listen. He wanted to go out there and show them how to play even if he wasn’t that good himself. At least he knew he was better than this idiot!

Aiden glanced over at Lucas, who was leaning against his truck, and shrugged his shoulders as he rolled his eyes. It tore Lucas apart to sit there and watch his kid do something he obviously didn’t like. He wanted go out there and steal his kid away, take him to get ice cream just so he knew that Aiden was happy but there was one thing, well person, standing in his way of doing that.

Fallon.

Lucas weighed his options. Try to make Fallon happy, or make Aiden happy? Fallon didn’t like quitters — neither did Lucas — but if Aiden honestly did not like baseball, why make him finish it? If she was worried about him playing a sport, Lucas had that covered. They were gonna start up hockey. Everything would be fine, but Lucas knew him pulling Aiden would piss her off. Any chance of him getting her to trust him would go out the window. Fallon requested Aiden play until the end of the season, and Lucas could respect that.

No, he couldn’t.

When Coach Dweeb threw Aiden back in right field and Lucas saw Aiden’s shoulders fall as he made his way out to right field, Lucas came off that truck like a bat out of hell. Lucas temper was at its breaking point and he just prayed that he didn’t hit this guy. He felt eyes on him as he marched himself up to the idiot coach and hated the fact that he had an audience. Aiden hadn’t walked far when Lucas said, “AJ, truck, now.”

Aiden looked back at him and without question ran to the truck. Lucas felt bad for about two seconds for scaring Aiden but then Coach Dweeb turned around with a dirty ass look on his face.

“What are you doing?”

“Okay, listen here asshole, Aiden doesn’t belong in right field and since you have your head so far up his mother’s ass to see that, I’ll point it out for you. He is the only one beside that kid over there that pays attention. He’s attentive and the best damn kid out here, but since you can’t see that, I’m pulling him,” Lucas said through his teeth, since he knew he had an audience. He had forgotten his hat in the car, and hoped that no hockey fans were in the stands.

“For one, jackass,” Coach said, taking a step towards Lucas.

Aw shit, Coach Dumbass had balls. He must not be a hockey fan because hockey fans knew of Lucas’ temper. They knew the look he got when his victim was cruising for a bruising.

And Lucas knew he had the look right then.

“For one, the reason why Aiden is in right field is because he can’t catch a ball for shit and for two, my head is not up some bitch’s ass, and for three, you can’t do that since you are nothing to him.”

Oh, fuck.

Lucas took a deep breath, counting to 10 as he took a step forward.

“Let me tell you something, you skinny little fucker. If I ever hear you say my kid can’t do something, I’m pretty sure I will hit you so hard it will knock that ugly ass fro off your head,” Lucas sneered as the fuck face’s eyes went wide. “If you ever call my child’s mother a bitch again, it’s simple, you will die. And lastly, I am something because if you haven’t heard, that is my kid, and I’m kind of protective over what’s mine. Stay away from Fallon and Aiden, or I will fuck you up.”

Lucas waited for the guy to say something. When he didn’t, Lucas’ eyes never left his as he slowly backed away. When he turned, he saw some of the mom’s saying something, but he didn’t care. There were only two moms he was worried about, and that was his own and Fallon.

As Lucas got into the truck, Aiden didn’t say anything as he buckled his seatbelt and pulled out of the parking spot. Lucas drove off as he tried to control his anger. It was truly a blessing that Aiden came into Lucas’ life. Lucas was quick to throw a punch but now that he knew Aiden could see him, he decided to use his words instead, which was probably for the best.

After a moment of driving, Lucas looked up in the rearview and Aiden was looking down at his glove. “Ice cream, bud?”

Aiden looked up. “Yeah, ‘cause it’s probably gonna be our last meal,” he said sadly.

Lucas raised an eyebrow, confused. “Why is that?”

“Momma is gonna kill us.”

Oh yeah.

Chapter 17

When Fallon’s meeting ran a little over its end time, she was worried that she wouldn’t beat Lucas and Aiden home, but she thankfully had. Being alone gave her time to finish up a few things that needed to be done before she could spend some time with her little guy. She had missed Aiden so much and couldn’t wait to see him. After doing the dishes and putting some soup on the stove for dinner, Fallon was sitting at the kitchen table in front of her laptop when her phone rang. She glanced down at the display and saw that it was Chase.

What the hell did he want?

“Hello?” she asked

“Hey,” he snapped.

Okay.

“Hey,” Fallon said cautiously.

“I wanted to let you know that I can’t see you anymore,” Chase said in his annoying voice.

Fallon raised an eyebrow begging herself not to let the giggle she was holding in escape. “Can I ask why?”

“You lied to me. You said that Aiden’s dad wasn’t in the picture.”

Fallon’s heart stopped. What the hell did Lucas do?

“I said he wasn’t in my picture. He is active in Aiden’s life, though.”

“Well he just cussed me the hell out and told me if I didn’t stay away from you and Aiden, he would kill me.”

“For the love of God,” Fallon groaned as she put her face in her hand. “Why did he do that?”

“He’s crazy!”

Fallon rolled her eyes. “I doubt that, you must have done something to him.”

“Whatever, stay away from me.”

When the line went dead, Fallon couldn’t help but laugh. Not only was that the second time she had been hung up on in one day, but going to baseball practice tomorrow was gonna be awkward. She wasn’t mad, because she knew that off the ice, Lucas didn’t fight unless he had a reason. If Chase was telling the truth, he had to have done something to Lucas, or to Aiden.

Fallon looked at the clock. Lucas must have taken Aiden for ice cream because they were running a little late. As she went back to work, she tried not to worry but it didn’t work. She knew in her heart that Lucas would have called if something was seriously wrong, so she took a deep breath and continued on the report she had to get done before the next day. She might not trust Lucas with her heart, but he was good to Aiden and she believed that he loved Aiden dearly, so Fallon wouldn’t worry.

**********************************

Fallon was standing at the stove when the front door opened and Aiden walked in. Fallon knew instantly something was wrong because Aiden usually ran everywhere. “Hey buddy,” Fallon said as Lucas walked in, shutting the door behind him.

“Hey Mom, I’m gonna go get changed,” Aiden said, detouring for the stairs.

“No sir, come eat first,” Fallon said as she eyed him. He wouldn’t look her in the eyes as he made his way to the kitchen table as if it was his death sentence. “Everything okay?” she asked as she glanced over at Lucas.

Aiden didn’t say anything as Lucas moved his hands through his hair nervously. “We need to talk.”

“Okay, do you want to sit down and eat some soup?”

She figured if he wanted to talk privately, he would say no to the soup, so when he said yeah and sat down, she shrugged her shoulders, thinking that whatever the two were nervous about was no big deal as she went to get two bowls.

“What’s going on?” she asked as she filled Aiden’s Spiderman bowl up with the fresh black bean tortilla soup. It was Aiden’s favorite and she was hoping that Lucas liked it. Fallon decided that she would question her need for his approval later as she went to lay the soup down for Aiden.

“I pulled Aiden from baseball.”

Fallon looked over at Lucas and blinked twice before placing the soup bowl down slowly so it wouldn’t scald her child. Lucas brought his bottom lip into his mouth as he looked into her eyes. “It’s hot Aiden, be careful,” she said as she turned to go to the front door. “Let’s go outside, Lucas.”

“I thought I was gonna eat soup while we talked,” Lucas said but before he even got the whole sentence out, she shook her head.

“No soup for you. Say bye, Aiden.”

Aiden looked up at Lucas. “I’ll see you Thursday, bud. Have fun tomorrow.”

“I will,” Aiden said and Lucas placed his hand on his head. “Bye.”

“Bye, bud.”

Lucas walked through the house and out the door. Fallon followed behind him and slammed the door. “What the hell, Lucas?!”

“Listen that coach is an asshole and I’ll be damned if the best kid on the team is going to be in the outfield. So I told the dude that.”

“No, you threatened to beat him up, and who cares where Aiden plays as long as he plays?”

Lucas face scrunched up. “How did you know that?”

“Chase called me to say he can’t see me anymore because you said all that,” Fallon said, giving him only the gist of the conversation.

“Like you care if he doesn’t want to see you, and he deserved it. He’s lucky I didn’t pound his face in. I’m sorry, Fallon, I’m not going to make Aiden play something he doesn’t want to.”

“You don’t get to make that decision, I do!” Fallon yelled as her temper rose. “I am Mommy, and I make the decisions for him.”

“So what does Daddy get to do, Fallon?” Lucas asked, taking a step towards her but Fallon stood her ground. She wasn’t going to let him think he could run things.

“Nothing,” Fallon said as her breathing pick up from him being so close.

Lucas searched her face. “How is that fair? He is mine too,” he said in hush tones.

“He may be yours Lucas, but I’ve raised him for the past seven years. I know what’s best.”

“That’s not fair Fallon, I want to help. I want to be included.”

“And I am letting you be included. I haven’t said shit about him spending all this time with you, but I’ll be damned if I’m gonna let you come in and try to run shit.”

Lucas scoffed as he rolled his eyes. “So this is a power thing? You are trying to show me who’s boss?”

Fallon glared. “I don’t have to show you anything. I am the boss.”

A heated moment passed between them as they gazed into each other’s eyes. Lucas’ lips were parted as one side pulled up a little while Fallon’s eyes narrowed even more.

Why did everything turn into flirting with him?

When Lucas’ gaze fell to her lips, Fallon took a deep breath in. “Don’t go over what I said again,” she said with nothing but anger in her voice. She had to stop being affected by him, or she would go back to the way she was — when she used to bend every which way for him. She would never let that happen again.

Lucas took a deep breath in as he took a step back. “I’m not getting into a power struggle with you. Aiden doesn’t like baseball. I’m thinking of him and what he wants, while all you are thinking about is trying to show me who’s boss and keep him in something that you are comfortable in because nothing else matters but you.”

Fallon’s mouth dropped at his accusations and anger filled her as she took a step towards him. “Are you calling me selfish because I don’t want my son to quit something?”

“I’m calling you selfish because you only want what you want. Hockey is a sport. You want him to play a sport, why not hockey?”

“Because it’s stupid!”

“No, because it’s my sport and you are scared that if you are around me and my sport, you’ll go back to the way we were. I get that you are scared that it will be the way it was, but don’t you get that we aren’t those people anymore? I’m not going to hurt you or Aiden. I care about you both. Fallon just give it up. This power struggle shit is getting old.”

Lucas looked down at her as she just stood there in complete shock, not able to form a word. When she didn’t say anything, Lucas shook his head and went down the stairs.

“I’ll see you guys Thursday.”

“Maybe you won’t!” she snapped causing him to whip around and glare at her.

“Are you going to keep him from me?”

Fallon couldn’t control her breathing, she felt like she was going to pass out or fall into a puddle of tears. She hated that he knew her so well that he knew what she was thinking, what she was scared of.

He drove her crazy!

When Fallon didn’t say anything, he turned back around and headed towards his truck. Fallon watched as he got in and started it, before pulling out the driveway without giving her even a second glance. She felt like falling against the door and crying but knew it wouldn’t do any good, and plus Aiden might hear her. Fallon took a deep breath and headed inside, seeing that Aiden was still sitting in his chair, his head hung low.

Fallon walked by him and poured herself a bowl of soup before sitting in front of him. Nothing was said as she started eating.

When Aiden looked up at her, and said, “I’m sorry, Mom,” Fallon’s heart broke.

“Aiden James, you have nothing to be sorry about.”

“Yeah I do. If I didn’t hate baseball so much Lucas wouldn’t have got mad and pulled me from practice.”

Fallon couldn’t look Aiden in the eyes because she knew her eyes were full of tears. “It’s over with, no big deal.”

“You’re mad at us, though.”

“I’m not mad at either of you,” she said, and it was true.

There was no way she was mad at her baby, and Lucas, he was right. It was a power struggle on her end and she had to learn to deal with it. He had told her many times he wasn’t going anywhere when it comes to Aiden. Fallon had to put what happened between them aside when it came to Aiden, but with other things not so much. She would never trust him with her heart again, and she needed to keep reminding herself that she could not sleep with him.

That spelled disaster.

“I like Lucas a lot, Mommy,” Aiden said quietly, and Fallon smiled.

“I know honey, and he adores you. Y’all are good buds, huh?”

Aiden nodded slowly, still not looking up at her. “Why do I get to hang out with him a lot?”

Fallon shrugged her shoulders. “Do you not want to?”

“I do, but I’m usually with AA.”

Fallon thought for a moment. “I don’t know what to say, honey. I just thought maybe hanging with a guy would be good for you.”

Fallon’s pulse kicked into high gear, because if Aiden asked if Lucas was his dad, Fallon had no clue what to do. She couldn’t lie to him, but she also wanted Lucas there for that.

“I do, I was just wonderin’,” Aiden said as he continued to eat. “Lucas plays hockey.”

“I know,” Fallon answered.

“He says you used to like it. He said y’all were friends when you guys were younger.”

Fallon nodded, nervous since she didn’t know Lucas had told Aiden about them. “We did, and I used to.”

“Why don’t you now? It’s so awesome! We went to the arena today. I met all his trainers and all kinds of people. I got to run on the ice and slide across it, and Lucas chased me around and fell twice!” Aiden gushed as he giggled. Fallon smiled as he went on. “He bought me a new jersey and told me I could come to all the games I want. He said you can come too. Thursday, we are going shopping for all my equipment! He’s so cool.”

Fallon smiled as Aiden took in a deep breath. The kid talked a mile a minute. “Sounds awesome, honey.”

“He said you can come to the game too.”

Fallon nodded. “Maybe.”

“Well you come watch me?”

“Of course, I will.”

“Okay,” he said with a grin. She may not be able to watch Lucas play but she’d be damned if she ever missed her baby boy play. Even if that did mean that Lucas would probably be sitting right next to her.

Crap.

They both went back to eating as Fallon sat thinking that the next 11 years were going to be torture. When her phone rang, interrupting her thoughts, she looked down seeing that it was Elli. “Hey.”

“Hey girl, listen, I have dates for the campaign. Lucas will be out on road trips for the next three weeks, and then there is break before the playoffs. We want to do it then.”

“Lucas didn’t tell me he was leaving,” Fallon said with her feelings a little hurt…for Aiden’s sake, of course.

“I mean it’s not like he’ll be gone three week straight, but gone three days back two, you know. So we just figured that week before the playoffs would be best,” Elli said. Fallon nodded as she grabbed a writer’s pad, writing down the dates.

“I’ll get everything set up, and call you back with times. Thanks so much, Elli,” Fallon said.

“No problem girl, talk to you soon,” Elli said before the line went dead.

Fallon laid her phone down and looked across the table to see Aiden staring her down. “You okay?” she asked.

“Lucas is leaving?”

Fallon nodded as she smiled compassionately at Aiden. “Yes baby, that’s his job. He’ll be gone for a little bit, but he’ll be back.”

“Oh,” Aiden sat for a moment and then got up. “I’m gonna go take a bath and get ready for bed.”

As Aiden disappeared upstairs, Fallon knew something was wrong. Not only did Aiden not eat all his food, but he never wanted to take a bath and go to bed.

After cleaning up downstairs and doing the dishes, Fallon heading to her room to change into some pajamas before going to Aiden’s room. Aiden lay in his bed playing his DS and looked up when Fallon came in.

“Hey,” he said quietly before going back to his game.

“Hey babe, can I sleep with you tonight?” Fallon asked with a silly grin.

“Sure!” Aiden giggled as he scooted over and pulled the blankets up for her. Fallon climbed into bed with him and snuggled close, rubbing her nose against his cheek. Aiden’s giggles filled Fallon with all the love in the world and she closed her eyes as she basked in it. “Mom?”

Fallon opened her eyes to Aiden looking at her. “Yeah?”

“Lucas doesn’t have a wife.”

Fallon smiled. “I know.”

“Do you think he is handsome?”

Fallon giggled, her cheeks warming. “What kind of question is that?”

“A good one. Do you?”

Fallon shrugged her shoulders. “I mean he isn’t ugly.”

Aiden laughed out loud as he snuggled closer to Fallon. “He’s really nice Mommy, and he likes me a lot.”

“I know, honey,” Fallon whispered as he yawned.

“And he likes you, he says you’re beautiful.”

“Did he now?” Fallon asked with a smile.

“He did,” Aiden said as he yawned again.

Fallon knew what Aiden was doing. He wanted Lucas as his daddy, and since Lucas was, Fallon paid it no mind as she snuggled closer to her baby. She didn’t have to be with Lucas for Aiden and Lucas to have a relationship, and he would soon know that.

When she felt Aiden’s hand come up under her cheek, she smiled as she closed her eyes.

Being in bed with her baby boy was pure heaven.

**********************************

“How does that feel bud?” Lucas asked as he backed away from Aiden.

“Tight,” Aiden complained. Lucas chuckled as he smiled down at his little guy. Lucas was convinced that Aiden was the cutest little hockey player in the world. After an hour of picking out all the equipment in the Aiden’s favorite color, blue, Lucas and Levi got him dressed to make sure everything fit. The equipment was a perfect fit in some places and then too big in others, but Aiden would grow into it all. Lucas never felt such pride as he did when he was looking down at Aiden in his gear.

“You’ll break it in, bud,” Lucas reassured him before bending down beside him. “Hey Levi, take our picture.”

Levi pulled his phone out as Lucas and Aiden put big grins on their face. “Good one guys.”

Aiden smiled over at Lucas and he could see the excitement in Aiden’s eyes through the caged helmet.

“You look awesome, kid,” Lucas said as he stood. “Okay, let’s take it off and go shopping.”

“Do we have to? Can’t we can skate instead?” Aiden asked as Lucas undid his helmet.

Lucas smiled as Levi laughed. “We’ll skate all day tomorrow. I wanted to go pick some stuff up at the mall today. It’ll be fun.”

“I don’t think you are right on that one,” Aiden said. Lucas pulled his practice jersey up and over his head.

“I’m always right, kid,” Lucas said with a grin as they continued to undress him.

After getting everything packed up in Aiden’s new hockey bag and loaded up the truck, the three guys left for the mall. When Lucas pulled into the parking lot for the Green Hills mall, he heard Aiden sigh. Lucas chuckled as he got out the car, thinking that Fallon and Audrey had traumatized the poor kid from going shopping. Lucas waited for Aiden to get out and noticed the kid was moving extra slow. Levi walked ahead of them and Lucas stayed back, watching Aiden out the corner of his eye.

“You can’t hate shopping this much,” Lucas teased as he put his arms around Aiden’s shoulders. Aiden shrugged his shoulders and didn’t say anything as they entered the mall. “You’ve been quiet all day bud, everything okay?”

Aiden didn’t say anything again as he shrugged. When Lucas had picked Aiden up that morning, Aiden wasn’t his normal, happy self but Lucas didn’t think anything of it. Even during the fitting for the equipment, Aiden wasn’t being his usual self and that was when Lucas started to worry. Something wasn’t right. He stopped, bending down so he was at Aiden’s level.

“What’s up?” Lucas asked. Aiden shrugged his shoulder for a third time and Lucas shook his head. “No, something’s up, what’s wrong?”

“You are leaving next week,” Aiden whispered.

Lucas’ heart broke at the sound of his kid’s pathetic little whisper. “Aiden I told you I leave a lot. I’ll call you.”

“I just got used to having you around me all the time and now you’re leaving and I don’t want you to go,” Aiden said in a rush as he talked with his hands.

“I don’t want to leave either, bud, but I got to. It’s my job.”

“I know,” Aiden said kicking the ground. “I just wish you could stay all the time.”

Lucas bit his lip because he wished the exact same thing. He took Aiden’s hand in his and Aiden looked up at him. They shared a long sad look before Lucas couldn’t take it anymore and looked down at Aiden’s Nikes. He hated that Aiden was upset and he hated that he was the reason. He wanted to wrap Aiden up in his arms and hold him as he tried to reassure him that he would be back. They might be getting close but even he would be a little weirded out by some guy hugging him that wasn’t his dad.

“Me too, bud,” he said quietly. He stood up, Aiden’s hand still in his as he started walking into the mall. Levi leaned against a wall on his phone when Lucas and Aiden reached him. Lucas looked up and saw that Levi leaned up against the Apple store’s wall. The windows were full of advertising for the iPad 2 and when Lucas focused on the sign, a slow grin came across his face.

“Doesn’t that iPad have video chat or something like that?” Lucas asked. He remembered seeing a commercial for it and the more he thought about it, the more he needed an iPad.

“Yeah,” Levi answered without looking up at him.

“Come on, Aiden.”

Lucas had just found a way to make his son happy.

*********************************

After buying two iPads and all the accessories, Lucas walked out of the Apple store feeling pretty damn good. Aiden was walking with a little more pep in his step after being told that he was going to be able to talk to Lucas pretty much whenever he wanted.

“It will be like he never left,” the guy told Aiden and the biggest smile came across Aiden’s face.

“That’s so cool!” Aiden gushed as he skipped beside Lucas out the store. “We can talk all the time while you’re gone.”

“Yup, no reason to be upset, right?”

“Nope!” Aiden gushed as he ran ahead towards a crane machine. Lucas dug a quarter out of his pocket and handed it to Aiden as he switched the bags around in his hand.

“That was a lot of money you just spent, Lucas,” Levi said quietly beside him when Aiden had ran back to the machine.

“Yeah, and the day is still young.”

“The paternity papers haven’t even came in yet. Stop blowing your money on him.”

Lucas cut Levi a look that shut him up. “We’ve discussed this Levi. Drop it.”

Levi shook his head before walking away and leaving Lucas alone with Aiden, something Lucas was starting to think he liked better. He used to be extremely close to Levi, but lately Levi hadn’t been Lucas’ favorite person. He didn’t like that Levi didn’t believe that Aiden was his. Couldn’t he just look at him and tell?

Lucas knew from first glance.

“Where are we going next?” Aiden asked, bringing Lucas’ attention to him.

“Clothes stores. What kind of clothes do you like?”

Aiden shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know, Mom just buys them. I like what you’re wearing.”

Lucas looked down at his bright blue Billabong shirt and ripped up jeans. “Well I don’t think they have kids Billabong here. You’ll have to come out to my house in California; we’ll go shopping out there for clothes like these.”

“Cool! Can my mom come?”

Lucas smiled. “I’d love for her too. She used to love it out there.”

“Awesome, we’ll have to talk her into it.”

“Will do buddy, so come on, let’s go get some clothes.”

They started off towards the Gap when Aiden pointed towards Tiffany’s. “That’s my mom’s favorite store. We always go in there and look but she never buys anything.”

“Why not?”

Aiden shrugged his shoulders. “Too expensive.”

“Hmm,” Lucas said before smiling down at Aiden. “Wanna go look for something for her?”

“I don’t have any money,” Aiden laughed as he bounced beside Lucas.

“Well I do. Come on.”

**********************************

“You spent a lot of money Lucas,” Aiden said as they made their way back to the truck.

Lucas shrugged his shoulder as Levi said, “He always does, bud.”

Lucas glared over at Levi before smiling down at Aiden. “That’s not a bad thing, bud.”

“I guess not since we got something for everyone, not just you and me,” Aiden said with a grin.

“Smart kid,” Lucas stated as he threw the millions of bags in the back of the truck. After they all were in the car and buckled up, Lucas pulled off and headed towards his house to drop Levi off. They rode listening to one of Aiden’s CDs when Levi let out a long sigh and reached for the CD player, ejecting the CD that played.

“Hey!” Aiden complained from the back.

“Sorry kid, I can’t listen to that crap,” Levi said as he put in one of Lucas’ mix CDs and turned it up.

Lucas looked over at Levi. “Fallon doesn’t want him listen to this, put something else on.”

“The kid has no clue what they are saying. If they say something bad, I’ll turn it off, but I can’t do Nickelodeon all day.”

Neither could Lucas, but he had been dealing with it because of Fallon. Levi was right though, Aiden had no clue what these guys were saying.

Aiden would be okay.

At least Lucas hoped so.

“Hey Mom is home!” Aiden gushed when Lucas pulled in behind her car. “She was supposed to be late, maybe there’s food!”

Aiden was out the car before Lucas was, bouncing as he waited. Lucas laughed as he followed behind his bouncing kid to the trunk to grab the bags. Levi had taken the iPads home with him to set them up, so all they had to grab was all the clothes bags and the Tiffany’s bag that held gifts for Audrey and Fallon.

“Can I stay the night at your house?” Aiden asked as they walked side by side up the walkway.

“Not tonight, bud, they are still fixing my floors. I’ll come first thing in the morning to get you, and we’ll go back.”

Aiden didn’t say anything until they reached the door. “Can you stay here?”

“Uh, um, I don’t think so buddy. Your mom probably won’t like that.”

“Sure she will, I’ll ask her. We’ll give her the gift first, butter her up.”

Lucas had to smile at that. Every day that passed, Lucas became more and more confident that Aiden was his. The kid was just like him. Everything Lucas did, Aiden did, and Lucas had never been so proud of anyone in his life the way he was of Aiden.

He loved Aiden.

Aiden threw the door open and yelled for Fallon as he threw the bags he held on the couch. Fallon came down the stairs in a pair of shorts and a large tee, her wet hair was up and she wore no makeup.

Jeez, she was a wet dream waiting to happen.

“Y’all are late, I was starting to worry,” she said as she hugged Aiden close to her. “I missed you.”

“Missed you too, Mommy!” Aiden gushed as he kissed her cheek. Lucas admired the pair as they greeted each other, and when Fallon looked up at him, he gave her a small smile. They hadn’t talked since he left the day before and even though he knew he should be mad at her and hate how immature she was acting, he couldn’t. She had her reasons and all he could do was hope that one day she would get over them all.

“We got you presents Mom, is AA here? We got her one too,” Aiden gushed as looked back at Lucas, his hand held out to him.

“What? No AA, isn’t here, she left a little while ago.”

“Oh,” Aiden said as Lucas handed her the little blue bag that held Fallon’s present. “This is for you, from us. I helped pick it out, and Lucas bought it, he bought a lot of things. Like the whole mall!”

Lucas chuckled from behind Aiden as Fallon held the little bag in her hand, staring at it as if it was a bomb. “You can open it, Fallon.”

**********************************

Fallon had had the worst day ever.

She couldn’t sleep for nothing the night before, the meetings she had that day were tiring and she was just plain worn out. She had thought the whole Lucas thing to death for the past two nights, and even with sleeping beside her perfect little guy, she still felt restless. She was already confused about what she was gonna do when it came to Lucas, and now he was getting her gifts?

She eyed the little blue bag that had Tiffany & Co. writing on the bag in black. “What is it?”

“A gift!” Aiden gushed as he bounced beside her.

She glanced over at Lucas and he was giving her that sexy damn smirk of his. As Fallon’s girlie parts screamed something fierce, she opened the bag, and pulled out the little black box, dropping the bag. She loved Tiffany & Co. and was excited to see what it was, she just hated that Lucas was the one to buy her something from Tiffany’s.

How was she supposed to be mad at a guy that buys her Tiffany’s?

When she pulled back the top of the box and saw the two little diamond encrusted hearts, her heartbeat raced. They were stunning. Her hand came over her mouth as she glanced down at the beautiful earrings. “Oh my, thank you,” she gushed before looking down at Aiden.

“You like ‘em?”

“Yes! They are beautiful,” she said as she wrapped an arm around him, kissing him sweetly against his cheek.

“Cool!” Aiden gushed as she moved to Lucas and wrapped an arm around him awkwardly to hug him. When she glanced up at him, he was smiling down at her.

“Thank you.”

Lucas put his other arm around her, so she stood in front of him, close to his chest. He took the box from her fingers, and opened it before taking the earrings out. His fingers brushed her cheek as he put one of the earrings in her ear, “Aiden’s heart,” he whispered, causing her to look up at him. He smiled as he moved to the other ear, putting it in as he whispered, “My heart.”

Fallon was speechless as Lucas backed up some while Aiden ran around them, throwing things out of all the bags that lined the couch. Fallon tore her gaze away from Lucas’ and looked down at all the things that lined the couch. “Goodness me,” she gasped as Aiden pulled outfit after outfit out of each bag. Fallon watched and listened as Aiden went on and on about all the things he got and how Lucas spent so much money. Fallon couldn’t believe the amount of bags that were on her couch. How much did Lucas spend? And why? Was he trying to show her up? She knew the earrings she wore were expensive and he had to have dropped a pretty penny on all the clothes he got for Aiden, all the bags were name brands. Every time she glanced at Lucas, he looked embarrassed as he smiled over at Aiden. Lucas was spoiling Aiden, something she just couldn’t afford to do.

“He bought me an iPad too, so when he’s gone we can talk, oh yeah!” Aiden yelled, causing Fallon to jump. “Can Lucas stay the night?”

Fallon took a step back, trying to control her breathing.

Lucas in her house? At night?!

Um, no.

“I wanted to stay at his house but it’s getting new floors and we are going to his house early in the morning to practice hockey and since he is leaving next week I wanted to spend time with him before he left. I’m gonna miss him a lot, Mommy, so please, I promise we won’t stay up all night and we’ll be quiet. Please.”

Aiden wanted to stay with Lucas?

Fallon couldn’t breathe as Aiden begged and begged for Lucas to stay. When she glanced over at Lucas, he was just smiling, looking like the most innocent guy in the world. Shit! If she said no, she would be the bad guy. She had already kept them apart long enough and he was leaving next week.

Oh God, this sucked!

“Please Mommy!”

“Ah, Aiden! Goodness me, if Lucas’ wants, I don’t care,” Fallon said as she moved away from them. She felt like she was gonna start crying. How did this happen? Aiden used to only want Fallon and now it was all about Lucas. Aiden didn’t even know that Lucas was his dad and he already wanted to spend all his time with him. What was going to happen when they told him? Was he going to want to live with Lucas? Completely leave Fallon all by herself?

Tears threatened to fall, so Fallon headed for the stairs. “Aiden James, leave all them clothes on the couch, I’ll get ‘em later. There’s dinner on the stove.”

“Where are you going Mom?”

“To bed, I have a headache,” she said as she quickly climbed the stairs. She figured Lucas could take care of Aiden and didn’t bother saying anything to him. When she reached her room, she shut the door before falling into the bed face first. She wrapped herself up in the sheets just as the sobs started ripping out of her.

She hated crying over this, but she was just so jealous. Why did Lucas have to come into their lives? He had already ruined her and here he was again, taking the only thing she had left after he took her heart. What if he left again? Fallon knew he said he wasn’t going anywhere but what if he did? Then what? Aiden basically thought Lucas hung the moon and the stars, he could do no wrong so what was Fallon going to do if he left? Not only would it break Aiden’s heart but it would break Fallon all over again. She still loved him and seeing him day after day only made it worse. No matter how much she didn’t want Lucas, her body craved him and it was getting harder and harder with each passing day to resist him.

Lucas said she wore his and Aiden’s hearts, and little did he know — or maybe he did know — that he held both theirs. No matter how much she didn’t want him having her heart, he had it and probably always would. If Fallon gave him her body too, she would be back to the way they were so long ago. Back to when she was convinced that Lucas did hang the moon and stars and that she would never love someone the way she loved him.

Which she never had.

Lucas was the only one she had ever loved and Fallon just couldn’t understand it. How could she want someone that hurt her so bad that she felt like her life was over? She had cried more over Lucas Brooks than she had over anyone in her whole life, and here she was still crying over him. This time though, it was more because of Aiden than herself. She was just so scared of Lucas and really didn’t know how to handle it.

Fallon moved her hand along her cheek, catching the tears that rolled down her face, when someone opened the door. She froze, praying that it was Audrey and not Lucas or Aiden. Her back was to the door since she was crying and she didn’t want to turn to look in case it was Aiden or Lucas.

“Audrey?” she asked, trying to wipe her face free of tears but she knew it wasn’t Audrey.

“It’s me.”

Lucas’ velvet soft voice ran down Fallon’s spine and her heart started to beat faster.

Shit, shit, shit.

“Um, I’m trying to sleep,” she whispered as she buried herself deeper into the bed.

“I heard you crying Fallon, stop lying to me.”

Fallon’s chest heaved as she held in a sob. She wanted him to leave and she wanted him to hold her all in one. She was so confused and screwed up in the head that it was a miracle she could actually function.

“What do you want?” she asked as she felt him sit on the edge of the bed. Her heart picked up in speed when she felt his hand rest on her hip. Her breathing was erratic and she didn’t know what to do or say.

The only sounds in the bedroom was their breathing, that was until Lucas whispered, “To make you stop crying.”

Chapter 18

Lucas’ hand burned against Fallon’s hip.

He had heard her crying when he was hanging up Aiden’s new clothes and since Aiden was downstairs watching a movie, Lucas decided to check on her. When he opened the door without knocking, he expected her to jump up and start yelling at him, but she just laid there. Her body shaking with the sobs that ripped from her. Fallon was always an intense crier. He hated watching her cry and this time was no different. He didn’t know what she was crying so hard about but he intended to find out.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as he moved his hand from her hip to her back, going up and down.

“Nothing,” she lied. Lucas rolled his eyes.

“Just tell me.”

“No, you’ll laugh or think I’m dumb.”

“I will not, tell me,” he said. She didn’t say anything for a moment and he watched as she moved her hand along her cheek, catching the tears that fell.

“I can’t buy Aiden stuff the way you can,” she whispered before turning so she could sit up in the bed. “I don’t have the money Lucas, and I feel like he,” she paused, looking down at her hands as the tears rolled down her cheeks into her hands, “that he likes you more than me.”

A small smiled came across Lucas’ face; she couldn’t be serious.

“Fallon, Aiden does not like me more than you.”

“You’re all he talks about and I mean, he doesn’t even know that you’re his dad yet, and when he does what if he wants to leave me and live with you? I’ve been the only parent his whole life and you come along and now you’re the shit while I’m just boring old Mom.”

Lucas chuckled as he slid his hand into her folded ones. “Fallon, you are all he talks about when he’s with me. Everything is ‘can my mom come, my mom loves this, did you know my mom does this.’ He loves you so much. I’m just new, that’s all.”

“Yeah and when you are the daddy that he’s been wanting, I’ll be nothing,” she said as she started to cry again. “I’ve fucked up so bad,” she whispered.

Lucas watched her cry for a moment before nodding and saying, “I’m not going to disagree with you Fallon, you did. But you are making it better. You’ve been understanding about letting me hang with him, and I bet we could be a good team together if you would let us be.”

Fallon glanced up at him. “I just hate how I get around you. I just want to be in control and be number one and I feel like I’m not when you’re around.”

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. “It's going to take getting used to on both ends. I have to get used to the way you do things, and you’ll have to get used to the way I do things, but in the long run we both have Aiden in mind. We both love him. Yeah, he talks about me all the time, but Fallon give him a week or two, he’ll be sick of me. You’ll always be his mommy, his number one. Look at how much I love my mom — that’s how Aiden feels about you. You are a great mom, Fal.”

Large tears rolled down from her wide eyes as she said. “I don’t know. I’m just so jealous of you, isn’t that sad?”

Lucas smiled. “Don’t you think I’m jealous of you? You’ve had seven years with him, I’ve had seven days. You said you fucked up Fallon, but really I did. I can’t tell you how much I regret what I did to you because not only did I lose you, I lost seven years with my son.”

She started to cry harder and Lucas couldn’t take it anymore. He wrapped her tightly in his arms, nuzzling his nose in her hair as she cried into his neck. “I’m so sorry Lucas,” she whispered against his neck.

Her apology struck cords in his heart as he held her. It felt so good to have her in his arms again, the feel of her hair against his nose, the smell of her shampoo, the feel of her skin under his hand, it was all pure bliss. She pulled back too early, looking up at him with tears leaking out the corners of her eyes. He moved his hands up to her cheeks, wiping the tears away with his thumbs as he stared into her beautiful caramel eyes. Lucas took in a deep breath and his hands started to shake from the closeness of her mouth to his. His eyes fell to her plump lips before he moved in, taking her mouth with his.

Lucas thought she was going to pull away but when she didn’t, he deepened the kiss, moving his tongue against hers, drinking from her moist and tasty mouth. He had missed it so much, and he loved the way her mouth moved with his. When he pulled back for air, it was only for a second before he went back for more, kissing and biting at her beautiful succulent mouth. Fallon’s hands went up his thighs, moving around his middle to go under his shirt before coming up his shoulder blades, pulling him closer. The coolness from her hand made his hot skin break out in goose bumps, but he didn’t mind, he loved the feel of her hands on him. Since his shirt was around his chest because of the way she was holding him, Lucas pulled back, pulling the shirt over his head and throwing it across the room before reclaiming her mouth with his.

Her hands roamed his body as he laid her back, pressing his rock hard body against her soft one. Her quiet moans filled the room, and Lucas fought the urge to rip off her clothes and screw her brains out. But that wasn’t what this was, this was supposed to be slow, sensual and damn it, he was going to show her he could be romantic!

Even if it killed him.

As Fallon’s hands moved down the center of his back over his jean-covered ass, Lucas wished he was naked. Even through the thickness of his jeans he could feel the heat of her, and his own heat begged to be inside her. Lucas moved his hands up her body, pulling her shirt up so he could get to her bare breasts. He took one of her perfect, rosy nipples in his mouth while he tweaked the other.

Fallon started to move against him, and when she bit down on his bare shoulder Lucas swore he was about to come. He moved up her chest, his breathing out of control, as he lightly sucked on her neck. He savored her neck and bit her chin before taking her mouth with his again. Her fingers teased his hips and butt before she ran her nails up his back and then back down. Lucas needed more, and by the way Fallon was rubbing against him, he knew she wanted more too. He moved his hands down her belly and started to untie the ribbon that held her shorts together.

“Oh God, please,” she moaned.

Lucas’ control was snapping, and just as he was about to slide his hand down her shorts, a knock came at the door.

“Mommy?”

Lucas wasn’t sure if he jumped off Fallon or if she pushed him, but he landed on the floor with a thud.

“Bathroom!” she said in a loud whispered. Lucas took off on his hands and knees to the bathroom just as the door opened. Lucas shut the door and leaned against it, trying to catch his breath.

Shit!

Fallon rolled onto her stomach, moving her hair out of her face as Aiden opened the door and popped his head in.

“Mommy, is Lucas in here?”

“Yeah baby, he’s in the bathroom, he’ll be out soon,” Fallon said as she tried to control her breathing. Aiden had never seen a man in her room and Fallon was freaking out. What was Aiden thinking? And what the hell was her problem!?

Lucas tells her she is a good mom and she jumps his bones?

Good Lord, she needed help! She knew Lucas was a bad idea, and it didn’t seem to matter!

“Oh, okay. Tell him I’m in my room,” Aiden said with a smile.

“I will, honey.”

She gave Aiden a lopsided grin and he giggled as he came into her room, wrapping his arms around her neck. “I love you Mommy,” he whispered against her ear. Fallon closed her eyes as she wrapped an arm around his back.

“And I love you more, baby,” she said as he pulled back, kissing her lips lightly. The same lips Lucas had just devoured.

“You’re the best. Thank you for letting Lucas stay.”

Fallon smiled, bringing him to her for another kiss. “No problem baby, go on. He’ll be in there in a few.”

“Okay, goodnight.”

“Night darlin’,” she whispered as he left.

When the door closed, Fallon sat up, looking towards the bathroom door. Lucas opened it and came out, a grin on his face. Fallon’s eyes fell to his body and noticed that along with the tattoos she had already known about, he had another one down his ribs that said ‘The past was practice’. Her mouth watered at the sight of his perfectly sculpted body and she ached to touch him, even though she knew it would lead to things she shouldn’t be doing with him.

Lucas stopped and bent over picking up his shirt. Fallon watched as he threw it on before looking over at her. “I know that look Fallon.”

She looked down. “What look?”

“That ‘I can’t believe I just did that’ look,” he said as he crawled onto the bed. She watched as his hands came to the spots beside each side of her legs and his mouth was only inches from hers. “If I remember correctly, the last time I saw that look on your face, we had the most amazing summer of our lives together.”

Fallon’s eyes fell shut when he pressed his lips against hers softly. When he pulled back, her eyes stayed shut as he said, “I’ll let you think about what happened to death, baby girl. Remember though, when you open those eyes and you are ready to be with me, I’ll be here.”

When she opened her eyes, Lucas was going towards the door with a grin on his face. As he shut the door, Fallon’s face dropped onto her mattress and she let out a frustrated scream, praying that Lucas and Aiden didn’t hear her.

What the hell did she just do!

And damn it, why did she want more!

*********************************

“My mom makes the best French toast ever,” Aiden said the next morning as they drove to Lucas’ house. It was a foggy morning and it gave all the trees that led out to Lucas’ house a spooky feel, but it was still beautiful. That was the thing he loved most about Nashville, it had such beautiful scenery.

“Your mom made those? I thought Audrey did,” Lucas said as he turned onto the road that would take them out to his house.

“Nope, Mom made them before she left for work. AA can’t cook,” Aiden said with a small giggle. “Mom says that she cooks on burn all the time, but she does make the best cupcakes.”

Lucas chuckled. “I wondered where your mom was this morning.”

Fallon wasn’t there when Lucas and Aiden came down for breakfast. Only Audrey sat at the table with a plate in front of her. Lucas didn’t want Audrey thinking he was stalking Fallon so he didn’t ask where she was as he ate the most amazing French toast he had ever had. Even Aiden didn’t ask. It was as if it was expected for Fallon not to be there that morning. It didn’t really surprise Lucas any either. If he knew one thing, it was that Fallon was a runner and after last night, he knew she would run.

“I think she had meetings this morning.”

Lucas nodded while pulling up to the gate that lined his property. After putting in his access card, the gate opened and Lucas drove through. He drove around the large tan stucco home, down the driveway and into the garage. When Lucas first came to Nashville and saw the 19,000-square-foot home, he thought it was too big for just him and Levi, but now that he knew of Aiden and hoped to be with Fallon soon, the home was perfect.

He loved the Tuscan villa-style home that sat in a private setting away from the road. No one knew he was there unless they drove down the long driveway that took them to the beautiful home. The backyard was probably one of his favorite things about the home. It had two patios, a huge in-ground pool, a pool house, and a really nice grotto. He also had a big field that at first he was annoyed with but now he figured he and Aiden could go out and play soccer, or have Aiden’s birthday parties there.

The house he once was annoyed with was now something he was glad he had.

Aiden jumped out the truck and ran to the back to get his equipment. Lucas followed behind him, grabbing out his bag before handing it to Aiden. Aiden leaned to the side from the weight of the bag and Lucas chuckled as he grabbed his own bag and their sticks. As they walked towards the back door, Aiden stopped at Lucas’ 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8, and looked up at Lucas, smiling.

“That’s a pretty car,” Aiden said, and Lucas laughed.

“Yup, it’s a special car,” he said with a smile. He had gotten the Charger because it was what Fallon used to drive. He had loved that car, and the things they had done in it. Having his own reminded him of the times him and Fallon shared.

Aiden nodded his head. “It's really shinny.”

“Yeah, maybe we’ll go for a ride later?” Lucas asked and when Aiden gazed up at Lucas with excitement in his eyes, Lucas grinned.

God, he loved this kid.

“So we can’t go in the house yet? Aiden asked as they went through the back door to the hall that led upstairs or to the hockey rink.

“Not yet, they should be cleaned up and gone by lunch, so I figured we would play for a couple hours and then head up.”

“Cool, I wanna see the inside of this huge house.”

Lucas smiled. “Is it too big?”

“I thought so at first, but Mom said you like things big,” Aiden giggled, causing Lucas to laugh.

“Your mom is right on that one,” Lucas said as he led Aiden into the ice rink. When Aiden took in a sharp breath, Lucas smiled.

“You do like big things!”

Lucas laughed again and threw his bag down as Aiden did the same. His eyes were wide as they looked around the rink, and Lucas felt good that he had impressed Aiden. He wanted Aiden to think his house was cool because the following day, Fallon and Lucas were going to tell him about Lucas being his dad. Even though Levi was extremely against telling Aiden without the paternity papers, Lucas felt good about it. There was no doubt that Aiden was his, plus Fallon wouldn’t lie to him.

Hide a child? Yes. Lie? No.

Lucas shook his head as if he was shaking the thought away and started pulling his equipment out the way Aiden was. After getting Aiden dressed, Lucas started to get dressed as he watched Aiden try to skate out onto the ice. It was one of the funniest things Lucas had ever seen — Aiden would skate an inch and then fall down, get right back up and fall again. Lucas tried not to laugh but it was so hard, and he almost fell off the bench laughing at one point. Aiden had fallen so hard that his stick and gloves flew off.

“Are you laughing at me?” Aiden asked as he lay down with his face against the ice.

“Not at you bud, with you,” Lucas laughed as he stood up after lacing up his skates.

“I’m not laughing.”

Lucas let out a gut-busting laugh before going onto the ice and skating around Aiden’s little body. He skated around the rink a couple times while Aiden stood up, getting his balance. He looked over at Lucas as Lucas skated over to him, stopping in front of him.

“Alright bud, it’s all in the way you move your feet. Left, right, left, right,” Lucas said, showing Aiden with his own feet.

“Okay,” Aiden said nervously as he tried to throw his stick away but Lucas grabbed it, shaking his head.

“No, bud, keep the stick. It helps with your balance.” Aiden nodded and looked up at Lucas with a nervous look but excitement in his eyes. “Okay, I’ll skate in front of you. Let’s go.”

“You’re gonna skate backwards?”

“Yeah,” Lucas said with a grin.

“That’s so cool,” Aiden gushed as he put his stick down and started skating. Lucas probably encouraged Aiden a little too much as they skated, but he wanted him to be confident. Lucas would probably tell the kid anything as long as it gave him the confidence he needed.

Hell, Lucas would say and do anything for Aiden.

“Alright, I’m going to time you,” Lucas said after watching Aiden skate around the rink a couple times. Once he got his feet right, he was flying. Lucas was having a hard time keeping his cool — even at the age of 30 he was on the edge of jumping up and down while yelling out how proud of Aiden he was. The kid was spectacular.

“Time me?”

“Yeah, let’s see how long it takes you to get around the rink.”

“How fast are you?” Aiden asked moving his helmet up so he could look up at Lucas.

Lucas grinned widely as his cheeks warmed. “I’m a little fast.”

“How fast?”

“Wanna time me?”

Aiden grin grew as he nodded his head. “Yeah! Ready set go!”

Lucas took off and in no time was back to Aiden just as he said, “14.”

“You’re really fast,” Aiden said with awe in his eyes.

“Yup, that’s why I have a big house and a nice car. The NHL likes fast,” Lucas said breathing deeply.

“And you can shoot too?”

“Yup, I’m going to teach you that, too, but first let’s see how fast you are.”

Aiden nodded quickly as he got in position ready to go. “Okay.”

“Ready, set go!”

Aiden took off quick and got around in triple Lucas’ time, which wasn’t half bad! As Lucas smiled widely at him, Aiden tried to catch his breath. “Whoo!” Lucas laughed when Aiden fell back onto the ice, still trying to catch his breath. “I can’t breathe!”

Lucas had skated in that rink a billion times but never once had he felt the way he did when Aiden’s giggles filled the rink.

He felt whole.

************************

After unlacing their skates, Lucas and Aiden headed up the stairs. Lucas hoped the guys that were putting the hardwood floors upstairs were done as they climbed the stairs. Aiden was talking a mile a minute about everything from skating to shooting. He was a good shot, but Lucas already knew that. The kid was meant to hold a hockey stick and skate on ice.

Aiden was Lucas’ boy.

Just like Lucas was James’ boy.

Just thinking of his dad made Lucas smile. James never made it to the NHL but he was meant to. He broke his shoulder in two places at the finals during his sophomore year and couldn’t shoot a puck to save his life after that. Little did he know, Molly was only a few weeks pregnant with Lucas at the time. James always said it was meant to be — he wanted to be a full-time dad, not travel around a lot while leaving his family behind. It felt like the air was knocked out of Lucas when he realized that he was going to be leaving his son behind. That he was going to be everything his dad didn’t want to be. Lucas looked over his shoulder at Aiden and his heart broke. He hadn’t even left yet and it was already hard to think about.

“I love hockey,” Aiden gushed as they climbed the stairs.

“I’m glad you do,” Lucas said calmly, when really he was screaming inside. Even with the horrible thought of leaving Aiden, Lucas was still so happy. Sharing the greatest game ever with his son was a dream come true for him.

“I’m hungry,” Aiden said as they entered the kitchen, not knowing that the statement he just made had made Lucas’ lifetime.

“Good, since we are in the kitchen.”

Aiden’s eyes went wide as he took in the marble kitchen. Lucas liked the elegant feel the kitchen gave off. It made him feel like he was in the Roman Empire or something. Lucas’ eyes roamed over the kitchen like Aiden’s, taking in the marble island, the large fridge, and huge stove. Fallon was right, he did love big things.

Just like her ass.

Just the thought of her ass brought him back to the night before. He could hold her ass in his hands for days and wouldn’t even care about anything else. He loved it that much.

“Do you have peanut butter sandwiches?” Aiden asked.

Lucas smiled. “Yeah, buddy. If you want, you can go look around while I make some.”

Aiden took off.

Lucas chuckled to himself as he pulled out the peanut butter and bread. He felt so normal, so at ease as he made his son a sandwich.

He could do this every day.

All he needed was Fallon to come stumbling into the kitchen in those sexy little shorts and his tee and his life would be complete.

“Hey Lucas,” Aiden called from the other room.

“Yeah?”

“Can you come here?”

Lucas looked behind him and didn’t like the sound of Aiden’s voice. He sounded confused or nervous. Lucas left the kitchen and headed into the hall, where Aiden stood staring up at the wall. Lucas knew what picture he was looking at before he even came to Aiden’s side, looking at the same wall.

“Is that my mom?” Aiden asked with his eyes wide.

Lucas only nodded as he took in the beauty of his past love. She sat on his bed in all her 19-year-old glory. Nothing on, the only thing that covered her breast was her hair, but it was still a little visible on the side. Only Lucas could tell who the beauty was since only her profile showed, but obviously Aiden knew what his mom looked like.

“How old was she?” Aiden asked.

“Nineteen.”

“She has tattoos now,” Aiden stated as he glanced up at the picture. Lucas had no room in his gym shorts at just the thought of ink on Fallon. He had begged her to get tattoos when they were together and she never would. Oh how he wanted to see them. “She has my name and AA’s on the inside of her arms and then something else on her side.”

“Oh,” was all Lucas could get out.

Nothing was said for a minute as man and son gazed up at the picture of the woman they both loved. Lucas felt Aiden’s eyes on him and he looked down at his wide-eyed boy.

“Why do you have a nakie picture of my mom on your wall?”

Lucas’s mouth pulled up at one side. “Because she is beautiful.”

“Oh,” Aiden answered. “Did you like her?”

“Yeah.”

Silence filled the hall as both of them turned back to the picture. “Do you still like her?”

“Yeah,” Lucas answered without even thinking of it and knew that later when Aiden told Fallon, he was going to get an earful. When Aiden didn’t say anything else, Lucas turned and walked away, hoping like hell that Aiden didn’t tell Fallon. Even though he knew Aiden probably would. Lucas went back into the kitchen, thinking that he needed to get lunch on the table and Aiden in there so that maybe he would forget about the naked picture of Fallon.

Man, she was going to kill him.

Lucas was cutting up pieces of watermelon thinking about the day he took that picture of Fallon when Aiden called for him again.

“Um. Lucas?”

Lucas wiped his hands on a towel before leaving the kitchen to find Aiden. When he searched the living room and offices with no luck, Lucas headed upstairs to find Aiden in his room. Aiden stood beside Lucas’ bed looking up at the picture of Lucas and his dad. Lucas went around his bed and prepared himself to answer questions about his dad. It was going to be hard, but Aiden was a questions kind of kid. So he took a deep breath and stood beside Aiden, tucking his hands into his pockets.

“Yeah, bud?”

“Is that your dad?”

“Yeah, and that’s me,” Lucas said, pointing to his seven-year-old self. A smile formed on his face as he glanced at the picture, Aiden looked so much like he did when he was a kid. The only difference was the nose, and maybe the cheeks. Everything else was Lucas. Levi was an idiot for thinking that Aiden wasn’t his.

“We look exactly alike.”

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, but we have different noses and cheeks,” Lucas pointed out.

“I have my mom’s nose.”

“Yeah,” Lucas said with a nod before looking down at Aiden. Aiden turned and looked up at him, his eyes wide as he blinked twice at Lucas. Nothing was said as the two stared into each other’s eyes, but then Aiden asked, “You’re my dad, aren’t you?”

Chapter 19

“Aren’t you?”

Lucas couldn’t speak; he couldn’t even form a thought. The way Aiden was looking up at him — with his face full of fear — scared Lucas shitless.

This was about to go really bad, Lucas could tell by the look on Aiden’s scared little face.

“Are you my dad, Lucas?” Aiden asked once more. Lucas closed his eyes as he took in a deep breath. He didn’t want to do this without Fallon, but Aiden was leaving him no choice. He opened his eyes, looking down at his son, before slowly nodding.

“I am.”

Aiden took in a sharp breath as he took a step back, his eyes wide.

“You are?”

Lucas nodded again, bending down so he was at the same level as Aiden. Aiden seemed to like when he did it before, and Lucas liked it too. He liked being on the same level as Aiden, he never wanted to seem like he was talking down to him.

“Yeah,” Lucas answered after a moment.

Aiden didn’t say anything as he stood there blinking at Lucas. Lucas didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t say anything either. When Aiden’s eyes started to fill with tears, Lucas was brought to his knees, moving towards him.

“Aiden, buddy, don’t cry,” he said softly as he tried to grab Aiden’s hand. Aiden shook his head, moving away from Lucas again.

“Why didn’t you want me?”

A heavy feeling filled Lucas’ stomach as Aiden ran past him into the bedroom bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Lucas felt he had just been hit in the chest with a puck shot by Shea Adler as he slowly fell back onto to his hunches and then to his ass. When Aiden’s quiet sobs reached him from the bathroom, Lucas felt as if his were soon to follow.

What the hell was he going to do?

**********************************

Fallon’s mind was still going 900 miles an hour even with her being dead on her feet. The night before was a sleepless night because really? Who could actually sleep after rolling around in bed with Lucas Brooks? She was a complete mess. She had meetings out the ass that day and not getting sleep the night before was not good. She basically had to drag herself out of bed the next morning, just to make sure she didn’t see Lucas.

It wasn’t that Fallon didn’t want to see Lucas, it was more that she was scared. Scared that she might feel regret for what she did, or worse, that she wouldn’t. Fallon was a walking question mark. One minute she knew what she wanted, and that was to keep Lucas at arms length away. The next minute, she wanted to be on her back with him on top of her, ravishing her with his naughty mouth. Her body sang for his, and she really didn’t know how to handle it. Fallon knew for a fact it was a bad idea to get involved with Lucas, but why didn’t her body know that? Why couldn’t her brain and her body get on the same wavelength so that she could actually function when it came to Lucas?

It had only been a week of seeing him on a daily basis, and Fallon was a basket case!

Lord, what was she gonna do?

Fallon stood at the end of the long black, glossy executive table. Her father sat at the other end, his eyes on her, along with the eyes of the 18 other board members. Fallon was going over the mark ups for the campaign between the Assassins and Rocky Top since it was to start in a couple of weeks. She was also explaining the dates and when things would start running. Fallon was so tired, but she didn’t let anyone know that as she worked the room. It made Fallon feel good when one of the board members would nod or smile at her. It made her feel as if she was succeeding and after the week she had, she could use the good vibes.

“So Mrs. Adler is on board?” William asked.

Fallon nodded. “Yes sir, we start April second.”

“Lucas Brooks is the spokesman?” William asked with a hairy eyebrow raised.

Fallon didn’t look him in the eyes as she nodded again. “He is. He is the only one that volunteered.”

“I see.” Fallon heard him say, then she heard a knock on the glass wall. She looked over and Kristi, the front desk girl, held up her phone, shaking it at Fallon. Fallon shook her head and looked out at the table.

“He is a good-looking man,” one of the female board members said. Fallon couldn’t remember her name to save her life though.

“He is,” Fallon agreed as she looked down at his player shot that Elli had sent over for the meeting.

“Let’s hope he does a good job,” William said loudly.

Fallon looked up and nodded. “He will.”

Fallon turned, walking towards the computer that held her power point to explain the turnaround time for the ad to start running, when Kristi came to the wall again. This time, everyone looked to see her holding a piece of paper against the wall that said, ‘The guy says it’s an emergency.’

Emergency?

Aiden!

Fallon looked over at Rob and he shrugged his shoulder before opening her bag and looking down at her phone. When he looked up at Fallon, she knew something was wrong. Rob’s eyes were wide as he handed Fallon her phone. She focused to see that she had 38 missed calls from Lucas. Her pulse started to race.

“Take over,” was all she said before walking out of the meeting and dialing Lucas’ number. As she door shut behind her, she heard her father call her name, but she ignored him and went to her office. When she reached her office to grab her things, Lucas picked up.

“Fallon, I need you to come to my house. Right now,” Lucas said. He was breathing hard, and Fallon’s pulse picked up in triple time.

“Is everything okay?” Fallon asked, even though she knew it wasn’t.

“No, Aiden has locked himself in my bathroom and I can’t get him out.”

Fallon stopped, confused, as she leaning against her desk. She took a deep breath, trying to catch her breath. “Why?”

“Because he asked if I was his dad, Fallon, and I told him the truth.”

Oh, God.

Fallon couldn’t move, she couldn’t breathe. She thought she had prepared herself for this moment but it was supposed to be done together. She and Lucas putting on a front that everything was going to be fine and that Lucas did love Aiden, but it hadn’t happen that way. Her poor baby boy was locked up in some bathroom, probably crying, and Fallon knew that Lucas was just as bad. She could hear the hitch in his voice, and he was gasping for air. He was freaking out.

“I’m leaving now,” she said before hanging up. Fallon almost ran out the building, even with people calling her name, she didn’t stop. She had a little boy to get to.

A grown man, too.

**********************************

When Fallon pulled into Lucas’ driveway, she stopped to look up at the massive house. Even with her being worried beyond all belief, she still didn’t expect his house to be anything less. Lucas loved his things fancy and big. She used to tease him when they were together about his expensive taste. How did a regular blue-collar boy from Eaton Rapids, Michigan, get such expensive taste?

Fallon’s face broke out in a smile as she remembered the bashful grin that would come over his face as he would say, “Look at the girl I’m with. That should let you know right there that I like things beautiful.” She shook her head, stopping at the walkway and shutting off the car. She got out and ran up the walkway to the door. Lucas opened the door before she was even able to reach it. When her eyes settled on his, Fallon swore all the air she had in her body came out in a rush.

Lucas’ eyes were bloodshot, his face red, and his eyes frantic as he looked down at her. They stood staring at each other for a moment before he moved out of the way, letting her in.

“He’s in my room,” he said as she passed by. Fallon nodded as she stopped in the foyer, waiting for him to lead the way. When he walked past her, she couldn’t stop herself, she reached out taking his hand in hers. She had to comfort him, he looked so scared, so hurt.

And it was all because of her.

Lucas looked down at her, and Fallon squeezed his hand. “I’m gonna fix this, Lucas.”

“He said I didn’t want him.”

Tears rushed to Fallon’s eyes. God, what had she done? “I’m gonna fix it,” she reassured. He squeezed her hand and started off towards the stairs.

Her hand still in his.

Fallon took in the clean look of the dark brown walls with the white trim. It looked so classic, so beautiful. Along the wall by the stairs were pictures of Lucas growing up and pictures of him and Levi. Fallon scrunched her nose up at the sight of Levi. He used to be a nice guy, but now she was convinced he was a Grade A douche. How anyone could say Aiden wasn’t Lucas’ was an asshole. Levi was basically calling Fallon a liar, and she was no damn liar.

A keeper of information, yes, but not a liar.

When Lucas lead Fallon into his bedroom, Fallon only looked around for a moment at the beautiful shade of gray on the walls before she heard Aiden crying.

Fallon made it to the bathroom door in no time at all. She pressed her hand against it as she softly said, “Aiden, honey?”

Aiden took in a deep breath before Fallon her him say, “Mommy?”

“Yes, baby. Let me in.”

“I wanna go home,” Aiden cried. She then heard the squeak of his shoes on the floor before the door opened and Aiden attached himself to her waist. Fallon held him close to her as he rubbed his nose into her middle, his tears soaking her shirt. “I want to go home,” he said once more against her stomach. She looked back to see Lucas, leaning against the door frame. The saddest look was on his face, and Fallon’s heart broke for him.

“Okay, honey,” Fallon said quietly. Aiden looked up at her and she ran her fingers through his hair, moving it out of his eyes. “Let’s go.”

Fallon lifted Aiden into her arms, and he wrapped his limbs around her tightly. Aiden’s face was hidden in her neck as she walked past Lucas. She couldn’t look Lucas in the eyes. She was too embarrassed and too guilty to even try. She heard him walk behind them, and he even opened the door for her without a word. Fallon carried Aiden to the car, and after buckling him in she turned to see Lucas standing on the porch watching her. She looked back at Aiden, but he was looking at his hands. Fallon took in a deep breath, walked back down the walkway and looked up at Lucas when she reached the steps.

“I’m sorry, Lucas,” she whispered. He ran his hands through his hair before looking down at her.

“He said I didn’t want him.”

“I know, but I’m going to fix it. I promise.”

Lucas shook his head, running his hands through his hair once more before taking in a deep breath. “This is my fault. I should have chased after you, but nope, I was too fucked up.”

Fallon was toe to toe with him before he even finished the sentence. “This is nowhere near your fault, Lucas. I should have told you. I should have been a good woman and told you about your son. This is my fault and I’ll fix it.”

Lucas shook his head. “I don’t think you can. I think he hates me.”

“He doesn’t hate you. He’s just scared. I’ll talk to him. I promise, everything will be fine.”

Lucas’ eyes filled with tears and Fallon found it hard to catch her breath. If he started to cry in front of Fallon, she was pretty sure she would pass out. Lucas never showed emotion before and in the past week that was all she had seen from him.

Maybe he had changed?

“Okay,” Lucas said with a nod. Fallon nodded back and reached for his hand, squeezing it with a small smile on her face. She didn’t even pull away when he leaned forward and pressed his lips softly to hers. She basked in the feel of his lips, the warmth of his skin against hers, everything, because she still craved it. When he pulled back, she gave him one last smile before heading down the steps to go to the car.

Fallon’s mind was reeling.

Did she really just kiss Lucas while around them the world was falling apart? And why didn’t it feel like the world was crashing down around them when his lips were on hers?

Damn, she was messed up.

Aiden didn’t say anything the entire ride back to their house. Every time Fallon looked in the rearview mirror, he was looking out the window, his chin on his hand. All her past fears came rushing back to her, and she wished like hell that she hadn’t left Lucas’ house. At least she would have him there for support, but not now. She was on her own. The way it should be. She made this mess, and she needed to fix it. It was obvious that Lucas needed Aiden, and Fallon couldn’t help but think Aiden needed Lucas. She thought she could do this all on her own, but just in the past week she saw a difference in Aiden. He was happier.

And it was all because of Lucas.

When they pulled into the driveway, Fallon got out and let Aiden out, shutting the doors behind them. He slid his hand into hers as they walked up the walkway. Once inside, Aiden headed for the stairs as Fallon went to lay her things down. As she checked her phone before turning it off, she heard Aiden’s door slam. She took in a jagged breath and prayed for the strength and knowledge to do this. After sliding off her pumps, and running her hands through her hair, she figured she had stalled enough. She started climbing the stairs and with each step her heartbeat picked up in speed.

What was Aiden going to say?

Was he going to hate her?

Did he hate Lucas?

Questions filled her head as she took each step, getting closer and closer to her baby boy’s door. When Aiden’s blue door came into sight, she took in another deep breath before pushing the door open. Aiden lay on his side with his back to the door.

“Aiden?” she asked as she shut the door behind her.

“Yeah?” Aiden said, not turning to look at her. Fallon walked around the random toys on Aiden’s floor and decided that she would yell at him to clean up later. Aiden cleaning his room was at the bottom of Fallon’s list of worries. Fallon sat on the edge of the bed and placed her hand on the outside of Aiden’s thigh. Nothing was said for a few minutes as Fallon watched tears roll down Aiden’s cheeks and over his chin. She felt horrible and prayed that Aiden would understand that at the time she thought she was helping him.

“Honey, we need to talk about what happened at Lucas’ house.”

Aiden nodded, still not looking at her as he wiped the tears from his cheeks. “Lucas said he is my dad.”

Fallon moved her hand up and down Aiden’s leg. “He is.”

Aiden looked over at her as if she had just told him that dinosaurs were roaming the earth as they speak. “He is?”

“Yes honey,” Fallon said, confused. Did he think Lucas was lying?

“You knew?”

Fallon bit her lip as her heart started to race. She nodded as she said. “I did.”

Aiden looked up at Fallon, his eyes full of tears as he asked, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Fallon’s heart broke at the sounds of his little whimper. She hated that she had hurt him and wished she could take it all back. Fallon reached for Aiden’s hands, holding them in hers as she said, “I wanted to wait until you got to know him, baby. I didn’t want to throw everything at you at once.”

Fallon was starting to think he wasn’t going to say anything as he looked down at his hands, but then he looked up as her before saying, “Why didn’t he want me?”

Fallon reached for Aiden as the tears threatened to fall. She never thought that Aiden would ask that. She had always made sure to tell him that Lucas loved him and that he wanted him but maybe that wasn’t enough. Maybe she had ruined their relationship because how was she going to explain to a six year old that Lucas did want him after all this time? She had fucked up enormously bad, and she could honestly say she didn’t know how she was going to fix it.

Aiden buried his face in Fallon’s neck as she prayed for the right words to say, the right way to tell Aiden. “Honey, Lucas does want you.”

“But not before,” Aiden cried. Fallon swore that with every tear, her heart broke more. She hated when Aiden cried. Fallon pulled back, looking down at Aiden.

“Baby, I never told Lucas about you.”

Aiden’s eyebrows came together as he looked up at Fallon. “Why not?”

Shit. How’d she know he was going to say that?

“Well, when we broke up and I found out I was pregnant with you, instead of telling him, I came home so that AA, Grammie and Grandpa could help me.”

“Why didn’t you ask Lucas to help you?”

Because she was stupid.

“Well, Mommy was really mad at him.”

“Why?”

Damn it! Why didn’t they write books on how to do this?!

“Because Lucas kissed another girl. I got mad and left him.”

Aiden’s little eyes got so wide as he looked up at Fallon. “He kissed another girl when you were his girlfriend? Even I know not to do that.”

Say what?!

Fallon pointed her finger at Aiden. “You better not be kissing any little girls,” she warned. Aiden smiled bashfully for the first time since leaving Lucas’. Fallon smiled back and hugged him close to her. “Lucas loves you so much, baby. If he would have known about you before he would have been here. Mommy was just mad and didn’t want him around. It’s all my fault for keeping him away from you. I’m so sorry.”

Aiden nodded, snuggling closer to her chest. “It’s okay.”

Fallon smiled against his temple as she held him close. Aiden was pretty much the best kid imaginable and Fallon knew that they were going to be okay. His and Lucas’ relationship wouldn’t be affected by Fallon’s deception. In the long run they would both love each other the way she loved them both, and everything would be perfect.

At least for them.

Fallon on the other hand would always love a man that she couldn’t trust. She would always yearn for him and wish like hell that she could be with him. She knew that she would have to watch him be with someone else because Lucas Brooks wasn’t going anywhere and he wasn’t going to be single for long. He would forever be in Aiden’s life, and Fallon would have to learn to deal with her jacked-up emotions. She would have to learn to let go, to understand that what she and Lucas had would never come back. Too much had happened, too much time had passed.

But maybe one day she would be able to move on. Maybe then she would be able to be with him. Maybe he would still be single and want her. Maybe they could all be a happy family.

Maybe.

Aiden had fallen asleep in Fallon’s arms, so she slowly laid him down before sneaking out the room. As she went down the stairs all she could think of was Lucas’ face when she came to his massive house. He looked so sad, so hurt. Fallon shook her head, picking her phone up off the back of the couch. After finding the number she needed, she put the phone to her ear, waiting for him to answer.

“Hello?” Lucas asked. He sounded anxious.

“Hey, he’s asleep right now, but I’m pretty sure every things okay.”

Lucas let out a long sigh before saying, “Does he hate me?”

“Not at all Lucas. Don’t ever think that. He was just confused. Everything is fine, I explained the situation to him and he is okay.”

Lucas paused for a moment, then said, “I leave tomorrow, can I come over in the morning?”

Fallon’s heart stopped. “You’re leavin’?”

“Yeah, tomorrow night. I wanted to spend the day with him before I left.”

“Oh, of course. That’s fine,” she said and really, she wanted to cry. She knew that he would be leaving so why did it feel like he was ripping her heart out all over again? Would Aiden be okay? Would she be okay? This was one of the main things she hated about Lucas’ career. She hated the goodbyes, and Lucas was full of them.

“Cool. Do you, maybe, want to go to breakfast? As a family?”

Fallon’s heart stopped. A family?

“Um, I don’t know. I don’t want to confuse Aiden.”

“I know, but maybe it would help.”

Fallon sat for a minute listening to Lucas breathe. If she didn’t go she wouldn’t see him again until Aiden’s birthday when Molly would be there. She wanted to see him, and who said she couldn’t torture herself by going as this so-called family? It was what she had dreamed of when they were together, so why not go?

Because it was a bad idea.

Fallon knew she would dwell on it. Wonder about the ‘what ifs’, when she knew darn well that Lucas Brooks was so freaking wrong for her. He had hurt her once, he would do it again. But even knowing that stuff, it didn’t keep her from saying, “Yeah, come on over in the morning.”

She could basically see the grin on his face as he said, “Great.”

Yeah, it was a bad choice, but when did Fallon ever make the right choices?

Chapter 20

Lucas was nervous.

He was never nervous but he was as he walked up the sidewalk that led up to the little condo that Fallon, Aiden, and Audrey lived in. He hated this condo. He hated that the woman he loved and his child lived there. Lucas wanted them to live with him in his house. Aiden’s room was ready and Lucas was sure that Fallon would like his room. He would even let her put some of her pink crap up on the walls. He didn’t care, he just wanted them with him. He wanted Fallon to forgive him; he wanted her back.

Lucas wanted his family.

Lucas ran his hand through his hair nervously as he climbed the steps to the door. After Fallon called the night before he was finally able to go to sleep, but it didn’t mean he got a good night’s sleep. He tossed and turned with images of Aiden’s scared gray eyes. It broke Lucas’ heart every time he thought of Aiden looking up at him with fear in his eyes. Lucas had sworn a long time ago that he only wanted to make Aiden happy. After the events of the day before, Lucas felt like a failure.

Lucas took a deep breath in as he knocked on the door. When the door opened, the breath Lucas had just taken in came out in a whoosh as Fallon smiled up at him. She wore a pair of tight jeans that were big at the bottom and hugged her ass perfectly. For once though, it wasn’t the tightness of her jeans that had Lucas having a hard time breathing, it was her sweater. It was an ivory color with little sparkles in the yarn and it wasn’t even tight but it cut down low. Lucas could see the lace of Fallon’s white bra and even more of her beautiful perky breasts. Lucas’ mouth watered at the sight and it took everything out of him to look up into Fallon’s eyes.

Fallon smiled sweetly before saying, “Hey.”

“Hey,” Lucas choked out as he passed by her. She shut the door behind him as he looked around the house for Aiden, because he knew if he kept looking at her, they weren’t going to make it to breakfast. “Where’s Aiden?”

Lucas turned to see Fallon pulling at the bottom of her sweater, showing more of her breast. Lucas inwardly groaned as he looked away. “Upstairs. He knows you’re coming. I got some paperwork I need to finish and then we can go.”

Lucas almost ran up the stairs. Not only did he have to get away from Fallon’s sexy ass but he was anxious to see Aiden. He wanted to make sure that Aiden still liked him, that he wasn’t angry with him. Hearing it from Fallon was one thing, he needed the proof from his little guy. When Lucas reached Aiden’s door, he knocked before entering. Aiden looked up from where he sat on the floor playing with his army men. It almost killed Lucas when their eyes met because it wasn’t happiness he saw. Lucas only saw fear.

Fuck.

“Hey, bud,” Lucas said before dropping down on the ground.

Lucas lay on his stomach, inching his way to where Aiden laid. Aiden looked back down at his army men before saying, “Hey, Lucas.”

Nothing was said for a moment as Aiden continued to play with his toys. Lucas didn’t know what to say so they sat like for a long time before Lucas couldn’t take it anymore.

“Do you hate me?”

Aiden didn’t look up as he shook his head, “No.”

“Are you mad at me?”

Aiden shrugged his shoulders before resting his chin on his hands. He looked over at Lucas and Lucas took in a sharp breath. He had tears in his eyes.

“Do you want me?”

Lucas couldn’t breathe. He was pretty sure he was about to have a heart attack in the middle of Aiden’s floor. Lucas took in another breath before clearing his throat choking back the tears. “Of course I do, bud. Since I found out about you, I’ve wanted you. You are my buddy, my little guy.”

Aiden’s mouth pulled at the side but he didn’t smile as he looked down at carpet. “You’re never gonna leave me again are you?”

Lucas shook his head even though Aiden wasn’t looking at him. “Never, bud,” Lucas whispered, but then he remembered that he was leaving that night. “Only for my job, but I won't be gone long.”

“I know you gotta leave for your job. I meant like, you leaving for years.”

Lucas swallowed loudly, “I’ll never leave you, Aiden. I’ll always be here. Always.”

Aiden nodded slowly. “Do I call you Dad?”

Lucas swore that Aiden could hear his heartbeat, it was beating so hard against his chest. Didn’t the kid realize that that would be a dream come true? “If you want.”

Aiden nodded again. “Are you and my mom gonna get married?”

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. “That’s up to her. Your mom doesn’t like me most of the time.”

Aiden smiled and Lucas couldn’t help but smile back. “She does. She’s just weird.”

Lucas nodded, he couldn’t agree more. Damn foolish woman. “We’ll talk every night while you’re gone right?”

“Yup,” Lucas said with a nod, “on our cool iPads.”

Aiden grinned as he said, “Cool.”

They sat for another moment, nothing being said as they both stared at the floor. It was as if both of them were trying to figure out what to say to the other. Lucas wanted to tell Aiden he loved him, but he didn’t want to scare him or make him feel like he had to love Lucas. He wanted Aiden to make his own decisions. He didn’t want to demand anything from him. Lucas wanted it to be natural between them.

“Do you love me?” Lucas whipped his head up to see Aiden still looking down at the ground. “Like my mom and AA love me, and I thought since you’re my dad, you’re supposed to love me. I was just wonderin’,” he said.

When he finished he looked up at Lucas. Lucas sat gaping at his child as the words he had been waiting to say were lodge in his throat. Lucas cleared his throat again, and smiled before saying, “Buddy, I love you so much. You don’t need to question that, I just didn’t want to scare you.”

Aiden smiled. Lucas’ eyes started to fill with tears and he begged himself not to let them fall. Wouldn’t that be embarrassing? If his words didn’t scare Aiden, then his actions sure would. All Lucas wanted to do was wrap Aiden up in his arms and hug him tight, telling him how much he loved him over and over again, until Lucas was sure that Aiden would never question that again. Lucas was bursting with love for this child and he hated that Aiden had to question him. He hated that Fallon had let this happen. He knew he should be livid with her but he couldn’t be.

Lucas loved Fallon just as much as he loved Aiden.

“Okay,” Aiden said. Lucas smiled right before he was attacked by him. Aiden wrapped his small little arms around Lucas’ neck, nuzzling his nose into his shoulder as Lucas tried to catch a breath. Lucas slowly wrapped his arms around Aiden, not believing what was happening. He had dreamed of this moment all week, the moment when his son would know that he was his father, and that Lucas loved him with basically everything inside him. It was the most amazing feeling having his boy in his arms. His flesh and blood. All Lucas could think was that his dad had to be proud of him that he had to know that Lucas had done right by Aiden and would forever do right by him for the rest of their lives.

When Aiden pulled back and smiled at Lucas, Lucas felt as if his heart was going to explode. Man, he loved this kid. “Will you dress up as a Ghostbuster for Halloween with me?”

That came out of left field.

Lucas smiled, nodding his head. “Sure, bud. Which one are you going to be?”

“Oh I’m not, I’m gonna be the Marshmallow Man.”

Lucas laughed. “Okay.”

“But you can’t shoot me.”

“Never.”

“Awesome! So I need you to convince Mommy that she needs to be one too. We could go as a family!”

Lucas nodded as he said. “Sounds great to me.”

Because it did, and if Lucas had anything to do with it, they would be a family. All he had to do was convince Fallon it was a good idea.

*********************************

Fallon couldn’t stop the tears that rolled down her cheeks if she wanted too. She knew she was wrong for listening in on Lucas’ and Aiden’s conversation, but the momma bear in her had to make sure that Aiden was okay. What Fallon didn’t prepare herself for was the emotion that came from Lucas. Hearing him tell his son that he loved Aiden for the first time would forever be burned in Fallon’s brain. It was so heartfelt, so intense that tears streamed down Fallon’s face as she made her way down the stairs. Fallon went to the sink, wetting a napkin before patting her hot skin.

As she looked out the window, Aiden’s and Lucas’ conversation replayed over and over again in her mind while she stood there trying to compose herself.

“That’s up to her. Your mom doesn’t like me most of the time.”

Oh, if only Lucas knew how much she did like him. She was pretty sure that comment would have never left his lips if he knew the truth. It was all just so hard because no matter how much she wanted him, she just couldn’t do it. Fallon continued to tell herself that but her body wasn’t listening. Something needed to happen, maybe she needed to give him the chance, let him back in, but what if he fucked her over again. Could she do it all over again? The hurt, the betrayal, the depression? Could she? She had Aiden to worry about now, and if she hid him from Lucas then, what would she do now? Lucas had messed her up pretty badly, could she let her heart love him freely again?

“You okay?”

Fallon turned quickly to see Lucas standing by the fridge watching her. Fallon took in a deep breath, nodding her head as she wiped her face. “Fine.”

“You look like you have been crying,” he stated. Fallon shook her head turning back to the sink to continue patting her face.

“I’m fine.”

“Aiden’s cleaning his room and then we can go.”

“Sounds good,” Fallon said. She reached to turn on the faucet when Lucas’ arms came around her middle. He laid his head on her shoulder, pressing his body against hers. Fallon froze against him but when his breath ran along her neck, she relaxed.

Even against her better judgment.

“Why were you crying?”

Fallon shrugged her shoulders. “Come on tell me,” Lucas whispered against her ear before running his nose along her temple. “Were you listening in on us?”

A small smile came across Fallon’s mouth and before she could hide it, he laughed. “You are probably the nosiest person I know, Ms. Parker.”

“He’s my baby,” Fallon countered as she tried to move away, but of course, Lucas wasn’t going to let her.

“Have I told you lately that you are a good mom, Fallon?”

Fallon smiled. “Not today.”

“Well you are. And you know what?”

“What?” she asked as her heart warmed. For some reason, being told that she was a good mom by Lucas made it seem real to her. That was wrong too, because Audrey said it all the time, and Fallon knew she meant it, but hearing Lucas say it just meant something. Fallon had no clue what though.

“You are also a really hot mom.”

A giggle threatened to escape Fallon’s lips, but she kept it in, instead letting out a frustrated sigh. “Stop hitting on me.”

“No way! I have to. The world wouldn’t turn if I stopped.”

Fallon rolled her eyes. “Oh, please.”

“No, really. It’s a scientific fact that I have to tell you that you are hot or the world will stop. Do you want that on your conscience?”

Fallon couldn’t help it, she laughed. “I’m pretty sure something would happen to mankind, and I know that you couldn’t have that all blamed on you.”

“You’re impossible.”

“And you are gorgeous,” he whispered, sending chills down her spine. Lucas’ grip tightened around her waist and Fallon took in a deep breath. They were close to crossing the line that would bring them into a relationship status. Mindless flirting was one thing, but this was intimate. The way his arms were inching higher and higher towards her breast, and the way his nose lingered along her cheek a little longer than necessary all screamed relationship. And it wasn’t like she was stopping him!

“I don’t like you holding me like this, Lucas,” she stated. Fallon was sure he knew she was lying, but hell, she had to say something!

“Liar, I know you do. You are just saying that to say it. You don’t mean it.”

“Whatever, let me go.” Fallon went to move, but he wasn’t letting her go. She let out an annoyed breath causing him to laugh. When Fallon heard Aiden’s door slam and him run across the hall to the bathroom, she was sure Lucas was going to let her go. “Aiden is coming,” she stated, trying to get away, but Lucas wasn’t letting her go anywhere. Instead he pressed his pelvis into Fallon’s butt, taking her breath away.

“You are lucky our baby is coming down those stairs,” Lucas whispered, pressing into her so hard that Fallon felt every hard delectable inch of him. The sink bit into her own pelvis, hurting her a little, but the pain was welcomed. She liked it. “Because if he wasn’t, I would have you bent over this sink, tearing you apart to the point where you wouldn’t even be able to walk tomorrow.”

For the love of God! Really?!

Fallon’s eyes fell shut as he pressed into her once more, before letting her go and walking away. Fallon braced herself against the sink, breathing deeply in and then letting it out in a whoosh. Normal sane women would be offended by his statement and actions, but not Fallon. Nope, she was beyond turned on. She wanted to rip off her clothes, let him take her against the sink or hell, the table. ANYTHING! She just wanted it! Fallon wanted the feel of his teeth running down her body. She wanted him slamming into her, taking what he wanted. She was almost brought to begging for the way he used to look into her eyes as his hands roamed her body. She yearned for him to bend and contort her in ways only Lucas could do. God, she just wanted him!

When Fallon heard Lucas’ chuckles, she wanted to slap him but there was no way she could move yet. Not until she mentally removed him from between her thighs, because in her mind, he was ripping her apart like he said he wanted to do. She let out a ragged breath and Lucas’ chuckles stopped.

“Damn you’re hot, Fallon,” she heard him say but she wasn’t listening. Fallon was pretty sure that if Aiden hadn’t come down those stairs, she could have come right there. She didn’t even need Lucas or hell, even herself; the visions that were running through her brain were so vivid, so real. She took in another breath just as she heard Aiden jump from the bottom step, skipping two steps. Normally, she would yell at him since she was worried he would get hurt, but at that moment she was a little preoccupied.

“Are we ready?” Aiden asked. Fallon opened her eyes, turning the sink on so she could pat her face again with cool water.

“Waiting on your mom,” Lucas said with laughter in his voice. “I think she’s hot.”

Oh, damn fool man!

“Mommy! I’m hungry! Let’s go!”

Fallon took in a deep breath, willing herself not to be embarrassed, but when she turned around and looked into Lucas’ knowing eyes, her whole body caught on fire again. Yeah, she wasn’t going to make it through this breakfast with Lucas.

Nope, she was pretty sure she was going to spontaneously combust.

********************************

Fallon didn’t say two words to Lucas the whole time they were at breakfast. Nor did she look him in the eyes. She was embarrassed. Why? He had a little bit of a clue, but still, she didn’t need to act like that. He loved that she got turned on so easily. He loved when she got that look on her face, the one that told him she was almost there. Lucas was certain that if Aiden had waited maybe a minute or so before coming down those stairs, that Fallon would have came right there in front of him.

Didn’t that tell her that she needed to just give in and have crazy monkey sex with him? Didn’t she get that he was affected by their intense flirting? That he would probably be hard for at least a week every time he thought of her beautiful ‘I’m almost there’ face? That he would continually think of the way her mouth parted some, the way her eyelashes touched the top of her cheeks, and the way her chest would rise and fall as she tried not to think about him, as she tried not to think about the inevitable? That they were going to sleep with each other? Soon. He didn’t know when but he knew she couldn’t hold out much longer. She wanted him, and boy, did he want her.

Now.

Lucas looked over at Fallon from where Aiden and he stood looking out at the beautiful Nashville skyline. She was leaning against the glass globe looking out at who knew what, but she look sad. He hated that she got like this, all because she was fighting what was supposed to be. They were supposed to be together, raising their boy. Supposed to come home to each other, make sweet beautiful love, and then bring more children in the world. His heart ached at the thought of seeing Fallon pregnant — he hated that he had missed it with Aiden. Lucas couldn’t think of anything better than to see his life growing in the belly of the woman he loved.

“Did you know that we are 75 feet in the air?” Aiden asked. Lucas smiled down at Aiden.

“I didn’t,” he answered.

Aiden pointed to the sign right in front of them. “You should read the signs. They tell you everything!”

A lump formed in Lucas’ throat as he slowly nodded. Lucas didn’t know how to tell Aiden that he couldn’t read well, but he needed to. His son had every right to know everything about him, and Lucas not being able to read was something that his son should know. Lucas smiled down at Aiden before saying, “Will do.”

“Cool. Come on, let’s go to the Dino part. It’s my favorite.”

“Lead the way,” Lucas said. Aiden smiled fully up at Lucas and then took off past Fallon. Fallon glanced over at Lucas and their eyes met for only half a second before she was running off after Aiden. Lucas rolled his eyes and followed behind the both of them through the Science Center, only stopping when something would amaze Aiden. Which was basically everything.

An hour or so later, Lucas pulled out his phone since it was ringing.

“Hello?” he asked, since he had forgotten to look at the picture on the display.

“Hey, when you coming home? We got to be at the airport in an hour and a half,” Levi said.

“I’m not. Meet me at Fallon’s, we’ll leave from there.”

Levi paused before saying, “Okay, whatever.”

The line went dead and Lucas rolled his eyes.

“Levi?”

Lucas looked over to see Fallon looking at him, her cheeks a little red. Man, he loved her face. “Yeah, we need to go in a few. I’m leaving in an hour for the airport.”

“Oh, okay.” She looked sad as she called for Aiden. Aiden looked over at them, and his grin fell when Fallon said they had to go. Aiden sulked over to her and leaned against her as he looked up at Lucas.

“Do you really gotta go?” he asked with his little lips puckered out.

“Yup, but I’ll be back in no time and then we get to party cause its someone’s birthday from what I was told,” Lucas said with a grin. He held out his hand and Aiden took it eagerly.

“Yup! Mine!”

As Aiden talked about his awesome Ben Ten party, Fallon followed behind them towards the car. After Lucas got Aiden buckled in, he jumped in and started the truck. The car ride to Fallon’s house was quiet and Lucas hated quiet. One of his favorite things about Aiden was that he talked all the time, but Aiden didn’t say a word as they rode home. It was kind of freaking Lucas out. When they arrived to Fallon’s house, he parked and they got out. While Lucas helped Aiden out, he watched as Fallon walked towards the mailbox. Lucas couldn’t get over how much he loved her ass. He loved the way it moved from side to side, the way it filled her jeans to perfection, everything.

Aiden ran ahead of him into the house, leaving Lucas to wait for Fallon. She looked up at him right before she reached him with a letter in her hands. Her eyes looked worried as he held her gaze with his.

“It’s the paternity papers,” she said as she handed him the letter.

Lucas held the letter in his hand, looking down at it before looking over at Fallon. They held each other’s gaze until a car pulled into the driveway. Lucas looked over to see Levi walking towards them, looking angry as hell.

Fuck, he didn’t have time to deal with him.

“Hey, what are you guys doing?” he asked as he came to stand beside them.

“The paternity papers came in,” Lucas answered before looking back at the letter in his hand. He didn’t want to open it. He already knew that Aiden was his, what was a piece of paper going to do for him?

“Give it here, let me open it,” Levi said with his hand out to Lucas.

“No, let him open it,” Fallon said causing both men to look at her. “It's his letter, not yours.”

Levi’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, but he can’t read it. I can, and I need to make sure you didn’t do anything to it.”

“For one, asshole, what the hell could I do to a letter that I just got out of my mailbox, and for two, he can read. So, fuck off.”

Levi’s eyes went wide as Fallon snatched the letter out of Lucas’ hands, tearing it open before handing it back to him. He looked down at the jumble of words and hated when the feeling of failure washed over him. He expected the silence around him, and he hated that too. He didn’t like when people waited on him to read something, that’s why he had Levi do it all. He felt Fallon move in closer to him, her body touching his side as she leaned across his arm to see the letter.

“Come on, Lucas. You can do this. Take your time, switch the letters,” she encouraged in a whisper. Levi let out a frustrated breath before walking to the truck and leaning against it. Sometimes, Levi really could be an asshole. “God, he such a douche,” Fallon whispered with a roll of her eyes. “Alright, Lucas. Read it to me. It’s only me and you.”

Only me and you.

Man, how he missed hearing her say those words to him.

Lucas blinked twice before focusing on where she was pointing. He stumbled a few times, but Fallon stood beside him, helping him through it. The same way she used to before.

“Probability of Parentage, 99.9999%,” Lucas finished before smiling over at Fallon. “That’s a lot of nines.”

“It sure is,” she said with a grin. “Good job, Lucas.”

He smiled and all he wanted to do was kiss her senseless. Didn’t she realize that he couldn’t have read it without her? That she was the reason he could do a lot of things. That he needed her?

“Thanks,” Lucas said just as Levi came up, taking the letter from Lucas. Lucas glared over at Levi and watched him as he read the letter.

“Fuck,” Levi said under his breath. “Guess I need to call Richard Price now, since we know it’s true.”

“Are you serious? Really, you doubted it?” Fallon snapped. “He looks just like Lucas, and I wouldn’t lie about something so serious!”

“So you say,” Levi said shaking his head before looking over at Fallon. “I bet you just love this, love that you are going to get that big-ass check. Man, you make me sick. Who keeps a kid from their father?”

Lucas’ temper was slipping and he was pretty damn sure that if Levi didn’t shut the hell up, he was going to kill him. “Shut up, Levi.”

Fallon and Levi looked over at Lucas. Fallon was breathing hard as Levi’s face was full of anger. “Leave her alone. Go ahead to the air field. I’ll have Fallon and Aiden drive me.”

“Whatever dude, I got phone calls to make anyways.”

After watching Levi get in the car and drive off, Lucas turned towards Fallon. She was still breathing hard, and her eyes were full of tears.

“I’m not looking for a fucking pay day,” she spat out.

Lucas nodded his head. “I know that.”

“Fuck him.”

“Yeah, I get that you don’t like him much.”

“I would never lie about who my child’s father is. I’m not that kind of person.”

“I know, Fallon. You don’t need to explain yourself to me. I got you and I’ll talk to Levi on the way to Edmonton.”

Fallon bit down hard on her lip and turned to walked away but Lucas stopped her by grabbing her wrist. “Stop, it’s okay. Don’t let him bother you.”

“He’s going to poison you, Lucas. He’ll have you believing those lies in no time.”

Lucas shook his head. “No, I would never believe what he says. I know you. Okay?” Lucas said before bringing her face up so that she would look him in the eyes. “I know you.”

Her eyes watered more before a stray tear rolled down her cheek. “Stop. We are fine. Aiden is fine. Everything will be fine.”

She nodded slowly. Lucas smiled before she pulled away and started walking towards the door. Lucas stood there taking in deep breaths as he looked back down at the letter that told him he was a father to the perfect little boy. He had already known that but seeing it on paper made it that much more real. A small smiled formed on Lucas’ face as the door opened and out came the perfect little boy he was just thinking about.

His boy.

********************************

Fallon was fuming.

She wanted to kill Levi Moss something serious, and if she ever got the chance, she would! How dare he! Fallon wasn’t a gold-digging whore! She could support herself, damn it! She didn’t need Lucas or his fucking money! Ah! Fallon had never been so mad as she rode in the passenger side of Lucas’ truck to the airfield. Aiden was running at the mouth about what, she had no clue, but she did know that she was madder than hell!

“Lucas, where are you going?” Aiden asked.

“Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver.”

“What teams are ‘em?”

Lucas laughed as a small smile form on Fallon’s face. Aiden was so country sometimes, it was so stinkin’ cute. “Oilers, Flames, and Canucks.”

“We don’t like those teams, huh?”

Lucas laughed again and Fallon joined in. Leave it to her baby to make her forget about that asshole, Levi Moss. “No bud, we do not. You like one team and one team only. Who is it?”

“The Assassins!”

“Yup! Good job, bud.”

“Mommy, can we watch all the games when Lucas plays? Oh! Can I wear my number 22 jersey, too?!”

“Of course, honey,” Fallon said with a smile. Aiden let out an excited squeal, causing Fallon and Lucas to laugh.

“You know, they might be on a little late, Fal,” Lucas said as he turned onto the road that led out to the airfield. Fallon had been out there many times when she had to travel for company business, so she knew where they were.

“I’ll record them if they are on late,” she said simply. He nodded as he pulled into a parking spot between two other cars. Lucas handed Fallon his keys and got out to help Aiden. Fallon tucked the keys in her purse and followed behind them.

Then she stopped.

She had been so mad before that she hadn’t even realized that they were being so domestic. She had agreed to drive his truck back to her house, and to even let it stay there! Lucas wasn’t her man! What the hell was she doing!? Ah! He drove her insane with how he could manipulate her into doing anything!

What the hell was she going to do with him?

Fallon glanced up to see Lucas and Aiden walking away, so she quickly walked towards them to catch up. Aiden walked close beside Lucas, his little hand in Lucas’ massive ones as they headed towards the plane. It was such a sweet image that Fallon took out her phone and snapped the picture quickly. Even though Lucas drove her nuts, she did love watching him with Aiden.

Lucas stopped and handed his bags to a crewman before looking back at Fallon.

“I gotta go, buddy,” he said as he look back down at Aiden. Aiden was looking up at Lucas like he held the moon and Fallon’s heart broke at the sight. She had to look away but when she did, she saw other children saying bye to their daddies. When she glanced over and saw Shea standing with a pregnant Elli, kissing Shelli all over her face, she decided that if she was going to cry, it was going to be over her own child. Fallon glanced back to see Lucas bent down, hugging Aiden tightly.

“I’ll call every day, bud.”

“You promise?” Aiden whispered into Lucas’ shoulder. Fallon took a deep breath in as the tears started to fall. Damn it, she hated the goodbye. This had to be the worst part of being in the hockey world. It was this and the thought of something happening to the hockey player she loved. It drove her insane and when she had left this world so long ago, she swore she would never come back.

So much for that promise.

“I promise. Every day.”

“Okay,” Aiden said as they parted. Lucas smiled and pinched Aiden’s nose before standing up.

“Take care of your momma, okay?” Lucas said, looking deep into Fallon’s eyes. She wiped her face as Aiden smiled widely up at her.

“I will,” Aiden declared and Fallon almost choked on the sob that escaped her lips. She wanted to say that she didn’t need to be taken care of, that she would take care of Aiden, but she couldn’t say anything. She covered her mouth as Lucas looked into her eyes sadly.

“Don’t cry, Fal,” he said. Aiden came over to her, wrapping his arms around her as he leaned his head against her stomach.

“Just take care of yourself, okay?” she cried as she ran her fingers through Aiden’s hair.

“Always do, always will,” he said and Fallon was sure she stopped breathing. Before she could say anything, even goodbye, Lucas started for the plane. Fallon couldn’t even think of a time he didn’t say that to her before he boarded a plane when they were younger. He never said goodbye to her, he would say those four words and then he would be gone for days, weeks, sometimes months at a time.

“Mommy, Lucas didn’t say bye.” Fallon looked down to see that Aiden had started crying.

“He never does. He used to always tell me that when he says goodbye, that it means for forever, and he would never be gone that long.”

Aiden buried his face into her stomach again and Fallon continued to rub his head with her fingers as she watched Lucas disappear into the plane. “I’m gonna miss him,” Aiden said into her stomach.

Me, too, she thought as she watched the plane door shut.

So much.

Chapter 21

“Fuck you!”

That was the only thing Lucas got out before he was being cussed out in a language he didn’t even know. Lucas was sure the forward from the Flames wasn’t wishing him well as he spat out some of the nastiest-sounding words, but Lucas didn’t care.

Actually, he loved it.

“Back off, asshole!” another one of the Flames players said when Lucas got into the non-English-speaking dude’s face.

“Fuck you too, and here is a bit of advice. If you are going to play hockey and cuss me out, at least do it in a language I know!”

Lucas glared at the guy one last time, daring him to throw his gloves down, before skating off to the bench where his teammates sat. Lucas jumped over the board and sat down next to a focused Shea Adler.

“Who does that?” Lucas asked as he squirted some Gatorade in his mouth.

“He was speaking French,” Shea said, his face actually breaking out in a smile. It was rare, because Shea Adler didn’t smile during a game; well he did when he scored, or when Elli was there. When Elli was there, he was grinning for the whole arena.

Newlyweds.

“Again, who cusses someone out in French? We play in the NHL, not the…what is it called, French hockey league?”

Shea laughed. “You are dumb, dude.”

“Just saying,” Lucas laughed, taking in deep, labored breaths. The Flames were playing hard, and they were having a great season, but they weren’t a match for the Assassins. The Assassins were winning by two and it was only the start of the game.

“Good game so far,” Shea said. “One more.”

Lucas’ face broke out into a grin because all he had to do was score one more goal for a hat trick. He hadn’t gotten one this year — hell in the last three years — so he was more than ready. He had been playing fantastic since leaving the States. He had gotten two goals when they won against the Oilers the night before, and it was looking like another win tonight. Yeah, he was killing it and Lucas knew the reason for his fantastic playing.

Aiden.

Lucas had never felt so whole in his life until that little boy came into it. Talking to Aiden every day, seeing his little face grin over the screen of their iPads, had brought so much happiness into Lucas’ life that Lucas felt like he was on top of the world. It had been so long since he had felt so loved and so happy. It felt as if a large hole was in his heart when he lost his dad, and then the hole had gotten bigger when Fallon left him. He never thought that hole would close up, but it did. All it took was one smile from his little guy and he was whole. All he needed was Fallon, and maybe a Stanley Cup, then his life would be complete.

“Yup, one more goal and I got my first hat trick in years. I’m ready.”

Shea nodded as he smiled over at Lucas. “You can get it done, too. We still have a lot of hockey to play.”

“Yup, let’s do this.”

Coach Bacter called out their line and the guys jumped over the boards, skating out to play the last two periods and all Lucas hoped for was that Hat Trick.

Lucas stood in the middle of the locker room as the guys threw their hats at him. He couldn’t help the large grin that was on his face as different ball caps hit him in the face. He couldn’t believe it, and he couldn’t wait to call Aiden.

Lucas had gotten his hat trick.

Scoring three goals in a game was huge, and he couldn’t believe he had pulled it off. He couldn’t have done it without his team, and Lucas couldn’t have felt more blessed that he had come to Nashville than he did at that moment. Not only was he playing the best he had ever played, but he had Fallon and Aiden in his life now. Everything was coming together for him, and Lucas couldn’t grasp that all it took was the love of a child.

“Let’s give it up to Brooks. First hat trick in what? Ten years?” Bacter asked with a grin on his face.

Lucas laughed. “Three.”

“Ten, three, same thing. Here’s your puck.” Bacter handed Lucas his puck and Lucas smiled widely as he looked down at it. Before he would have kept the puck, but now Aiden would be getting it. Lucas grinned down at his puck before grinning up at his teammates.

Man, he loved his life.

*********************************

“Three goals! Three! I screamed every time and Mom let me stay up late just to watch!” Aiden gushed the next day. Lucas sat in a hotel in Vancouver with his iPad in his lap, smiling at Aiden. He had been busy all day with workouts and press crap, and he didn’t get to talk to Aiden the night before because the game ran so late, so Lucas couldn’t have been more relieved than to be sitting in his bed talking with his son.

“That’s awesome, bud. I’m glad you got to watch,” Lucas said with a grin. “How was school?”

“Fine,” Aiden said with a wave. “Can you teach me how to do that one shot you did against that one guy? The one with a big nose? That shot was awesome! Even Mom cheered for you!”

Lucas chuckled as he smiled. At the mention of Fallon, his groin tightened. He had missed her so much, almost as much as he missed Aiden. “Did she now?”

“Oh yeah! She jumped up and everything! So you gotta teach me how to do that!”

“Will do,” Lucas laughed. “So, what did you do at school today?”

“Boring stuff, are you bored? Are you ready to come home?”

Lucas smiled as Aiden grinned at him. “I am.”

“I’m ready for you to come home, too. It’s gonna be the best birthday present! AA says that your mom is coming! That she’s my grandma! Do I call her Grandma?”

Lucas nodded. “Sure, we’ll have to ask her.”

“Cool, I already have a Grammie and a Grandpa, but Mom says that it’s good to have another grandma because that means I’ll be loved by all kinds of people, which is so cool!”

“It is cool. Have you been practicing with your stick?”

Aiden nodded quickly. “Yup. AA got so mad at me because I broke one of her vases in the living room. I told her that I need to practice, but it didn’t work,” he said with a guilty look on his face.

“We’ll buy her another one when I get back.”

Aiden’s face lit up and all of the sudden the screen went fuzzy from where Aiden was bouncing on the bed. Lucas laughed at Aiden’s excitement before the screen went back to normal and Aiden started talking about a game he wanted for his birthday. As Lucas listened to Aiden talk a million miles a second about the game, the only thing Lucas could think was that he had never missed someone the way he missed Aiden.

Lucas wanted to go home; he wanted to be with his son, but then he thought that even if he went home he wouldn’t be with Aiden 100 percent of the time. It would always be a trade-off with Fallon and he hated that. He wanted that moment when the door opened and he was attacked by his kid. All the guys from the team that had kids talked about that moment and Lucas knew he wouldn’t be able to experience it because of his situation with Fallon.

Man, how he wished they could work things out. Their flirting and hot glances were driving him crazy. Lucas said that he didn’t think Fallon could hold out much longer, but really he wasn’t sure how much more he could handle. He wanted her more than he wanted to breathe. Yeah, it was cliché but it was the truth. Lucas felt like his heart only beat her name, no other woman could compare and he just wanted her. Not only did he want to come home to Aiden in the house, but he wanted Fallon in his bed, or cooking for him, or just being lazy on the couch, anything! He just wanted Fallon and Aiden, all the time.

Lucas wanted a family.

His family.

**********************************

Fallon slowly climbed the stairs to the second floor to check on Aiden. She knew he went upstairs to Skype with Lucas, but usually she heard something out of him by now. When Audrey appeared at the top of the stairs, Fallon smiled.

“Hey you,” she said. She hadn’t seen much of Audrey lately. Either Fallon was working or Audrey just wasn’t home. Fallon noticed that ever since Lucas left, Audrey had been home more, which was weird.

“What’s up?” Audrey asked with a grin.

“About to go check on lil' man,” Fallon said, nodding her head towards Aiden’s room. “I haven’t seen you much.”

“Yeah, I’ve been busy,” Audrey said, looking away.

“Really? Busy doing what?”

“Nothing important. Just stuff.”

“Okay,” Fallon said, eying her younger sister. Sometimes it was hard to read Audrey. Fallon could never tell if she was lying, and it drove her insane. “Is everything okay?” Fallon found herself asking.

Audrey looked up, giving Fallon a small grin. “Everything is fine.”

“You would tell me?” Fallon asked.

“Yeah,” Audrey said looking back down towards the stairs. “I gotta go.”

“Okay? Where?”

Audrey kicked the front of her boot into the floor. “Out. I’m meeting someone.”

Fallon took in a frustrated breath. Why was she being so difficult? What was she hiding? “Okay,” she finally said, moving out of the way so that Audrey could go down the stairs. “Be careful.”

Audrey went down the stairs with nothing more than a wave for Fallon. Audrey was hiding something and Fallon wanted to know what it was.

Pronto.

Shrugging her shoulders, Fallon went towards Aiden’s door. When she reached it, she heard Aiden yawn. She slowly opened the door to see him lying on his side, with his back to the door, and the iPad sitting up so he could see Lucas. Lucas was also laying in a bed with a grin on his face as he talked to Aiden. Fallon’s heart lurched at the sight of Lucas. He looked so inviting, laying with his head on the pillow and his eyes half lidded. It was obvious that he was tired. Lucas had been playing some amazing hockey the past couple games. Fallon had no doubt that he would be tired, but why did he have to look so sexy while doing it?

Aiden took in a deep breath and Lucas smiled. “Buddy, you are tired. Go to sleep.”

Aiden shook his head. “I miss you.”

Fallon’s heart broke as she leaned against the doorway. Aiden had asked for Lucas every morning before school and then after. It broke Fallon in pieces when he would look up at her with those big gray eyes and his lip wobbling because he missed his daddy. She wished that she could take Aiden to Lucas, or bring Lucas home, anything just to make her baby happy.

“I miss you too, bud. I’ll be home in two days, and then you’ll meet your grandma. So go to sleep okay? I’ll call tomorrow.”

Fallon’s hands clasped together tightly at the thought of Molly coming to Aiden’s birthday party that weekend. Fallon had been a nervous wreck about seeing the woman that she had thought of as a second mother so long ago. All her fears before Lucas and Aiden knew of each other came back in full force. She was so scared of what Molly would say to her that Fallon was convinced she would be on pins and needles the rest of the week.

“I’m fi..,” Aiden tried to say, but the last word didn’t fully come out. Fallon slowly walked towards the bed, peeking over to see that Aiden had fallen asleep. When she heard Lucas chuckling, she picked the iPad up to see his beautiful sleepy face.

“Hey there, beautiful.”

Fallon smiled. “Hey. He knocked out on ya, huh?”

“Sure did. He’s been talking a million words a minute; I didn’t think he would last that long tonight.”

“Yeah, he’s had a long day at school since I let him stay up last night.”

Lucas nodded. “Thanks for that. He seemed pretty excited.”

Fallon shrugged her shoulders. “It was a good game.”

Lucas smiled before running his hands through his hair and sitting up. “So you watched it?”

Fallon’s cheeks warmed a little before she nodded. “I did.”

Nothing was said as the two stared into each other’s eyes. Fallon wanted nothing more than to climb into the iPad and magically appear on the other side in Vancouver, where she would promptly screw Lucas Brooks’ brains out. It was something about his eyes and mouth that had Fallon on edge, or maybe it was his whole body. Who the hell knew, all she did know was that she wanted him, even if it was against her best judgment.

“I miss you, Fal.”

Fallon took in a sharp breath before biting her lip. Why did he have to say that? Why couldn’t he just let her be? It was hard enough trying to resist his sexy ass but then he would say sweet things like that and Fallon really did want to figure out a way to climb through the damn iPad.

“You do?” she asked because she didn’t know what else to say.

Lucas nodded. “A lot.”

“Well stop,” she said, when really she wanted to tell him she missed him too.

“No.”

“Nothing is ever gonna happen between us,” she said, trying to convince him.

And herself.

“So you say,” Lucas said with a grin.

“I do say, and I’ll stand beside it,” Fallon said, her temper flaring.

“I don’t believe you. Something is going to happen. The location and time is still unknown.”

“Ah! You’re madding!”

Fallon hit the disconnect button and crumbled into the chair beside Aiden’s bed. She turned off the iPad before letting her face fall into her hands. As she shook her head from side to side, all she could do was think why did he still miss her? Why did he still want her? She was a complete bitch to him, had kept his child from him. It made no damn sense. There was no way he still loved her because he had cheated on her, he had ruined them.

It had to be convenience. He wanted to be around Aiden all the time, and of course, there was still sexual attraction between them so why not try to get Fallon on board. Then he could have Aiden all the time AND get laid, but then again, that didn’t make sense because Lucas could easily fight Fallon for custody of Aiden and still get laid by all the females that threw themselves at him.

He didn’t need Fallon.

So why?

Fallon was going to drive herself insane trying to figure Lucas Brooks out, so she took a deep breath in and decided to go to bed. When she stood up, Aiden sat up quickly, looking around the room.

“Dad?”

Fallon’s heart stopped at the sound of the three letter word. Aiden’s eyes were wide as he started to search the bed for the iPad. Aiden had called Lucas dad, and he wasn’t there to hear it. That was just great. As if she didn’t already feel horrible about everything else, now she had that on her conscience?!

Just freaking great.

“Honey,” Fallon said, causing Aiden to let out a little scream before looking up at her.

“Mommy, you scared me!” Aiden said. He then climbed out of bed and came to her, climbing into her lap. “Where’s my iPad? I didn’t get to say bye to my dad.”

His dad.

“Oh, well,” Fallon said, trying to get herself together. She was falling apart inside and really didn’t know what to do to make it better. She knew that this would happen, so why couldn’t she breathe? While Fallon sputtered, Aiden picked up his iPad, and after tapping a few times, Lucas was back on the screen, grinning.

“Haha, I knew-Aiden. Hey, bud. I thought you were sleeping?”

Lucas’ eyes cut to Fallon’s but she looked away as Aiden said, “I didn’t tell you bye, and good luck on tomorrow’s game.”

Fallon leaned her head against Aiden’s, taking in his fresh smell as Lucas said, “Thanks bud. We’ll win just because you wished me luck.”

“Good! I miss you.”

Fallon eye’s cut to the screen to see Lucas staring back at them with genuine love in his eyes. “I miss you more, Aiden.”

“Okay, bye.”

“Bye, bud.”

Aiden waved and Lucas did the same before the screen went black. Aiden leaned his head against Fallon’s as the iPad dropped into his lap. “I’m ready for him to come home.”

“I know, Punkin’. Only two more days, okay?”

“The day of my party, huh?”

Fallon giggled as she picked Aiden up, laying the iPad down before carrying him to his bed. “Yup. It’s gonna be the best day ever, huh?”

“Yup! Cause not only will my dad be there, but my new grandma will, too,” Aiden gushed as Fallon tucked him in.

Fallon mentally told her heart not to be offended by the fact that Aiden only cared about Lucas and Molly right now. Lucas had told her before that it was because they were new, but it didn’t help the jealously. Molly was an amazing person, and Aiden was bound to love her, so where would that leave Nora? Would Nora still mean as much when Molly came along? Aiden used to think Nora was the best Grammie ever, would he still think that? Then again, Fallon had two sets of grandparents and loved the both deeply, so really her fears were pointless.

“Is my new grandma nice?”

Fallon smiled as she sat next to Aiden in the bed, nodding her head. Even though Fallon was jealous as hell, she would never bad-mouth Molly. “She’s amazing. You’ll love her.”

“Just like I love Grammie, right?”

“Right.”

“Is she like Grammie?”

“Um, yeah. I loved her a lot when me and Lucas dated.”

Aiden nodded his head. “Awesome. I’m so excited for my birthday.”

“Good, I’ll see you in the morning alright?”

“Okay. I love you, Mommy.”

Fallon smiled down at Aiden before lightly kissing his nose. “And I love you, Punkin’. Good night.”

“Night.”

Fallon got up and headed towards the door. When she glanced back at Aiden, his eyes were closed and his breathing was almost even. She smiled as she lightly closed the door and started for the stairs. She was almost to the bottom when the door opened and Audrey came in with some mail in her hand.

“You didn’t check the mail today?” Audrey asked, holding up a stack of letters.

“Obviously not, or the mail man decided to run really late.”

Audrey glared playfully at Fallon before handing her the letters. “You have mail.”

“Thanks,” Fallon giggled as she followed behind Audrey to the kitchen. “I thought you were going out.”

“Plans changed.”

“Oh, okay,” Fallon said. She stopped when she came to a letter from Richard Price, Lucas’ lawyer. She dropped the other letters before proceeding to open it.

“What’s that?” Audrey asked when she turned.

“A letter from Lucas’ lawyer,” was all Fallon got out as her eyes focused on the letter from Mr. Price.

Dear Ms. Fallon Parker,

Enclosed is the back support for one said child, Aiden James Brooks. Regular payments of $145,833.33 will be mailed on the 15th of every month. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at my office. The number is included at the end of this letter.

Have a nice day,

Richard Price

“Oh, my God,” Fallon whispered as she reread the letter again.

“What?” Audrey asked, coming around the table to where Fallon stood.

“Oh, my God,” Fallon said once more. She moved the letter out of the way to see a check that had a whole bunch of numbers on it. “Oh. My. God!”

“Holy shit! You’re a millionaire!”

$10,500,003.46

Fallon’ eyes cut to the amount, then to her name, before going back to the amount.

$10,500,003.46!

Holy shit!

“Oh my stars. I need water.” Fallon dropped the check onto the table and went to the sink for a glass of water.

“Fallon, we could move! Or better yet, you could open your cellar! This could be capital since Dad won’t fund it! You could do it on your own! This is great! Or! You could do both! This is amazing, such a blessing!” Audrey said from behind her.

Fallon took in long shuttering breaths, trying to settle herself, but it wasn’t working. No wonder Levi was pissed — that was a whole bunch of money. Fallon knew it didn’t put a dent in Lucas’ finances but still, that was a big chunk of change and Audrey was right. They could move, she could open the cellar — the possibilities were endless.

“Why aren’t you talking? This is great, don’t you think?”

Fallon shook her head. Even though the possibilities were endless, she wouldn’t give Lucas or Levi the satisfaction of cashing that check. “I can’t cash it, AA.”

When Audrey didn’t say anything, Fallon turned to see her sister looking at her like she had grown 10 heads. “I have went seven years without his help, and I refuse to have it now. He shouldn’t have to pay for a child he didn’t know about.”

“But Fallon…”

“No. I will not use that money. I’ll talk to Lucas about it this weekend, and give it back to him. He can put it in a college fund for Aiden or whatever. The monthly payments are high and I will talk to him about that, too.”

“Fallon, you need this money.”

“No I don’t. As long as I have you, and Aiden, and my pride, I don’t need anything, especially from Lucas Brooks. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to bed.”

Fallon passed by a stunned Audrey and basically ran up the stairs before Audrey could see the tears that welled up in her eyes. Audrey was right, Fallon did need the money but she couldn’t do it. Cashing that check would basically be telling Lucas that she needed him, and by God, she didn’t need anyone. She had Aiden and Audrey, and she didn’t need anyone else.

Especially Lucas Brooks.

A couple of days later when Fallon glanced out at the party she had put together for Aiden, she was regretting not cashing that check. Of course, she went all out. The kids that joined Aiden for his party were basically transformed into the famous little kid hero from the popular kids’ show. As they ran around Centennial Park shooting green arrows at each other, Fallon stood with Elli and her best friend, Harper. Fallon had known Harper as long as she had known Elli, and loved her almost the same. Harper looked gorgeous with her brown hair in a messy bun and her one year old, Allison, on her hip. Even though the baby girl was a beauty, it still stung every time someone said her name. The name Allison would forever hold painful memories for Fallon.

Elli stood in a beautiful floor-length green cotton dress with her hair in curls down her back. Shelli sat on her hip with her leg above Elli’s cute little baby belly. Fallon found herself feeling a little inferior to Elli and Harper’s beauty. It had to be the newlywed vibes or maybe the new baby ones. Whatever it was, it agreed with both women. They were stunning.

“The party is great, Fallon,” Harper gushed as she looked out at the party.

“Thanks, Harper. Thank you for coming, too.”

“Of course, we love Aiden, don’t we Ally,” Harper gushed to her precious baby. Allison giggled happily before laying her head on Harper’s chest.

“When’s the guys supposed to get here?” Harper asked, then she looked over at Fallon. “Which reminds me, thanks for telling me Lucas was your baby daddy. I had to hear it from Jakob! My own best friend didn’t even tell me!”

Fallon and Elli laughed as they shared a look. It was a great feeling knowing that Elli hadn’t even told her best friend. Elli was a good person, and Fallon was lucky to have her in her life. Fallon shot Elli a grin before looking back at Harper. “I’m sorry, babe. I couldn’t tell anyone. I didn’t even tell him.”

“So I heard! Scandalous, I tell you! I didn’t think you had that in ya,” Harper gushed with a playful grin on her face.

“Neither did anyone else, but thankfully that’s all water under the bridge and now Aiden and Lucas are happy. That’s all that matters.”

“Your happiness matters too, Fallon,” Elli said from beside her. Fallon nodded as Aiden came running towards her.

“I am happy,” she said, but she knew no one believed her. Aiden wrapped his arms around her waist, grinning up at her, as his breathing was labored.

“Momma. Best. Party. Ever!”

Fallon giggled as Aiden hugged her tightly. “I’m glad you’re having a good time.”

“I am! But Momma, when is my dad getting here?”

Fallon was wondering the same thing too. He should have been there already, but he was nowhere to be seen, and he hadn’t called.

“Their plane got delayed in Vancouver, Aiden. That’s why Mr. Shea and Mr. Jakob aren’t here either, but guess what,” Elli gushed as she bent down to be at the level Aiden was.

Aiden’s face lit up as he came closer to her. “What?!”

“I think I see your daddy now,” she said, pointing to the other side of the park. Fallon followed the direction Elli was pointing, and there was Lucas.

Walking with Molly.

“Dad!”

Fallon watched as Aiden took off towards Lucas, the biggest grin imaginable on his face. The same size grin spread across Lucas’ face before he dropped the gift he held in his hands and replaced them with an excited seven year old. Molly stood by them with a large grin on her face and all Fallon could think was that she hadn’t changed a bit. Molly’s bone-straight brown hair was back in a barrette that Fallon knew James had gotten her before he died. Her eyes had laugh lines around them, and she had gained weight but she carried it well. It made her look homey, like she was made to hug someone. She was still as beautiful as ever and Fallon could only hope that in the future she looked as good as Molly Brooks did — without the help of Dr. Swartz.

Fallon’s eyes traveled back to Lucas and her mouth slowly parted. Without a doubt, Lucas Brooks was the most gorgeous man on earth. Fallon shook her head at his sexiness as her eyes roamed his body. He wore fitted blue jeans with a black Assassins tee. The shirt hugged each of his muscles, and Fallon swore she drooled on herself. Fallon ran her hand along her mouth to make sure she hadn’t. She was good, thank goodness. Fallon couldn’t see his eyes because of the black hat he wore, but Fallon figured they were bright with excitement.

Lucas let out a bark of laughter before he glanced over at Fallon, catching her looking him over like he was a buffet. Fallon’s cheeks warmed as he gave her a small smile before looking back down at his mom. Fallon also looked over at Molly and when she did, she froze because she wasn’t looking into the eyes of the sweet Molly Brooks she had known.

Nope, now it was more like ‘You kept my grandson from me for seven years and now I’m gonna kill you’ Molly Brooks. Fallon knew at that moment that even though her day had started out amazing, it was all about to go to shit.

Fantastic.

Chapter 22

Lucas saw Fallon before he saw anyone else. She stood with Elli and Jakob’s wife, looking not like the mom he knew but more like a mom he would like to get naked with. She was hot, gorgeous, and man how he wanted her. The multicolor dress she wore was tight in spots and flowed in others. Thankfully, the tight parts were the parts he loved, like her ass and breasts.

It was definitely something a mommy shouldn’t be wearing.

A slow satisfied grin went across his face as he walked with his mom admiring Fallon’s beautiful body as her hair blew in the wind. Her eyes were covered by sunglasses but he had those memorized. And even though he had her lips memorized too, he still found himself drawn to them. They were glossed up to perfection and she was smiling, looking completely carefree — a look he loved on her.

“She hasn’t change a bit. A little thicker, but she is still stunning,” Molly said from beside him. He took his eyes away from Fallon and nodded to his mom.

“She’s gorgeous.”

Molly laughed just as Lucas turned to look back at Fallon. “Love-sick fool,” Molly said under her breath, but Lucas heard her loud and clear. Molly Brooks wasn’t subtle about anything. When Lucas looked back at the three women, he noticed that Elli was bending down pointing at him. That was when he noticed Aiden. Aiden’s head turned quickly in Lucas’ direction and the biggest, brightest smile came across his face. Lucas found that even though he was outside in the fresh air, he couldn’t seem to catch his breath.

God how he loved that kid.

“Dad!”

Lucas froze. Did Aiden just call him dad?

“Hey Dad!” Aiden said again, his arms waving in the air as he ran towards him and Molly. From beside him, he heard Molly take in a deep breath as Aiden catapulted himself into Lucas’ arms. Aiden wrapped his arms tightly around Lucas’ neck as Lucas did the same to Aiden’s middle. “I’ve missed you,” Aiden whispered.

Lucas closed his eyes, hugging Aiden closer to him. Lucas couldn’t believe it. Aiden called him dad. It was supposed to be Aiden’s birthday but Lucas was convinced that he was the one receiving the best gift ever.

“I missed you too, bud,” Lucas choked out, and it wasn’t easy. Aiden brought out so much emotion from Lucas and he was sure that if he didn’t get it together, he was going to start crying like a girl. “Sorry I’m late, bud.”

“It’s okay! You’re here now!”

“Yup, are you having a nice time?”

Aiden pulled back, nodding his head. “The best ever. All my friends are here, and now that you are here, everything is awesome! Where’s my Grandma?!”

Lucas laughed because for the first time ever, he had forgotten his mom was there and really? Aiden was funny as hell. Lucas shifted Aiden to his hip, and turned to his mom. Lucas knew that Molly was going to be crying, what he didn’t expect was the huge smile that went along with big tears that rolled down her plump cheeks. “Aiden, this is your grandma, Molly.”

Aiden waved with a big smile on his face. “Hi, Grandma! I’m Aiden James Brooks; it’s great to meet you!”

Molly let out a cry before snatching Aiden out of Lucas’ arms and hugging him tightly against her. Aiden wrapped his little arms around Molly with a cute little grin on his face as she continued to hug the stuffing out of him. “Mom, come on. You are going to hurt him,” Lucas laughed. Molly let out a loud laugh before pulling back and kissing Aiden all over his face.

“I will not!” she scolded at Lucas before looking back at Aiden. “Oh, Aiden James Brooks, do you know how much I love you?” she asked. Lucas smiled as his heart skipped a beat. Even he knew that Molly loved Aiden, probably more than she loved him. She had talked nonstop about seeing him since she got off the plane.

“A lot probably. I’m pretty awesome, and everyone loves me,” Aiden said with a shrug of his shoulders. He was so sure of himself that it filled Lucas with pride. Brooks’ men were confident and he loved that Aiden was following in his footsteps just fine.

Molly giggled before kissing his nose. “You are your daddy’s little boy! Cocky little thing aren’t you?”

“Hey,” Lucas said as Aiden looked confused.

“Cocky?”

“Sure of yourself.”

“Huh?” Aiden asked.

Molly laughed along with Lucas before he said, “You think you are awesome.”

“Oh yeah I do. I am so cocky!” Aiden exclaimed with his arms in the air. Molly let out a booming laugh before wrapping Aiden back up in her arms and kissing him all over his precious little face.

“Hey there, stranger!”

Lucas looked over to see Audrey coming towards them with a big grin on her face. She had her hair in pigtails and wore a bright yellow shirt and jean skirt with ridiculously high heels. It seemed like she always had heels on, but today she looked like a little girl playing dress up. Lucas smiled as he hugged her lightly.

“Hey Audrey,” Lucas said as they parted. He then turned to bring Molly closer, “Mom, this is Aiden’s aunt, Audrey. Audrey this is my mom, Molly.”

“Hi!” Audrey exclaimed, holding out her hand. Molly fumbled a little so Lucas took Aiden, giving Molly free hands.

“Hello! So nice to meet you. You are just as gorgeous as your sister. You guys could be twins!” Molly gushed, pulling Audrey into a tight hug.

“Aw, thanks!” Audrey giggled as she hugged Molly tightly. She gave Lucas a small smile before backing away from Molly. “It’s so nice to meet you, too.” Audrey turned to Aiden. “Hey bud, your friends are looking for ya. Wanna come on?”

“Oh yeah! Y’all are staying right?” Aiden asked, looking up at Lucas with wide eyes.

“Of course we are, bud.”

“Good! There’s cake!”

Lucas smiled. “We aren’t here for the cake, bud. We’re here for you.”

Aiden gave him a wide smile before running off towards his friends. Lucas watched him for a moment before turning back to Audrey. “Sorry to pull him away.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m gonna con Fallon into letting him stay the weekend with us,” Lucas said with a grin.

“Good luck with that,” Audrey laughed. “I guess I need to make plans to stay home tonight, probably with a big bottle of wine.”

Lucas laughed even though he felt Molly’s watchful eyes on him. “Everything been okay?” he asked when he stopped laughing.

“Fine, he’s been missing you a lot,” Audrey said.

“I’ve missed him, too.”

“I’ve missed you too, Lucas. So much,” Audrey joked with a big grin.

“Oh Audrey, my heart hasn’t been beating steady since I left you,” Lucas said with straightest face he could manage. It didn’t work and both of them let out gut-busting laughs as Molly watched them like they were fools.

“Whatever, I know you are lying. I know who your heart beats for,” Audrey giggled as she gave him a knowing look. Lucas’ mouth picked up on one side as he shifted back and forth on the balls on his feet. He hated when he was embarrassed and being embarrassed in front of his mom and Audrey wasn’t helping his ego. Audrey gave him one last smile before she locked arms with Molly. “Molly, my mom and dad are so excited to meet you. Would you like to go meet them?”

“Well, even if I didn’t, I couldn’t say no when you started the request like that,” Molly giggled.

Audrey gave her a bright smile before the two started off towards William and Nora. Lucas stood there for a moment looking out at the party. Aiden was running with a bunch of little girls and Lucas’ face broke out in a grin. Before he would say ‘Like father, like son’ but Lucas had no need to chase females anymore. He had one woman in mind, and only one. As he searched the party her, someone slapped him hard on the back. Lucas turned to see Shea and Jakob looking out at the party.

“Hey guys,” Lucas said.

“Hey,” Shea said with a nod. “Have you seen my wife?”

“Or mine?” Jakob asked.

Lucas nodded his head before pointing over to where the two gorgeous women stood with their beautiful babies. “Right over there gentlemen and if I may say…”

“You may not,” Shea said cutting him off. “I like you right now Brooks. Don’t piss me off.” Shea cut Lucas a dirty look before walking with Jakob towards their wives.

Lucas chuckled as they walked away. “I was going to say you guys’ babies were beautiful,” he said. He loved messing with Shea — he didn’t like them getting along. It wasn’t how they worked; it was way better when they picked on each other.

“Sure you were. You have had eyes for my woman since you first saw her,” Shea called over his shoulders.

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. “She’s hot.” Shea turned around quickly, and Lucas smiled, “What? She is.”

“Unless you want me to gouge your eyeballs out, keep your eyes on your own woman. She’s over there,” Shea said, pointing to where Fallon was standing with some women he didn’t know. She had pulled her hair into a messy bun, and man, she was hot. He loved the curve of her neck, and with her hair like that it was all you saw.

“Don’t mind if I do,” Lucas said with a grin.

Shea shook his head while Jakob laughed as they returned to walking back to their women. Lucas turned back from them to focus on Fallon. She moved around the three women, placing plates and cups along the table as she laughed about something. Lucas decided that he could do a really great job of setting up cups and made his way towards her. Fallon looked up just as he reached her, so did the three women.

“Hey, Lucas,” Fallon said before she looked back down at what she was doing.

“Hey, Fal, I came to help.”

Fallon looked up. “I’m good. Thanks. Go find Aiden, enjoy the party.”

Okay, he was being dismissed.

“Okay, are you sure there is nothing I can help with?”

Fallon shook her head. “Like I said, I’m good.”

“Okay,” Lucas said, looking over at the ladies that stood around them. One gave him a cheeky smile and he returned it before saying, “Well, hello ladies.”

All three of them started to grin just as a stack of cups hit Lucas in the chest. He glanced over to see Fallon giving him the dirtiest look ever. “Put one by each plate,” Fallon sneered before going back to placing plates down. He glanced back at the women, shrugging his shoulders before following Fallon to place a cup by each plate she laid down.

“I thought you said you didn’t need any help,” Lucas said as they made their way down the long table.

“I don’t, but I rather have you help me then you flirting with Aiden’s friend’s mothers,” she spat out. Lucas chuckled to himself as he watched her basically slam each of the green paper plates down.

“Aww, is someone jealous?”

Fallon cut Lucas a look of death before rolling her eyes. “As if.”

An arrogant laugh left Lucas’ lips as Fallon started to place the plates down faster before almost reaching the end. He loved how she wore her emotions on her sleeve. He could tell that she was jealous to the core and all he did was say hi to the three women. None of them were even close to being as beautiful as Fallon was, so why would she think he was flirting with them? And why was she jealous if she didn’t want to be with him? Why did she fight what was so right between them? Just as he was about to ask, his mother appeared, eyeing Fallon.

Molly stood at the end of the table with a look on her face that told Lucas she wasn’t happy. Molly hadn’t talked much about Fallon — all she cared about was Aiden — but Lucas knew that Molly wasn’t happy with her. When Fallon reached the end of the table, she looked up and took a step backwards as Molly put her hands on her hips.

“Fallon Parker, I have a bone to pick with you.”

Fallon drew in a deep breath and took a step back. Her face was full of worry and Lucas didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know if he should protect Fallon or stay out of it. He was leaning towards staying out of it because Molly looked a little crazy. Molly turned on her heels and started for the flower gardens, leaving Fallon and Lucas by the table. Fallon glanced back at Lucas and he shrugged his shoulders, not knowing what to do. She looked back at where Molly had stopped; standing with her hands on her hips, waiting for Fallon.

Fallon took a deep breath in and laid the plates down before smoothing out the bottom of her dress. She walked towards Molly like she had a death wish and Lucas still had no clue what to do. Since Molly would yell at him for following, Lucas decided to finish the job he started. The kids would need cups to drink from, so he basically had to finish. As he placed each cup by the respected plate he kept an eye on the two women that he loved, just in case Fallon needed him. He hoped she didn’t though, because Molly scared the shit out of him. He’d rather deal with 10 Fallons than one Molly.

At least with Fallon he knew he would like the fight and there was always a possibility of getting naked afterwards.

********************************

Fallon knew, with one look into Molly Brooks’ eyes, that she was in deep shit. Molly stood with her hands on her hips, watching as Fallon made her way to her. She didn’t know what she was going to say to Molly, and she sure as hell didn’t know what Molly was going to say to her. Her heart slammed against her chest with every step she took, her palms got sweaty and she knew that it wasn’t the sun that had her back drenched with sweat.

It was Molly Brooks.

Fallon swallowed loudly as she stopped into front of Molly. She looked up, meeting Molly’s angry eyes and took a step back. “Molly,” Fallon croaked out.

“Fallon, long time no see.”

“Very long time,” Fallon agreed, nodding her head. Both women looked into each other’s eyes, and all Fallon wanted to do was run. She hated being under someone’s scrutinizing gaze, and Molly was scrutinizing everything about Fallon. She probably noticed the extra weight Fallon had put on from her pregnancy with Aiden. Or the way Fallon’s hair was a complete mess from the wind. Or probably the way her dress was too damn tight! She should have never worn the dress! Damn her for needing to impress a man that she wasn’t trying to be with!

Idiot!

“How could you, Fallon? How could you?”

Fallon took in a deep breath, clasping her hands tightly together behind her back. “I did what I thought was right. I’m sorry.”

“Keeping a child from his father was right?” Molly sneered.

“It was at the time,” Fallon said as strongly as she could.

“How would you like it if Lucas had kept Aiden from you for seven years? Your parents? How would that make you feel?” Molly asked, narrowing her eyes at Fallon.

Fallon took a deep, pained breath before closing the eyes. She couldn’t help but imagine it, and boy, how it hurt. She should have never done what she did, but she did, and she had already apologized to Lucas. Fallon opened her eyes, standing a little straighter, trying to put on the image of being strong when really she was falling apart inside. “I said I was sorry Molly. Lucas has forgiven me.”

“Lucas forgave you because he loves you!”

Fallon took in a sharp breath. Lucas loved her?

No way.

“I will not be forgiving on this Fallon Parker. I have lost seven years with my only grandson. How dare you? At first I tried to defend you. I know Lucas did a number on you, but the more I thought about it the more I got madder and madder. He is my only grandson!”

“I’m sorry, Molly. I don’t know what else to say,” Fallon gasped out. Her mind was still reeling about Lucas loving her. Molly must be stuck back in the past or something, because there was no way.

“There is nothing you can say Fallon, all you can do is listen. Know that I am very unhappy with you, and that you hurt me. I know Lucas hurt you, but I did nothing but love you and you do this to me? After everything I’ve lost? You take the one the little boy that looks just like my James and Lucas and keep him from me? Me? You used to call me Mom.”

Fallon eyes filled with tears and she had to look away. “I know,” she whispered. “I feel horrible.”

“You should. You should feel like the scum of the earth because no man, or grandmother for that matter, should have to learn about a child seven years after the fact. What the hell were you waiting for?”

“I don’t know,” Fallon said shaking her head. “I was scared.”

“So you were a coward? I don’t remember my Fallon being a coward. She was quiet, but not a coward.”

Fallon looked up, moving her hand across her cheek to catch the tears that fell. What did she expect? Molly was a mother bear to the extreme. Fallon deserved this. Lucas should have done this, but he had let her off easily. All he cared about was Aiden. Fallon wasn’t thinking that Molly didn’t care about Aiden; it was obvious she did, but she also saw the wrong Fallon did to Lucas. Lucas was her baby. “I guess so,” Fallon said after looking into Molly’s eyes for a moment, “but let me ask you this — if James cheated on you with your best friend, would you have stuck around?”

Molly took a step closer to her, shaking her head. “Fallon, I don’t blame you for leaving. I would have left his ass too, but honey, a baby? You kept a baby from him? From me?”

“I know I done wrong Molly, I don’t deny that, but I had to protect my son.”

“From what? Lucas? Me?”

“From the asshole that broke my heart,” Fallon snapped. Molly’s eyes got big and Fallon took a deep breath in before saying, “I know that you think he hangs the moon, Molly, but he broke me and I couldn’t stand to look at him. So how was I supposed to raise a child with a man that couldn’t even stay true to me? How was I supposed to know that he was going to stand up and be a dad? I was a baby myself, only 20.”

Molly shook her head as she looked away. Fallon looked down at the ground, listening to the sounds of the party. She hated that they had done this here, but Fallon wasn’t one to back down from a fight.

At least not now.

“I know he did you wrong but he is his father’s son, and if I know anything of Lucas, it’s that he would have stood up and been a dad. Yes, he was strung out and drunk all the time, but I am pretty sure that he could have used the fact that he was going to be a father as a wakeup call. Maybe then everything that happened wouldn’t have.”

Strung out and drunk all the time?

What the hell?

Fallon shook her head, confused. “I don’t know what you are talking about, but I had to protect me and Aiden.”

“Of course you don’t know, because you left. You left at a time when Lucas really needed you.”

“Molly, you couldn’t have expected me to stay? He cheated on me!”

“I know he did. And no, I didn’t expect you to stay with him, but I wish you had.”

“Well I didn’t and I kept his son and your grandson from y’all, okay? I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say or do to express how sorry I am. All I can do is guarantee you that you will be in Aiden’s life now. If I could give you back those seven years, I would, but I can’t. All I can do is say I’m sorry. ”

“Okay,” Molly said with a shrug of her shoulders. “I said my peace and we can’t change the past. All we can do is just deal with your mistakes.”

They shared a long look before Fallon looked away, feeling horrible and that she was as Molly said — the scum of the earth. She hated that she had hurt Molly, and even Lucas, because she never meant to. She was trying to protect Aiden, and maybe herself. Yeah, she was selfish through it all, but she had Aiden in mind.

At least she thought she did.

When she looked up, Molly was walking away, shaking her head. Fallon felt like crumbling onto the ground and dying. She didn’t want their reunion to be like that. She wasn’t hoping for a bright and sunny homecoming, but she damn sure wasn’t expecting a verbal slap in the face. Fallon looked out at the party, wishing like hell that she could be excited to go back to it but she wasn’t. When Fallon’s eyes met her father’s knowing look, she cringed as she quickly looked away. She didn’t know what it was about William, but it was as if he knew every wrong thing she did. She hated his knowing looks and hated that she still to this day was the biggest disappointment in his life. No matter what she did, it didn’t seem to make things better.

Fallon closed her eyes and shook her head. She had never felt more like a failure than she did in that moment but it didn’t matter. She had a party to get to. Fallon opened her eyes and smoothed out the skirt of her dress. She had worn the dress to impress Lucas. Why? Who knew? But she did. And to add insult to injury, he hadn’t even noticed.

Another failure.

So all Fallon could do was smile and put on the best damn party in the world for her seven year old.

*********************************

The party was a success — awkward, but a success. Numerous times during the party Elli and Audrey asked if Fallon was okay, and she lied every time. There was no way she could rehash what had happened between her and Molly. Lucas stayed clear, only standing with his mom through the whole party. After getting everything cleaned up and packed into her car, she turned to see Lucas running around the park with Aiden on his shoulders. Aiden was laughing so loudly and looked so happy that everything that had happened that day didn’t matter. Aiden was happy and healthy, what else could Fallon really ask for?

Fallon leaned against the car and slid her heels off as she watched them play. After placing her shoes in the trunk, she started towards them. Fallon didn’t stop when she passed by her parents and Molly, she continued towards Lucas and Aiden despite the looks. When she reached them, Aiden shot her a bright smile.

“I’m on top of the world!” Aiden exclaimed as he stood on Lucas’ shoulders.

“That you are! You have to be 30 feet tall,” Fallon exaggerated.

“Yup!” Aiden said. He then let out a loud scream as Lucas dropped him into his arms.

“Hey, do me a favor. Go bother your grandparents, I need to talk to your mom,” Lucas said, placing Aiden on his feet.

“Okay!”

Fallon and Lucas watched as Aiden ran off towards their parents. When he reached William, he picked Aiden up, throwing him up on his shoulders.

“Your dad is pretty agile for his age,” Lucas said.

Fallon nodded. “Yeah, he’s in better shape than I am.” Fallon turned to face him before saying, “What did you need to talk to me about?”

“Um, well. Mom is only in until Tuesday when I leave out for the west coast. We have a game tomorrow, and I wanted Aiden, you and Audrey to come. Mom will be there, and Elli said she’ll get you guys glass seats since it will be Aiden’s first game.”

“I haven’t been to a game in years. I really have no desire to go,” Fallon said.

Lucas rolled his eyes. “I think you can endure it for Aiden. He wants you there.”

Fallon glared at Lucas and he returned it. As Fallon stood there staring into Lucas’ eyes, she swore she was about to burst out in flames. He was just so gorgeous with his dark stubble that lined his jaw and chin. Since she was closer to him, she could see his mischief-filled, gray eyes. Fallon wished like hell that they were seven years younger and had no cares in the world, because she really wanted to jump his bones.

Lucas looked away and took in a deep breath before saying, “Like I said, Mom is here until Tuesday and I was wondering if I could keep Aiden while she is here.”

Say what?

“Excuse me?” Fallon asked. All thoughts about getting naked with Lucas went right out the window at the moment. He wanted to keep Aiden?

“I wanted Aiden to stay with me the next couple days.”

“He has school,” Fallon protested.

“He can miss one day. Mom won’t be back down until the end of the season.”

Fallon was panicking. “Stay the night?”

“Yeah.”

“Where would he sleep?” Fallon asked, hoping like hell that Lucas didn’t have an extra bed in that big freaking house of his.

“I have a room for him.”

“Oh,” Fallon whispered.

“Yeah, so is it okay?”

Fallon had told Molly that she wouldn’t keep Aiden from her, so what was she supposed to say other than yes? She nodded her head slowly and begged her tears not to fall. “Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Awesome. Can you have a bag ready for him? I’ll come by and pick him up in an hour or so. I’m going to take Mom home and let her get settled before I come get him.”

Fallon nodded slowly. “That’s fine.”

“Good, thanks.”

Fallon nodded again, feeling like a damn bobble head. Lucas ran his hands down the thigh of his jeans, clearing his throat. “So, we’re good?”

Fallon looked up and shrugged her shoulders. “I guess.”

“If you don’t want him to come, tell me,” he said, and Fallon shook her head.

“I’m gonna miss him, is all.”

“You can come too, Fal. You can sleep over in my room.”

When Fallon looked up at his grinning face, she rolled her eyes. “You’re crazy.”

“Crazy about you and that dress. You look hot, babe.”

Fallon’s whole body warmed as a small grin pulled at her lips.

He noticed!

“Thanks,” she said, hoping that she wasn’t beaming on the outside like she was on the inside.

Lucas chuckled as he chucked her under her chin, bringing her face up so he could see her. He took a small step closer to her, and Fallon took in a jagged breath. What the hell was he doing? Their parents and Aiden were only a couple of yards away!

“You didn’t miss me while I was gone?” he whispered as his hand came up to her cheek, cupping it ever so lightly. She closed her eyes, leaning into his hand as he moved his thumb along her jaw.

Stupid thumb! Stupid body! Step away Fallon, step away!

“Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.”

“I know. Luckily for me, I can read you like a book.”

Fallon opened her eyes to glare at him but before she could, his lips were on hers, kissing her softly. Fallon’s eyes drifted shut and she started to kiss back even though her brain yelled at her to stop.

But she couldn’t.

She had missed him. She had missed his lips, his body, everything. She just wanted him — she didn’t care where or when — she just wanted.

So bad.

Lucas slid his tongue along hers as his hand tightened around her neck. Fallon fisted his shirt in her hand, bringing him closer. Lucas pulled back way too soon and looked down into Fallon’s eyes.

“I missed you, and even though you don’t want to admit to it, I know you missed me. When are you going to stop this charade and just admit you want to be with me?”

Fallon rolled her eyes, moving out of his arms, hating that he had called her out and to top it off, that he was right. She glared as she put her hands on her hips. “I don’t want to be with you!”

“Liar,” he said with a cocky grin.

“I don’t! I’m just horny!” He gave her a cocky smirk that Fallon swore he perfected just to make her temper flare and girly parts come at the same damn time! Fallon took another step back. “But no worries, I don’t have my son for the next couple nights, I’ll go find an easy lay!” she spat before turning to walk away.

“I think Coach Chase is still available, want me to call him for you? Maybe he got a haircut, or grew some balls,” Lucas said as she stomped away.

Since Fallon knew if she said anything it would be like pouring fuel on the fire so she kept walking, only stopping to grab Aiden before going to her car. She knew that she would get a call from her parents about her rude actions later but she had to get out of there.

Because if she didn’t, she was either going to kill Lucas or get naked with him right there in front of God and everybody.

The bad thing was that she didn’t know which one was worse.

Chapter 23

A smirk stayed on Lucas’ face the whole way back to his house. He loved messing with Fallon. He got a kick out of making her mad, and watching her get hot from head to toe really did it for him. He loved the blush that would creep up her throat to her cheeks, and the way her eyes would fill with desire could bring him to his knees. All he could do as he drove was replay her words over and over again.

I don’t! I’m just horny!

She was a liar and he knew it. She wanted Lucas just as much as he wanted her, if not more. Every time Lucas was around her, he felt like an electric current was running just through them. His body screamed for hers and he couldn’t stand not to touch her. Even if it was just a simple touch, he had to. Anything, he just needed to connect with her.

Man, she was hot.

Lucas shifted in his seat, hoping like hell that his mom didn’t notice the hard-on he was sporting, before turning off the interstate. He had finally figured out his way through Nashville and now knew all the short cuts that got him to his house and Fallon’s quicker. Molly took in a deep breath and Lucas looked over at her. She had been quiet ever since talking to Fallon. Since he didn’t want to discuss whatever it was they talked about while they were at the party, he decided now was the perfect time.

“Everything okay?”

Molly shrugged her shoulders. “I had it out with Fallon.”

Lucas bit his lip. “You did?”

“I did. I told her I was very upset with her, but I think I might have been a little harsh,” Molly said sadly as she moved her hands together. Even with Molly being extremely protective over Lucas, she still felt bad when she was mean to someone after the fact. Molly was a good person and Lucas could tell she was embarrassed, but Fallon probably needed the harshness. He loved her too much and still felt guilty about everything that had happened to give her the harshness she needed.

“What did you say?” he asked as he pulled onto his road.

“I told her she should feel like the scum of the earth and that she was a coward. Or something like that.”

Lucas cringed. “Scum of the earth?”

“Yes! She kept my baby away from me for seven years!”

Lucas shrugged his shoulders, pulling into his driveway. “True.”

Nothing was said as Lucas parked the car and they got out. They made their way through the back door and up the stairs to the kitchen. When they reached the kitchen, Molly stood in awe, her mouth wide open as she looked around the kitchen and through to the living room.

“Lucas honey, is it big enough?”

Lucas chuckled as he shrugged his shoulders. “It’s a good size for a family.”

Molly nodded with a small smile on her face. “It is. All you need is that family.”

Lucas smiled. “I got point five of it, just need that one.”

Molly and Lucas shared a loving look just as Levi came into the room. “Mom!” Molly let out a cry of happiness before wrapping Levi up in her arms.

“How’s my second son? You are handsome as ever!” she gushed, kissing him loudly on the cheek.

“Thanks, Mom. I’m fine, how are you? Plane ride okay?”

“Yes, it was fine.”

“Good,” Levi said as he hugged her tightly once more. They parted and Levi turned to look at Lucas. “Hey, did you hear from Shea?”

“I saw him, but I didn’t talk to him much,” Lucas said, pouring two glasses of water for him and Molly. “Do you want some water?”

“No, thanks. Listen, Ryan is out.”

“Huh? Jordyn Ryan?” Lucas asked. Jordyn Ryan was the Assassins’ goalie, and the best damn goalie in the league. What did Levi mean, he was out?

“Yeah, he tore his meniscus in his left leg. He’s out for the rest of the season,” Levi said, his voice full of apprehension.

Lucas shook his head. “Fuck! Sorry mom,” he said quickly when he felt Molly’s eyes on him.

“Thank you,” she said before sipping her water.

“I know. Haksson starts tomorrow. They aren’t sure who they are calling up from the Rays.”

Oh, this was bad. The Assassins were about to start the playoffs in a couple of weeks. They needed wins and Haksson wasn’t the goalie to get them those wins. They were first in the league and ahead of all the other teams in points, but they needed to keep winning. What was going to happen when they made the playoffs? They definitely couldn’t afford to lose then and who could they bring from their AHL team, the Florida Rays? Lucas hadn’t heard of any good goalies from that team — not that he really followed the team much — but still, if there was someone good, he would know.

Shit, this was bad.

“Crap-o-la,” Lucas said shaking his head.

“This is bad dude, but anyways, you need to call Ryan, wish him well. You have a team meeting first thing in the morning.”

“Okay,” Lucas said with a nod. “I’m going to go get Aiden; I’ll call Ryan on the way.”

“Okay,” Levi said with a shrug of his shoulders. Levi left the room, leaving Molly and Lucas alone.

“So this is bad?” Molly asked.

“Yeah, Ryan is the best goalie in the league. I bet the media is having a field day with this. It’s horrible,” Lucas said with a shake of his head. He came to the Assassins’ for two reasons: to win a Stanley Cup and to see Fallon again. He had done one of those things, and he was still going to do the other. Or he was going to die trying.

“Everything will be fine. If it’s meant to be then it will happen.”

Lucas looked over at Molly. “Are you talking about the Cup or Fallon?” he asked with a grin.

“Both. Your coach knows what he is doing; everything will be fine with that. With Fallon,” Molly shook her head, “she is still broken from what you did to her. I don’t know if she will ever let it go.”

“Me neither,” Lucas said sadly as he shook his head. “I wish she could.”

“I know, honey,” Molly took Lucas’ hand in hers. “Go get your point five, bring him home, that will make both of us happy,” Molly said with a grin. Lucas flashed her a grin before wrapping his arms around her and kissing her cheek.

“It sure will,” he said, standing up and walking to the backdoor. Maybe with some luck he could convince the one to come too.

Wouldn’t that be perfect?

**********************************

Fallon stood in front of Aiden’s dresser, folding little t-shirts and jeans before putting them in Aiden’s Spiderman bag. Aiden bounced around the room, collecting things he would need and talking constantly about how this was the best birthday ever.

Fallon didn’t feel the same.

Not only was her favorite little boy getting older, but she had gotten verbally slapped by Molly, her dad had left her a nasty voicemail about how rude she was, Aiden was staying the weekend with Lucas, and Lucas had gotten under her skin. Again. She had thought nonstop about Lucas and his seductive mouth. What was she thinking, putting her mouth to his!? She was insane! Ah!

She started to slam Aiden’s clothes into his suitcase, hating that she let Lucas get to her like this. Why couldn’t she be immune to him? Yes, he was positively sexy, gorgeous, kissed like a God, and could fuck her like no other man, but still! She had to let him go!

Tears sprung to her eyes as she took in a shuttering deep breath because no matter what, she knew she couldn’t let him go. It was always going to be a battle within her when it came to him. Until Aiden was 18, she would always have to see him; always have to talk to him. She needed to let it go, but how?

“Mom! Where are my Spiderman PJs?”

Fallon turned to look at Aiden, who stood in the doorway, his arms above his head. “I packed them.”

“Oh, okay! Dad will be here soon right?”

“Yes honey,” Fallon mumbled.

“Awesome!”

As Aiden ran off, Fallon zipped up his suitcase. Was she really doing this? Letting her baby go stay the night with someone else? He hadn’t even had a sleep over with a friend yet, and she was letting him go somewhere for a weekend? Oh God, was she going to make it?

Fallon picked up his suitcase and the bag of toys Aiden had packed before heading out the room. As she reached the stairs, she heard the doorbell ring.

Great, Lucas was there to take her baby away.

Fallon slowly walked down the stairs, listening to Aiden greet Lucas. Lucas’ low, velvet-smooth voice ran up Fallon’s spine and she had to take a deep breath to compose herself before reaching the bottom of the stairs. It was ridiculous how much she wanted to get naked with him and kill him all in one.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs and he glanced up at her with a smirk on his face, she had to look away. She bitched and moaned about him hurting her, and how that was the reason she kept her son from him, so why did she still want him? Even knowing that he was wrong for her, she still wanted him. Was it because she had noticed a change? Or was it really that she was beyond horny?

Blah, she was a mess.

Fallon placed Aiden’s things by the door just as he said, “Dad, I made you something at school. Come on.” Aiden took a hold of Lucas’ hand and dragged him to the kitchen. She had almost forgotten! Fallon followed, a little excited to see what Lucas thought of the arts and crafts Aiden had made. Fallon went into the kitchen and saw Lucas holding himself in a toilet paper form.

“It’s you!” Aiden gushed while bouncing beside him.

“Me, huh?”

“Yup! Isn’t it awesome? Look, here is me and Mom, too.”

Fallon smiled as Lucas took in all three of them in the form of toilet paper rolls. Fallon thought they were the cutest craft ever, and she was sure that Lucas would get a kick out of them. Each of the little toilet paper people held something important. Fallon’s held a cell phone; Aiden’s was painted as Spiderman and Lucas’ held a hockey stick. Aiden had brought them home on Tuesday, and they had sat on her window sill all week. She loved them, so when Lucas said, “I love them, can I have them?” her heart broke, because she knew Aiden was going to say yes.

“Of course! Mommy you don’t mind, do you?” Aiden asked, looking back at her.

Fallon shook her head, knowing that she had years of crafts while Lucas had none. She smiled and said, “No baby, it’s fine.”

“Cool!” Aiden gushed, looking up at Lucas.

“Thanks, I love them,” Lucas said again, looking at each one. “You made your mom perfect.”

Aiden giggled as he nodded. “She was the prettiest tube in the room.”

“I bet she was,” Lucas said with a grin just for her.

Fallon’s face warmed at the kind words. Fallon loved times like this, when there was no drama — no thoughts of what Lucas fucked up — just the three of them. Almost like a family, but then the past would poke its nasty head into Fallon’s brain and she would get mad all over again. She wished that she could forget it all, but she knew she couldn’t.

“You ready to go? I know Molly is probably waiting on y’all,” Fallon said, running her hand through Aiden’s hair. She looked up at Lucas and he was looking down at the table. His eyes were focused on something, probably on his name, and he looked up at her.

“What’s that?”

Fallon paused before saying, “It’s the check from your lawyer.”

“Okay? Why’s it laying here and not in your bank?” Lucas asked and Fallon rolled her eyes.

“Aiden, go to your room please,” Fallon said because she knew that she and Lucas weren’t going to see eye to eye on this.

“Why?” Aiden asked.

“’Cause me and your father need to talk about something,” Fallon said, pointing to the stairs. “Now go.”

“Are y’all gonna fight?” Aiden asked, inching his way to the stairs.

Fallon shook her head. “No,” she said before looking over at Lucas, “we are going to talk about this like sane adults.”

“Sure,” Lucas scoffed.

“Are y’all gonna kiss again?”

For the love of God!

Fallon let out a frustrated breath as Lucas chuckled. “AJ, go to your room please. We will be leaving in few. Let Mommy yell at me for a minute.”

Fallon glared over at Lucas as Aiden ran out the room. When he reached the stairs, he leaned over the banister and smiled at them both before saying, “I think y’all should kiss again, and then get married and make me a brother!” He disappeared before Fallon could even form a thought.

Smart kid.

Lucas chuckled as he smirked over at Fallon. “I think the kid has a point.”

“I think you need to keep your lips to yourself. You are confusing my kid.”

Lucas rolled his eyes. “You want it just as much as I do, so why do you keep fighting it?”

“We’ve went over this,” Fallon warned. “I don’t want you.”

“Sure you don’t,” Lucas grinned. “So anyways, why isn’t this check cashed?”

“It’s too damn much. I ain’t cashing it,” she said, her southern accent getting more pronounced because she was beyond mad at him.

“So? Cash it.”

“I don’t need it.”

“It doesn’t matter, it’s for Aiden.”

“Fine then, take it and put it in a savings account for him because I’m not cashing it.”

“Yes you are. Cash the check, Fallon.”

“No, I don’t want it,” Fallon snapped.

“I don’t care. You’ve paid for everything for the past seven years, let me compensate you.”

“Why? So you can have a clear conscience?”

“For God’s sakes! Cash the fucking check, Fallon. Stop being so damn proud!” Lucas yelled, taking a step towards her.

“No!” she yelled back, taking a step towards him.

“Ah! You drive me insane,” he said, his arms moving with every word. “If you won’t cash the check, I will bring the cash to your house and dump it on your table! Your choice!”

“You drive me insane! Why can’t you just keep the money?”

“Why can’t you just cash the check?!” Lucas shot back.

“’Cause I don’t fucking want it! I don’t want you to think that you have helped me, that you have bought my forgiveness! I don’t want it!”

Lucas shook his head. “Believe me Fallon, until I hear you utter the words that I am forgiven, I won’t think that. Cash the fucking check, it’s for our child.”

“My child does not need it, and you need to lower the monthly payment. It’s too high. We don’t need all that.”

“Our child does need it; he will have the life I never had.”

“This isn’t about you!”

Lucas laughed, shaking his head. “You are right, and it isn’t about you either, but for some reason, you continue to make it about you.”

“I do not!”

“Fallon this whole argument is about how you don’t want me to think I’ve helped you, when all I want to do is help my child. Stop being difficult and cash the check for our son.”

“No,” Fallon spat.

Lucas went towards her, backing her into the wall. He sandwiched her head between his hands and got close to her face, looking her in the eyes. “Listen to me, Fallon. Cash the fucking check or I will take you to court and take Aiden away. If you won’t let me give him what is owed then I will do what needs to be done for my son.”

Fallon gasped as he continued to look her deep in her eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you anymore. I want to be civil but if you don’t work with me on this, my hands are tied. Cash the fucking check.”

“Get away from me,” Fallon spat, pushing him away, but he wasn’t going anywhere. “You aren’t going to threaten me!”

“It isn’t a threat Fallon, it’s a fucking promise. Aiden is my everything, and damn it, he will be taken care of to the fullest. Buy a bigger house with a yard, I don’t care. Give my son the best of everything because damn it, he deserves it.” Lucas gave her a long, heated look as Fallon tried to just breathe. This was the Lucas she remembered, the one that yelled and screamed to get her to see his way. He must have realized what he was doing because he closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. “I would give you everything if you would let me, Fallon. Don’t you get that?”

Fallon didn’t say anything. She continued to take in deep breaths as he held her gaze. “I’ve been very forgiving with you about everything. Please, give me a chance.”

When Fallon didn’t say anything, Lucas shook his head and moved away from her. He didn’t even spare her a second glance as he grabbed his toilet paper tube family and left the room, calling for Aiden. Fallon took in shaky breaths, feeling like she was going to pass out.

I would give you everything if you would let me, Fallon.

Tears sprang to her eyes as she continued to take in shuttering breaths. He was right, she was a selfish bitch and she needed to let things go. She hated that she had brought Lucas to threatening her, even though she deserved it. He only wanted to provide for Aiden, he even wanted to make her happy, but Fallon didn’t think he could ever do that. The only thing she wanted was to forget so she could forgive him. Fallon would never love a man the way she loved Lucas, but with the nagging memory of that night, she would never be able to give herself to him.

Never.

**********************************

Lucas still wasn’t breathing right as he drove back to his house. Aiden was in the backseat singing along with one of Lucas’ CDs as they drove. Lucas knew he was wrong for letting the kid sing Chris Brown, but Lucas was so tired of Big Time Rush and plus he had just had it out with Fallon again, something that shook him to the core. All he wanted was to kiss her senseless, but instead he was threatening her. Lucas’ chest hurt every time he thought of the words he said to her. How could he?

He would never take Aiden from Fallon. Not only did Aiden love her, she was a damn good mom. Hell, great. She would do anything for Aiden, except take money from Lucas. What didn’t she understand? It was for Aiden. It wasn’t a payoff and it wasn’t guilt money. It was for Aiden to have a better life, one that Lucas was blessed to give him. He just wanted to provide for his family, that’s all. Lucas wanted to give them everything because they were his everything.

“Hey, Dad?”

Lucas looked up to the rearview mirror, giving his son a grin. “Yeah, bud?”

“I saw you kiss Mom today.”

Lucas nodded. “I gathered that.”

“I’m good with you kissing my mom, but you better only kiss her. No other girls! Okay?”

Lucas tried so hard not to laugh, but Aiden was such a cute kid. He chuckled a little as he nodded. “Let me tell you something kiddo, if I ever got the chance to always kiss your mommy, I would never kiss another girl again.”

Aiden giggled. “Good, ‘cause I want you and my mommy to get married. I want a brother. Can you do that for me?”

Lucas smiled as he shrugged his shoulders. “I’m gonna try buddy. Mommy doesn’t like me much half the time.”

“Yes, she does. AA says she is fighting her feelings, whatever that means.”

Lucas laughed. Audrey was a nut, but damn he loved her. They had gotten close since she was the one to always bring Aiden to him when Fallon worked. They also loved to joke around and pick on Fallon, but most of all, she supported him in his endeavor to get Fallon back. “We’ll see, okay?”

“Okay, but I would like a brother for Christmas.”

Christmas? Jeez, that would mean he would need to get Fallon back, marry her, and get her pregnant in a week. Hmmm… yeah, no.

“Don’t think so, bud.”

“Why not?”

“Because Mommy is mad at me, and I would have to marry her this week and get her pregnant.”

Aiden was quiet for a moment. “Get her pregnant, what’s that?”

Lucas blinked twice as he looked out onto the road. Shit, he thought the kid knew about babies and stuff. “Like Mrs. Adler. She has a baby in her belly.”

“Oh! I thought she went to the store and bought the baby and was growing it in her belly. Is that what you mean?”

Lucas nodded. “Yup, exactly what I meant.”

“Oh, okay. So I have to wait?”

“Yup, we both do.”

“Well, darn.”

Lucas couldn’t agree more. He would do anything to go to Fallon’s store to make that baby, but first he had to get her to trust that he wouldn’t hurt her ever again.

And that wasn’t looking promising.

*********************************

“So you’re right next door?” Aiden asked from the middle of the bed that Lucas had bought for him. Lucas smiled as he nodded. He loved seeing Aiden in his hockey room, and seeing his face when he saw it for the first time brought unbelievable joy to Lucas’ life. Aiden had loved the room, but now he looked a little worried.

“Yeah, right next door. You need anything, you come in there.”

Aiden nodded. He was dead on his feet. They had been so busy since they had arrived home. After dinner with Molly, she watched as they played hockey and then they played games together until Aiden basically fell asleep at the table. Lucas was surprised Aiden lasted this long after his busy day, and now Lucas was ready to tuck his little guy in the bed.

Aiden went under the covers and Lucas came over to the bed, bringing the covers up to his chin the way his dad used to do. “I’m right next door,” Lucas reassured Aiden before moving away from the bed.

“Okay, good night Dad.”

“Night bud.”

Lucas went out the door, sending Aiden a smile over his shoulder before shutting the door, leaving it open a little just in case Aiden needed him. Lucas walked through the house, shutting lights off before going into his own room. As he undressed he couldn’t help but think of Fallon. He wondered if she was okay and if she was handling her first night from Aiden alright. Even with their awful fight, he still worried and cared about her. He needed to apologize; he had no right saying what he said. It was all out of anger and frustration.

After crawling into bed, he reached for his phone just as the knock came at the door. When it opened and Aiden popped his head in, Lucas smiled.

“Scared?”

“A little,” Aiden answered, standing so innocently in the doorway in his Spiderman PJs.

“Well, come on,” Lucas said pushing the blankets up as an invitation. Aiden gave him a cheeky grin before running into the room, and jumping over him to cuddle into Lucas’ bed. Lucas cuddled down beside him and smiled over at him. “Good night.”

“Night, Dad.”

Lucas lay on his side and watched as his son’s breathing slowed down until he was breathing evenly. As Lucas watched Aiden’s little face, he found himself at a loss of words at his beauty. His eyelashes kissed his cheeks and his little lips pursed every few seconds as he took in deep breaths.

He was perfect.

Lucas rolled over onto his back and looked up at the ceiling. He wished like hell that Fallon was there sharing the moment with him. That she could be spooned against him, watching their son and thinking that she was the luckiest girl on earth. He wished he hadn’t messed up the way he did because if he hadn’t she would be there. He took in a deep calming breath and reached for his phone.

Fallon answered on the second ring. “Hello?”

“Hey,” Lucas said quietly.

“Hey, is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just wanted to call and check on you.”

As she paused, Lucas sat up, his legs hanging off the bed as he braced his elbows on his knees. He listened to her breathing and continued to wish that she was with him.

“Why?” she asked.

“Because I care.”

“Oh,” she whispered. “Well I’m fine. How is Aiden?”

“He’s sleeping. We had a good night though.”

“Good, what did you all do?” she asked.

“Had dinner with Mom, played some hockey, and played games. It was funny. Aiden fell asleep while playing Candy Land.”

Fallon giggled. “He must have been dead on his feet.”

“Yeah, he was. He’s sleeping beside me,” Lucas glanced over at Aiden. “He reminds me of the way you used to sleep.”

Fallon took in a sharp breath. “He always reminded me of you.”

Lucas’ body caught on fire, he wanted her so bad.

“Fallon,” Lucas began.

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean everything I said. I would never take Aiden from you, I was mad that you weren’t cooperating with me. You drive me insane.”

She paused, and then let out a long breath. “I know, but you drive me just as insane.”

Lucas smirked. “So we’re even?”

“Basically. I’m gonna put the check in the bank Monday,” she said in a small voice.

“Good,” Lucas decided. “Are you going to look into another house?”

“I don’t know,” Fallon answered. “There really isn’t anything wrong with this condo.”

“No, but Aiden needs a yard.”

“I guess,” Fallon said with a huff.

“You could always move in with me; we could be a family,” Lucas suggested, causing Fallon to laugh.

“Yeah, but where would I sleep? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t want me anywhere but beside you, and since I can’t trust you, that ain’t happening.”

Lucas ran his finger up and down his knee wishing that it could happen.

“Maybe we could try.”

“Maybe I could use this money to buy me a time machine and travel back in time and prevent you from cheating on me,” she said, and he laughed.

“It would be great if we could though.”

“Yeah, but I don’t know if I could try, Lucas. It’s just so hard.”

Lucas looked up at the ceiling frustrated. “How will you know if we don’t try?”

“I don’t know.”

“Go out with me. Give us a chance.”

“I don’t know, Lucas. It’s just all so scary. I don’t think I can do the hurt again,” she said, and Lucas wasn’t sure but he thought she was crying.

His voice dropped down an octave. “I won’t hurt you baby, ever again.”

“I just don’t know.”

“Do you miss me?” he asked.

He held his breath as he waited for her answer. When she said “Yes,” it came out in a whoosh and the biggest grin replaced the worried line of his mouth.

“I miss you. So much.”

“But that doesn’t mean anything. Just because my body wants you and even though I miss you, I still know you’re a bad idea,” she insisted.

“Maybe I’m not.”

“Maybe you are.”

Lucas rolled his eyes and looked back down at the carpet. “Until you give me a fair chance, I don’t think it’s right of you to make that assumption,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I want us to be a family, Fallon.”

Fallon let out a breath. “In a perfect world we would be, but I would also be able to let go of what happened.”

“Again, let’s try. I’m going to be on break in a week before playoffs start,” he began, but Fallon cut him off.

“Yeah, but you have the campaign.”

“So? I can still plan stuff with you and Aiden around that. I want us to try during my break Fallon. Really try.”

“I don’t know Lucas, that’s asking a lot.”

“I don’t think it is,” Lucas countered. “I just want two weeks, that’s all. Me, you and Aiden, let’s see if it works.”

When Fallon didn’t say anything for a long time, Lucas wasn’t sure if she fell asleep or if she was thinking. She then said, “Let me think about it.”

A slow grin went across Lucas’ face. If she was willing to think about it, then she obviously wanted the same thing.

A family with him.

“Okay.”

“Okay, so I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” she asked.

“Tomorrow. Maybe I can get a good luck kiss out of you before the game?” Lucas said with laughter in his voice.

“Don’t count on it,” she laughed. “Good night, Lucas.”

“Good night baby,” Lucas said. He didn’t hang up the phone because he wanted her to do it first. It was childish, but they used to always do it. When she didn’t hang up either, Lucas smiled as he listened to her breathe. “Hang up,” he whispered.

“No, you hang up,” she whispered back.

Lucas started to laugh. He loved when they did this when he was on the road. They would fight about who hung up first, and finally they would hang up at the same time.

It felt so right doing it again and when he said, “Together?” she laughed. It had been so long but at that moment he felt like they were kids again, no worries in the world.

When Fallon stopped laughing, she said, “Okay, one, two, three…”

“Night,” they both said before hanging up. Lucas grinned down at the phone. They were going to work out, things were moving for them. He just hoped they were moving in the right direction.

To his perfect family.

Chapter 24

Fallon couldn’t believe she was considering giving Lucas those two weeks.

As she drove to the Luther Arena, she couldn’t help but want to do it. Maybe he was right, she couldn’t assume he would do her wrong. He said he was a changed man, and she had seen it after their fight. He would have never called and apologized before, but he had now. But all Fallon could think was even if she was to give him those two weeks, if she couldn’t trust him, what good would it do? It would only confuse him, her, and Aiden. She would have to forgive him before she could commit to something like that, but how could she forgive him when every time she looked at him, she thought of that moment when she found him in bed with Allison.

It was a vicious cycle of pain and something had to be done, or Fallon would be living a life — aside from Aiden — that she really didn’t like. Until she fully got over Lucas she would never be able to give her heart away. Part of her knew she would never get over him, but if she wasn’t going to give him a chance then she needed to do it. It was getting old, this game she was playing. She needed to decide what was best for herself and Aiden. If that was Lucas, then damn it, she needed to try. She needed to listen to her heart.

But the damn thing was telling her to be with him while her brain was telling her that he had cheated once, he’d do it again!

Ah! She was tiptoeing on the line between sane and crazy!

“I heard you crying again last night.”

Fallon looked over to where Audrey sat looking out the window. “I’m a mess, you should get used to it.”

Audrey laughed. “Why were you crying?”

“Lucas,” she said as if that explained everything.

“Okay?”

“We got into it, and he then called later and apologized. He then proceeded to asked for two weeks for me to see that he was a changed man.”

Fallon looked over to see Audrey nodding. “And you said?”

“I’d think about it,” Fallon said with a shrug.

“Well at least you didn’t say no. It would probably be for the best, Fal.”

“I am so scared he’ll hurt me again.”

“What if he doesn’t and he is this said ‘changed man’? You could live your happily ever after, but if you keep on the way you are going, you’re gonna be alone for the rest of your life, and then what?”

“Jeez, dramatic much?” Fallon asked as she pulled into a parking spot beside Lucas’ truck.

“This from the queen of the dramatics. I’m just saying give him a chance. I think he’s awesome.”

“Of course you do, it’s the Brooks’ charm. Why do you think everyone loves Aiden?” Fallon said as she got out of the car. Audrey came around and locked arms with Fallon, looking up at her with a smile.

“I think you should give him a chance,” she said.

Fallon rolled her eyes. She was so tired of talking about her and Lucas; it was an ongoing issue of craziness. Plus, Fallon had a very important question for Audrey.

“I think you should tell me why I went by your room last night and you were gone,” Fallon countered. Audrey narrowed her eyes and unlocked her arms, moving away from Fallon.

“We aren’t talking about me, we are talking about you,” Audrey snapped.

Fallon was about to snap back when she heard Aiden yell, “Mommy! AA!”

“Hey Punkin’!” Fallon yelled back, bending down to meet him for a hug. “I’ve missed you to the moon and back!”

Aiden giggled as he gave her a smacking kiss on the lips. “I’ve missed you to Pluto and back!”

Fallon gave him a big smile before wrapping him back up in her arms. “You’re my favorite little guy.”

“You’re my best mommy.”

“Okay, I’m a little jealous here, Aiden,” Audrey said from beside them. Aiden gave Fallon once last smile before jumping towards Audrey. She took him in her arms, kissing him loudly on the cheek. They both had missed him, and he still wouldn’t be coming home until Tuesday. It hurt Fallon to even think that she had to endure two more nights without her favorite guy, but she had to do it.

Just as Fallon was about to cover Aiden with kisses again, she noticed Lucas was standing beside them.

“Oh, hey.”

Fallon practically moaned as he said, “Hey there,” in his low, seductive way while giving her a sexy smirk.

Fallon swallowed loudly as she took in his attire. He was dressed in his before-game gear, which consisted of a black hoodie that said ‘Assassins’ on the front and purple gym shorts. Even with white socks that came to his knees and black New Balances on his feet, Fallon thought he was hot. When her eyes met his, he gave her a knowing look and grinned appreciably as his eyes raked her body.

Fallon hoped he liked the black jeggings and purple lace dress set she had put together. Fallon had curled her hair for hours and was sure that it looked good with the purple suede handbag she had gotten to match her shoes. Fallon was a little nervous about the purple, she wasn’t sure if it was really her color, but Audrey had reassured her it was. With the purple suede Kate Spade bootie heels she had bought the day before, Fallon felt confident that Lucas would think she is hot.

When his eyes met hers again; she saw the desire building in his eyes, and she knew she had succeeded as a shy smile came over her glossed up mouth. He returned the smile as he moved back and forth on the balls of his feet. A nervous habit of his, but Fallon didn’t know what he had to be nervous about. He always looked good, all he had to do was wake up and he was gorgeous! Getting this hot took time and effort!

“Are y’all done making eyes at each other? We’re bored,” Audrey said from beside them. Fallon broke their intense gaze to look down at Audrey and Aiden, who were grinning up at them.

“AA, leave them alone, I want a brother.”

Audrey giggled before picking Aiden up as Fallon’s face turned bright red. Lucas chuckled as he grinned over at Audrey. “I need to talk to Fallon; can you go ahead in with Aiden?”

“Sure, where am I going?” she asked. Lucas smiled.

“Aiden can show you, can’t you bud?”

Aiden nodded quickly. “Yup, I’m pretty much an Assassin now, too. That’s what Mr. Shea said!”

Fallon smiled as Audrey and Lucas laughed. She didn’t know what Lucas needed to talk to her about, but it made her nervous that he was nervous.

“Alright, mini Assassin, lead the way!” Audrey gushed before putting Aiden down. He took her hand and led the way into the back of the building. Fallon watched them walk hand in hand until they disappeared inside. When she looked over at Lucas, he had come closer to her, looking down at her with those dark gray, desired-filled eyes.

Fallon’s whole body tingled from the feel of his body so close to hers. Her hands shook as she looked up into his eyes. She had no clue what he was doing but she really didn’t care. She loved being this close to him. When he moved his arm, she looked down to watch him lock his pinky with hers. She looked up and smiled. Why did it feel so right to be with him like that and still not trust him?

“My mom is sitting with you guys,” he whispered as he got closer to her. His pinky squeezed hers as his left hand locked with hers.

Fallon nodded. “Okay.”

“I know she was harsh with you, so I just wanted to tell you.”

Fallon nodded again. “Okay.” Her words came out so breathy, so quietly that she wasn’t sure if he heard her, but when he smiled she knew he had.

“I also wanted to ask if you wanted to go to Disneyland,” Lucas asked with a shy smile.

Fallon giggled as she looked down at his lips. She could have sworn he was going to kiss her, but nope, he decided to ask about Disneyland. Gosh, he and Aiden were so much alike, always coming out of left field with things.

“Huh?” she asked with a grin.

“Aiden asked to go, and since I’ll be off, I thought we could go.”

Fallon looked up into his eyes. “I haven’t decided if I am giving you those two weeks yet.”

Lucas mouth picked up on one side. “I think you are leaning towards it.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I am?”

“Yeah,” he said with a cocky grin. “If you weren’t, you wouldn’t have your mouth pursed up like that, just waiting for me to kiss you.”

Fallon let out a breathy laugh. “I ain’t waiting for you to kiss me.”

“Sure you are,” he said before capturing her mouth with his. The kiss was sweet at first but it turned hot in no time. His hands left hers, cupping her cheeks in his hands as he continued to give her kiss after kiss. Fallon opened her mouth for him, wanting to deepen the kiss, but Lucas pulled back, looking deep into her eyes. She looked up at him questioningly, and he just smiled as he backed away.

“You can have more when you agree to those two weeks,” he said so confidently that Fallon wanted to scream.

“Oh, you ass,” she muttered as he reached for her hand, pulling her along with him.

“Agree to it, and we can go finish what we started in my truck,” he said with a grin. “The seats lay down,” he added with a wink.

Fallon’s body was on fire, and she was almost to the point of saying yes, but she really needed to think this through. She looked up at him, and shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t want to hurt anyone. I still need to think it through.”

Lucas smiled. “I figured that. Come on, Aiden is waiting on us.”

Fallon glanced down at their joined hands before looking up at him. She could do this every day if only she could get Allison and that moment out of her head.

After meeting up with Audrey, Aiden, and Molly, and wishing Lucas luck, they were all escorted to their seats. Fallon was surprised when Molly sat beside her instead of Aiden, but paid it no mind as she looked around the arena. It had been a long time since she had been in an actual rink. She had done the PR work upstairs but she hadn’t been near the ice in years. For some reason it felt like it used to, amazing. She used to love hockey, it wasn’t only that Lucas was playing but the thrill of it. Watching men beat the crap out of each other and skate with such skill did it for Fallon. It really was a hot sport.

As Fallon sat in her seat, she couldn’t help but think of Lucas. She was still a little lightheaded from her kiss with Lucas, but at least she wasn’t regretting it or questioning the hell out of it. Now all she wanted to do was trust him. She wanted to give those two weeks a chance. She wanted to take Aiden and go to Disneyland with him. She wanted to have sex with him so bad she could taste him. But she couldn’t do any of those things until she trusted him, or at least forgave him.

“Fallon, I wanted to talk to you.”

Fallon pulled her eyes away from the ice, where she was having an internal battle with herself, to look over at Molly. “Yeah?”

Molly looked down at her hands, and then back at Fallon. “I’m sorry for some of the things I said yesterday.”

Fallon smiled. “Some of them?”

Molly returned the smile. “Yes, I should have never called you a coward, or the scum of the earth. You are a good girl, so I’m sorry.”

Fallon looked down at her hands before turning in her seat to wrap her arms around Molly. Molly returned the hug, holding Fallon close as the tears sprang to Fallon’s eyes. No matter what, she would always love Molly. Molly was an amazing, sweet woman.

“I deserved it,” Fallon whispered before they pulled apart.

Molly gave her a watery smile before taking her hand in hers. “Water under the bridge. Now let’s talk about how amazing my grandson is.”

Fallon nodded before Molly hit her with question after question. She wondered about the pregnancy, the birth, his baby years, everything. It was so great to talk to Molly about it all. Fallon used to be worried about the way she would deal with things when it came to Aiden, but she learned that Lucas was the same way as a child. Hearing Molly say she had done a great job made Fallon’s day. Being a single mom, Fallon tended to second-guess herself, but hearing from one of the best moms she knew that she was a good mom really did put all her fears aside.

Just as they were finishing up the conversation the Assassins took the ice. Aiden was on his feet screaming for Lucas and soon the three women joined him. Lucas would glance back at them and smile as he did laps around the rink. It not only took Fallon’s breath away but it gave her butterflies. Fallon had been a very avid Sharks’ fan when Lucas played for them — she went to every game and sat in the exact same seat — and watching Lucas now was like déjà vu. It was so unreal. She found that she had missed it all, and standing beside Aiden cheering for Lucas was everything Fallon thought it was going to be.

Perfect.

When she was younger she used to dream of taking their children to Lucas’ games, and just as she had dreamed it, Aiden’s face was bright with excitement. He was bouncing as he leaned with his nose against the glass, watching every move Lucas did. Fallon soon found herself doing the same thing. Lucas was marvelous on the ice. He skated the way he walked, confidently. He knew he was one of the biggest and baddest guys on that ice. He didn’t care about anything but winning. He was a beast.

“Ooh! Dad is starting! This is awesome!” Aiden gushed as they all sat back into their seats.

“He’s been playing really good lately,” Fallon said. Molly nodded beside her as Aiden looked back at her.

“Yeah, because of us!”

Fallon blinked a few times, confused by Aiden’s statement. “What do you mean Aiden?”

“Dad says that he is playing good because we are in his life now.”

Oh, that man. Fallon covered her fluttering stomach with her hands. With every passing day, something came up that showed that Lucas had changed. Before, he would have never said he was playing good because of her. It was always about his skill, about how his dad trained him to be the best, but now it was Aiden and Fallon that made him play well? It all blew her mind.

Fallon looked out onto the ice and watched as Lucas played the game. Before when she would go to the games, she would always be lonely, but now having Aiden, Audrey, and Molly, she could never feel alone. When the guys scored, they all stood up singing. They shared nachos, funnel cakes, and popcorn. They joked between periods and talked about how awesome the game was. It was wonderful.

The only problem was that through the whole game, Fallon kept noticing that one of the Ducks players kept taking cheap shots on Lucas. It was expected, but still it worried her. She knew Lucas’ temper, and she hated when he got into fights. Plus, Aiden was there. He didn’t need to see his dad pounding some guy’s head in, but when number eight basically held Lucas in a bear hug and then threw him on the ice, Fallon’s temper snapped and she came out of her seat.

“Are you fucking kidding me?! Aren’t you going to call that?!” she screamed as she banged on the glass since the referee was just standing right beside her. It was obviously a holding call but no one was calling it! “What does he have to do? Buy him dinner before you actually call something!? That was close to fucking rape, you idiot! Do your damn job!”

“Tell them, honey,” Molly said. Fallon turned to nod at her but when she turned to look at Audrey and Aiden, they were looking up at her in complete shock. Poor Aiden had his pretzel frozen right in front of his mouth, and Audrey had her drink right at her lips while staring up at her.

“Wow,” Audrey gasped before looking back at the ice.

“Mommy, you just said soooooooo many bad words. I’m so telling Dad.”

Fallon paid them no mind as she looked back at the ice, ready to start screaming again. This is why she hadn’t been a game in years — she always jumped the line and went to Crazyville.

Damn hockey.

Lucas threw an elbow, knocking the guy that had basically tried to kill him off of him. As he slowly got up, he heard the general yell of the crowd but also a certain brown-haired beauty. His eyes went straight to Fallon as she banged on the glass, cursing out the referee that stood by her. His mom was nodding while Aiden and Audrey looked up at her like she was crazy. It was a great image to witness; he just wished he had a camera.

Shea skated over towards him and raised an eyebrow. “Is that Fallon?”

“Yup,” Lucas nodded as Fallon screamed that the ref needed glasses.

“Wow.”

“Yeah, she gets a little angry at these things.”

The referee ignored her, like they were supposed to, and went to the left side of the goal to drop the puck. Lucas looked over at Fallon one last time and grinned.

Man, he loved having her there.

**********************************

“And then! Mommy said the most awful things to the ref guy and Grandma agreed with her! AA just shook her head! It was so cool!” Aiden gushed from the backseat. Lucas chuckled as he drove to the house. He was a little bummed when he came out the back to only see Aiden and Molly. He was hoping that Fallon would be there, but she apparently had some work to do. He wasn’t going to let it bother him though. Aiden was staying the night again, and the Assassins had won the game.

Barely.

Matty Haksson was a great guy, but he was not the goalie that Jordyn Ryan was. Out of the 34 shots on goal tonight, Matty had only blocked 29. Ryan would have blocked all of them. It sucked that he was hurt, but that was hockey. People got hurt and teams had to adjust, but that didn’t help Lucas’ worry.

Lucas turned into his driveway and parked the car in the garage. He was ready for the next two days with Aiden and his mom. They had so much planned and he couldn’t wait. Worrying about the team, Fallon, and everything else would have to be put on the back burner.

All that mattered for the next couple of days was Aiden and Molly.

It seemed like the days passed in hyper speed because the next thing Lucas knew, he and Aiden were standing at the airport telling Molly they loved her before she left. Molly held Aiden in her arms, kissing him over and over again while she told him she loved him.

“I love you boogey butt!”

Aiden giggled at her new nickname for him. “I love you more, Grandma.”

“I’ll see you very soon, okay? You keep doing well in school, okay?”

“I will,” Aiden nodded. “I’ll send you a letter!” he declared and Molly ate it up, wrapping her arms around him for more love. Aiden was so much like Lucas it was scary. The kid could charm anyone, just like his daddy, Lucas thought with a grin.

When Molly finally let him go, she was crying as she wrapped Lucas up in her arms. He wrapped his arms hard around her. He missed her so much when she was gone. Having her with him the last couple days made everything so much easier for him. She brought a special kind of peace with her wherever she went. He couldn’t love her more. “Everything is going to work out, okay honey?”

Lucas nodded, his face in her shoulder. “Okay.”

“Don’t you doubt yourself for a minute. You are an amazing man, and Fallon will come around. You’ll have your family, baby. I know it.”

Lucas closed his eyes, hoping like hell she was right. He would do anything for that, anything. “I won’t. Thanks Mom.”

“Anything for you, baby,” she gushed as she backed away, giving him one last kiss before picking up her carry on. “Okay, my two favorite boys, I love you both, and I will call when I land.”

“Love you too, Mom.”

“I’ll miss you Grandma! Love you!” Aiden said, waving at her as she walked away. Lucas watched as Molly boarded the place before looking down at Aiden. He was looking up at Lucas with wide eyes.

“You’re next, huh?”

Lucas nodded. “Unfortunately, yes.”

Aiden slid his hand into Lucas’ and they started for the door. “How long will you be gone?”

“A week, but then I’ll come home and I’ll be off for two weeks. We are going to have so much fun.”

Aiden nodded and Lucas noticed that he didn’t seem as excited as Lucas thought he would be. “But then you’ll leave again.”

“Yeah, but not for long. I’ll be home just as much as I’m gone. After we win the Cup, I’ll be off for four months,” Lucas reassured him, but Aiden only nodded. They reached the car and after getting buckled in, Lucas drove off towards the airfield. Fallon was going to meet them there so she could take Aiden home, and Lucas couldn’t wait to see her. It had been a long two days.

Aiden was quiet as they drove and Lucas knew he hated that Lucas had to go. It had to be tough on the little guy because it was tough on Lucas. He didn’t like being away from Aiden, but they both needed to get used to it. Lucas wasn’t retiring anytime soon.

When Lucas pulled onto the drive for the airfield, Aiden took in a deep breath. Lucas looked at him in the rearview mirror before parking the truck. Once he parked, he turned in his seat looking back at Aiden, “Bud, I’ll be back before you know it.”

“I know, I just wish that you lived with me, Mommy, and AA,” he said sadly, looking down at his hands.

Lucas turned into his seat because he knew his face showed how much he wished that, too. He got out the truck, and went to let Aiden out just as Fallon pulled up beside them. Aiden had already undone his seat and was ready to get out. Lucas picked him up and held him as he shut the door. “Everything is going to work out, okay?”

Aiden nodded before laying his head on Lucas’ shoulder. “Okay.”

Lucas’ heart broke at the sound of Aiden’s small, little voice. Fallon came around her car with a bright smile on her face. Man, had he missed her. She wore a pair of jeans and a off the shoulder black tee. Her hair was in a ponytail, and her eyes were covered by a pair of sunglasses. She looked beautiful and carefree, just like the girl he remembered.

“Hey guys,” she said brightly. She leaned over kissing Aiden’s cheek before giving Lucas a sweet smile. “I’ve missed you, Punkin’.”

“I missed you too, Mommy,” Aiden said, but he didn’t move. He stayed glued to Lucas. Fallon didn’t seem to mind as she moved out of the way so Lucas could walk forward. Fallon walked beside Lucas as they made their way towards the airplane. Everyone stood around with their families as Lucas stopped, wrapping his arms tighter around Aiden.

“I’ll be home in no time,” he whispered in Aiden’s ear. “You’ll take care of Mom right?”

Aiden nodded just as Lucas felt the wetness on his jaw.

Damn it, he was crying.

“No tears buddy, this isn’t goodbye. This is I’ll be home soon,” Lucas said, opening his eyes to see Fallon looking at him. She moved, placing her hand on Aiden’s back, rubbing it softly.

“I’m going to miss you,” Lucas said softly.

Aiden nodded again and said softly, “I’ll miss you.”

“Can you look at me and say that? I can’t hear you.”

Aiden pulled back, his eyes full of tears and his face wet from the ones that had fallen. “I’m going to miss you,” Lucas said. He then gave Aiden a lopsided smile, and Aiden returned it, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“I’ll miss you, too.”

“Okay,” Lucas said with a grin, begging his own tears to not appear. Lucas hugged Aiden close to his once more before placing him on his feet. “I love you, bud.”

Aiden looked up at Lucas with a big tear rolling down his cheek. “I love you, too.”

It was the first time had told each other they loved each other, and Lucas could describe the feeling that filled him. It felt as if his heart had exploded while Aiden looked up at him with sad eyes. He loved this kid with everything inside of him. Aiden was his everything.

So was Fallon.

Lucas ruffled Aiden’s hair before looking up at her. He didn’t expect anything less than the tears that rolled down her cheeks. She was so freaking emotional. It used to drive him insane, but now he loved it. He loved everything about her. He gave her a smile before taking her hand and bringing her to him, crushing his lips against hers. Aiden was sandwiched between them, but Lucas didn’t think either of them cared. When he parted it was only for a second before he gave her two more small kisses on her glossed-up lips. He ran his tongue along the bottom of her lip, tasting faint strawberries before smiling against her lips.

“Those are for the road,” he whispered against her lips.

She took in a shuttering breath before backing away and wrapping her arms around Aiden’s neck. Lucas started towards the plane and couldn’t bear to look back at them. He knew if he did, he would break down. With every step he took, he felt like he was leaving his whole heart behind.

********************************

Fallon was having the worst week of her life. Things were nuts at work, Audrey was acting weird and Aiden was missing Lucas something crazy.

So was she.

Her lips still hadn’t stop tingling since Lucas had left, and with Aiden talking about him every five minutes, Fallon couldn’t help but miss him. She had thought of him nonstop, and she wondered what he was doing at every moment of the day. They had talked a few times on the phone, but it was about mundane stuff, nothing that made her toes curl. She was ready for him to come home — probably more than Aiden was — and boy was he ready. He had started a ‘Countdown Until Daddy Comes Home’ calendar, and he constantly had the NHL network on just in case they talked about Lucas. It was a tearful goodbye when Lucas left, and Fallon didn’t think they would be fully okay until Lucas was home.

Which was bad, so bad.

It was as if she had already decided to give him the two weeks, that they were in a relationship — but maybe she had, and maybe they were. She didn’t fully trust him, but she was starting to. She hadn’t thought of him and Allison at all, but she wrote that off as him not being there, so really she didn’t have a clue what was going on with her. She just knew that she missed Lucas and wanted him home.

Fallon pulled into the driveway of her house and took a deep breath. Luckily, it had been an early day for her. With the campaign coming up the following week, Fallon was working around the clock to get things done. She had been so tired and was excited when her whole afternoon was free. The only thing that sucked was that she didn’t get off in time to get Aiden. Fallon grabbed her briefcase and got out the car, heading for the front door.

Fallon opened the door and found Audrey sitting on the bottom stairs, her face in her hands. Fallon dropped her briefcase and went straight for her.

“Audrey, are you okay?” she asked nervously.

Audrey looked up and shook her head.

“What’s wrong?”

She had been acting so weird the past couple weeks and this had to be the moment when she told Fallon what was going on. Fallon wasn’t sure how much more she could take. Audrey was her best friend and not knowing what was wrong with her was generally killing her with worry. Audrey bit her lip. “You have to promise me, you won’t get mad.”

Fallon narrowed her eyes, what the hell?

“Why?”

“Just promise.”

Fallon thought it through for a moment and decided that it must not be that bad because Audrey wouldn’t ask for her to promise that if it was serious. “I promise.”

“Aiden got wrote up in school today for rapping,” she said in a rush.

Fallon blinked before clearing her throat. “Excuse me?!”

“AIDEN!” Audrey yelled. They both listened as the door upstairs opened and shut before Aiden appeared beside Audrey, not looking at Fallon. “Tell your mom what you said at school today.”

Aiden didn’t even dare to look up at Fallon as he said the words to a popular rap song in a rush. When he finished, Fallon was sure she was about to pass out. Not only was the lyrics very explicit, but of course, the kid had flow. Just like his dad. Fallon had promised she wouldn’t get mad, and she wasn’t.

She was fucking furious and she was going to kill Lucas Brooks.

“Go to your room Aiden James Brooks, right now,” Fallon said through her teeth. Aiden was gone before she even finished his name.

Audrey looked up at Fallon. “You promised.”

“I ain’t mad,” Fallon snapped as she dug her phone out of her briefcase and dialed Lucas’ number, but he didn’t answer.

“You seem mad.”

“Oh, I’m beyond mad. Borderline psychotic. Why isn’t this man answering the fucking phone!?” she screamed.

“Who?”

“My fucking baby daddy! Who else!? Ah!” Fallon stomped through the house, going to the kitchen and pulling out her laptop to see where Lucas’ game was.

“What are you doing?”

“Looking to see where he is. I’m gonna fly out there and whoop his ass! My sweet, innocent boy talking about his dick! Really?!”

Audrey took a step back before saying, “He’s in San Jose — they play the Sharks Sunday.”

Fallon cut her a look. “How do you know that?”

Audrey looked away as she paused. “I follow the games,” she said quickly, and Fallon was sure she was lying.

“Whatever,” Fallon yelled as she went on Southwest’s website. She was looking for the first flight out, when the phone rang.

It was him.

Fallon took a deep breath in before answering. “Hey.”

“Hey you, sorry I missed your call, I was in the shower.”

“That’s fine, are you in San Jose?” she asked as calmly as she could.

“I am,” Lucas confirmed.

“Okay, well I need to talk to you about something, so I am flying out in an … hour,” she said when she found the first flight out. “Are you at your house?”

“Yeah, why can’t we talk over the phone?” he asked with laughter in his voice. He probably thought she was coming out there for sex.

HA! How wrong he was!

“Because what I need to say to you needs to be said in person,” she said as calmly as she could manage.

“Ooh, can’t wait. See you soon, baby.”

Instead of cussing him out, Fallon hung up just as Audrey came down with a bag. Fallon eyed her before saying, “What the hell is that?”

“A bag just in case. You never know what could happen,” Audrey said, laying it on the back of the couch.

“I’m going there and coming back,” Fallon insisted.

“I know, but what if the plane gets delayed? You’ll need a toothbrush.”

Fallon shrugged her shoulders. “True. I gotta go. I’ll be back tomorrow,” Fallon said passing by her and stopping at the stairs. “Aiden James!”

Aiden came running down the stairs. “Stay off your iPad, your games, anything you like. You sit in that bed and read a book. I’m very upset with you, and we will discuss this tomorrow when I get home.”

Aiden nodded slowly before turning and running back up the stairs. Fallon didn’t blame him for being scared because Fallon was pissed, and Lucas Brooks was about to get the cussing of his life. Everyone was always scared of big Lucas Brooks, but not today.

Today, he was going to be scared of mama bear Fallon Parker!

After a long four-hour flight, a 45-minute wait for a rental car, and an hour drive, Fallon finally pulled into the beach house that held so many memories it made it hard for her to breathe. It looked exactly the same, but Fallon didn’t care. All she cared about was getting to Lucas so she could yell, scream, and probably knock some sense into him. She climbed the stairs quickly and when she reached the glass door, she saw Lucas sitting on the couch, watching TV. She knocked and he looked over, a smirk forming on his face as he got up.

Anger bubbled inside of her; she was going to slap that smirk right off his beautiful, sexy face.

As he opened the door, Fallon noticed that he only wore a pair of board shorts and she had to beg herself not to look. It didn’t work though. He gave her a seductive grin as leaned against the door jam. “It sure is great seeing you here again.”

Fallon glared as acid dripped from her voice. “I could freaking kill you.”

Lucas face scrunched together in confusion. “Huh?”

“Tell me if this sounds like something you would listen to,” Fallon said before repeating the lyrics to Chris Brown’s Look at Me Now. Lucas’ eyes got bigger with each word that left Fallon’s mouth. She knew the song well, it was one of her favorites, but Aiden shouldn’t know it!

“Um, yeah, why?” Lucas asked nervously.

“Because my son got wrote up at school because he was singing that during class! Are you fucking kidding me, Lucas? Really?!”

Lucas stood up straighter. “Listen Fallon, there is only so much of Big Time Rush I can take!”

“You jerk!” she screamed, pushing him into the doorway, “I asked you one thing! Don’t listen to that junk around my child and what do you do! You listened to it!”

She smacked him in the chest again, and Lucas yelled out, “Quit! It isn’t a big deal.”

It was as if the only thing Fallon saw was red.

She reared back and smacked Lucas across his face. His head whipped to the side, and then back before he looked her deep in her eyes. Nothing was said for a heated moment as they both breathed heavily while still staring each other down. It was as if the air was crackling around them while her hand burned from where she had slapped him. Lucas’ eyes were as dark as a thunder cloud and Fallon knew hers were just as dark with the same thing.

Lust.

The next thing Fallon knew, she was against the wall, her face in his hands as his mouth devouring hers.

And all Fallon could think was that she needed to get her clothes off.

Now.

Chapter 25

Lucas didn’t know who attacked who first. All he did know was that he had Fallon’s face in his hands, his hard dick pressed against her hot core, and that they both were ripping at her naughty little suit. His lips burned against hers as he kissed her with all the pent-up lust he had been feeling for weeks. He couldn’t believe it was happening, and he knew she was going to question the hell out of it later, but it didn’t matter.

Because this was happening now.

Lucas pulled away from her lips, biting at her jaw and throat as both their hands moved along the many buttons of Fallon’s suit. When he saw her outside of the front door in the sleek black fitted business suit, his dick twitched from the need of having her out of it. He loved how it felt under his hands, the soft silk against his hard hands, but he would like it more if it was on the floor. Lucas bit into her throat and she took in a startled breath, her hands dropping from the suit she was so desperately trying to get out of. He knew her neck was her hot spot, and he loved the way her eyes would roll up behind into her head as she bit her bottom lip. Lucas decided that he needed the damn jacket off.

He wanted, no, he needed her breast in his mouth.

Now.

Fallon’s hands went up his bare back and goose bumps broke out across his skin as he tried to get each button undone. It wasn’t working though. Lucas leaned back, giving her a heated look before he took a hold of both sides of the fabric and ripped. Fallon let out a strangled cry as buttons went flying everywhere. A slow grin went across his face when he saw the sheer white lace bra she wore. Her dark swollen nipples were delectable and his mouth watered at the sight. Lucas didn’t even bother pulling the fabric away, he took one between his teeth, biting softly as Fallon let out little whimpers that had Lucas so turned on, he wasn’t sure if he was going to last. He pushed his pelvis into hers, showing her his need, before pulling the fabric down. He then swirled his tongue around her sweet nipple while his other hand reached around her, looking for the clasp of her bra. He needed this off too. Hell, he needed it all off.

Fallon was putty against the wall as he did what he pleased to her breast. With every bite, every rake of his teeth, and every hot glance shared, her eyes became darker, sexier. When he couldn’t get the bra clasp off, it ended up ripped on the floor along with her jacket. He took in the sight of both her beautiful breasts before she pulled his face back up to her for a long provocative kiss. Her hands gripped his neck before going down his shoulders to his arms. She intertwined her fingers with his, and he raised them above her head, holding them with one hand as his other moved down her naked torso.

“Lucas,” she whispered against his lips.

“God, yeah?” he asked, biting her bottom lip before moving his tongue along it. She let out a low throaty moan before they deepened the kiss once more. He didn’t know what she wanted to say and he didn’t feel a bit bad for not caring. He moved his lips from hers, biting and sucking as he made his way to his knees. He kissed and licked around her belly button as he tried to pull her skirt down.

It was moving.

It was so damn tight against her skin that he actually stopped and looked up at her. “What the hell?”

“On the side, please, don’t stop,” she gasped. Lucas continued the assault his lips and teeth were making against her belly button as his fingers tried to find the zipper. After a moment of looking, he got fed up and moved his hand to go under it. His hands only reached to her knees because the damn skirt was so tight! There was a slit, so he took a hold of both sides and ripped up the back of the skirt. She looked down at him with wide eyes as he pulled the skirt off her, and threw it to the side. He gave her a sexy smirk before looking back at the dampness between her thighs. Her panties didn’t match her bra — they were gray cotton and in the heart that grazed her mound, it said ‘Get ready for some fun!’

He couldn’t help himself; he looked up at her and grinned. She looked down at him through heavy-lidded eyes as a small smirk graced her beautiful swollen lips. He looked back at the heart, and leaned forward, taking a small bite of it. She let out a loud cry as her fingers tangled in his hair, pulling him closer into her. Lucas moved his hands up the back of her thighs and over her butt before grabbing the fabric from behind and pulling it down, exposing her dripping wet flesh. She stepped out of her panties, and he threw them off to the side before running his tongue slowly up her thigh. When he went along her swollen hot lips, she let out another agonizing cry of need before he ran his tongue back down her other thigh.

The taste of her on his tongue had him so hard he had to shift a little because it hurt so badly.

“Please, please,” she breathed as she arched herself towards him. He looked up at her, his breathing matching hers before licking his lips in want. Fallon bit into her bottom lip, her eyes begging him before he ran his tongue along one of her swollen lips. With every swipe of his tongue, she let out long low groans before taking in a choppy quick breath. When he opened her up and dipped his tongue into her, she let out a ragged sigh as her hands slammed into the wall. He almost came at the sounds she was making as her continued to love her with his tongue. When he ran his tongue in slow agonizing circles around her taut clit, she came hard, her body jerking violently against his mouth as she took in short, sharp gasps.

Fallon’s head was bent upward against the wall when Lucas glanced up at her. Her chest was raising and falling quickly, and her body was still shaking a little as he made his way up her body, kissing and licking before he took her mouth with his. He reached down, picking her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist. He refused to finish this against the wall, and he needed a moment to compose himself. If he got into her now, he would come instantly, but his plan of calming down a little was short lived. Fallon kept his mouth busy as her hands roamed his chest and back, raking her nails along his tender flesh. His body was hot and moist from the need of getting in her, and Fallon’s need matched his.

When he reached the bedroom, he threw her down on his bed. His eyes held her gaze as he undid his shorts, letting them fall to the ground as his full throbbing erection was released. Fallon’s eyes went wide at the sight of him as he came towards her, moving her legs apart before moving between them. He ran his tongue up her body from her belly to her neck before pressing his hard length against her dripping wet slit. She was so wet, so hot, that Lucas couldn’t think straight. It had been so long since he had been with her, and if she was anything the way she was back then, he was done for. He bit his lip before looking down at her face.

Man, she was so beautiful.

Fallon’s face was flushed, her hair was all over the place, and her lips were parted as she arched her back, rubbing her juicy center against his hot engorged flesh. He moved in, running his tongue along her lips and down her jaw before biting and sucking on her neck. He hoped he didn’t scratch her too badly with his hair-roughened skin, but he didn’t think she minded too much since she was basically rubbing her body against his like a cat in heat. When he brought his lips back up to hers, she bit into his lip causing him to let out a groan of his own. She moved her naughty lips against his lips, then down his jaw, running her tongue along the hair that lined it. When she reached his neck, his eyes slowly shut as she sucked ever so lightly on him. His hands shook against her skin as she bit along his shoulders. When his mouth found hers again, he knew he had to be in her.

Lucas leaned back on his haunches, looking down at her naked body before sliding a finger inside her. Her eyes went wide before they shut slowly, her back arching as he moved his fingers in and out of her. He loved how hot she was and couldn’t wait until his flesh was in hers. He moved his fingers in and out of her a few more times before he moved them, slamming into her with something bigger and better. Her eyes went wide as she let out a loud cry of satisfaction.

“God, yes!” she yelled as he continued to slam into her. He would have liked to go slow, soft even, but he couldn’t. He had waited too long. He was too fucking gone to even try to slow it down. “Harder!”

“Oh, God, yes,” Lucas panted as he continued to pounding into her in a fierce need.

He was almost there, and when she arched her hips, meeting each of his thrusts, he knew it wouldn’t be much longer, but then she screamed, “Stop!”

So he did as he looked down at her with wide eyes. “What?!”

“Condom!”

“No, I don’t have any!” he yelled, his erection pulsating inside of her. Her body was clenching his and he knew that she was just as ready to come as he was.

“Ah! You’re clean right?!”

“Oh my God, Fallon, really?”

“Eek! I’m nervous!”

“Don’t be, I’m clean. You are too, right?”

She glared as she pursed those beautiful, sexy lips at him. “Yes!”

“Okay, we’re good,” he said with a smile. She smiled back before he started to move again, but then he stopped. As much as he wanted another little Aiden, he wanted to make sure he and Fallon were married first, so he asked, “Birth control?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, bringing her legs into her arms. The view was delectable, and Lucas couldn’t stop himself for moving into her hard. She gasped as his fingers bit into her hip, slamming into her with a fierceness he didn’t realize was in him. With every slam of his body against hers, she met his thrust, screaming his name. The sexual chemistry was undeniable between them. She made him just as hot as he made her and with one final slamming thrust, Lucas came. He came long and hard, with a loud, long groan as she writhed underneath him. Fallon’s body continued to clench his swollen flesh as he fell unto her, breathing against her hot skin. Lucas took in a deep breath before rolling off her, and looking up at the ceiling.

“It won’t happen again,” Lucas said between breaths.

He felt her eyes on him as she said, “What?”

“I will never listen to another rap song with Aiden in the car, I promise.”

“Thank you.”

“Anytime. Or maybe I should, if this is the way I get punished,” he gave her his cocky smirk and she smacked his thigh as she giggled.

“This was not a punishment, the slap across your face was,” she corrected.

He laughed long and hard before he looked over at her.

“So what was this?”

She smiled as she shrugged her shoulders. “Bound to happen?”

He chuckled as he looked back up at the ceiling. “I couldn’t agree with you more, baby girl.”

***********************************

Fallon watched Lucas close his eyes as his breathing slowed some. When she felt his pinkie come around hers, she took in a sharp breath as he slowly fell asleep. It was crazy how everything could be the same between them, when everything was so different. Here she was lying in bed with him like he hadn’t broken her heart or that she hadn’t kept his son from him. It was as if the last seven years never happened and all that mattered was them.

Fallon looked up at the ceiling as he tightened the grip on her pinkie and her heart soared. She felt so good, so thoroughly satisfied. Lucas was one hell of a lover, especially when he put that tongue of his to work. She could come at just the thought of it on her, it was that good. She loved his body, his hands, even his beard along her neck, and oh God, his teeth. The man was a dream, but even still in her sex-filled haze, all she could think was what the hell was she going to do now that she had slept with him?

Fallon had said many times that she would never sleep with him again, that it was a bad idea because she would become addicted again and she had! She wanted to straddle him and have her turn at him, but she knew she couldn’t. She couldn’t do it again; she had to get out of there.

And she would.

As soon as she got feeling in her legs again.

Fallon closed her eyes as she turned, snuggling her nose into his arm. She would let herself enjoy his warm body tonight but it would end tomorrow. She still didn’t trust him, and until she did, she couldn’t do this again. No matter how much she wanted it. So tomorrow, she would leave. Tomorrow, she would live as if she hadn’t just had the best sex of her life. She had to, or she would move right into his bed and never leave. She looked down into his beautiful sleeping face, and her heart broke.

“Why did you cheat on me?” she whispered. She didn’t expect him to answer, but she needed to ask. Just for herself, because come morning, she would be gone.

When Fallon’s eyes opened the sun was just coming up. She glanced over at her bedmate to see that he was close to her, his mouth parted slightly. She licked her lips at the sight of his sexy mouth. She loved how his lips were thin and sweet looking. She loved the little scar along the side of his bottom lip that only she knew was there. No one else could see it since he always kept his beard so long, but she was there the day he got that scar. He was chasing her down the beach and she whipped around to see if he was close, and he was. He was a little too close and her hand that wore the beautiful ring he had gotten her smacked against the side of his mouth, cutting it opened. Fallon smiled at the thought. She had felt so bad, but he didn’t even pay it no mind. He attacked her, throwing her against the sand, where he promptly got her naked and made sweet, glorious love to her.

Fallon’s heart ached as she forced herself to look away and take in a deep breath. She missed those days, those sweet moments they shared. Everything was so much easier then. Fallon reached up and placed her lips softly on his nose. She had to get out of there before he woke up. How she was going to do that was beyond her. All her clothes laid in a ripped up mess beside the front door, not that she minded. She couldn’t even try to get those clothes off if she had tried last night. Lucas had gotten her in such a state of lust that actually doing something worth a damn was pointless. She was putty in his hands.

She rolled over and only made it an inch before Lucas’ strong arms came around her waist, pulling against his broad chest. She took in a sharp breath and it blew her mind that all it took was a single touch from him to make all the hair along her arms stand up.

One touch. Just one.

“Where do you think you are going?” he asked in a low, seductive whispered. Fallon’s eyes fell shut at the velvet softness of his voice. She swore she could come to just the sound of his voice. Hell, anything he did could make her come! Lucas moved his nose into her hair, taking in her scent as his hands moved down her body. He slid his hand between her legs, cupping her lightly and Fallon swore forming words, or even thoughts, wasn’t going to happen. “Huh? Where you going?”

Fallon shook her head, her eyes closed shut as he slowly moved his fingers, feather soft, along her mound. “I gotta go, Luc, you know I do.”

She took in a quick breath; she hadn’t called him that in years. It felt so right. He shook his head against her shoulder before biting it softly. “I don’t know that at all. I know that I need you again.”

Oh, she needed him too. But she had to stay strong!

“I can’t. I gotta get home. Aiden is there.”

Lucas ran his teeth along her neck to her ear, where he bit her lobe softly before playing with it with his tongue. “Don’t leave yet, Fal. Please,” he whispered so softly and so quietly. “We have so much that we need to discuss, so much we need to learn about each other. I have to tell you stuff. Please. ”

She couldn’t do it, she had to leave or she never would. She would forever want to stay in Lucas Brooks’ bed if she didn’t get out of there right now. It didn’t matter what he needed to tell her, or what they needed to discuss. Things weren’t safe when they were in bed with each other, or touching. They both couldn’t think right.

“Lucas, I can’t,” she whispered as she tried to move away. He wasn’t letting her move though. She felt him shake his head before he moved a finger inside her. She gasped at the invasion but didn’t stop him. She wanted it as much as he did.

“Yes, you can. Audrey can watch Aiden,” he whispered against her neck, “I can’t let you go yet. I can’t. Give me one more day. Just one. Please.”

Her heart skipped a beat at his tenderness, or maybe it was the way he was moving his rough finger around her budding clit. “Luc,” she gasped again before he started to move his finger faster causing her to whimper and lift her hips into his hand, wanting more.

“Come on baby, come for me,” he whispered his breathing labored like hers. It didn’t take long before Fallon came undone under his skillful fingers. The man and his hands were lethal on and off the ice. She had no chance.

As she caught her breath, his breathy chuckle filled her ear. “That’s my girl.”

Uh! No, she couldn’t be his girl. Not yet at least! She needed to leave, needed to get on the first plane out, but when he turned her, wrapping her up in his arms and connected their mouths in a hot delicious kiss, leaving was the last thing on her mind.

Getting hot morning sex was more like it.

Fallon slowly crawled on top of him, straddling his growing erection. Lucas looked up at her through lust-filled eyes as she guided his long, throbbing dick inside her. They both groaned at the feel of being connected in the most fulfilling way. She started to move up and down on him in an unconscious rhythm. It had been so long since she had been on top but she was moving like a pro, and the way his eyes kept drifting shut as his hands bit into her hips, she knew she was doing it right.

Lucas must have not been able to handle it because he flipped them over, him on top, and drove into her. As he slammed his body into her, she couldn’t have felt more fulfilled. With each thrust it took her breath away, but it was fantastic. Lucas slid his hand behind her neck, bringing her up for a long lavish kiss just as she reached her climax. Her body shook from the welcomed bliss as Lucas started to pound harder, wanting his own release. When he reached it, lightning bolts of fulfillment went off around them as Fallon let out a cry louder than his hiss of breath through his teeth.

Lucas fell off to the side of her, his hand gripping hers as they both tried to control their breathing. “Fallon?”

Fallon took in a deep breath, her body aching in such a glorious way, she felt like she might cry. “Yeah?” she answered.

“You aren’t going anywhere, baby.”

Fallon nodded. “Yeah, I know.”

Lucas laughed as a large grin went over Fallon’s face. There was no way she could leave, not yet. Even though she said she didn’t want to know, she did. She wanted to know what he needed to tell her and she hoped it was about why he cheated. She wanted to know everything. Maybe she had done something wrong, maybe something would explain why. She wanted to move on and she just wanted to trust him. She wanted to continue being thoroughly loved by him.

Because she still loved him.

**********************************

Fallon was going to stay.

Thank God.

There was so much that needed to be said. So much Lucas needed to explain, maybe then she would trust him and maybe even love him again.

Lucas gathered Fallon in his arms, kissing her temple. “I gotta leave tomorrow though.”

He nodded, kissing her again before running his nose into her hair. “I know.”

“Okay, I gotta call Audrey.”

“Later, I want to hold you some more,” he whispered as she snuggled closer to him. He had stayed up all night, trying to make sure she didn’t leave. Every time she moved, his eyes would dart open and he would watch what she was doing. He had forgotten how much she moved in her sleep, but he didn’t mind it. She looked so innocent, so sweet when she slept, and he couldn’t get enough of her beautiful hot body against his. He had stayed rock hard the whole night. It was like a dream come true having her in his arms again. The only thing that sucked was when her sweet sleepy voice asked:

Why did you cheat on me?

His heart still ached at the fact that he wasn’t man enough to open his eyes and tell her. Was it the fact that he was scared she would think he was a failure? Or maybe because he was scared she would leave him again. All he knew was that he needed her, and that he loved her more than a man should love a woman. His arms came around her tighter, wishing he didn’t have let her go again as she smiled against his chest.

“I have no clue what I’m gonna wear,” she said. A proud satisfied smile came over Lucas’ face. The thought of hearing and seeing that fabric rip still made the hairs on the back of his neck stand.

Man, it was hot.

“I’m pretty sure there is something here for you to wear,” he said quietly as he snuggled closer to her. He had taken her box home, but he was pretty sure there was a drawer of her clothes somewhere. She had practically lived with him when they were dating. The only time she went home was when he was on the road. When she left, she left almost everything.

“Audrey packed me a bag, but I doubt she packed much,” she said with a shrug.

“We’ll go out and get some stuff if you need it.”

“Okay,” she nodded.

Nothing was said as the sun continued to rise and filled the room with its beautiful rays of sunshine. Lucas felt like it was the start of his life, and he couldn’t wait to see what the day held. He just hoped it was everything he had prayed for.

“I’m sticky,” Fallon said out of nowhere. Lucas couldn’t contain the gut-busting laugh he let out. She couldn’t either and soon joined in with him as they slowly detangled from each other.

“I don’t know if I shut the door last night,” Lucas laughed as he pulled his shorts up. He looked over at Fallon, his eyes admiring her gloriously, beautiful, naked body while she giggled at the bed that was in shambles. They sure did do a number on that bed, he thought as his eyes raked her body. He took in her full breasts that were bigger than he remembered. The way her tummy had little marks on them from where his son had grown and stretched her out. Along her ribs was the tattoo that Aiden had told him about, and he wondered what it said. When he looked up, Fallon was staring at him. “What does your tattoo say?”

Fallon looked down at her ribs, and smiled before looking up at Lucas. “For those I love, I will sacrifice. Then I have Aiden and Audrey along the inside of my arms,” she said showing him the inside of her arms. Heat filled him from head to toe as his eyes followed the words along her body. He moved around the bed, coming towards her before wrapping her up in his arms. Her perky warm breast collided against his hard chest as he grinned down at her, lust filling his eyes.

“Do you know how hot it makes me that you have ink on you?” he asked as he nipped at her bottom lip.

Fallon smiled as she ran her hands up his muscular arms. “I think I might have an idea,” she teased as she pushed her naked pelvis into his. Lucas’ control snapped and he picked her up, laying her back on the bed.

“Yeah, that shower is going to have to wait,” he said against her mouth.

She smiled as her hands reached down, letting him out of his shorts. “I thought you might say that.”

Chapter 26

Fallon was still lying in bed when Lucas brought her bag to her. He grinned down at her before throwing her phone beside her. “Audrey has called a couple times.”

Fallon smiled sweetly up at him before stretching her arms above her head. Lucas watched her for a moment and then shook his head before heading to the bathroom. She knew she had rocked his world a little before he left the bed and she couldn’t help the satisfied grin that graced her face. She rolled over her stomach, seeing the missed calls and texts from Audrey. Instead of reading them, she just called her.

“Um, yeah? Are you alive?!”

Fallon giggled. “Yes, sorry I haven’t called.”

Audrey started laughing and Fallon rolled her eyes. “Oh goodness, do I even want to ask?”

“I mean, if you are wondering if we have been having crazy monkey sex ever since I slapped him across the face, then yeah you may want to ask.”

That had both women in a fit of giggles. “Listen to you! Oh me, this is wonderful!”

Fallon felt wonderful. “Yeah, I’m staying tonight. I’ll look for a flight tomorrow,” she said nervously. She still couldn’t believe she was doing this, but she had to or she would forever ask why.

“Okay, sounds good. Me and Aiden are cool, we’re gonna have movie night.”

“Awesome, can I talk to him?”

“He’s in the bath. I’ll call you later.”

“Okay, I love you.”

Audrey giggled. “Sure you do you, naughty little hussy! I love you! Tell Lucas I said hi and way to go.”

“Hey!” Fallon shrieked.

Audrey laughed. “Bye, sister dear!”

The line went dead and Fallon shook her head. Whose side was Audrey on anyways?

Lucas’.

Fallon giggled as she crawled out of bed, going to her bag. When she opened it, her eyes went wide.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said as she looked down at the many sets of bras and panties. Fallon pulled them all out, throwing them on the bed before picking up three very short dresses. They were Fallon’s party dresses for when she needed to flaunt her body for the good of wine. Audrey even included matching heels! “That sneak!”

“What’s wrong?”

Fallon looked behind her, seeing that Lucas had just come out of the shower. His towel hung low on his hips, showing the butt of the guns that pointed down at the most amazing part of him. Fallon’s mouth watered at the sight of the muscles that made his eight pack of abs before looking up at his powerful muscular frame.

Damn, he was gorgeous.

“Um,” Fallon stuttered before rolling her eyes. “Audrey packed me a bag of clothes.”

Lucas smiled, his knowing eyes locked with hers. “Good.”

“Yeah, if you want me prancing around in short little skirts.”

Lucas’ grin grew. “What’s wrong with that?”

“You’re impossible!” Fallon said, annoyed. How the hell was she supposed to go shopping in a short white tube top dress? Or a gray, one-shoulder lace dress? Or even a black mini dress with a bust line that dipped down to her belly button? She didn’t wear that last dress much anymore; it was a ‘before Aiden’ dress. What could she say — she had a little bit of an inner slut in her. She loved to dress sexy. What woman didn’t?

Lucas chuckled as he walked across the room, opening a couple of drawers before finding one he needed, and pulling out a pair of jeans and a tee. He threw them on the bed and Fallon looked down at them. They were her clothes from college. A small smile went over her face as she reached for her old red Stanford t-shirt. She had worn it almost every day to school, it was so comfy and her favorite shirt. She looked over at Lucas to see that he was getting dressed.

“I figured we go out for lunch, have a picnic on the beach.”

“Sounds good,” Fallon said, picking out a matching underwear set. She never matched her underwear, it took too much time. Audrey on the other hand, would never have mismatched underwear. It was a disgrace according to her.

“I was going to make us reservations for dinner tonight and then maybe some dancing,” he said.

Fallon glanced back at him. “Dancing?”

“We do it best,” he said with a grin.

“True,” she agreed before passing by him. He swatted at her butt and she giggled as she ran into the bathroom for a shower. Fallon went to shut the door, giving Lucas one last grin before doing so while he gave her a heated look. She laid her things on his blue tiled sink before looking up at herself in the mirror. A slow grin went across her face because she looked good, great even. Even with her hair a mess, her face was glowing.

But the grin left just as fast as it came. This was how she felt all the time when she was with Lucas before. If she wasn’t careful she would fall right back into the way she was back then and when he left her, she would become the mess she had been for the past seven years. She needed to be careful and she needed to be smart. She had to, or she would end up being the sad, scared, young girl Lucas had cheated on seven years ago.

It was like déjà vu.

Like they had done countless times before, Fallon sat across from Lucas on an old, tattered red blanket, eating Baja Fresh burritos as the ocean crashed against the shore. It was a beautiful spring day, but Fallon still threw on Lucas’ Assassins hoodie just in case she got cold. Lucas on the other hand didn’t think it was cold and looked scrumptious in his black board shorts and purple Assassins hoodie. His hair was a mess under his hat, and he still hadn’t shaved.

Thank God.

They ate in silence, and for the first time in a long time, Fallon felt completely relaxed. She could say it was because of the beautiful scenery but she would be lying. It started and ended with Lucas Brooks and his glorious tongue. Fallon became hot just from thinking about what they did the night before and that morning. She wouldn’t say she had forgotten about how amazing Lucas was in bed, but man, she hadn’t remembered it being that freaking great. Jeez, her body was still buzzing and it was well into the afternoon.

Fallon took a bite of her burrito, willing herself not to think about it. If she didn’t stop, no telling what would happen. Lord knew Lucas wouldn’t stop her if she tried to get naked with him on the beach. She shook her head at the thought but stopped when Lucas’ finger swiped along her bottom lip.

“Sauce,” he said gruffly.

She smiled as she looked down, picking her burrito apart. “Thanks.”

“No problem.”

Fallon went back to eating her burrito as they sat in comfortable silence. It had always been so easy between them when things were good. When things weren’t, Lucas was nuts with his anger. Fallon had been around him for a solid month and she hadn’t seen it but once. Plus he had apologized right afterwards. It was so unreal that Fallon didn’t believe that she was sitting with the same Lucas Brooks that she used to sit with so long ago.

“I wanted to answer your question from last night.”

Fallon looked up at him to see that he was looking down at the top of his drink, running his finger over the bumps on the lid. “Huh?”

“You asked me why I cheated on you,” he said.

Air rushed from Fallon’s lungs. He had heard her?

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” he said before looking up at her. His eyes were so sad that it made Fallon’s heart stop while he held her gaze with his. “I didn’t mean to.”

Fallon looked down since she didn’t want him to see her roll her eyes. “How do you not mean to?”

“Fallon, look at me,” he demanded, and she did. He took in a ragged breath and his shoulders dropped as he said, “I was an alcoholic and pill popper.”

Fallon took in a sharp breath. What did he mean?

“I was extremely drunk and high when I came to your dorm that night. Allison came on to me, and I…” he shrugged his shoulders as he looked away.

“Slept with her.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t mean to or want to for that matter. I just missed you so much and I was horny. It was bad and I was really fucked up.”

Fallon pushed her burrito off her lap, and brought her knees up under her knee. “Why, Lucas?”

“Why what?” he asked, looking back at her.

“Why did you start it? Was it before me? Or during?”

“Before, when my dad died,” he said sadly. It pulled at Fallon’s heart strings. She hated that he had to go through losing his father. “That was what caused it. I didn’t deal with his death the right way. I didn’t get the help I needed. I was young and stupid and I didn’t know how to make the pain stop,” he said, and Fallon could tell he was embarrassed. “I never meant for it to get as bad as it was. I know now that nothing could have helped me until I admitted I needed the help.”

“I never knew,” Fallon said as her heart ached. How could she love someone so thoroughly and not know that he was dying inside? That he had to resort to alcohol and drugs to make it through his days. Was she not enough? Could she not make him better?

“I wouldn’t let you see that side of me. It was bad enough that you knew I couldn’t read. I couldn’t tell you that I had an issue with drinking or popping pills too. I couldn’t imagine what you would think of me.”

“I would have loved you and helped you through it.”

“I know that now, but Fallon, I was so embarrassed”

Fallon nodded. “I understand that you were embarrassed, Lucas, but you made me believe that I was your everything. We planned a life together.”

“I know and you don’t know how much I regret throwing it away.”

Fallon nodded again, her heart beating in overtime. It was all such a shock; she would have never suspected it. He didn’t act like a drunk. He wasn’t hung over all the time. He functioned just fine. How could she not know? “When did you get help?”

“Five years ago.”

“So two years after I left?”

“After you left I got worse,” Lucas said looking out towards the ocean. “The Sharks told me to get help or they weren’t going to renew my contract.”

Fallon took in a sharp breath. “It got worse?”

“I got careless and starting drinking all the time. At one point, my mom and Levi said they would leave me too if I didn’t get my shit together,” Lucas said with sadness in his voice. “I couldn’t lose my mom too. I had lost you and my dad, I couldn’t lose her.”

Fallon didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know what to do. She could just sit there, in completely shock. Molly threatened to leave her baby? It must have been horrible. Lucas must have been out of control. She couldn’t believe it. She had never heard anything in the news, not that she followed the sport but still, Audrey would have said something when she said that Lucas was Aiden’s dad.

“I never heard anything about it.”

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. “Levi can hide anything. He’s an ass but he is damn good at his job.”

Fallon nodded, and when his eyes met hers, she knew that he saw the shock and sadness in her eyes. “I went to rehab for a year and have been sober for the last four years.”

Fallon raised an eyebrow because she was confused. If he had only been sober four years, what happened to the other one? As if he knew what she was thinking he said, “I don’t count that year I was in rehab, I had to be sober to be in there.”

Fallon shook her head, it was just so unreal. “I never wanted to hurt you Fallon. I loved you, so much, but it was bound to happen. I was bound to fuck up, I was too far gone.”

Fallon shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know what to say.”

“There really isn’t anything you can say. I just wanted you to know what happened, why I did it. I don’t remember anything from that night. I only remember a little of our fight afterwards.”

Fallon tried to process what he had said. Then she looked up, her lips wobbling as she asked, “Could I have helped?”

Lucas shook his head. “No baby. I was too far gone.”

Tears sprang to Fallon’s eyes. She had spent the last seven years thinking she had done something wrong — that she had made him cheat — when really he was messed up. He was sick and she should have known. There had to have been signs or something telling her that he was suffering. Did she not ask? Was she that blind?

“Talk to me baby, tell me what you are thinking,” Lucas said, taking her hand in his. She looked down at their hands before looking up at his face.

“I feel like I failed you in a way. I should have known.”

Lucas started shaking her head before she even got the sentence out. “I hid it. No one knew. I was 18 years old with vodka in my Gatorade bottle on the bench; no one suspected anything from me. They babied me because of my dad dying. You can’t feel like you failed me. You didn’t baby, I failed you.”

Fallon felt like she couldn’t breathe and she fumbled with the words she wanted to say. She still wasn’t processing what he was saying, it all seemed so unreal. “I was so blind.”

Lucas scrunched his face up. “I don’t think so.”

“No, I was. If I was actually paying attention, I would have seen your pain. I was too busy having fun, drinking along with you,” Fallon said right as the tears started to fall. “I didn’t do anything but make it worse.”

Lucas shook his head before pulling her into his lap and cupping her face to bring it up so he could look into her eyes. “No. No. I don’t even understand how you think this is your fault.”

“I don’t think it’s my fault, I just feel like I should have helped you.”

“Why? I hid it from you, how could you help me when you didn’t even know?”

“I thought I knew you from your inside out, and I didn’t. I still don’t even know how your dad died. It’s like I didn’t know anything.”

“You knew the real me, the other me didn’t come out until I was away from you. I didn’t talk about my dad then because it hurt too badly. I’ve had help; I can openly talk about him and not feel like everything is ripping apart inside me. I was myself when I was with you. You made me a better person Fallon, you have to understand that.”

Fallon shook her head, letting it fall into her hands as the tears fell. She cried for him and she cried for herself. It was as if their whole relationship was going on as a movie in her head. As she replayed it, she tried to point out when she could have helped him, but he was right. He hid it well. Lucas sat beside her, running his hand up and down her back as she cried. For the billionth time, she replayed the night she found him with Allison. He was disorientated and he did slur a little but she was so mad. There was no way she was would have listened to him, but if she had, would they be where they are today?

She looked up. “If I would have given you a chance to explain, would you have told me?”

Lucas looked deep in her eyes before shaking his head. “I didn’t think I had a problem.”

Fallon moved her hand along her cheek. “So there was no hope for us?”

Lucas shook his head again. “Not then, but now there is.” Lucas moved his hands along her face, leaning his head against hers. “I’m telling you all this not to make you feel bad or wish that you would have given me a chance before, because really, you leaving helped me more than anyone will ever know. That is why I’m not mad at you for taking Aiden from me, because honestly would I have been the man and father that you and Aiden deserved then?”

Fallon’s tears ran over his hands onto their laps as she shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“Well I do, and I don’t think I could have been. I needed the wakeup call of you leaving, I needed the rehab, and I needed the years without you, because now that I have you I don’t want to ever let you go. I am not that person Fallon anymore, I don’t get mad the way I did before — well on ice I do, but not off it,” he said with a grin. “Fal, I will never hurt you again, and if you give me a chance, I’ll prove it to you.”

Fallon looked out at the ocean since she couldn’t take the look in his eyes. They were so bright, so full of hope and Fallon couldn’t handle it. She wanted to wrap him in her arms, tell him that she loved him. That she believed him. She was so scared though. But didn’t she owe it to him? He was sick and she didn’t do anything, but she didn’t know.

Blah!

As if she wasn’t confused enough before she knew all this!

“It’s so much to process, Lucas,” she said. Lucas nodded his head, pressing his nose into her cheek before kissing it.

“I know baby, I’m so sorry. I never meant for all this to happen, just give me another chance. I’ll never hurt you again.”

Fallon nodded. “Let’s just get through today and we’ll discuss what will happen later. I just want to enjoy what we have right now.”

He smiled against her cheek. “I do too, but I want more.”

“I know. I just don’t know if I can give it to you.”

Lucas’ eyes closed as he took in a deep breath. How he wished he could change the past so Fallon would trust him. He would give anything probably because at that moment, he had never felt so complete in his life. It was him and his girl, on the beach they had basically lived on before. All they needed was Aiden, running through the waves and maybe Audrey, laughing about something. Everything would be perfect then.

He didn’t understand what else he had to do to get Fallon to trust him. He had told her everything. He had shown his heart to her, and basically begged for another chance. She had agreed to the weekend, so maybe he needed to keep on. Maybe it was about baby steps with her.

“I won’t stop trying,” he whispered into her cheek before placing a sweet kiss on it.

“I didn’t think you would,” she whispered back, leaning her head against his.

“Okay, well come on, let’s head back inside. I’m getting cold,” he said pulling away from her and getting up.

She picked up all their trash before grinning up at him. “I told you it was cold.”

“Oh hush, come on,” he said, taking her hand in his. She smiled over at him and they walked the short distance to the house in silence. He felt better telling her everything about his past issues, but he thought it would end differently than it did. He thought she would want him back, that she would forgive him but nope. Maybe he didn’t deserve it. Maybe he was supposed to live in the state of torture of wanting someone and something that he didn’t deserve. Maybe Fallon would always be at arm’s length and until he proved that she was the only one, he would only be able to want her.

But that didn’t feel right.

He was meant to love only Fallon and to be the best father imaginable for Aiden.

That was what he was meant for, and damn it, he was going to make it happen.

Lucas and Fallon spent the afternoon in bed watching old movies and not keeping their hands to themselves. He had forgotten how hot Fallon could be, and how with one look she could have him begging for her kisses and touches. With every simple touch between them, he fell more in love with her and it was amazing to do it all over again. He thought he loved her before, but now, he couldn’t fathom ever loving anyone more.

Fallon was his person.

As Lucas stood tying his tie, he couldn’t wipe off the stupid grin that sat on his face. It had been so long since he had felt completely free. Fallon knew everything and she was still sticking around for the rest of weekend. That had to mean something. Lucas finished tying his tie before looking himself over. He should have shaved but Fallon liked the scruffy look. His hair was a little of a mess but again, Fallon liked it like that. What didn’t look messy was the expensive Italian suit he wore. It was an impeccable black, fitted suit and he looked like a million bucks in it. He paired it with a shiny gray tie, hoping that it brought out his eyes since they were Fallon’s favorite thing about him.

Lucas nodded his head at his appearance just as he heard the bathroom door open. He turned at the sound of Fallon’s heels and was stunned when his eyes settled on her. She looked gorgeous in her bright white tube top dress. Her legs went for days and ended at a very naughty pair of zebra print platform heels. Her hair was down in curls and her makeup was done up to the nines.

She was mouthwatering.

“Jeez, Fal, I’m supposed to go out with you looking like that?” he asked, coming towards her. He couldn’t help himself; he had to have her in his arms. She smiled brightly as he gathered her in his arms, kissing her glossed up mouth.

“I could very well say the same about you, Mr. Brooks.”

Lucas gave her his sexiest grin before kissing her again. “We have to leave huh?” he asked, his hands running slowly over her ass and up the back of the dress.

“Yes!” she gasped, smacking his hands away. “I was promised food and dancing, darn it!”

Lucas chuckled as he reached for her again, pressing her into his growing erection. “I’m pretty sure I can find something for you to eat here. I just want to eat you.”

Fallon giggled breathlessly as he nibbled up her throat. “How about we go eat some real food, then our dancing can be our foreplay and we’ll come home where dessert will be served.”

“In the form of you, right?” he asked, his dick getting harder with just the thought.

“But of course,” she said breathlessly. “I need you to stop, or we’ll never leave.”

Fallon pushed herself away from him as she laughed. He watched as she went across the room to her bag, digging in it for something. He smiled when she glanced up at him before saying, “That was my plan though. To never leave.”

Fallon gave him a sexy little smirk before saying, “I know.”

Oh, yeah. They weren’t going to be out long.

Twisted Eats was the best restaurant in Palo Alto and one of Lucas’ favorites. The ambiance and the food were to die for but most of all, Lucas loved the privacy. Each table sat in a pod, and no one could really see in it in unless they walked up to the table and looked in. It was very futuristic and Lucas couldn’t have been more pleased, since he needed privacy when it came to sitting with Fallon. He couldn’t keep his hands off her, and he didn’t really want to share her with anyone. She looked stunning and Lucas didn’t feel like beating anyone’s face in that night. He wanted the perfect evening with Fallon. He wanted to give her the night of her life. He wanted to show her that it could be like this for them all the time.

If she gave him the chance he needed.

Fallon was snuggled up close to him as they looked out at the large dance floor. His hand rested on her upper thigh as they watched people dance to the amazing club music.

“This place is sick,” Fallon gushed as she looked over at him. “It’s so loud outside of the pod-thingy, but inside it, it’s just me and you.”

Lucas smiled as he nodded. “This is one of my favorite places.”

“It’s becoming one of mine,” she said with a smile as she looked down at the menu, “What are you wanting to eat?”

“Whatever you get,” he said with a shrug of his shoulder.

Fallon rolled her eyes. “No, look at the menu, tell me what you want. I hate when you do that.”

Lucas smiled before nipping at her earlobe. “No you don’t.”

“I do, ‘cause I know you don’t want to eat this amazing-looking Mahi Mahi they have.”

Lucas face twisted in disgust. “Gross, no. Give me that menu.”

Fallon giggled as she passed it over to him. “I’m gonna go to the bathroom, make sure I still look good.”

She pressed her lips against the side of his mouth before sliding out the booth. “Baby you look good all the time,” he said before she reached the end of the booth.

She giggled before saying, “You’re biased.”

Fallon gave him once last smile before getting out the booth and walking away. As he watched her ass sway from side to side, he couldn’t help but agree with her. He may be biased, but he had damn good reason for it.

Fallon was smoking hot.

Fallon was feeling pretty amazing.

Not only was she looking spectacular in the dress Audrey sent with her, but Lucas was making her feel like a princess. She hadn’t thought about the past or the future for the last hour and she loved it. Not having the constant doubt or the never-ending fear in her mind was refreshing and plus, she loved spending time with Lucas. It was easy to get caught up in the moment with him. Especially with no worry about what he would do when they were apart. It was just him and her. No one else in the world could take either of them from each other. It was her fantasy and she was going to enjoy it before having to go back to reality tomorrow.

After doing her business she walked out of the stall and went to the marble vanity to wash her hands. Once she was done, she opened her purse to take out her powder and lipstick. A small smile stayed on her face as she reapplied and made sure she was perfect. Lucas had done nothing but make her feel like she was the most beautiful woman in the world. With his constant need to touch her and his feather-like kisses, the least she could do was make sure she looked good for him.

Fallon looked down, washing her hands again as another stall opened and a person came towards the sink. Out the corner of Fallon’s eye she noticed that the woman was very pregnant, and a smiled came across her face. She looked up to ask the woman how much longer she had, but the words became lodged in her throat.

For the woman that stood next to Fallon wasn’t just another pregnant lady.

No, it was the woman that took away her happiness.

It was Allison.

Chapter 27

Fallon’s eyes went wide as she looked into the eyes of the woman that used to be her best friend. She stumbled back from her as Allison’s mouth fell open and her hand came up to cover it. Fallon couldn’t believe that this was happening. Out of all the restaurants in Palo Alto, Lucas had to bring her to the one that held the woman that ruined her life.

“Fallon,” Allison gasped. Hearing her name coming from Allison’s lips was like a knife digging into Fallon’s heart. Fallon had loved Allison like a sister, and when she found them together, it was the ultimate betrayal. Not only had she lost the love her life, but she lost her best friend, too.

“Wow, I can’t believe it’s you,” Allison said. “I haven’t seen you in years.”

Fallon looked away into the large mirror that sat above the sinks. As she looked at the refection of Allison and herself, she had to make herself not to cry or deck Allison in the throat. Anger filled Fallon from head to toe as she looked in the mirror. How could the person that helped ruin her life look so amazing and so perfect?

Allison wore a cute red maternity dress with sparkly black heels. Her dark brown hair was in an intricate updo, and her makeup must have been done professionally. Fallon even noticed the huge rock that sat on her ring finger and that wasn’t the only diamond that graced her body. They were everywhere. Her ears, her wrist, her neck — all covered in expensive, beautiful diamonds.

“How have you been?” Allison asked, and Fallon felt like her temper was about to snap.

“Don’t talk to me like you didn’t ruin my life,” Fallon snapped. Once the words left her mouth she hated herself for saying them. Why would she tell Allison that? Why would she let her know that she took everything from her?

“Oh, Fallon, please don’t tell me you still hate me after all this time? It was so long ago,” Allison pleaded, her hands resting on her beautiful baby bump. “We’ve both changed. Look at you, you’re gorgeous and I know that you are doing spectacular in your business. Jamar, my husband, just ordered a bottle of your wine yesterday for the birth of our son.”

Fallon shook her head, trying to breathe. It made her so mad that she was just standing there and not giving Allison the lashing that she deserved. Hadn’t she practiced it over and over again? Didn’t she know exactly what she wanted to say if she ever saw her again?

“I’m sorry but I can’t let go of the fact that you took the love of my life away from me,” Fallon choked out.

“Fallon, I didn’t take him away.”

“How do you figure you didn’t?” Fallon snapped.

“It wasn’t like we dated after you ran off to Tennessee; he never talked to me again.”

“But you still slept with him and broke us up!” Fallon yelled. “You made it to where I couldn’t even look him in the eye.”

“You’re the one that ran. I was young and I was stupid. I was convinced that I needed to sleep with every famous athlete I could get my hands on. Lucas would have been my prized possession if it would have worked out, but it didn’t. So why are you still holding this intense grudge towards me?”

Fallon was appalled by her audacity to act like nothing happened between her and Lucas. Did Allison think she made up the whole thing? That she imagined them in bed together? “I saw you in bed with him.”

“Well yeah, I tried, but nothing happened. He passed out before I could even get any.”

“What?” Fallon said. Her heart was beating so hard that she was sure she didn’t her Allison right.

“Yeah, we never slept together. We only kissed before he passed out calling for you. He was a mess, and I laid down beside him hoping he would wake up if I played around with him, but he didn’t and I fell asleep. I’m surprised he didn’t tell you. I always wondered why you disappeared the way you did.”

Fallon pinched the bridge of her nose. This couldn’t be happening to her. This wasn’t the way she imagined it. She imagined beating the leaving crap out of Allison, not standing there listening to how her baby daddy bought Fallon’s wine for the birth of their child or even worse, that she never slept with Lucas. What the hell? The powers to be were really working hard to keep her and Lucas apart back then, so why were they trying to bring them back together now?

“You never slept with him,” Fallon stated, not asking but really verifying.

“No, I tried, and I understand you hating me for that, but really that was so long ago. We were so young and stupid,” Allison said. She gave Fallon a small smile and Fallon wanted to knock it off her face. “It wasn’t like he was the one for you.”

“How do you know?”

Allison gave her a condescending smile. “’Cause if he was, he wouldn’t have started to cheat on you.”

Fallon’s blood boiled and it really took everything out of her to turn and walk away. Allison didn’t try to stop her, she didn’t even say anything else as Fallon pushed through the doors and headed back to her pod, to Lucas. Tears sprang to her eyes, and her chest rose and fell so quickly that she felt like she was having a panic attack. She knew that Allison was right. If Lucas was the one for her, he would have never done what he did. Drunk or not, he should have stay true to her.

This was her last night with him. This is all she could let herself have. Anything else would be a lie to them both because no matter what, she would never be able to trust him again.

No matter how much she wanted to.

Lucas was starting to get worried.

Fallon had been in the bathroom so long that Lucas was starting to think she ran off. Finally he spotted her across the dance floor, walking quickly towards him. She looked worried as she made her way through the many dancing couples. She moved her hair out of her face before looking up at him. When her eyes met his, she stopped and a small nervous smile came across her lips. He returned the smile, waiting for her to finish her walk to him, but she didn’t move.

Lucas watched as she smiled seductively before pursing her lips and moving her hips to the music. It set him on edge to watch those fine hips move from side to side in a very enticing way. Her eyes met his again and she motioned with her finger for him to come to her. He was so mesmerized by her beauty, her sexiness, her perfection, that he quickly left the pod and cut the distance between them, taking her in his arms. As Usher sang about going nice and slow, Lucas moved his body against Fallon’s, his hands drifted down her back and over her voluptuous ass. She grinned up at him as he squeezed her bottom softly, pressing her into his rapidly growing shaft.

Fallon bit her lip as she gazed up into his eyes. When the same naughty mouth started mouthing the naughty words to the song, Lucas wasn’t sure how much more he could endure. She was too sexy, too hot.

“I freak you right I will,” Lucas mouthed back and Fallon grinned big. She had to remember the time in her office when he had said that to her. She knew it was true, too. He was the only one that could bring her to the point of no return and then bring her back, just to take her there again. Fallon turned in his arms, moving that fine ass against his pelvis as his hands shook against her hips. Fallon was an amazing dancer, and when you put on the right music, she could honestly make a man come by moving against him.

As the song ended, and a slow one started, Lucas turned Fallon before bringing her close to him, nuzzling his nose in her hair. Fallon’s hands came up the muscles of his back and locked behind his neck as she ran her nose along his jaw. When she pulled back a little, Lucas saw that her eyes were full of tears, but before he could say anything, she kissed him. As their bodies moved slowly against each other, their lips danced in their own way. She moved her tongue against his slowly, taking his bottom lip into her teeth, biting ever so softly. Her fingers squeezed his neck as they parted and she laid her head on his chest. Lucas closed his eyes, loving the feel of her in his arms.

When he actually listened to the words of the song that was playing, he knew why she was tearing up. He remembered the song like it was only yesterday and she was playing it as they left for the airport so he could go out on a road trip. Why she played the popular song by Boyz II Men, he would never understand. The song was about the couple breaking up, not about being away from each other for a period of time. He didn’t really think anything of it until the day he discovered she left for good. He remembered sitting in his room, the song on repeat and a bottle of Grey Goose in his hand as he sang and drank until he passed out. It was the darkest time of his life, and he hated to go back there, but it was inevitable with the song playing and Fallon in his arms. He hadn’t listened to the song since, and it scared him to hear that song now. Lucas didn’t want to come to the end of the road with Fallon. He wanted to live his life with her for forever.

Lucas gathered Fallon as close as he could to him and kissed her temple as his heart beat so hard he swore she could feel it. She didn’t know what she did to him, she didn’t realize that she was the one person out of a billion that could make his life complete. He loved her, and he always would.

He couldn’t lose her.

The Twisted Eats must have been in a baby-making mood because the next song was another hard-hitting sexy song. Lucas took Fallon’s hips in his hands and moved them from side to side and into him as she ran her hands down his arms. When his eyes met her lust-filled ones, Lucas couldn’t breathe while the air crackled around them.

Yeah, he had to have her now.

“I’m not hungry for food,” Fallon said, lacing her fingers with his.

“Yeah, me neither. Let’s go. Now.”

It was a sexual tension-filled car ride home. Fallon was dripping with anticipation and couldn’t wait to be in that bed with Lucas. Lucas parked the car and Fallon got out quickly, hoping that he was doing the same. Lucas caught her as she was coming around his black BMW. He pushed her against the hood of the expensive car and lifted her skirt up, cupping her aching mound. Dancing with him was magical and erotic all in one. She loved every minute of it, but she was pretty sure she was going to love what he was about to do to her against the car more. Lucas’ fingers danced along her before pulling her panties out of the way and dipping two fingers inside of her. He hit her clit first, causing her to gasp out into the ocean air. His chuckles mingled with her gasp before he took her lips with his.

Lucas kissed her long and hard as he moved his fingers around her aching clit. She started to move her hips, needing the release he was about to cause. When he stopped, Fallon let out a cry of distress, but then he dropped to his knees, ripping her thong off her and taking her whole in his mouth. Her cries were no longer distressed ones, nope, more like hot, needing ones. He ran his tongue along her swollen lips before pulling back and moving her legs over his shoulders so that her feet weren’t braced on the ground. Fallon fell back onto the hood of the car and looked up at the dark sky as he pleasured her in the most amazing way with his tongue. He slid his fingers into her as he continued the invasion to her clit with his tongue. Fallon was gasping for air, trying to keep quiet, but it was so hard. Lucas lived in a very secluded area, but still, he had neighbors somewhere. With just one more flick of his tongue, he had her coming and screaming so loud she was sure that people in Tennessee could hear her.

“Oh yeah, God, you are so hot,” Lucas said gruffly before standing up and wrapping her legs around his waist. Fallon sat up, ripping at his shirt trying to get it off as he slid his suit jacket off and threw it on top of the car. She ran her hands down his sculpted chest before taking one of his nipples in her mouth. She ran her tongue along the hair of his nipple before biting it hard. Lucas sucked air in through his teeth, causing a hissing noise as she continued to bite and lick at his chest. Lucas’ hands ran up into her hair, pulling her face away from his chest to meet with his mouth. He had a good grip of her hair as his other hand ran down her throat to the top of her dress where he pulled it down, taking one of her breasts in his large hand. As he roughly kneaded and massaged her aching breast, his mouth continued to eat at hers. Fallon ran her tongue along his lips before taking her own hands down his body to the front of his slacks. She unbuttoned him quickly and took out his hot, bulging flesh into her hand. Lucas’ breath was hot against her lips as she moved her hand up and down his throbbing erection. He kissed her twice before moving his lips down her to the hollow of her neck, where he bit softly, causing her to squirm underneath him. When she couldn’t take any more and she was sure he was ready, she guided him slowly, inch by incredible inch, inside of her. He let out a low throaty groan against her jaw as she started to rock against his magnificent manhood.

Fallon knew this was the last time, so she was going to make it worth it. She was going to love him with everything inside her, just so she could carry this moment for the rest of her life. Lucas delved deeper into her with each rhythmic push while she gasped for air. It was so intense, so perfect, that it brought tears to Fallon’s eyes.

She was going to miss this.

Miss him.

When she came, she came hard underneath him, tears streaming down her face as her nails bit into his biceps. Fallon was disorientated but that didn’t stop her from bracing her heels against his shoulders, lifting her hips, so he could go deeper. Lucas looked down into her eyes with hunger in his eyes as a naughty grin came over his lips. He started to push harder into her and the only sounds that were heard — beyond their breathing and the ocean — were the loud slaps of bodies colliding.

Fallon was in heaven. Lucas was a sex God and she couldn’t get enough.

Lucas only slammed into her twice more before he was smacking his hands against the hood of the car with his own climax. His harsh groan caused Fallon to keep rocking against him, hoping to make his orgasm last longer. When he stilled, Fallon lay beneath him as the rise and fall of his chest touched hers. She looked up at the star-filled sky and couldn’t help but smile.

“Against a car?” she asked with laughter in her voice.

She felt him chuckle against her body, his mouth still at her neck. “Isn’t the first time.”

“True.”

“Won’t be the last time, either.”

Fallon took in a sharp breath as the tears filled her eyes again.

It would be the last time.

Later that night Fallon lay against Lucas’ chest, listening to his rapid breathing. They only made it to the living room before they were at it again. It was glorious and Fallon was sure that Lucas could do no wrong with that mouth of his. Yeah, he was a yeller and cocky as hell but when that mouth was on her, she didn’t even think of the wrong it did. He was the perfect lover. He was giving and compassionate while still giving it to her hard and rough, the way she loved it. She lay with a satisfied smile on her face as she ran her fingers up and down the abs of his stomach.

“Well that was fantastic,” Lucas said, causing Fallon to giggle.

“Basically,” she said quietly as his arm came around her, pressing her closer into him. “You worked me to the point of starvation.”

Lucas chuckled as he kissed her temple. “Did I now?”

“Yes and I’m pretty sure I won’t be walking right tomorrow.”

“Good,” he laughed with a smack against her naked butt. She let out a little cry before moving away from him and picking up his black dress shirt. She felt his eyes on her as she buttoned each button and when she glanced down at him, seeing the lust swirling in his eyes, she knew she had to get away or she would never be able to eat.

Fallon walked slowly to the kitchen with Lucas watching every move she made. She looked through the fridge and saw that he had chicken in a bowl marinating. She smiled as she brought it out; smelling it to make sure it was good. She proceeded to take out a pan and veggies to make a dish for herself and Lucas. At one point she glanced over to see Lucas still watching her every move, and when their eyes met, he smiled lovingly at her. She returned it but felt bad for it. It was all going to be so hard tomorrow when she left but she had to stop thinking about it. Enjoy the time she did have with him.

She was stirring the chicken when Lucas said, “He died from a heart attack.”

Fallon glanced up to see Lucas standing beside the counter in only a pair of white boxer briefs. Of course, he looked like a damn underwear model. Fallon had to actually force herself to look up at him and not his package. Lord, he was hot.

She cleared her throat, throwing some vegetables into the pan before saying, “Who?”

“My dad. He died from a heart attack at the end of our driveway the day before I turned 18,” he said sadly.

Fallon froze.

Oh no, no, no, no. She couldn’t do this.

“Lucas, you don’t have to tell me this.”

Lucas nodded. “Yes I do. I want you to know everything.”

He took a deep breath in before looking back up at her. Fallon turned down the stove and lifted herself up on the counter as he leaned against the one across from her. He crossed his arms against his chest before looking down at the ground. She wanted to know what happened, but did she deserve to know when she planned on leaving? Did she deserve the right to know everything when she knew there was no future — outside of Aiden — for them?

Before she could stop him, he said, “I remembered looking out the window because I heard him go outside. I knew he was getting the mail because he had ordered something for me for my birthday.” A small smiled formed on his lips. “It was this amazing stick that I didn’t even realize was delivered until a week after his death, but anyways, I watched him reach into the mailbox, and then he stopped. The most awful look came across his face and I stood up. When he fell I was already out the door, running down the driveway to him.”

Fallon covered her mouth with hand as she took in quick small breaths. Lucas had nothing but raw emotion all over his face, and Fallon could see the tears gathering in his eyes.

“I was screaming ‘Dad? Dad, wake up!’, when my mom came running down the driveway. He had died instantly and I guess Mom could tell because she tried to pull me away, but I wasn’t going. I tried crawling to him, but my mom had a death grip on me. The only reason I stopped fighting her was because I noticed my bloody fingers. I had popped two of my nails off and the rest were all so jagged that during the funeral I kept running my other fingers along them, feeling the jagged edges and the scabs from the cuts.”

Tears ran down Fallon’s cheeks as she watched Lucas run his thumb along his fingers the way he described. She had seen him do it time after time before but now that she knew why he did it, it destroyed her inside.

“I shut down and didn’t tell anyone that I felt like I was dying. My dad was my best friend, my coach, the one person that understood me. Losing him was almost as bad as losing you.”

“It had to be worse, Lucas,” she gasped out, running her hand along her cheeks to brush away the tears.

“No,” he said quickly, “When I lost you it was because of my own stupidity.”

“Lucas stop, you’re killing me here,” Fallon said, looking away. Lucas came over to her, going between her legs and leaning his head against hers. “I’m sorry about your dad; I wish I would have been able to meet him.”

Lucas nodded against her forehead. “Me too, he would’ve loved you and Aiden so much.”

Fallon’s heart broke as she wrapped him up in her arms. “I’m so sorry.”

“I know you haven’t said you’d give me another chance yet, but I hope that you know how sorry I am and how I’ll never hurt you again.”

Fallon sighed before saying, “I know Lucas, and believe me, as much as I want to trust you, it’s just so hard.”

Lucas nodded as he met his lips against hers. “We’ll just have to work on your trust issues.”

“We?” she asked, because wasn’t that her problem?

“Yeah, when you agree to give me another chance, it won’t be just me anymore, it will be we. Always and forever.”

Lucas looked up at her and Fallon’s heart broke. He wanted her so bad, and she wanted him, but how? How could something work when everything was against them? Fallon cupped his face with her hands, and he brought his own hands up over hers. He turned his face, biting into the palm of her hand. He glanced up at her as he ran his tongue up her palm to her ring finger, where he bit softy. Fallon took in a sharp breath, getting wetter by the second by just the sight of his mouth on her. He bit down her palm to her wrist, where he left a nice little mark before smiling over at her.

“I want to eat you up,” he whispered against her wrist.

It was hard for Fallon to form words when he looked at her like that, with such hunger in his eyes as he slowly bit down her arm and along her shoulder. She loved it when he bit her; it turned her on beyond belief. Fallon pushed aside her thoughts of their issues and focused solely on her need for him. Tomorrow would be the day to worry, tonight was the night to enjoy the love that was between them.

Since it all was ending tomorrow.

“Oh Lord, please do,” she said breathlessly.

“We’re skipping this dinner?”

She nodded in agreement. “We’re skipping it.”

Lucas woke to the sound of Fallon moving around the room. She was dressed in a pair of jeans and her old Stanford tee as she continued to stuff things in her bag. As he rubbed his eyes, he thought about complaining at her for not being snuggled up against him, but then it clicked that she was packing.

Quickly.

Lucas’ pulse picked up in speed as what she was doing became apparent. She was trying to leave without saying goodbye.

“You were never going to give me another chance, were you?” he asked after watching her for a moment. Fallon looked up startled before looking back down at the things she was packing. He moved out of the bed, pulling on a pair of boxers before looking back over at her.

“I didn’t say that,” she said in a cold voice. She reached for some of her underwear, throwing it in her bag.

“You didn’t have to. I can tell by the way you’re acting. I can tell by the way you are quickly packing, hoping not to wake me.”

“No, I have an early flight.”

“Fallon, look at me,” he said.

She did and he could tell that she had already made her mind up, and she was leaving.

Without giving him that chance.

“I showed you my heart, I told you everything.”

“I know, and I’ve learned a lot, but I can’t get over my trust issues.”

“I told you I didn’t know!” Lucas yelled, startling her. She looked back at him and he knew she heard the desperation in his voice. “I didn’t want to sleep with her, Fallon.”

“You didn’t,” she whispered, turning her whole body to face him.

“What?”

“You didn’t sleep with her. You passed out before you even did anything.”

Say what?

Surely he didn’t hear her right. “What?”

“I saw her last night, and she told me, but even so, I’ve spent the past seven years hating what you did to me. Blaming myself, and to find out that you were sick and then to find out you never even slept with her,” she slowly shook her head as she continued, “I feel like everything was set in motion to keep us apart. That we weren’t meant to be together.”

Lucas took a step towards her. “But we are now.”

“No, we are meant to raise Aiden together. We aren’t meant to be together.”

Lucas shook her head. “You are delusional! If that was all it was, you wouldn’t have slept with me. What did you use me?”

Fallon rolled her eyes. “Please, you came on to me, and I couldn’t resist. It’s undeniable that I want you, Lucas, I do, but I can’t do this.”

“Why? Why sleep with me then?”

Fallon shrugged her shoulders. “I slept with you because I needed the closure. This was our closure Lucas. We’re good now.”

“I’m not!” Lucas yelled, running his hands through his hair before letting out a breath.

“You will be. You’ll find someone that you’re meant to be with.”

“I’m meant to be with you!”

“No, you’re not. If you were then all this stuff wouldn’t have happened.”

“This is bullshit,” Lucas said, collapsing into a chair. “I just don’t understand. Are you trying to hurt me? Is that what you are doing?”

Fallon shook her head. “No, I’m trying to protect you. I can’t fully give myself to you because I don’t trust you. I am fine when it is just me and you in this house, but this isn’t reality. We both have lives, and I will constantly be worried you’re fucking someone else while you’re gone. I can’t do this Lucas. I can’t.”

“You won’t even give me a chance though!”

“Because I’ve already been burned by you. Yes, the situation was fucked up then but you burnt the bridge of us. I’m too scared.”

A long moment passed as they stared into each other eyes. Fallon’s eyes filled fast with tears as Lucas looked at her, feeling nothing but defeat. He knew he was losing her. Fallon turned, picking up her bag to leave. When she looked back at him, he looked down at the ground, taking in another deep breath, willing himself not to cry.

“I’m sorry, Lucas,” Fallon cried softly.

Lucas looked up at her, his own tears filling his eyes. “Me too, Fallon. Me too.”

He let her go. He couldn’t make her stay and he had already begged.

What else could he do?

Chapter 28

Lucas was a mess.

Not only had he already been in the sin bin four times, he had thought of Fallon nonstop as he continually took his frustration out on all the Sharks players. If he wasn’t throwing them against the boards, he was smashing their faces in with his fist.

Lucas was in a very bad mood.

As he skated out of the penalty box towards the bench, one of the Sharks laughed, and Lucas turned to face the guy.

“Got something to say, Bishop?” Lucas sneered as he changed the direction he was going to go to his old friend from the Sharks.

“Yeah, take another cheap shot at my goalie and I’ll fuck you up, you pus...”

Bishop only got out the first part of the offending word before Lucas’ fist connected with his mouth. Bishop dropped to the ground and before Lucas could go after him, Jakob and Phillip were pulling him back as the referees skated around blowing those stupid ass whistles.

“Both of you, box!” one of the referees said. Lucas shrugged his shoulders and skated towards the box again before taking a seat next to the box attendant.

“Not your game tonight, huh Brooks?”

Lucas shook his head. “Not looking that way.”

“Looks like Bacter is pissed,” the attendant said. Lucas looked across the ice where Coach Bacter was throwing his clip board and waving his arms above his head.

“I think you are right,” Lucas said with a shrug before letting out a long breath. As he leaned against the back of the penalty box, people slammed their fists against it, trying to provoke him. Since he knew he couldn’t fight a fan, he took in another long breath and closed his eyes.

The image of Fallon walking out of his house and getting into the taxi appeared and Lucas had to open his eyes again. He couldn’t handle the image, but it didn’t stop it from still being there. Her tear-streaked face haunted him, and he hated that she was doing this to him. Was it his payback? Was this how she figured she could hurt him? He told her everything, he basically gave her his heart again, and she threw it in his face. All because she didn’t trust him, which was bullshit! She hadn’t even tried! She hadn’t even given him the fucking chance he deserved!

He didn’t even cheat!

Lucas threw his stick down and his gloves soon joined it before he ran his hands through his hair. He was so fucking mad, so hurt that he wanted to leave and go home. He wanted to march up to her front door, pound on it until she came to it, and then promptly shake the shit out of her until she realized she had made a mistake! Didn’t she realize that he loved her? Had he told her? No and damn it, he wasn’t going to either! She would probably just throw that in his face too. She drove him fucking insane.

And he still missed her so much.

Fallon hadn’t returned any of his calls, and when he talked to Aiden, he said that Fallon had been locked up in her room all night. His heart ached to be with her; he missed her more than anything and he wished she would stop being so difficult. What did he need to do? Did he need to leave her alone? Did he need to cut his losses and find someone else?

Lucas scoffed. “As if that would ever happen.”

“What was that son?” the attendant asked.

“Nothing, sorry. Thinking out loud,” Lucas said reaching down for his gloves and stick.

“Well stop thinking about whatever, you’re on son.” The attendant threw the door open and Lucas skated out just as Shea passed the puck up for him. Lucas took it into the zone and shot. He missed but luckily Anderson got the rebound and scored! As the guys all wrapped up in a manly hug, Lucas couldn’t seem to enjoy the moment. Scoring on the ice, (and off for that matter) was the best thing about hockey and Lucas had an assist with that goal, so why didn’t he feel even a smidge of happiness?

Because he missed her.

Lucas shook his head as he skated to the bench, jumping over the board before taking a seat next to Shea. Shea tapped him on the helmet before leaning against the boards and looking out on the ice.

“You seem a little angry tonight,” he observed as Lucas got in the same position he was in. “Something you need to discuss over a beer tonight?”

“I don’t drink,” Lucas said.

Pride filled him the way it always did when he refused to drink with the guys. It meant more that time though because he never thought he could go on after Fallon left for the second time, but it looked like he could. He was actually cured from the alcoholism and that was a blessing all in itself.

Shea nodded. “I forgot, I’m sorry. How about over some pop?”

Lucas shook his head. “I’m fine.”

“Well as your captain, you have to give me a good reason for why you’ve tried to kill almost every Sharks player tonight. Is it your hatred for the team you left, or is it Fallon? Or maybe Aiden, are they okay?”

Lucas shook his head again. “I don’t hate the Sharks, and Aiden is fine. Fallon on the other hand, is a big pain in my ass.”

Shea laughed. “Most women are. Mine especially.”

Lucas scoffed. “We both know you don’t mean that.”

“I do and I’ll tell you why on the ride home tonight. Sit next to me,” Shea said.

Lucas nodded. “Sure.”

“Haksson is doing well,” Shea noted and Lucas couldn’t agree more. Thankfully the goalie had become comfortable and was actually doing quite well.

“Let’s hope he stays that way,” Lucas said, and Shea nodded. “The new kid scares me.”

Lucas and Shea both looked back at where the new backup goalie sat. His name was Odder or Offer, or something, hell Lucas wasn’t listening. He just knew that the kid was a baby from the Rays and he looked scared as hell.

“I know, he looks scared to death,” Shea said before looking out at the ice.

“He does, poor kid,” Lucas muttered just as Coach Bacter called their line out.

“Don’t get put in that box anymore, Brooks,” Bacter yelled as Lucas jumped over the board and skated to his position. Lucas nodded and thought that maybe he would try not to get put in the box.

He wouldn’t promise it, though.

What a game. What a horrible freaking game.

The Assassins won, but it was close. Haksson went to block a shot and went down after getting it. Everyone was concerned but Haksson said he was fine, so they proceeded to play. Haksson let in four goals after that, giving the Sharks a one point lead before he admitted that he was in extreme pain. Lucas stood by the goal watching as they helped Haksson off the ice, and the new kid skated on. Lucas shook his head at the kid and knew they were going to lose.

But they didn’t.

The kid blocked every shot and with two goals from Phillip Anderson, the Assassins won. The new kid was to thank, too. The shots on goal were hard shots, and they should have gone in, but the kid was pulling ninja moves, catching the puck in ways that even Jordan Ryan couldn’t have done. Maybe Lucas didn’t have anything to worry about.

The kid was basically a ninja goalie.

Lucas sat beside him with Shea on the other side of him. The kid was grinning like he had just slept with Heidi Klum as Lucas threw his sweat-filled shirt off before looking over at him.

“So what’s your name?” Lucas asked.

The kid looked over and smiled. He made Lucas feel like a dinosaur with his bright blue eyes and bleach blonde hair. He had such a young face and a little gap in his teeth. He was a good-looking kid, but he made Lucas feel really old.

“Tate Odder.”

And he had an accent. A thick one.

“Can you speak English?’

Tate shook his head, “Not well. I learning.”

Oh God.

“Well good job tonight,” Lucas said, smacking him on his shoulder. Lucas didn’t think he hit him that hard, but Tate jerked forward some before looking back at Lucas with a nervous smile.

“Thank you,” he said enunciating each word.

Lucas shook his head before meeting Shea’s gaze. “Leave him alone.”

“Where’s he from?”

“Sweden. He is a good guy.”

“He’s a baby, and he can’t speak a lick of English,” Lucas whispered.

Shea shook his head. “He’s fine and he’s learning, plus he just saved our asses, so be nice.”

“Whatever.”

Shea laughed as he stood up undressing. Lucas stood up too, pulling off his shorts just as Shea poked him in the shoulder. Lucas cringed in pain before he looked over at the little heel mark that Fallon had left on him.

“What the hell is that? Oh, there’s two,” Shea said seeing the other side.

“Yeah, it’s nothing,” Lucas said, sitting down. He didn’t want to think about them. They hadn’t hurt when he was pounding into Fallon, but they stung now.

Just like his heart.

“I know what they are. Those are high heel marks,” Phillip said from across the locker room. “Brooks got lucky last night.”

The team all laughed, razzing him and making catcalls as Lucas just rolled his eyes. Before he could say anything, Shea beat him to it, glaring over at Phillip.

“Yeah, something that never happens for you, huh, Anderson?” Shea shot him a dirty look before saying, “Shut the hell up.” He then wrapped a towel around his waist and went to the shower as they locker room went eerily quiet. Lucas scoffed as he looked over at Phillip. He was glaring at Shea’s back and Lucas knew he wouldn’t say anything. Not to big Captain Adler. No one did, well except Lucas. He wasn’t scared one bit of Shea but then again, he wasn’t an ass to Lucas the way he was to Anderson. Lucas shook his head as he chuckled.

Shea really hated that guy.

“So why is your beautiful wife driving you crazy?” Lucas said as he dropped down in the seat beside Shea. Shea shut his laptop as he chuckled.

“She is pregnant.”

Lucas smiled. “Can’t be that bad. Elli is a sweetheart.”

“She can be, and she can be crazy. Ever since we found out the baby was a girl, she’s been driving me insane with all things girl. How hard could another girl be? We already have one!”

“Another girl? That’s awesome Shea. What are you guys going to name her, Sheanana?” Lucas laughed.

Lucas thought he was hilarious but Shea didn’t think so as Lucas continued to let out a gut-busting laugh. When he finally calmed down, he cleared his throat. “Bad joke, sorry.”

“Really bad joke,” Shea said with a shake of his head. “Why is it when I am really starting to like you, you piss me off?”

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. “It’s my charm.”

“Charm my ass.” Lucas laughed and Shea’s face broke into a grin. Shea stretched his arms out in front of him before saying, “So what has Fallon done?”

Lucas grin fell and he took in a sharp breath. “I really don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay, is it fixable?”

“Yeah, when she gets her head out of her ass and sees that she can trust me and that I won’t hurt her again.”

Shea nodded. “I don’t know if she’s anything like Elli was, but I had to basically scream I loved her in her face, from the rooftop, and from the middle of the arena for that girl to believe me. Women are nuts,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Fallon is a good woman, and a damn good mom.”

“I know, and I want her so badly, I could scream. I want my family together. I want to make more little babies. I want to be happy, with her and Aiden.”

Shea shrugged his shoulders before saying, “Then get it.”

“I wish it was that easy.”

“Just don’t give up,” Shea said sincerely. “You guys look good together.”

Lucas smiled as he nodded. “We are good together, when Fallon’s head isn’t up her fine ass.”

The next morning, after a long sleepless night, Lucas dialed Audrey’s number since he knew Fallon wouldn’t answer.

“Hello, Lucas dear,” Audrey gushed.

“Hey, how are you?”

“You know, livin’. How about you?”

Lucas shrugged even though she couldn’t see him. “Shitty. Your sister is driving me insane.”

“I know, she does it to us all. I haven’t heard the latest saga of Lucas and Fallon but I’m pretty sure she’ll tell me soon. She’s pretty much locked herself up in the room.”

“Yeah that’s what Aiden said. She won’t answer my calls either.”

“She’s special, but we both know that,” she joked. “So, what’s up?” she asked brightly. Lucas smiled despite himself; Audrey was so bright and bubbly. It was hard not to smile when you talked to her.

“Can I meet up with you and get Aiden? I wanted to take him to school,” Lucas asked.

“He’s out today, some teacher in-service crap.”

“Wow.”

Thanks for letting me know Fallon, he thought.

“Awesome, can I come get him?” he asked, his temper slowly growing.

That woman drove him crazy!

“Sure! I’ll run it by Fallon to make sure but she’ll be at work all day, I doubt she’ll care. When do you want to come get him?”

Lucas thought for a moment. “Now?”

He missed Aiden a lot and couldn’t wait to see him, so why waste any time when Aiden was available now?

Audrey laughed before saying, “Okay dokey, I’ll get him ready. He’ll be excited.”

“Awesome, I’ll be in the driveway in about 20 minutes.”

Audrey laughed again. “Really?”

“I’m mad at her,” Lucas pouted.

“Y’all are hopeless. Okay, see you in a few.”

Lucas hung up the phone and couldn’t get dressed fast enough. He was beyond excited for he was going to go pick up his favorite little guy.

After a tear-filled greeting, Aiden sat in the backseat talking so fast that it was giving Lucas a headache, or maybe it was the fact that Lucas hadn’t slept the night before. Either way, his head was pounding. Aiden was excited to tell Lucas about everything that had been going on at school and how he had been practicing every day and couldn’t wait to show Lucas his moves. Lucas’ heart swelled at the mention of him showing Lucas his moves. It was something he used to tell his dad all the time, and hearing Aiden say it made him reminisce about those times with his dad.

It was a great feeling.

“So I saw the game when you kept fighting everyone. Mommy called you a nincompoop.”

Lucas scoffed. “Did she now?”

“Yup, she also called you childish today. What does that mean?”

Lucas rolled his eyes, he wasn’t childish. “How did she say it?”

“Um, she said that you were childish for not coming inside.”

“Who knows,” Lucas said with a laugh, hoping to take Aiden’s mind off it. He couldn’t believe that Fallon would say that. It wasn’t as if she was walking Aiden to the car, Audrey did! If anyone was childish, it was her!

Damn fool woman.

Lucas went through the McDonald’s drive thru, getting both him and Aiden some food before heading back to the house. After eating their breakfast and watching cartoons, the two went downstairs to play some hockey. Aiden couldn’t contain his excitement as Lucas drove the Zamboni around the rink with Aiden in his lap. He let out loud screams at each turn and talked endlessly about how awesome it was to ride the Zamboni. Lucas was glad to make him so happy and after parking the vehicle, the two got ready to take the ice. Lucas helped Aiden put his skates on and tape up his socks, but that was about it. Aiden was catching on to what equipment went where and Lucas couldn’t have been more proud.

His boy was meant to play hockey. Just like him.

They took the ice, warming up a little before they started taking shots on goal. As Lucas watched Aiden, he saw that Aiden had been practicing and pride filled him from the inside out. Aiden was perfect.

“Wow bud, that’s awesome!”

“Isn’t it!? I watched you do it on YouTube,” Aiden gushed as he skated around a little faster than he had the last time they were out.

“I can tell, you are doing amazing bud, I’m really proud of you.”

Aiden smiled widely up at Lucas before taking another shot on goal and it went in. He threw his arms above his head and let out a loud “Yee Haw” before he started for the goal to get the puck. As Lucas watched him gather all the pucks and pass them out to Lucas, he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about Fallon.

If she would stop being so hardheaded, she could be sitting on the bench, watching them play and cheering them on. She was the most amazing hockey girlfriend and he knew for a fact that she was going to be the best hockey mom ever. He just wished that they could do it as a family and not separately. He missed her so much and wished that she was upstairs right at that moment, making something good for him and Aiden to eat when they got done.

Shea’s words played over in Lucas’ head as he skated in circles around the pucks:

Just don’t give up.

And Lucas knew he couldn’t. He knew in his heart that Fallon was the woman for him, and damn it, he knew she knew that he was the man for her. Lucas was tired of it. He was going to march right up to her and demand a second chance! She owed it to both of them. They deserved each other.

He loved her!

Lucas spun quick, snapping his stick back and letting go, hitting the puck as hard as he could. Lucas looked up to watch the puck hit the back of the net, but it didn’t.

It hit Aiden.

**********************************

Fallon was miserable.

She sat with her face down on her desk, taking in deep breaths as her phone continually rang, and rang, and rang. Where was Rob? She had no clue, but she didn’t care. She just wanted to lay there. Fallon was convinced that she was the stupidest person ever. How could she walk away? How could she hurt Lucas like that? She never regretted anything.

But she regretted this.

Leaving Lucas for the second time would forever be her biggest failure. She knew that Lucas’ pride would be in full swing now and he would never put himself out there like that again. She basically used him like he said. What did she think was going to happen after continually sleeping with him for a whole weekend? Did she think they would be able to part ways and not be affected?

Stupid, Fallon, stupid!

Fallon was heartbroken. She missed him something fierce, and she just wanted him back. She had this ache in her chest, one that felt like it was taking over her whole body. She felt empty. When she was with Lucas she had never felt so amazing, but now she felt nothing. Just emptiness. The whole weekend, Lucas kept her laughing, smiling, and Lord, he kept her screaming. It was perfect and she needed him back.

She couldn’t believe that she had been such a selfish bitch. Lucas didn’t deserve that, not after everything he shared with her. Fallon didn’t fully trust him yet, but she was willing to try. Yeah, they had a past, but it wasn’t all bad. There were moments that still to this day she held very near and dear to her heart. There wasn’t a moment when she didn’t feel loved. Even when he was gone, he would constantly call just to say he loved her. The bad parts of their relationship she didn’t even think of anymore, well except for the night she found him with Allison. Thinking about those meaningless fights now, she decided that they weren’t that bad. They seemed bad at the time, but it was because she hated having him mad at her.

Since coming into Aiden’s life, Lucas had been there. He had been loving, funny, and honestly the best dad ever. He was everything Aiden had wanted in a father. That was why it was so easy for Aiden to fall in love with Lucas. Lucas was lovable. He was cocky as all hell, but lovable and Fallon loved him.

With all her heart.

Fallon was done with the bitterness, the anger, everything. She was ready to forgive him for all that happened. She understood that he never actually cheated on her, but he still wanted to. Regardless though, she was ready to let that go. She was ready to give him his chance. She couldn’t let their past dictate their future. Lucas was here, he was healthy, and he hopefully still wanted her.

She was ready to jump into the unknown with him, she was ready to take that chance — she had to. She missed him so much. She missed his cocky little grins, his playful love taps, his touches, and his laugh, his everything. She wanted their weekend back. Fallon wanted to go back to when she was getting out of Lucas’ bed to pack, to instead cuddle close to his gorgeous rock hard body and just love him.

Tears rushed to Fallon eyes and ran down her nose onto the desk as she took in small unsteady breaths of air. How could she be so stupid? How was she going to tell Lucas that she had been stupid? He probably wouldn’t even talk to her again. He had called but it had only been to talk to Aiden. Not that she answered the phone to find that out, but she was pretty darn sure that was why. He wouldn’t even come to the door to get Aiden that morning, which had to tell her something. He was mad, and he had every right to be.

Fallon sat up, moving her hand along her cheeks as she used her other hand to reach for a tissue. As she blew her nose, the door opened and Rob came in. He had on a bright pink shirt that said “Real men wear pink sometimes. Gay men wear it all the time” with a pair of sparkly blue jeans. He paired it with a cute black blazer and his hair was bone straight.

He looked positively adorable, except for the nervous look on his face.

“Don’t know how to answer your own phone?” he asked.

Fallon shrugged her shoulder, clearing her throat before saying, “I’m busy.”

“Busy doing what?”

Fallon look up, expelling a long breath. “What do you need, Rob?”

“Your dad was the one that was calling 900 times. He was wondering if everything is set for this weekend for the campaign.”

“Of course it is. Why wouldn’t it be?” Fallon asked. Did she miss something? She hadn’t worked the last couple days, but surely she hadn’t missed something important.

“I don’t know, he was questioning me and I said as far as I knew, everything was good.”

“It is as far as I know, but I’ll look over everything again.”

“Okay then. Everything is okay, right?”

Fallon glanced up at him, putting on one of her fake smiles. “Everything is fine.”

“Okay, well I’m not on lunch anymore, don’t worry about your phone,” Rob said with a smile as he went towards the door.

Fallon giggled as she nodded. “Thanks a bunch, Rob.”

He gave her one last smile and shut the door behind him. Fallon took in another deep breath before opening the drawer on her desk. She pulled out the little handwritten notes from Lucas and read each one. Tears filled her eyes with every word she read. What if he didn’t feel this way anymore? What if she broke him when she left for the second time?

Fallon’s phone rang, startling her and causing her to throw the little post it notes up in the air. She pressed her hand to her chest as she reached for her cell phone, seeing it was Audrey.

“Hey,” she said, still trying to catch her breath.

“Hey, whatcha doing?” Audrey sang, but Fallon knew instantly something was wrong.

“Nothing, work. What are you doing?”

“Oh, nothin’. When are you coming home?”

“Fourish. Why?”

Audrey didn’t saying anything for a moment and then in a rush she said, “AidenbrokehisarmandIneedyounottofreakout.”

“SAY WHAT?!” Fallon screamed, standing up and knocking the chair into the wall. “How! Is he okay? Oh my God, I’m on my way home.”

Audrey said something but Fallon had already hung up on her, throwing her phone in her purse before running out the office. “Gotta go,” she said to Rob as she ran down the orange-filled hall. Fallon was in such a state of worry; she hadn’t even realized she had run out the office without her heels until she was tip toeing through the parking lot. She shook her head as she jumped into her car and drove quickly out the parking lot. She turned onto West End and pressed the gas to get home.

Fallon was shaking by the time she reached her house. She parked behind Lucas’ car and jumped out. She ran up the stairs before throwing the front door open. The first thing she saw was Lucas standing beside the stairs, looking worried. Her heart ached at the sight of him but she couldn’t deal with that right now. She glanced toward the couch to see her little guy laid up with a bright purple cast on his arm, propped up on a pillow.

“Oh my baby!” she exclaimed before running over to him and dropping to her knees in front of him. “Aiden, honey, are you okay? Can you talk baby?”

“Fallon, it’s a broken arm, weirdo” Audrey said from the kitchen. Fallon shot her a dirty look before cupping Aiden’s giggling face.

“Mommy, I’m fine. It doesn’t even hurt,” Aiden insisted. Fallon knew that he was trying to show off in front of Lucas, and for once it didn’t bother her. It hurt her heart that he was growing up but he was becoming a strong little boy, and she couldn’t have been more proud.

“He didn’t even cry when it happened, huh bud?” Lucas said from the side.

Aiden nodded proudly as a watery smile came across Fallon face. “My big boy, huh?”

“Yup. It was scary though mom! The puck was so fast and came out of nowhere! Dad is so awesome!”

Fallon stopped. “Puck?”

Fallon felt all eyes go on her as Aiden nodded. “Yeah, Dad shot the puck so hard that it broke my arm. Isn’t that so cool!?”

Cool was the last thing Fallon thought this was.

She slowly stood and when she turned, pinning Lucas with a look that could kill, he took a step back. “Now Fallon, it was a complete accident.”

“Get outside!” she yelled as she stomped by him. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she couldn’t see anything but red. When the door shut behind him she whirled around and let him have it. “Are you fucking kidding me?! You broke my kid’s arm with a puck!?”

“Whoa! It was an accident. I turned and shot and I didn’t even know he was in front of the goal,” Lucas stuttered. “I wouldn’t do this on purpose and I hope you know that.”

“I know that I trusted you with my child, and for the past seven years he hasn’t broken anything, and then you come along and he’s got a fucking broken arm! Explain that to me, Lucas!”

“I told you, Fallon,” he said, his voice getting as loud as hers, “that it was a fucking accident. He came out of nowhere. I’ve told him many times not to be in front of the net unless he is cleaning out pucks. He skated across and I beamed him right in the arm.”

“I wish I had a stick and puck so I could beam you in the arm! He is my baby and he is broken now!”

“It’s an arm and its going to heal, psycho, calm down, shit!” Lucas said. Fallon took in a sharp breath as her hands started to shake.

“Psycho? I’ll show you psycho when I fucking kill you!” Fallon screamed, taking a step towards him.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Lucas said, irritation filling his voice. “I don’t know if you realize but I’ve had a horrible afternoon. I’ve been sick with worry and dealing with you right now isn’t how I want my day to end.”

Fallon let out an empty laugh. “Well excuse me! I didn’t expect to come home to my child and his broken arm, so I guess we’ll both have to deal with shit we don’t want to deal with!”

Lucas rolled his eyes. “He’s a boy, Fallon. He’s going to break things. I’ve broken almost every bone in my body, it isn’t a big deal.”

Fallon saw only red as her face burned and her jaw clenched. How dare he act like this wasn’t a big deal? Aiden was a perfectly healthy little boy until he came along! Fallon couldn’t see straight as she screamed, “Because you’re stupid! Who thinks it’s okay to break bones?!”

Lucas froze.

Fallon’s heart dropped into her stomach when she realized what she said. She started to shake her head as his eyes held hers. Fallon’s lip quivered as she moved towards him to apologize but he stopped her, pushing her lightly away.

“Stupid, huh?” Lucas nodded as he moved past her, jogging down the steps. She followed behind him, trying to form a word but nothing was coming out. When he reached the truck, he turned and she saw the hurt in his eyes as he looked down at her. “I never thought I would ever hear you say that to me. You of all people, I never expected that.”

Fallon went to stop him, but he slammed the door and burned rubber trying to get out of her driveway. He didn’t even look at her twice, he just left. Fallon covered her mouth with her hand as her eyes filled with tears.

What in the hell had she done?

Chapter 29

Fallon stood in the driveway, taking in deep breaths as she tried to figure out what she was going to do. It was one thing to scream at Lucas for hurting her son, but it was another to call him something that he seriously loathed. She knew how much it hurt him when someone called him stupid. There wasn’t a day when he was younger that he didn’t get called that word. Lucas could be called anything else in the book and it wouldn’t faze him, but if anyone said he was stupid, he would shut down.

She knew this.

What was she thinking?

She was just so mad, and scared. Seven years had gone by and Aiden hadn’t even had more than a cough! Lucas comes along and Aiden has a broken arm! She understood that Lucas was rough and maybe Aiden was too, but still it scared her shitless to see her precious little baby lying on the couch with a purple cast on his arm. Her heart was still in her throat and she didn’t think it would go back down until she made sure Aiden was completely okay. She knew she had to apologize to Lucas also, that alone made her heart race because she wasn’t sure if he would forgive her. Did she really deserve his forgiveness? She was a selfish, heartless, bitch. She wouldn’t even forgive herself.

Fallon shook her head as the tears ran down her cheeks. Man, she had messed up.

Royally.

Hadn’t she just been in her office ready to give him another chance? Asking him to give her a chance was more like it now. She was going to have to beg for forgiveness, and she should have to. Fallon had no right to say that, but she wasn’t thinking — she was just acting.

Something she really needed to learn not to do.

Fallon turned to go back inside, and when she reached the stairs she saw Aiden looking out the window. His face was pressed against the glass and his eyebrows were drawn in at the middle. Fallon looked away as she pushed the door open and shut it behind her.

“Where did Dad go?” Aiden demanded, his hand on his hip.

“He left.”

“Why? He didn’t even say bye to me!”

Fallon let out a long breath, “Aiden Punkin’, sit down, he’ll call later,” Fallon said as she came towards him. Aiden’s face turned red as he moved away from her.

“Did you send him away!? It was my fault he hit me! I skated in front of the net!” Aiden yelled.

Fallon was appalled he was yelling at her. She looked down at him. “Aiden James, watch your mouth right now!”

“No! You sent my dad away! You keep keeping him away from me! He’s my dad! I want him!” Aiden yelled irrationally as his other hand moved with each word that left his mouth.

“Aiden, buddy, calm down,” Audrey said from the kitchen.

“No! I want my dad back! I want to go live with him!” Aiden screamed pushing past Fallon and running towards the stairs. He turned to pin Fallon with the scariest look ever. Her sweet boy never looked at her like that. He was looking at her as if she was the worst person ever. “I hate you!” he screamed before running up the stairs and slamming his door.

Air rushed from Fallon’s lungs as she braced herself against the sofa.

That did not just happen.

“Oh, Fallon, he didn’t mean that,” Audrey said quickly, coming to her side and wrapping her arms around Fallon’s arms.

Fallon took in deep breaths as tears poured down her cheeks. Aiden did not just say he hated her. He couldn’t have. She must have heard him wrong.

“He loves you, Fallon. He’s just upset, he didn’t mean it, I swear,” Audrey reassured her but Fallon wasn’t listening. She was replaying the look Aiden gave her, the angry words that left his sweet mouth, and even the look Lucas gave her as he pulled out of her driveway. In a matter of minutes she had hurt two people she loved more than anything.

Yeah, she was a winner.

Fallon broke apart from Audrey and went into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of Big Rock Syrah wine on her way. She popped the top and poured a hefty glass before bringing it to her lips, drinking quickly. The hearty, spicy red wine burned down the back of her throat and she welcomed the pain. She deserved it. The wild black fruit and pepper danced along her tongue as tears gushed down her cheeks and she pulled in a lungful of air. She felt like she was going to pass out but it didn’t stop her from finishing the glass and reaching for the bottle to pour another. Audrey took the bottle from her before she could do so.

“Stop, stop right now.”

Fallon glanced over at her before crumbling against the counter. She let out a cry before letting her face fall into her hands, where hot tears coursed down her cheeks onto them. Fallon was hurting so bad that she swore she felt like she was bleeding from a gaping wound on her chest. She hated what she done and she hated that she had hurt two people who could honestly be the most important people to her ever.

“Fallon, you can fix this with Lucas. Aiden is just mad, he’ll be fine once he talks to Lucas and you know he didn’t mean that. You have to know that,” Audrey soothed as she sat beside Fallon, wrapping an arm around her.

“No, he has every right to hate me. I keep keeping his father away from him. He isn’t stupid, he knows that I am a bitter hateful bitch, and I don’t deserve him or Lucas,” Fallon cried.

“Okay, I’m gonna give you another two minutes for your little pity party, and then we’ll move on and fix things, okay?”

Fallon sat up to send Audrey a glare. “This ain’t no pity party.”

“Yes it is! Oh my God, my kid says he hates me. Oh, the guy I love hates me too, everyone hates me, blah blah blah!”

Fallon couldn’t believe that Audrey was teasing her, this was serious! Fallon was convinced her heart was breaking. “You told mom you hated her when we were five years old! I remember that like it was yesterday. Did you mean it? No! You were just mad that she took your dolls away. We say things when we’re mad, it’s a Parker thing. As long as you say you’re sorry and you mean it, then everything will work out.”

Fallon shook her head, “Mom took my dolls. I took Aiden’s dad away. Totally different scenarios here, Audrey.”

“No, Aiden didn’t mean it, the same way you didn’t mean to call Lucas what you did,” Audrey stressed.

“You heard it?” Fallon asked sadly.

“We both did, but it doesn’t matter. If you can apologize to Lucas, it will show Aiden that he should apologize to you. Be the bigger person, swallow your pride. Be the strong woman I love and know.”

Fallon laid her head against her knees, sniffling loudly before shrugging her shoulders. “I don’t know if I can.”

“You can. You can do anything. You are the strongest person ever Fallon. I wish I could be half of what you are.”

“You are way stronger than I am Audrey,” Fallon said, because it was true. Fallon wouldn’t be where she was without Audrey. Audrey was her back bone.

“No I’m not. You stand up for yourself, I don’t, but this isn’t about me. It’s about you, and I know you can do this. I know you don’t want what you said to Lucas to be the last thing you say to him, and I know that you don’t want Aiden to think he doesn’t have to apologize when he says hurtful things. Set an example Fallon, be the person I know and love. Don’t be scared.”

A stray tear went down Fallon’s cheek as she looked over at Audrey. How did she get so lucky to have such an amazing sister? She was completely right, Fallon needed to stand up and be the person that she wanted her son to be. Even though her heart felt like it was cracking in two, she knew that Aiden didn’t mean it. She also knew that she could fix things with Lucas — she had to, no matter how scared she was of his rejection. It would work out, she hoped.

“I love you, Audrey.”

Audrey smiled before reaching over and wiping Fallon’s tears away. “And I love you. Now get up, and go clean up. Go beg for forgiveness,” she said with a grin as she stood up, helping Fallon up.

Fallon stood for a moment as Audrey moved around the kitchen, cleaning up the bottle of wine and wine glass Fallon had brought out. “Not yet.”

Audrey turned looking at her, “Why?”

A slow hopeful smile came across Fallon’s lips, “I’m gonna make him dinner first.”

Lucas sat at the island in his kitchen, staring down at the sandwich and pop that sat beside his plate.

Because you’re stupid! Who thinks it’s okay to break bones?!

Lucas closed his eyes, digging his fingers into his eye sockets as he let out a long breath. He was hurting. Badly. Not only did what Fallon say cut him like a knife, but the whole afternoon at the hospital had taken a toll on him. Watching his little guy cringe in pain and try not to cry was so hard that Lucas thought he was going to break down. Aiden had stayed so strong. He never even cried. He screamed when the puck first hit him but there were no tears. He just kept saying, ‘I’m so sorry, Daddy’ and Lucas still wasn’t sure if Aiden understood that it wasn’t his fault. He is a kid, Lucas should have been more careful. Should have watched where he was shooting instead of doing it blindly.

Fallon was right, he was careless and stupid. How could he hurt his little guy? His one and only. He had been downstairs shooting pucks mindlessly since he moved into the house, but with Aiden down there with him, he should have known better. He should have been a better father. A good dad wouldn’t have hurt his kid. Lucas’ dad never hit him with the puck, even when Lucas would guard the net. James’ precision was on point. The puck never came anywhere near him. Lucas used to do the same thing with Fallon, he would hit everywhere but her. What was wrong with him? Was Fallon clouding his brain that much? Lucas shook his head as he picked the bread off the top of his sandwich.

Fallon’s words were like knives every time he thought about them. He couldn’t believe that nasty word came out of such a beautiful, special mouth. Even when Fallon was screaming at him about everything under the sun, he never cared. He knew that she would get over it and they would be making up sooner rather than later. But not this time, this time his heart felt like it was dead in his chest. The person that he would give anything to, the person that he trusted with his life and more had called him something that could really cut him in half. He wasn’t mad at her, he was hurt. In a way that was worse. It was easy to get over angry, but being hurt to the soul could take a long time to get over. Lucas loved Fallon more than anything and that probably was why he was hurting so bad. If she thought he was stupid, no telling what else she thought.

Lucas hated the word. It was so easy to say, but it could honestly cut someone in half if they thought for a second that they were. Lucas was a confident man, but with his dyslexia, he never felt like he was smart. Fallon had never made him feel like he was less of a man; she always treated him like he was the smartest man in the room, until now. Now she had called him it.

Lucas was first called it in third grade when he couldn’t read what was on the chalkboard. Everyone laughed and called him stupid. It was one of the worst days of his childhood. Lucas remembered coming home and crying to Molly, but he wouldn’t tell her why his classmates had called him that. He only said they did. It went on all through middle school, and didn’t stop until he threw Jerome Ferrell into a locker. He threatened to kill the guy if he ever said it again, and no one ever did after that. That was when Lucas started walking around as if he was the biggest bad ass on campus, and in a way he was.

That was how he used to feel. Now he just felt empty and he couldn’t stand feeling that way. He wanted to go upstairs, sleep the night away, and forget about all the problems in his life, but Levi had females upstairs — and they were loud ones. That was the only thing he didn’t like about living with Levi, the dude was constantly sleeping with someone. Lately, he had been having a girl that was a screamer, and Lucas really thought one night that Levi was killing the girl; she was letting out blood-curdling screams. A shiver went down Lucas’ body at the thought. He liked when Fallon was loud, but not as loud as Levi’s chick had been. That was scary.

Lucas picked at his sandwich some more before standing up and throwing it in the sink. He wasn’t hungry and his stomach was turning, so eating was the last thing on his mind. He went back to the bar and sat down grabbing his iPad. He needed to see if Aiden was on, but Levi usually did that for him and since he was busy at the moment, Lucas decided he would play a game. Aiden was probably still laid up on the couch while Fallon and Audrey spoiled him.

Lucky kid.

He turned on the iPad and went to play a game just as the doorbell rang. Lucas glanced up towards the door and saw the silhouette of someone. He got up and padded to the door in his bare feet. He didn’t know who would be there and hoped it wasn’t someone that was going to care that he was only wearing a pair of pajama pants. He reached for the door and pulled it open to the last person he thought he would ever see after the afternoon he just had.

Fallon stood with a nervous smile on her face, a picnic basket in her hand and a bottle in the other. Lucas brought his eyebrows together as he looked down at her wondering what the hell she was doing there. She was wearing a pair of bright pink sweat pants and an extremely large black shirt that hung off her shoulder with a tie at the side, making it tight around her middle and loose around the top. He met her eyes again as he crossed his arms across his chest, giving her the same look he gave his opponents on the ice.

Fallon shuffled nervously before shrugging her shoulders. “I made you dinner. Can I come in?”

Lucas didn’t know what she was up to, but he loved her food. He also wanted to know what she wanted, so he moved out of the way and she passed by him, her scent leaving a trail behind her. He always loved the flowery smell of her but that wasn’t the only thing he smelled. It must have been the food. She stopped in the foyer as Lucas shut the door and started for the kitchen. Neither one of them said anything as they made the short trip to the kitchen. Lucas went to the bar and closed his iPad up in its case as Fallon laid her basket on the kitchen table. He turned to watch as she started to unload the basket. She took out a light blue tablecloth, laying it on the table and making sure there weren’t any wrinkles before placing two candlesticks and two wine glasses down beside two pearly white plates. Fallon turned back to the basket, taking out container after container of food. Once she was done, she ran her hands down her thighs before turning to look at him.

“What’s all this?”

Fallon looked down at the ground before looking up at him. “A start to an apology?”

Lucas looked away and took a deep breath. “Maybe an apology isn’t enough.”

“That’s why I brought the food.”

A grin tugged at Lucas’ mouth as he looked over at her. “It’s your favorite. My apple-bacon pork chops with stuffin’, greens, and my sweet cornbread.”

She had him at apple-bacon pork chops.

Lucas started towards her and a smile came over her face as she realized that he was going to eat. Even if he was wanting to kill her, all she had to do was pull out those pork chops and he would eat before killing her — not that he would ever want to kill her though.

Hopefully.

She turned quickly to take off the tops of all the containers before she served them both. The air became thick with the smell of brown sugar and apples causing Lucas’ mouth to water. She reached for the bottle of what looked like wine and Lucas shook his head.

“I don’t drink, Fallon.”

“I know, it’s a bottle of our company’s cider. It’s really good, and I thought it would go great with the chops,” she said before pouring them both a glass. Lucas looked up at her, watching her profile. He could tell she really had put thought into what she had put together for them. It was sort of cute and romantic what she was doing.

She was trying.

Lucas also noticed that she had washed her face, all her makeup from earlier was gone. Her hair was in a messy bun and as his eyes raked her body, he couldn’t help but look at her ass. It was such a fine ass. She glanced over at him, a small sweet smile on her face before she sat down and picked up her fork.

“Sorry your dinner date isn’t all glossed up. I changed to cook dinner and then I didn’t want it to get cold, so I just ran out the house,” she rambled.

When she looked over at him, he said, “You look gorgeous, Fal.”

And he meant it. No matter what she wore, or didn’t for that matter, he thought she was the most beautiful girl in the world. It killed him how she could go from a power suit to sweats to a mini dress and each outfit could have his mouth watering. She was simply breathtaking.

Fallon looked away, shaking her head. “Don’t say that Lucas, I don’t deserve it.”

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. “You don’t, but it’s true.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Okay, so maybe your ass looks big in the pants,” he said with a grin.

Fallon gave him a cheeky smile as she looked over at him. “My ass always looks big.”

Lucas nodded. “Yeah, and I love it.”

Fallon’s cheeks warmed as she looked down at her food. Lucas picked up his fork and dug into the food. It was spectacular. Lucas let out an appreciative moan before he started to eat fast. “You don’t have to scarf it down Lucas, there is a lot left.”

“It’s so good,” he moaned before eating more. He hadn’t eaten much since breakfast, he thought he wasn’t hungry but he guessed it was that he didn’t want to eat the nasty food he made. Then again, he could be full as hell and still have room for Fallon’s food. He was pitiful.

“Good, I’m glad you like it,” she said quietly before returning to her plate.

Lucas ate the pork chop to the bone before he reached for two more. Fallon watched him with a small grin on her face before she started to eat again. After eating like it was his last meal, he leaned back, holding his stomach as she continued to eat.

He watched her for a moment before asking, “How’s Aiden feeling?”

“Audrey said he was fine, but he isn’t talking to me right now so I wouldn’t know,” she said sadly.

Lucas cocked his head to the side. “Why isn’t he talking to you?”

Fallon laid her fork down, leaning her head on her hand. “He heard me yelling at you. He said I keep was keeping his father from him and that …” she stopped and took a deep breath before dropping her hands into her lap, “and that he hated me.”

Lucas took in a quick breath, shaking his head. “He didn’t mean it Fallon. I’ll talk to him. I did the same thing when I was his age, and my dad gave me one hell of a talk. So Aiden has one coming. I’m sorry he said that to you.”

When she looked back at him, her eyes were full of tears. She took in a deep breath before saying, “I’m so sorry Lucas, I wasn’t thinking and it just flew out of my mouth. You know I say things I don’t mean when I’m mad. I had no right to say those things to you. I was just so scared and I lashed out at you, and I really am sorry. I didn’t mean any of it, so please Lucas, don’t hate me too.”

Lucas crossed his arms across his chest again, maybe protecting his heart, he didn’t know. He knew that she meant it, he could see it on her face, but it still hurt. He looked down at his empty plate and expelled a long breath. “You hurt me, Fallon. More so this time than when you left Sunday morning.”

“I know Lucas, and I’m sorry. Sorry for that and this afternoon. I’m a mess and I only get like this when it comes to you. I’m pretty sure I need medication ‘cause I’m probably borderline bipolar.”

“You are not,” Lucas said with a shake of his head.

Fallon took in a deep breath before looking up at him again. “I’m so sorry, I really am.”

Lucas nodded his head before reaching for her hand and kissing her knuckles. It was crazy how those six small words could cancel the one that she had said earlier. Maybe he was a sucker, maybe he was stupid, but Fallon could probably get away with murder when he came to him. As long as she looked up at him with those big caramel eyes and blinked back the tears the way she was doing now, he would always forgive her. He loved her, through and through.

“I’m going to show you something.”

Fallon raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“How to forgive,” he said with a grin. “I accept your apology.”

The tears that welled up in her eyes spilled over and she flung herself into his arms, almost knocking his chair back. He took her willingly and wrapped his arms around her tight as she cried into his neck. “I was so scared you were going to hate me.”

“I could never hate you, Fallon,” he whispered into her hair. “Never.”

She pulled back, her arms still around his neck as she looked down into his eyes. “I’ve been miserable these past couple days.”

“You have?”

She nodded. “I decided this afternoon that I wanted to try, that I was ready to forgive you and move on.”

Lucas smiled. “Really?”

“Really. I’ve missed you so much. I should have never left Sunday the way I did. I did nothing but hurt us both.”

“You are right on that one,” Lucas said with a nod. He then narrowed his eyes at her, “You are not saying all this just to get on my good side right? You mean all of this?”

Fallon nodded as tears continued to spill down her cheeks. “Yes, I swear. I planned on talking to you this afternoon when you dropped Aiden off. I’m tired of living in the past. I just want to try and see if it works. I’m not guaranteeing it will — we’ve changed a lot — but I want to try.”

All the feelings Lucas was feeling before Fallon came over disappeared as love filled his heart and warmed his soul. He had been waiting for this moment for seven years, and as much as he believed it would happen, it still seemed unreal. He brought her against his chest tightly and kissed her lips hard. Her arms tightened around his neck as his did around her middle before they deepened the kiss. It was as if they were kissing for the first time, each passing of the tongue, each small kiss, everything was new and perfect. When they parted he leaned his head against hers, kissing her nose. “I haven’t given up on us yet, Fallon and I never will. We are going to make it, and we will be happy.”

Fallon gave him a watery smile before she kissed the side of his mouth. “What if it’s all about sex? That’s the only time we seem to get along.”

Lucas laughed. “It can’t be. If it was only about sex, I would already have you naked. This is about us. This is about an intense, deep connection we have. I have loved you since I first laid eyes on you Fallon, and I haven’t stopped. I started to fall for you all over again Saturday night and even with how this afternoon went down, I still feel the same way. I am never going to hurt you. I will earn your trust again because I am only going to love you and our son for the rest of our lives.”

Lucas let out a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding. Where the hell did that all come from? He couldn’t believe that he just bared his heart to her again but he had, and he felt great. He needed her to understand that she could trust him, that she could put all herself into their relationship because he wasn’t going anywhere. He was hers for life.

Fallon eyes were locked with his as her hands came up cupping his face. “You went serious on me. I was just kidding about the sex thing.”

“Things between us are serious Fallon. I’ve lost you once and now that I have you back, you should just accept that you aren’t going anywhere.”

Fallon smiled. “We said we are going to try. You are declaring love and saying I’m not going anywhere.”

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. “I’m a confident, cocky kinda guy, I know what I want and I will succeed.”

She ran her thumbs along his jaw over the rough hair. “It all scares me because I don’t want to hurt you,” she said quietly. “What if I can’t trust you?”

Lucas looked deep into her eyes, seeing the fear but also the love in her eyes. She might not have said she loved him, but she did. She just needed to realize it — she needed to trust her own heart. “You can. You just have to allow yourself, and maybe I need to reassure you.”

Fallon leaned against him, taking in a deep breath. “How are you going to do that?”

“By loving you.”

She smiled and he returned it. “You make it all seem so easy.”

“Because it is, you’ll see.”

She ran her hands along his shoulders as she took a deep breath in. “Okay.”

“Okay.”

Fallon nodded. “So we are doing this.”

“We are.”

Fallon looked around and then smiled. “What a day, huh?”

Lucas laughed. “It’s one to tell the grandkids.”

Fallon giggled as she got off his lap and reached for their plates. He smacked her ass playfully and she flashed him a dazzling smile before going to the sink to wash their dishes. As he watched her, the biggest, goofiest grin sat on his face. He loved her so much. For her to try, to actually take steps to forgive him and want to trust him, what more could he ask for? Everything he had wanted was coming together for him. He had the girl, the amazing kid, and he was on his way to the Cup.

Lucas was a happy guy.

Chapter 30

“You haven’t seen the house yet, have you?”

Fallon looked at Lucas over her shoulder from the dishes she was washing and shook her head. “I’ve seen parts, but I haven’t seen it all.”

Lucas smiled and stood up, stretching his fine muscular arms over his head. His muscles bunched and relaxed with each move he made and the naughty parts of Fallon screamed for him. She felt so much better since she had come to his house. Not only was the dinner a success but she was pretty sure Lucas said he loved her. Not outright but in so many words. Such a fulfilling, wonderful feeling overwhelmed her, and when she thought about it, it took her breath away. When she allowed herself to let go, she was ready for their future. All she hoped was that what Lucas said was true. She wanted nothing more than to trust him and be able to live as a family one day. She wasn’t planning their wedding or anything, but it was a fantastic feeling to think of the possibilities of where their relationship could go.

“Well come on,” he said with his hand outreached for hers. She smiled as she dried her hands on a dish towel. She was excited to see the house. It was huge. Fallon turned and took his hand as he smiled down at her. He brought her hand up to his lips and lightly kissed the back before tucking it in the nook between his chest and bicep. “The house is big.”

Fallon snickered. “I’ve noticed.”

Lucas grinned down at her as he took her down one of the halls off by the foyer, “It would be good for a family.” Fallon cut him a look, and he smiled. “Just saying.”

“Yeah,” she laughed. When she looked up at the wall they were facing, she was staring at a humongous picture of herself. “Good Lord, almighty!” Lucas chuckled as Fallon’s eyes almost bugged out of her head, “Why do you have this? Jeez, I was so young,” she gasped as she dropped his hand and took a step towards the picture. Her long hair ran down her back and only her profile could be seen. As she looked up at her beautiful young self, she wondered how many people had seen this, and if they knew it was her.

“It’s my favorite picture.”

Fallon looked back at Lucas. She remembered the day like it was yesterday. It was the second morning of their summer vacation. She could remember the sun heating her back, the way the breeze tickled her skin, and the way she knew that it was going to be one of the best summers of her life.

And it was.

She gave Lucas a shy smile before smiling. “That was a good day.”

“Oh hell yeah, it was. Damn good day.”

They both shared a long heated look as Fallon thought back to that day. They had made love all morning before going scuba diving that afternoon. It was a fantastic day, one that she thought of a lot. Lust filled Lucas’ eyes quickly and Fallon became hot from head to toe before she laughed, pushing him away. She turned and went back down the hall as Lucas’ laughter followed her, going up her spine. There was something about that low chuckle that made a girl want to get naked.

Lucas came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist before placing a kiss on her neck. They walked around the whole house like that, Lucas showing Fallon his favorite parts before showing her the ice rink. Fallon thought it was a little over the top, but that was Lucas. He was a ‘go big or go home’ kind of guy. As they made their way up to look at Aiden’s room, she couldn’t help but think it felt so great walking through the house in Lucas’ arms. He would only let her go for a second to show her something, and then he would be right back to holding her close. It was as if they were falling right back into the routine of each other. It kind of scared Fallon, but she pushed her fears away, telling herself not to live in the past. Not when the future looked so good for them.

They were coming down the hall from his office when Fallon heard giggling.

“What’s that?”

Lucas nodded towards the door. “Levi and his girls.”

“Ewww. That’s disgusting. You need to make sure you tell them to go get checked for herpes once they leave.”

Lucas chuckled as he shook his head. “Leave him alone. He doesn’t have herpes.”

“So you think,” Fallon said.

“He doesn’t.”

Fallon rolled her eyes. “You need to kick him out of here; you’re too old to be having a roommate.”

Lucas’ low chuckles ran down her spine. “I’ll kick him out when I have new roommates to move in.” Fallon glanced up at him and he gave her a cheeky grin, “Preferably you and our son.”

“Lucas, we’ve been datin’ for what? Twenty minutes? Relax,” she said with a flutter of her hand. It killed her the way he was so ready to move forward. She bet if he had his way, he would have her barefoot and pregnant with a hundred little baby Brooks running around them. Lucas knew what he wanted, and when he had his mind set it was hard to derail him. He was also impatient, he wanted everything at once, and Fallon wasn’t sure she could give it to him. She was trying — she really was — but they needed to date again, learn the new things about each other before jumping into something that could possibly end just as quickly as it started.

“Whatever,” he said before biting her earlobe. Lucas then opened a door to what looked like his room. The first time she had been in his room, she didn’t get to take in the beauty of it, and boy, was it beautiful. He had a large window that overlooked the whole backyard; alongside it were pictures of him and his dad with shelves that held his most prized trophies. Along the other wall were all his hockey sticks and she smiled when she saw the one she had gotten him so long ago. She grinned back at him as she ran her fingers down the rubbery surface. “You scored a lot with this stick,” she stated.

“I did, it was one of my favorites. That’s why it’s on that wall.”

She gave him a dazzling smile before looking down at the gigantic bed that took up one whole side of the room. She shook her head at the largeness of the bed before admiring the bedding. It was a gray color and she loved the black and white pillows that he used to accent everything. The room was beautiful, it suited him well.

“Nice bed,” she said with a playful grin.

He nodded his chin to her. “It is. Wanna lay in it?”

She bit her lip as she nodded her head. “I could always use a nap,” she said before she crawled onto it, snuggling into the pillows. He laughed as he crawled alongside her, cuddling close.

“I wasn’t thinking of a nap,” he whispered against her hair.

“Oh you weren’t?” she asked innocently. “What else could we do in this huge bed?”

He gave her a seductive smile before nipping at her jaw, “Let me show you a few things.”

Air rushed from her lungs before she turned away from him, taking in a long breath. When she turned her head, looking back into his beautiful stormy gray eyes, she said, “I told Audrey I wouldn’t be long, though.”

“She won’t mind,” he insisted before running his tongue down her throat. “We will only be a few minutes.”

She scoffed. “Yeah right, we both know that’s a lie.”

“Maybe,” he chuckled and she smiled.

Things were so easy between them. So easy.

“I really do need to go.”

Lucas continued to assault her in the most amazing way and she knew if she didn’t stop him now, she wouldn’t. So she groaned out, “Lucas.”

“Fine,” he said rolling away from her. “Let me throw some clothes on and I’ll follow you back to the house.”

She gave him a look. “Not that I wouldn’t want you to come, but why are you?”

He laughed before running his finger up her bare foot on his way to his dresser. “I need to have a talk with our little guy.”

“Oh,” Fallon said sadly. She had been so engrossed in Lucas that she had actually forgotten the hateful words that had left her sweet baby’s mouth. Her heart ached as she brought her legs up under her chin. She was lucky to have been able to work things out with one of the guys she loved, but she was scared Aiden would always hold animosity towards her because she had kept Lucas away from him. It scared her to the core, and no matter how much everyone said that he didn’t mean it, it still stung and hurt. She felt Lucas watching her, and when he dropped the shirt he had in his hand to sit beside her, she looked up at him with tear-filled eyes.

“You know he didn’t mean it, right?” he asked before resting his head on her hand. His eyes were light and playful looking but she could tell he was being serious.

“I know,” Fallon said, not only trying to convince him, but herself.

“He didn’t, he was just being a little punk.”

“Lucas…” she complained.

“What? He was,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. She smiled as he picked up his shirt and continued to get dressed. “I’ll fix it though.”

“If he’s a punk, it’s my fault,” Fallon said sadly.

“It’s going to be okay, Fal. Don’t beat yourself up over it,” Lucas said. He was right, and Fallon knew this, but what he said was easier said than done.

Fallon watched as he pulled off his pajama bottoms, his perfectly sculpted ass there for all the world to see before he put on a pair of jeans.

“You still don’t wear underwear?”

He looked over his shoulder at her with a grin. “Not when there is a chance I could get some.”

A naughty little grin came over Fallon’s lips as he turned, buttoning up his pants. “You ain’t gettin’ any tonight, buddy.”

He laughed as he crawled on top of her, pressing his lips to hers. Fallon’s eyes shut slowly as her hands went up his arms to his neck. He pressed his pelvis into hers and she gasped at the hardness of him. She needed to leave, but kissing him seemed way more important at that moment. Audrey could wait…

When they parted, Lucas gave her a smug look as she let out a complaining moan. When he started laughing, she smacked him arm.

“I’m not?” he laughed.

She pushed him off her and scooted out the bed. “No!”

“Sure I’m not. I could of had you right there.”

Fallon shook her head even though they both knew he could have. A slow, bright grin came across her face as Lucas got off the bed before going to his closet.

Wow, what a day, she thought as she watched him tie up his shoes. When he pulled out of her driveway earlier that day, she was convinced that she would never be blessed with his kisses ever again, but there she was — not only enjoying them, but craving them. She couldn’t believe it. It was as if they had done a 180-degree turn in their relationship and she couldn’t have been more blessed than she was in that moment. Fallon just hoped that she could do it and not let her trust issues come into play. She really wanted this; she wanted her chance with him, and she wanted their life together with Aiden. He loved Lucas, and if Fallon could give him his daddy and mommy, then, damn it, she was going to try her damndest to do that. As she continued to watch Lucas get ready, all she could think was that it wasn’t really going to be hard to try with him.

Lucas was on cloud nine.

He followed behind Fallon’s little Acura with the biggest grin imaginable on his face because he got his girl. Lucas had waited for this moment a long time, and he was feeling pretty damn good. There wasn’t a moment when he thought he wouldn’t be with Fallon, but then he had lived the past seven years without her. It was not only hard, but it was as if he didn’t really have a heart. Lucas had met many girls, had slept with those many girls, but no one had ever amounted to what Fallon meant to him.

Fallon was everything a man could want. She was beautiful, sweet when she wasn’t mad, compassionate, loving, and now he knew she was the most amazing mother ever. Even with her flaws — her selfishness and her anger — he still loved her with everything in him. It was as if he only saw the good in her, even when she was screaming at him. That’s was the way it was supposed to be, he was supposed to love her good and her bad.

All of her.

Lucas pulled in behind Fallon, and shut the truck off before getting out. As he hit the key lock, he watched as Fallon took her picnic basket out the back before turning and giving him a wide smile.

“I want my Tupperware back,” she said since she had left all the leftovers at his house. A grin came over his face as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. It was funny; his need to always touch her. No matter what, his hand had to be on her. It was so hard when they were constantly fighting. He just wanted to shut her up with kisses, to have the feeling of her lips on his and the taste of her lingering on his lips. Anything, he wanted it all. It had been a long couple months, but now that was all going to change.

“You will have to come get it. I don’t deliver,” he flirted. She gave him a pointed look with a smirk pulling at her lips as they made their way up the steps to the door. She went in before him, using her key to unlock the door and then dropping them in the basket beside the door as she made her way fully inside. Lucas also dropped his keys in the basket and when she looked up at him with an amused look, he shrugged, “What?”

“Making yourself at home, ain’t you?”

He flashed a winning grin. “Yup.”

Fallon shook her head as she made her way to the kitchen. Like always, his eyes drifted to where her ass read ‘Pink!’ and he was enjoying the impeccable view when she stopped abruptly. Lucas ran right into her since he was too busy watching her ass instead of where he was going. When he glanced up to where Fallon was looking, he saw Audrey with a bright red face and flour all over her. It took him back to the first day he came to the house to talk about Aiden and Fallon was covered in flour, looking like a sexy little house wife, but he couldn’t think of that right now. Something was wrong.

Lucas could tell that Audrey had been crying. He glanced over to Fallon and saw that she was watching Audrey very intently with a worried look on her face. Audrey dumped a pan full of chocolate cupcakes onto the counter; she then picked up a white bag before putting the top of it into the cupcake and squeezing. It was like watching a train wreck. Audrey was obviously upset and with every squeeze of her hand, Lucas swore she was struggling to keep the tears in. He was so engrossed in what was wrong with Audrey and what she was doing that he didn’t even notice Aiden until he turned with a grin on his face.

“Hey Dad! AA is making cupcakes!”

Audrey looked up and Lucas could see the pain in her eyes. Fallon took in a sharp breath before looking up at Lucas. “Will you take Aiden upstairs?”

Lucas nodded before going to where Aiden sat. He picked up a laughing Aiden and carried him over his shoulder to the stairs. Aiden’s cast knocked into the back of his head but Lucas didn’t care, he was too concerned about Audrey and about what he was about to say to Aiden. He didn’t want to be a hard ass with him, but he kind of had to be. Aiden needed to know that he could never say those words to Fallon ever again. Not to his mom. His mom was supposed to be his world.

When Lucas reached Aiden’s room, he placed him on the bed before going across the room, trying to figure out what he was going to say. Aiden was giggling until he looked up and saw the look Lucas was giving him. He quickly stopped laughing and scooted back in the bed, hitting the wall with his back.

“We need to talk.”

Aiden looked down at his cast and started picking at the fluff that was at his thumb. “What about?”

Lucas took a deep breath in and found that he was actually nervous as he slowly lowered himself down on a bean bag. He didn’t want to do this wrong. He wanted to be stern and he wanted to be understanding of Aiden’s feelings, but most of all, he wanted to be a dad that his dad would be proud of. He moved around on the bean bag. He didn’t think he was very intimating on the bean bag but it was the only place to sit. He wanted to be across from Aiden, and this was the only place he could do that at. “Um, well your mom told me what you said to her.”

Aiden’s eyes didn’t leave his cast as he shrugged his shoulders. “She made me mad.”

“So?” he said angrily. He took a deep calming breath before saying, “That’s your mom. It doesn’t matter how mad she makes you, you don’t say something so horrible to her.”

“She said horrible things to you, and I’m sick of her being mean to you. I love you, and I want her to love you and stop being mean to you,” he said. He looked up at Lucas meeting his gaze. “I want to live with you.”

Lucas heart skipped a beat. He wanted that more than he wanted to breathe, but he would never take Aiden away from Fallon. Fallon would just have to come too, but that wasn’t happening anytime soon, so they both need to leave that alone for a while.

“Buddy, I want you to live with me too, and I love you, very much, okay? I won’t lie to you, the only way we’ll ever live together is if me and your mom got married. I care too much about her to take you away.” Aiden looked down at his cast again, and continued to pick at it. “The thing is, you can’t talk to your mom like that. I won’t accept it. She loves you more than anything, and when you say something wrong like what you said, it hurts the person you say it to. You don’t want to hurt your mom, do you?”

Aiden shook his head. “I just want her to be nice to you.”

“Okay, I understand that, but what happens between me and your mom is between us. No matter what we’ll always love you and you will always be number one to us, but your mom is your number one. I’m your number two.”

Lucas had no problem being number two to Fallon, and as Aiden thought it over all Lucas could do was hope that he had done right. That he had said the right things. Aiden looked up at him, his eyes full of tears. Lucas wasn’t sure how much more emotion he could take in one day, and looking into Aiden’s eyes he knew he needed to prepare himself for more.

Aiden let out a jagged breath before saying, “I don’t hate my momma. I love her.”

Lucas nodded as a tear spilled over Aiden’s plump cheek. “I know, buddy.”

Aiden nodded, wiping his cheek with the back of his hand. “Do you think she’s mad at me?”

Lucas shook his head, “No bud, but her feelings are hurt. I bet if you tell her that you’re sorry, and you never do it again, she would never think about it again.”

Aiden nodded and climbed off the bed, coming to Lucas. He dropped down into Lucas’ lap, and Lucas wrapped him up in his arms, placing a kiss on Aiden’s head. Aiden cuddled close to Lucas as he quietly sobbed. Lucas couldn’t believe that not even a puck breaking his arm could make Aiden cry, but hurting Fallon could.

It was another thing that they had in common.

**********************************

Fallon watched as Lucas carried Aiden up the stairs and made sure they were out of earshot before she laid her basket down. She went towards the island and stood beside Audrey, watching her fill each one of her cupcakes with what look like chocolate frosting.

“What is that?”

Audrey shook her head and Fallon could tell she was keeping back the tears. Audrey never made cupcakes unless something was bothering her. Fallon could always tell how bad it was by how complex Audrey made the cupcakes. Since she was filling them with something, Fallon knew it wasn’t good.

“Ganache.”

“Oh, what kind of cupcakes are you making?”

“Dark chocolate with ganache filling and topped with fresh strawberry, buttercream icing.”

Yup, it was bad.

Fallon looked along the island, noticing the mess that her complex cupcakes had made. Audrey was an amazing cupcake maker, but she was lazy and hated cleaning up the mess. That was the main reason she never baked unless she was upset. It calmed her, just like a beautiful glass of wine calmed Fallon.

“What’s wrong, Audrey?” Audrey shook her head again, but Fallon persisted. “A, this has went on long enough. Something is going on, and you need to tell me.”

Audrey stopped filling and dropped the pipe bag beside the pan just as a sob ripped from her body. “I’m in love with a man that doesn’t love me.”

Fallon’s heart broke at the cry before she wrapped her arms around Audrey. “Surely not. A man would be a fool not to love you.”

Audrey shook her head. “No really, like I called him and he’s with some girl right now and I just don’t understand ‘cause I do everything for him, and I..I…I..love him.” Fallon had to hold her own tears in as she held Audrey close. “You know, when we first started dating he was amazing and sweet. Then he like switched on me. He calls me names, and he like, ugh, I can’t believe I’m telling you this,” she cried.

“Tell me. I can’t help you unless you do,” Fallon pleaded.

“He’s really rough with me. Like when we have sex, he hurts me and I tell him and he doesn’t listen. You would think I wouldn’t be so stupid to keep going back, but I do. I don’t know what to do.”

Fallon ran her hand up and down Audrey’s back as her temper rose. She swore as soon as she learned the douche’s name she was going to kill him, but right now she needed to take care of her baby sister. Audrey’s body shook with her sobs as Fallon held her close. She kissed Audrey’s temple before saying, “Audrey, you gotta let him go baby. This isn’t right. No man should call you names or hurt you.”

Audrey nodded her head, tears streaming down her face. “I know but he keeps calling me fatty, fat ass, and just fat stuff, but he does it with a grin and he acts like it’s a joke. I just don’t know. I don’t know if it’s something I’ve done or what? I haven’t gained any weight! I just don’t know.”

“Audrey,” Fallon said, still not believing what her baby sister was saying, “Honey, you are better than this. Don’t let this asshole do this to you. Leave him.”

“I can’t. I love him,” she said, looking up at Fallon with her wide, tear-filled eyes.

“No,” Fallon said shaking her head. “You don’t deserve this.”

“I know but I just love him and I don’t want to leave him.”

Fallon continued to shake her head, anger growing inside her with each passing moment. “Then what can I do but find him and kill him. That seems to be the only way I can get you away from him!”

“No, that’s why I can’t ever tell you who he is and that’s why I haven’t told you,” Audrey cried.

“This is nuts,” Fallon said, still running her hand up and down Audrey’s back.

“I know! I just wished I was strong like you. You can stand up to anyone and you don’t care. I can’t.”

“Yes you can,” Fallon stressed. “You can do anything.”

“No. I obviously have an issue when it comes to men. I couldn’t stand up to Dad, I couldn’t stand up to that douche I dated back in the day, and now I can’t stand up to the guy I’m with now.”

“Who is also a douche, and what did you not stand up to Dad about?” Fallon asked, confused.

“Don’t worry about it,” Audrey said with a wave of her hand. “Don’t worry about me.”

“Audrey Jane, really? You are a part of my heart! I will always worry about you.”

“Don’t, worry about you and Lucas. Make yourself happy. Show me how I need to do it, because I’m obviously an idiot when it comes to love.”

“You are not. Baby, you gotta listen to me, you need to leave him,” Fallon stressed again. She had to get through to Audrey. She couldn’t have her sister being abused like that.

Audrey looked up at her and Fallon could see the pain in her eyes. “I don’t know.”

“Yes you do, you know I’m right.”

A quiet moment passed as they stood staring into each other’s eyes. Fallon reached over, wiping the flour off Audrey’s beautiful cheeks. How anyone could be mean to someone so beautiful was beyond Fallon. Yes, Audrey was a little plump but it worked on her. She didn’t need to be bone skinny to pick up men. Men loved her; she was funny, sweet, caring, loving and genuinely infectious. She was perfect!

Audrey nodded her head, tears still coursing down her cheeks. “I know, and I think that you are the most amazing person in the world. I look up to everything you do and I promise that I will work at letting him go.”

“Good, you need to Audrey. Look at you, you’re a mess,” Fallon said, moving her fingers up to Audrey’s cheeks to catch her tears.

“I know, and while I’m sitting here, bawling over a man that doesn’t love me, you have a man that loves you more than anything and you’re fightin’ it. Stop fightin’ it. Please Fallon, please, show me what I need to do. Show me what it’s like to love a good man, so I’ll leave this bad one.”

The tears came hot and fast down Fallon’s cheeks as she wrapped Audrey up in her arms. She kissed Audrey’s temple before nuzzling her nose into her hair. She wanted nothing but to fix all Audrey’s problems. She didn’t know if Audrey’s request would help her leave the asshole that had a death wish, but she was going to try. Fallon had no problem loving Lucas with everything inside her and she would, as long as she didn’t think of the past. If he stayed true to his word, and he didn’t hurt her again, they could be together forever. Fallon had no doubt about that.

She also had no doubt that when she informed Lucas about the asshole with a death wish, he would be just as enraged as she was.

Fallon was sitting in the chair by the island watching a calmer Audrey frost her cupcakes when she saw Lucas and Aiden coming down the stairs. Her eyes met Lucas’ first and he smiled confidently, causing her girlie parts to scream. She returned it before looking down at her little guy. The first thing she noticed was that he had been crying. Fallon looked up at Lucas quickly but he shook his head, putting his hand on Aiden’s shoulder when they stopped in front of her. Aiden looked up at Lucas with a nervous look on his face before Lucas squeezed his shoulder and Aiden looked back up at Fallon.

“I’m sorry Momma. I love you and I’ll never hate you. I promise.”

A bright smile went across Fallon’s face before she pulled Aiden by his shirt to her, hugging him tightly against her. “I love you too, Punkin’.”

When Fallon opened her eyes, she saw that Lucas had a large smile on his face as he watched them. Fallon gave him a thankful smile before nuzzling her face into Aiden’s neck. It was so nice having a partner when it came to Aiden. She didn’t realize how much she needed Lucas until he was there giving her all the support in the world.

When she parted from Aiden, she gave him a big kiss on the cheek before pulling him into her lap and saying, “AA made some fantastic cupcakes, why don’t we all sit and eat some?”

“Daddy too?”

“Of course,” she said with a small smile for Lucas.

“Like a family! We’re a big family, huh AA?” Aiden gushed.

Audrey came over to Aiden, handing him a cupcake before nodding. “We sure are bud, we sure are.”

Fallon felt Lucas’ hand creep up her back and she glanced up at him, a small smile still on her face. He gave her a smile of his own before he kissed her temple. He then looked over at Audrey and said, “Hey, where’s my cupcake?”

Lucas walked towards his truck with his hand resting on Fallon’s lower back. After tucking in their little guy, Fallon informed him, she needed to go to bed too. Lucas tried to get an invitation into her bed but that didn’t work, so he was settling for a walk to his truck. The sky was clear with a small breeze, and Lucas still couldn’t believe how the day had played out. He started off with only having an amazing kid.

Now he had an amazing girlfriend and kid.

Fallon wrapped her arms around him, leaning against his chest as she let out a long breath. When she looked up at him, he saw the tears in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

Fallon swallowed loudly. “I’m worried about Audrey.”

“What about?”

Fallon shook her head, “She’s datin’ this guy that isn’t right to her. He calls her fat and he hurts her during sex.”

Lucas was surprised by the anger that took over his body. “Who is he?”

“I don’t know, she won’t tell me.”

“Okay, well she needs to.”

Fallon nodded. “I know.”

Nothing was said as the two of them held each other, both worried about Audrey. Lucas didn’t know why she wouldn’t tell Fallon, but she might tell him. He planned on asking her the next time they were alone. Audrey was like a sister to him, and he would murder the guy when he found out who it was. Not only for Fallon’s piece of mind, but because Audrey deserved a good man. She was a saint, the sweetest person he had the pleasure of knowing. “I’ll figure it out, baby girl. Don’t worry.”

Fallon smiled up at him before getting on her tippy toes, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him lightly on his lips. Lucas’ eyes fell shut as his arms came around her waist, pulling her closer. They kissed long and hot — like two 16-year-olds who couldn’t get enough of each other — against his truck. His hands roamed her body as hers messaged the back of his neck. She pulled back first but he caught her bottom lip between his teeth, bringing her back for more. Fallon ran her hands down his cheeks, along his jaw, moving her fingers back and forth along the coarse hair of his face. She pulled back again and kissed his lips softly before moving out of his arms.

“I’ll be out here all night if we keep on.”

He smiled before pulling her back to him, cupping her fine bottom. “What’s wrong with that?”

“I’m tired, and I gotta go to work tomorrow.”

“Skip.”

She laughed. “No way, I got a lot to do with the campaign and all.”

He bit at her chin. “Can you leave early?”

She raised an eyebrow. “How early?”

“Early enough to go shopping with me. I need some stuff for the house and you are the best person to shop with.”

She smiled as he rocked them both back and forth. “I don’t know.”

“Please,” he pleaded, kissing up her jaw. “Please?”

Fallon let out a long breath before moving away from him and flashing him a pretty smile. “I’ll be done at 11.”

A cocky grin came over his face as he watched her sashay up the walkway and into the house, sending him one last grin before shutting the door. He waited for the front light to shut off before getting into the truck and starting it up. As he pulled out the driveway, he looked at the condo one last time. When he saw Fallon standing in the window, waving, he smiled as he waved back.

Man, he loved her.

Chapter 31

Oh, Green Hills, how I’ve missed you so.

Fallon stood in the middle of Green Hills Mall in complete awe. It had been a very long time since she had been there. The only time she came was when Audrey would drag her there, but it would always break her heart that she didn’t have the kind of money that Green Hills required. It honestly killed her that she wasn’t able to shop there anymore. She had grown up shopping in Green Hills, but coming home broke and pregnant changed all that. Fallon learned quickly that the mall wasn’t her friend any longer, but now it could be. Fallon wasn’t sure if the excitement that filled her was from being inside the beautiful mall or from being beside Lucas.

Either way, Fallon was in a rich girl’s paradise and she was with the man of her dreams. Thoughts of Lucas had kept her tossing and turning all night. She should have let him stay the night, but she didn’t want to rush it. She wanted to enjoy the dating part of them. That’s was why she agreed to go today. Fallon had crazy amounts of work to do, but playing hooky with Lucas seemed like a better idea. Every girl could use a day of retail therapy, and doing it with a fine specimen of man was just a bonus. As Fallon walked beside Lucas, she couldn’t help the grin that sat on her face. Fallon had budgeted a little bit of money to spend and she was ready to shop. She knew that her bank account was busting at the seams but she couldn’t spend that money. It was for other things, and she refused to let herself touch it.

Lucas walked closely beside Fallon, his arm brushing hers with every step they took. When his hand slid into hers, she glanced up at him to see that he was looking down at her as if he was waiting for her to say something.

“What? I can’t hold your hand?” he asked.

“Did I say that?’

“No, but you are giving me a look.”

“I am not!”

“Yes you are. We are dating Fallon, and if you think I’m going to let you hide it like you did before, you have another thing coming.”

Okay, so obviously he was a little sensitive about their past.

Fallon shook her head. “Lucas, I never said anything.”

“Maybe so, but I can tell when you are nervous about stuff. I doubt your dad will say anything now. I mean, we did make a baby!”

Fallon rolled her eyes. “Lucas, I’ve already disappointed my dad to the extreme. I’m not worried about him knowing I’m with you, like you said, I did get pregnant by you.”

Lucas eyed her for a minute before saying, “I always wanted to ask you about that. What’s up between you two?”

“He says I am a disappointment ‘cause I got pregnant and didn’t get rid of Aiden the way he wanted me to.”

“Really? That’s crazy! You were an adult.”

Fallon nodded. “Didn’t matter. He said that Aiden would ruin my life. He was wrong, of course, it was actually my dad that ruined my life, not Aiden. My dad took everything from me. My money, a place for me to stay, my mom, and he even tried to take Audrey from me, but she wouldn’t leave.”

“Wow, that’s insane,” Lucas said. He then glanced down at her. “So that’s where your money went. I was wondering that, too,” Lucas said, nodding his head.

“Yup, all of it gone. Depressing huh?”

Lucas smiled. “Don’t worry; I got more than enough for me, you, and Aiden.”

Fallon laughed. “I will not be taking your money!” He rolled his eyes at her before she tightly squeezed his hand. “But I do want to hold your hand, so hush.”

Lucas sent her a loving grin before bending his arm behind his back and taking her hand with him so that she would be closer to him. It was such a simple little movement that had Fallon’s heart palpitating. She loved when he would contort her in ways just to be closer to her. It made her feel special and only Lucas could make her feel like that.

As they continued to walk through the mall, Lucas would pull her tighter to him, or graze her temple with his lips. It was intoxicating and she was having a hard time enjoying the mall but in a way she didn’t care. That was until Louis Vuitton came into view.

“Oooh...” Fallon gushed, pointing to the store. Lucas smiled as he changed direction, entering the store. Fallon pulled away from him, in complete awe as she walked through the immaculate store. When she saw a Coeur coin purse and belt that matched, she bought it without question and she didn’t even regret it.

That is, for a whole five minutes.

As Fallon walked out of the store, she kicked herself for spending all the money she had budgeted in the first 10 minutes of being in the mall. What if she saw an amazing dress she had to have, or a pair of shoes! Fallon loved shoes! No shoes now, she wasted all her money on a damn coin purse and belt! Yes, the belt was fantastic and the coin purse was to die for, but darn it! She was broke now!

“I need to run by the Z Gallery and get some things, then we can go wherever you like,” Lucas said, directing her towards the amazing home accents store. Fallon pouted the whole way there, and when she entered, she wanted to leave immediately because she saw the bedding she had to have. If she wasn’t so in love with the things she had bought from Louis Vuitton, she would have run back and returned it all, but she was. So the beautiful bright pink and black paisley bedding wouldn’t be gracing Fallon’s bed until she got her bonus and that wasn’t for another month or so.

Such a depressing thought.

Fallon stood in front of the bed, admiring the bedding she would never have as Lucas walked around her, looking at different odds and ends. When she ran her finger down the fluffy, soft bedding in complete longing, Lucas laughed.

“Baby girl, get it,” he said. “You have been staring at it since we got here.”

“I know. It’s so beautiful!”

“So get it,” he insisted.

“I can’t, not until after the campaign and I get my bonus.”

When he didn’t say anything, she looked over at him to see that he was looking at her, confused. “Did you not cash that check?”

“No, I did, but that money is set aside for something else.”

“What in the world could you spend all that on?”

Fallon laughed. “Well, I paid Audrey’s condo off, and then I put two million of it away for Aiden’s college and the rest is going to something else.”

Fallon’s heart kicked up in speed as she gazed into Lucas’ eyes. She was scared to tell Lucas about the cellar. What if he thought it was silly and laughed at her? It would break her heart since it was her dream. She stood by her dream to sophisticate the sport of hockey. She didn’t care how many bottles of wine she had to stuff down people’s throat, or if she had to talk until she was blue in the face about how amazing wine was, she was going to have her cellar and it was going to be a success. But that didn’t keep Fallon from still being nervous about what Lucas would think. It made her heart hurt at the thought of him not supporting her. Fallon smiled nervously and sat down on the edge of the bed, loving the feel of the blanket against the back of her legs.

“What?” he asked, like she knew he would.

Fallon shrugged her shoulders. “It’s nothing,” she said with a flutter of her hand.

“Obviously it is, and we are trying this communication thing remember? So you kind of have to tell me,” Lucas said with a grin as he sat beside her.

He had her there.

“Well…it’s kinda silly.”

“I doubt that, tell me.”

Fallon bit her lip as she played with the bottom of her gray skirt. She looked up at him and smiled. “I wanna sophisticate hockey by opening a wine cellar for all the fans to buy wine for the after-party at their houses.”

Lucas’ eyebrows drew together as he looked down at her. “Sophisticate hockey?”

Fallon nodded since she knew he wouldn’t understand. No one did, but that didn’t keep her from trying to explain herself. “Yes,” she said turning to look at him. “I want people to go home and relax with a nice bottle of our Big Country or our Big Rock Syrah. I want them to discuss the awesomeness of the game with our wine in their glass. Hockey is so intense and people drink beer with it ‘cause that’s what you do, but what if I can change the norm and start a wine-drinking movement. I know I’ll never take the place of beer during the game, but if I can replace the after game drink with wine, I have succeeded, and that’s where my cellar comes in at.”

“Really?”

“Yes! Wine is so relaxing. Not only do you feel good but you feel sexy. Wine is sexy, beer is…not.”

A grin grew on Lucas’ face as he looked over at her. “You are the most amazing person I know. You know that?”

Fallon’s cheeks warmed as she looked away. She couldn’t believe how passionate she could get sometimes, but it only happened when she loved something so much. She looked over at Lucas and smiled at his grin. “Whatever, you think I’m silly.”

“Never. I think you are breathtaking and if this is what you want baby, you let me know what I can do to help. If I have to make everyone on the team drink wine so that our fans do, then you better believe I will.”

A lump formed in Fallon’s throat as she gazed into Lucas’ eyes. “You’d do that?” she choked out.

He scoffed. “Baby, I would do just about anything for you. I think Adler already drinks wine, and Jakob too, so I only have about 30 more guys to get to. The new kid is impressionable so I’m pretty sure I can get him to, oh no wait, he’s not old enough yet, but once he is, I will buy him a case of Rocky Top Wine and make him drink it all.”

Fallon was speechless as she looked deep into Lucas’ bright eyes. She swallowed loudly before wrapping her arms around Lucas’ neck and kissing him loudly on the lips. The words were on the tip of her tongue but she wasn’t ready to tell him that she loved him just yet. If she got onto him about moving so fast, how could she blurt out she loved him more than anything and not be a hypocrite? They needed to take things slow, but for the love of God, how could she when he was probably the sweetest man imaginable.

“Thank you,” she said against his lips when they parted.

Lucas’ eyes were full of love as he ran his nose against hers. “No problem.”

Lucas pulled back just as a worker passed by them. “Ma’am can you package this bedding up for me? Queen size please.”

“Lucas!” Fallon complained, smacking his arm.

“What? You want me to get one for my bed too?”

Fallon rolled her eyes. “No! You know I hate when you spend money on me.”

Lucas grinned big. “I don’t care.” He then turned to the associate, “Please, and thank you.”

“Yes sir,” the young girl said before walking away with a grin on her face.

“I won’t use it.”

“Oh, yes you will,” Lucas said with a naughty grin on his face, their serious moment gone. “And hopefully, you will let me break it in.”

Heat filled Fallon as Lucas walked away, chuckling that low sexy chuckle of his. Fallon stood up and shook her head. She knew there was no way of talking him out of buying the bedding or anything else for that matter, so she decided that she wouldn’t long for anything else while they were at the mall.

Yeah.

Fallon’s longing for nothing else while they were in Green Hills lasted until they came up to Kate Spade’s beautiful store. Fallon was in so much awe of the beauty in the window that Lucas laughed and dragged her inside.

They left with 19 bags.

“Lucas this is crazy! Please take it all back! I feel horrible.”

Lucas laughed, shuffling the bags he had in his hand. “I would think by now you would know that I love spending money on people I love. So get used to it cupcake, and come on. I wanted to go to that store Audrey liked. I need you to pick her out something she would love so that I can coax her into telling me about the dude I am going to kill.”

Love filled Fallon from the top of her head to the tip of her toes as she watched Lucas’ profile as they walked. “And you say I’m amazing.”

“I do, and I know I am. So basically, we are pretty much two amazing people, with an amazing kid.”

Fallon couldn’t agree more.

Lucas felt completely optimistic as he drove from Fallon’s work to Aiden’s school. Being able to spend the afternoon with Fallon was perfect, but getting an invite to dinner made his day. He couldn’t get enough of his two favorite people and he knew that the night ahead was going to be the start of many amazing nights. Things were looking as if they were going to go the way he wanted them to, which was straight to the altar and Fallon having another baby.

He couldn’t wait.

As Lucas turned onto Broadway heading towards Aiden’s school, his phone rang.

When he saw it was Levi, he answered. “Hey.”

“That was some kind of shopping spree you just went on.”

Fuck.

“Yeah, so?”

“So I think you need to be cautious of the money you are spending Luc. You have to pay your baby momma a good chunk of change every month, and you can’t be blowing money the way you used to.”

Lucas rolled his eyes. “For one, Fallon is her name. For two, I make over seven million a year just from the Assassins, and then I have endorsement deals with Nike and Jockey. Why in the world do I need to watch my spending when I take my girlfriend to the mall?”

“So you were shopping for Fallon? Why waste that kind of money on her when she has recently received a huge check from you and is also getting a monthly payday?”

Lucas let out a frustrated breath. “I am going to pretend that you did not say that, and I am also calling Jessie tomorrow and asking her what my funds are looking like.”

Lucas hung up the phone and threw it on the seat. Levi frustrated him to the core and he wasn’t going to be told who and what he could spend his money on. He had saved a lot when he was in rehab and if he wanted to spend it on Fallon, Audrey and Aiden, he fucking would! No one was going to tell him different!

Lucas pulled in behind a Mercedes and let out another frustrated breath. This was what he worked for; he skated hard and worked hard at what he did to provide for the people that meant the world to him. How dare Levi try to tell him what he could and couldn’t spend his money on?

Fuck him.

Lucas was fuming, but when his eyes fell on Aiden’s bright happy face running towards his truck, all thoughts of Levi and money were gone and the happiness of seeing his son replaced them all. Lucas opened the door and met Aiden half way, hugging him tightly.

“Hey buddy,” he said as Aiden grinned up at him.

“Hey Dad! Ms. Lemar needs to talk to you,” Aiden said as a cute little blonde came towards them. She was young and the first thing Lucas thought was that she would be perfect for the new kid, Tate, on the team. Lucas was starting to like the kid a lot and figured that he might bring him with him to pick Aiden up one day.

As soon as he learned some English.

“Hi, are you Aiden’s dad?” she asked sweetly.

“I am,” Lucas said holding out his hand. “Lucas Brooks.”

“Hi, Melanie Lemar, Aiden’s teacher. It’s wonderful to finally meet you. Aiden talks about you all the time,” she said and Lucas smiled down at Aiden.

“Nice to meet you, too.”

“The reason why I needed to see you was that I need a signature on this form for Aiden. I think Ms. Parker forgot to send it back in,” Ms. Lemar said, handing him a bright green sheet. Lucas’ stomach sank as he tried to focus on the words. Not only was the color messing with his eyes, the words were freaking tiny! He glanced up at Ms. Lemar with a charming smile.

“I’m sorry, I forgot my glasses. What is this?”

“Oh! I’m sorry! It’s for our field trip next week to the Adventure Science Center! If you would like to volunteer you can sign here,” she said, showing him. Lucas smiled widely at her and signed his name, quickly also marking the spot for volunteering. It sounded like a great idea; he would even get Fallon to come, or maybe Audrey.

“Thanks so much, Mr. Brooks. Again, it was nice to meet you!”

“You too, Ms. Lemar, I’ll see you next week. Come on bud,” Lucas said with a wave. Aiden walked ahead of Lucas, jumping into the backseat before Lucas shut the door. Lucas got into the driver side and drove off towards Fallon’s house. Usually Aiden was talking nonstop but he wasn’t today so Lucas looked up in the mirror at Aiden and asked, “Hey, you okay?”

Aiden looked up at him, his eyebrows drawn in together. “Dad, you don’t wear glasses.”

Lucas cleared his throat nervously. “Um, well.”

“You told Ms. Lemar you do, and I have never seen you with them. I even checked your bathroom for contacts, you don’t have those either.”

Lucas nodded, his stomach turning as Aiden continued, “You never read to me, and you always ask me to read stuff.”

Lucas was looking out the windshield as his heart jackhammered against his chest at the thought of telling Aiden about his dyslexia. Would he laugh at him? Would he think he was stupid? Aiden was smarter than any regular kid and very perceptive. Lucas should have known that it wouldn’t take long for Aiden to catch on to Lucas’ disorder. Lucas was scared and like he knew Aiden would, Aiden asked, “Dad, can you read?”

Lucas cleared his throat again because his mouth was extremely dry all of a sudden. He slowly shook his head, swallowing loudly before saying, “Nope bud, I can’t.”

Aiden looked worry when Lucas glanced back at him. “Why not? Did Grandma not teach you?”

Lucas licked his dry lips. “She tried, but I have a disorder called dyslexia. It takes me a minute to read things because all the words jumble up and switch around.”

Aiden was quiet for a moment before asking, “Can I help you? Or can Mommy?! She taught me to read, she is the best.”

Lucas smiled as he nodded. “She is, but it’s hard, and I have to work really hard to learn.”

Aiden blinked twice before looking down at his cast. Lucas didn’t know what to say, so nothing else was said during the ride to Fallon’s house and that surprised him. He expected a lot of questions from Aiden and for him not to ask, he wondered if he was scared or something. When they arrived, Lucas parked the truck beside Audrey’s car and got out, opening the door for Aiden, but he didn’t move. Aiden looked over at Lucas with a look of worry before saying, “You shouldn’t give up Dad. Even if it’s hard, you can do it. You can do anything — that’s what you always say to me.”

Lucas got choked up looking into his son’s eyes as he repeated the words that his father used to say to him and now he said to his son. Aiden was completely right and Lucas really needed to listen to his father’s advice.

Lucas unbuckled Aiden’s seat belt and took him in his arms, hugging him tightly.

“I love you, Aiden.”

“I love you too, Dad,” Aiden muffled since Lucas was holding him so tight. Lucas laughed as he put Aiden down, patting him on the head before shutting the door. “So you’ll try?”

“I’ll try.”

Aiden grinned before he ran ahead to where Audrey stood in the doorway with a grin on her face.

“Well hello there, guys!”

Aiden smiled big before wrapping his arms around Audrey’s waist, “Hey AA! Can I have a cupcake?”

Audrey giggled, “Sure, come on. You coming in, Lucas?”

Lucas nodded, “Yeah, I need to grab some bags and I’ll be in a minute.”

Audrey sent him a smile but it didn’t reach her eyes before she turned and went inside with Aiden. Lucas hoped the things he bought Audrey would get her to talk. He hated that Fallon was worried and so was he. It wasn’t good for any of them, especially Audrey. He didn’t know who was hurting Audrey but it wouldn’t go on for much longer. He loved her too much to let anyone hurt her.

As Lucas made his way to the truck, he thought about what Aiden said and all of a sudden, he was crying. The tears came hot and fast, and Lucas basically choked on the sob that tried to leave his body. Lucas braced himself against the truck and took in shuttering breaths. Not only was Aiden compassionate and understanding, he wanted to help Lucas. Just like Fallon had wanted to.

For once Lucas wasn’t embarrassed or nervous about his condition. The two people that mattered cared enough about him not to care about his disorder. Finally, Lucas felt like he could be himself and not have to try to be someone he wasn’t. He was a regular, good-looking guy. He couldn’t read but he played good, no great, hockey. He had a little bit of a temper and he was a recovering addict. He was in love with a woman that had him fighting tooth and nail to get past the wall she had put up, but it was okay because he loved her and he had the most amazing son in the world with her.

That was who he was, and luckily, he was blessed with people that loved all of him.

Lucas quickly moved his hand over his cheeks, taking deep breaths. He couldn’t go inside until he calmed down, so he took a couple more calming breaths before opening the trunk and getting all the bags out from his shopping trip with Fallon. After making two trips, he finally had everything inside and a smile on his face. Watching Fallon in the Kate Spade store was like watching her have an orgasm. It was hot, and that sexy half-lidded look came over her face every time she saw something she had to have. When that look came across Fallon’s face, Lucas bought whatever caused it to happen. He didn’t care how much it cost or how much she yelled and complained because no matter what, afterwards she would smile.

And he loved to make her smile.

Lucas was laying bags on the couch when Audrey came into the living with a curious grin on her face. “Ooh, whatcha get me?”

Lucas smiled up at her. “Actually, a lot. Fallon picked out most of it, and there is a bathing suit in there she got for herself.”

Audrey looked over at the three Betsy Johnson bags before looking back at Lucas. “I was joking.”

“Oh, well I’m not. Check it out, let me know if you like it,” he said. She eyed him suspiciously before reaching for the bags. The first thing she pulled out was Fallon’s new sexy bathing suit. She laughed and looked over at him. “Fallon’s?”

He gave her a goofy smile. The bathing suit was hot, but it was even hotter on Fallon. “Yeah, we are going to California next week.”

“She makes me sick with her perfect little body,” Audrey giggled as she threw the bathing suit off to the side before looking through the bag. When she pulled each item out, her eyes would go wide before she little out a little shriek. When she had everything laid out, she looked over at Lucas with a winning smile. “You know you’re my favorite, right?”

Lucas laughed. “So I take you love it?”

“Oh yes! I do!” she gushed before wrapping her arms around his neck. “Thanks for thinking of me.”

“Anytime.”

Audrey giggled as she started picking everything back up and placing it back in the bags. When she was done, she sent Lucas one more grin before heading for the stairs, but he wasn’t going to let her get far. “Who is he, Audrey?”

Lucas could have been more subtle about it, but…okay, maybe he couldn’t.

She glanced over her shoulder at him. “What?”

“Who has been hurting you? You might as well tell me.”

Audrey shook her head, her eyes wide as she turned to look at him. “No way. Everything is fine. I broke down and I’m good now. Don’t worry about it.”

“Tell me,” Lucas said, standing his ground.

“No,” Audrey said quietly, “and if these things are your way of getting information from me, take ‘em back.”

Lucas watched as she threw them down on the couch before crossing her arms. Lucas narrowed his eyes. “I bought those things for you because you are the sister I never had. With that being said, tell me who is hurting you because I’m going to kill him. You don’t deserve that Audrey — you are the coolest chick I know.”

Audrey nodded. “I love him.”

“I don’t care,” Lucas said with no sympathy at all. “You don’t deserve this abuse.”

“Neither do you, but am I telling you to leave Fallon? No. You and I both know she has not handled your situation right since the beginning. So before you go telling me that I deserve better, look at your situation.”

Lucas was taken aback by her anger. He knew she was lashing out because in a way, Lucas was attacking her about the situation, so Lucas swallowed his own anger and said, “Wow, Audrey. So you are saying that Fallon isn’t good enough for me? Or that Fallon abuses me? Because last time I checked, she didn’t hurt me during sex.”

Audrey’s cheeks warmed as she looked away. “She is mean and hateful.”

“Because she is scared. I hurt her. For the past seven years we both thought I cheated on her, so yeah, she has every right not to be very nice to me, but that is beside the point. We are working it out, and you need to get your head out of your ass before you turn into one of those women who starts making excuses for his abuse. Get it together, Audrey.”

Audrey glared as her chest rose and fell with every passing second. “Stay out of it.”

“No,” he said simply.

“You’re an ass.”

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve been called worse.”

“Why do you care?!” she screamed, throwing her hands in the air.

“Because I love you, Audrey and I refuse to let you worry your sister and me.”

Audrey eyes filled with tears as she looked down at the ground. “Just let it be.”

“No way.”

Audrey shook her head before turning and running up the stairs. When he heard the door slam shut, he shrugged his shoulders. Audrey could lash out at him all she wanted, he didn’t care. He would find out who was hurting her and when he did, Lucas hoped the guy was ready to meet his maker.

********************************

Fallon was on a roll.

After her shopping day with Lucas, she had gone back to the office and her creative juices were flowing. Ever since the day on the beach with Lucas when he told her about his alcoholism, Fallon hadn’t felt right about the whole campaign. Something had to change; she couldn’t have him drinking wine in thousands of picture when he was a recovering alcoholic. It just didn’t seem right. Not many people knew of Lucas’ condition, but Fallon knew and she didn’t like the thought of him being pictured with an alcoholic beverage in his hand. She was proud of what Lucas had overcome, and she wasn’t about to portray him as some playboy partier when he wasn’t. Before she had no problem because she thought he was all those things, but not anymore. He was a good, one-woman man and it still blew her mind how everything had changed so quickly, but she was thankful it had. She didn’t know what she would have done if she would have continued to think Lucas was a piece of shit.

She probably would have never fallen in love with him again.

Fallon had been working on the new campaign all week but nothing was clicking. That was until Lucas kissed her goodbye when he dropped her off at the office. His teeth grazed her bottom lip before he softly bit down. It was the most erotic thing in the world, and Fallon couldn’t get enough, but then he said, “Mmm…cherry slushy. It tastes better from your lips.”

It tastes better from your lips.

Rocky Top Wine tastes sensational, but it’s better from her lips.

Fallon couldn’t believe how perfect it was! It not only pulled in the male audience but it was going to pull in the female one, too! It was also better than their first slogan, and this one was going to work out way better with keeping the alcohol away from Lucas. Fallon had done all the prep work. Called up the artist to draw the sketches, and even called to fire most of the models for the campaign, since it would center on Lucas and one girl. Fallon felt on top of the world. Her only worry was her father, but since he was gone on a business trip until the day of the shoot, she felt confident that she was able to do this — no one to hold her back.

Fallon had a full smile on her face when Rob opened the door. When she glanced up, she smiled at his slick black business suit and newly cut hair. He apparently had a date with a lawyer and for once he wanted to look like a man. Man, did he succeed. When he wasn’t all glammed up, Rob was an exceptional looking man. His eyes were bright without the makeup and his body looked toned and sexy under the suit. He was a dreamboat!

“Lookin’ good, Mr. Slater,” she gushed.

Rob blushed as he grinned at her. “Aw, shucks, thanks!” Fallon giggled before he shook his head. “Crap, sorry, I got distracted, Mrs. Justice is on line two.”

“Oh!” Fallon yelled before picking up her phone, “Hello, Fallon Parker speaking?”

“Hey Fallon, its Grace Justice.”

“Grace! So nice to hear from you, how is everything?”

Fallon loved Grace. She was the most amazing party planner in Nashville and also Shea Adler’s twin sister. Since signing a contract with the Assassins to plan all their parties, Planning Your Moment went from great to awesome overnight. Grace promised perfection, and man did she deliver. Fallon was also very excited to work with Grace from the other end. She was always the supplier but now she was the host and she loved playing host. Fallon wanted to present the entire campaign in picture form to the board and the Assassins together. Fallon thought that there was no better way to do that than to have a huge party. It was not only going to celebrate the campaign but also the Assassins making the playoffs.

“Everything is great! Did Rob get you the paperwork I faxed over?” Grace asked just as Rob sailed in with the paperwork in hand.

Rob flashed Fallon a grin as she took the paperwork quickly. “Yes ma’am. What am I looking at?” she asked, trying to read quickly.

“The menu and the guest seating. I think I have it all right, but I wanted you to sign off on it before I moved forward. I also need the pictures from the campaign, do you have those yet?”

“Not yet. The shoot is this weekend, and they should have them ready and printed in the wall size you asked for by Friday at the latest.”

“Awesome, you are the best. What do you think of the menu?”

Fallon finished reading it and smiled. “I think it is perfect, not that I expected anything less from you.”

Grace giggled. “Stop Fallon! You are making me blush!”

“Thanks so much Grace. You’re doing amazing.”

“Thanks, I can’t wait to get it all set up. I think this will be my second favorite party I’ve planned.”

Fallon laughed. “The first being Elli’s birthday?”

“Yes! That was a masterpiece!”

Fallon couldn’t agree more. Fallon still got chills every time she thought back to the way she felt when she walked into the Belmont. It was as if she was taken back to the 1800s and she was watching Mr. Darcy and Ms. Elizabeth dance the night away. It was magnificent.

“It sure was,” Fallon agreed.

Grace laughed before saying, “So I can’t wait to see you! I’ll be in touch.”

“Great! Bye Grace.”

Fallon hung up the phone and glanced back down at the menu. It was spectacular and like she said, she didn’t expect anything else. If Grace was anything, she was classy as hell and Fallon couldn’t have been more excited about the party. Fallon placed the paperwork in the party file and got up, stretching her legs. She glanced down at the clock on her computer and saw that it was time to go.

Fallon couldn’t wait to get home. She was excited to make dinner for Lucas, Aiden, and Audrey. She was also excited to play with all her new stuff that Lucas has spoiled her with. As she slid on her shoes, the grin stayed in place on her face. Fallon hadn’t been this happy in a very long time and it started and ended with two special guys.

Her guys.

Lucas and Aiden.

Chapter 32

Fallon lay across Lucas’ chest in complete bliss.

As the evening replayed though her head, she cuddled closer to Lucas, running her bare foot up and down his leg. Lucas’ hand stayed in place on her ass while she listened to his breathing. It had been an amazing evening and she could only pray that all her nights ended this way. When she arrived home from work, she was greeted with luscious kisses from Lucas and sweet, loving ones from Aiden. After changing into something a little more cooking friendly, she went into the kitchen to get everything ready for her lasagna.

Lucas was right next to her as she put together dinner. He kept touching her and trying to help whenever she would allow him. Fallon wanted him to relax, hang out, but of course, anytime they were in a room together they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. She had missed him all day, and when he gave her that sly, ‘I want you’ grin, she was hot all over and didn’t have the heart to kick him out the kitchen.

Once Fallon had everything in the oven, she and Lucas helped Aiden with his homework. Lucas surprised her with his first-grade knowledge and his wit. He was sweet and tentative to Aiden. It was like watching a different man. He was acting so at ease, so at home, which in a way he was. She loved having him in her home and she couldn’t have felt more complete with him there.

After dinner, they did dishes together and then watched some TV with Aiden before putting him to bed. Once Aiden was tucked in, they headed into Fallon’s room where they were now. Fallon lay beside him, basking in the love that he was giving her. It was the perfect evening, and Fallon couldn’t have been happier. The only thing that bothered her was that Audrey hadn’t been home all night. Lucas had told her about their fight and Fallon was worried. When she called Audrey, she didn’t answer, so Fallon sent her a quick text, and Audrey answered saying she needed time to herself, that she was fine.

“Guess what Aiden did while we waited for you this afternoon,” Lucas said, bringing her away from her thoughts of Audrey.

Fallon looked up, running her hand up his stomach to his chest where it rested as she said, “What’s that?”

“Aiden started to teach me how to read.”

A slow smile went across Fallon’s face as she brought her hand from his chest to his cheek. “You told him?”

Lucas nodded. “Kid’s smarter than the average bear.”

Fallon giggled. “He sure is. Are you okay?” She asked. She knew how embarrassed he got about his dyslexia.

“Yup. Just fine. The two people I care for know. I have nothing to hide anymore. This is me,” he said kissing her forehead.

“Good, you shouldn’t hide anything.”

Lucas smiled before placing another kiss on her head. He leaned his head against hers, taking a deep breath in. As Fallon listened to his heartbeat, she had a small, content smile on her face. Lucas’ hand shifted from her ass to her inner thigh and Fallon rolled her eyes.

“Aiden is home,” she said simply.

Lucas chuckled. “He is in bed, plus Daddy needs Mommy.”

Fallon giggled. “No way.”

He let out a breath. “I’ll be quiet.”

“I won’t, that’s why I say no,” Fallon laughed. She looked up at him to see him grinning down at her. He cupped her face as his other hand came under her armpit, pulling her up to him to where he crushed his mouth against hers. She lay on top of him, her hands running up his sides as her mouth moved with his.

She never said they couldn’t make out a little.

When a knock came at the door and it flew open, Fallon broke the kiss, looking over to where Aiden stood in the middle of the doorway. She looked down at Lucas, and smiled. “See.”

Lucas let out a quiet groan as Fallon slid off him and sat up, looking over at Aiden. “What’s up, Punkin’?”

“What are y’all doing?”

Lucas chuckled. “Cuddling.”

Fallon cut him a dirty look before Aiden put his hands on his hips and said, “Jamie Right said her mommy and daddy cuddle naked, so y’all must not be cuddlin’ right.”

Lucas looked over at Fallon and gave her a wink before saying, “We must not be. I think Jamie Right’s parents have the right idea. They must do it when Jamie’s home for her to know it and it seems that Jamie is okay.”

Fallon groaned inwardly as her body filled with heat. She closed her eyes, pinching her nose. “Aiden honey, what do you need?”

“Nothing, I was bored.”

Fallon opened her eyes and glared. “Honey, it’s time to go to bed.”

“Ugh! Fine! Why do you get to play with Daddy?” he asked as Lucas laughed.

“Because I don’t have school tomorrow, and if you don’t lose the sass in your voice I’m gonna come on over there and pop that bottom. Now go on, Aiden James Brooks,” she said, sitting up straighter. Aiden could have such a mouth sometimes. She had no clue where that came from…surely not her.

Aiden turned quickly and left the room, shutting the door behind him as Lucas chuckled lowly. “Man, he’s got a little mouth on him, just like his mommy.”

“Whatever,” Fallon said, looking down at him. He grinned up at her, cupping the side of her face.

“I like your little mouth, bring it down here.”

“No,” Fallon said moving to lie down. “I’m going to bed.”

He laughed. “No you aren’t. You are going to cuddle naked with me.”

Fallon giggled as he pulled her to him, meeting his lips with hers again. Of course, she didn’t pull away. She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him hard as her leg hooked over his hip. “Mmm...” he moaned against her mouth before pressing his hardness to her softness. Their hands roamed each other’s bodies, and Fallon was dizzy with lust. When Lucas slid his hand into Fallon’s panties, she pulled back.

“I told you no,” she warned.

“Aw come on, I’m hard as a rock here.”

She giggled as she shrugged her shoulders. “I guess you better raise the steering wheel so it doesn’t hit it.”

Lucas gave her a dirty look. “I’m not leaving.”

Fallon scoffed. “Whatever, you ain’t staying here.”

“Yes I am. I’m sleeping over. I’m so tired, what if I crash the car on the way home?”

Fallon narrowed her eyes. “Well if you’re too tired to drive home, then you’re too tired to drive into me.”

She fluttered her eyelashes at him innocently as a cocky grin came across his face. “Baby girl, I am never too tired to drive into you,” he said, pressing into her.

“Then you need to go,” she said simply, ignoring the long hard length of him that had her thinking that they could have sex and hopefully be quiet about it.

“Ugh, you’re killing me,” he groaned against her throat before biting.

“I know, I’m horrible. Don’t worry, we’ll get our chance.”

He gave her a devilish look. “Oh yeah, we will. I’ll come to the office tomorrow and bend you over that desk of yours.”

Fallon gasped, becoming so wet that she was convinced her panties were drenched. “Not fair.”

“It’s not fair you won’t let me now, so expect it tomorrow.”

Fallon shook her head. “I’m locking the door. I do work, you know.”

He laughed. “Sure you do, and I’ll be working you hard tomorrow.”

Fallon laughed. “Whatever.”

Lucas laughed as he wrapped her up in his arms tight. She snuggled her nose into the nook of his neck and took in a deep breath. She loved the smell of him. It was such a mainly smell; it screamed sex, he screamed sex.

Why weren’t they having sex?

When the sex-filled clouds floated away and Fallon remembered that Aiden was in the next room over, she smiled as she cuddled closer. They lay in comfortable silence and Fallon thought Lucas had fallen asleep until she felt his hand move along her hip.

“I had a great day at work after you dropped me off,” she said quietly.

Lucas ran his hand up her back. “Did you? What happened?”

She smiled against his shirt. “I redid the whole campaign.”

She glanced up and he looked down at her with a confused look on his face before saying, “Is that good?”

Fallon gave him a sweet grin before nodding her head. “It’s fantastic.”

********************************

“So let me get this straight,” Phillip Anderson started, “you are posing for a wine ad?”

Lucas nodded his head as he laced up his skates. He only had a half day at practice since he had to head to Shelbyville for the Rocky Top Wines campaign. He was ready to go. He wanted to get it done because then Fallon, Aiden, and he could leave for California. Three days in complete bliss with his two favorite people — Lucas couldn’t ask for more. Well maybe to skip the campaign but it meant everything to Fallon, so he would suck it up and get it done.

For her.

“Yup,” he said as he stood up, making sure his skates felt right.

“Dude, that’s girly. That’s why none of us volunteered,” Phillip said.

Lucas laughed as he rolled his eyes. He was about to tell Phillip how girlie his hair looked but Shea came towards them and said, “The only thing girly is you, Anderson.”

The guys all started laughing as Shea sat down beside Lucas. Anderson sent Shea an evil look before grabbing his stick and heading out the locker room. Lucas shook his head, re-lacing his skates as everyone started to leave for the ice. When it was only him and Shea, he said, “So explain to me the reason you hate Anderson.”

Shea laughed. “I don’t hate him. He’s just stays on my bad side.”

“Why?”

Shea chuckled as he threw on a practice jersey. “When me and Elli were dating, Anderson would mess with me and flirt with her all the time. He knew it got under my skin and ever since I’ve had an issue with him,” he said simply.

Lucas chuckled. “You are a crazy dude when it comes to Elli.”

Shea laughed. “Yeah, she’s my heart and soul though, and we both know that if some rookie started flirting with Fallon they would end up face first on the ice.”

Lucas let out a booming laugh as he stood up, grabbing his stick, “Damn right about that.”

Lucas knew he was at Rocky Top Winery when he saw the large orange building. It stood taller than the arena, and beside it was an even larger white building that had solar panels on the roof. Even with size and color of the buildings, Lucas couldn’t help but admire the gorgeousness of the vineyards. They were large and full of color. It seemed that they outstretched for days and Lucas was in awe of the land’s beauty. Lucas found himself jealous of Fallon for growing up there. Michigan was beautiful, but Rocky Top Winery was picturesque.

Lucas followed the directions Fallon gave him and ended up by a little cabin that was on the outside of the vineyards. People were everywhere. Camera crews, wardrobe people, people in suits, people with makeup, basically any and every kinds of people were there, and even with it all, Lucas’ eyes fell on Fallon. She stood tall in a champagne-colored skirt with a white lacey blouse tucked into it and the champagne-colored lace high heels brought out her sexy calves. She wore her hair down with a braid along the side of her head, tucked behind her ear. She had big white glasses on her face and she was doing what she did best.

Yelling at people.

“What are you doing!? I said to the right!” Fallon yelled before throwing her hands up in the air. Lucas laughed as he shook his head. She was the most amazing person ever but she had the worst temper. As Lucas watched her, he couldn’t help but love everything about her, but at that moment, it was her legs. They were so long, and so sexy.

“Shit,” he whispered as he watched her move around. He was regretting not going to her job and having his way with her. Lucas hadn’t been home in days and the past couple nights had been torture. He loved sleeping with Fallon but he really loved having sex with her.

When Eleanor Adler walked over to her, he smiled. There was no denying that Mrs. Adler was pregnant. Her little belly poked out far in her light blue button up shirt that had a belt right under her breast. The length of the shirt covered her bottom that was clad in tight blue jeans. Lucas remembered Shea telling him that Elli was a fashion freak, and Lucas couldn’t agree more. She was gorgeous and chic with her hair in a messy bun and big black glasses on her face. To top everything off, she had on brown high heel boots, causing Lucas to think that Shea Adler was a lucky man.

And Lucas was green with envy.

As he watched the two women talk and smile at each other, Lucas wished like hell that Fallon was pregnant. His desire for a baby was intense since he didn’t get to watch Aiden grow up, and really, he just wanted a baby. He wanted the little bundle that he could hold in his hands. He wanted the slobber, the diapers, the coos and spit up — he wanted it all and with Fallon.

Only Fallon.

When Fallon turned and saw him, a slow grin came across her face as she sashayed towards him. He smiled back at her and when she reached him, he pulled her close for a sweet kiss.

“Mm,” she gushed as they parted, “that was nice.”

Lucas shrugged. “I thought so.”

Fallon giggled as she slid her hand in his. “Come on, you need to get ready.”

She led him into a tent that was lined in suits and held two ladies that looked like they were on a mission. Fallon sent him a grin before pointing to each lady. “This is Madison and Kaley, they will be dressing you and basically making sure you look good. This is Lucas,” Fallon said and turned to look back at Lucas. “When you’re done, come on out, we will be going over the shots and you can meet Tasha.”

“Tasha?” he asked as she went to leave.

Fallon leaned against the post before looking back at him, “Yup, the hot model you’ll be posing with.” She gave him one last grin before fluttering out of the tent. As Madison and Kaley went to work on him, Lucas thought that Tasha sounded like a bunch of trouble.

When Lucas came out the tent, he pulled at the tightness at his neck from the tie he wore. He hated wearing ties, especially skinny ones. They seemed to choke him, and when he told the women that dressed him that, they laughed. He didn’t feel like arguing with them because they would probably call Fallon and then he would have to argue with her. He did not want that at all, so he sucked it up, ran his hands down the black suit, and went to look for Fallon.

When Lucas found her, she was standing with a busty blonde who wore a short orange dress. The dress was pretty but very plain; the only thing that made it pretty was the lace around the neckline. Fallon must have seen Lucas coming out the corner of her eye because she turned mid-sentence and said, “Tasha, this is Lucas Brooks. Lucas this is Tasha McNeal, she will be playing your other half.”

A person would think that with the grin that was plastered on Fallon’s face, she had just won the lottery or something. It was so damn big and fake that it irked a nerve in Lucas’ body. Lucas met eyes with Tasha as she gave him an appreciate smile and he cringed.

There was no damn way this was his other half.

Tasha held out her hand, and Lucas took it, shaking it lightly. “Nice to meet you.”

Lucas nodded, “You, too. Um, Fallon, this tie is tight.”

Fallon turned and moved her hands up under his chin, loosening the tie. When she gave him her real smile, his heart skipped a beat as their eyes met.

“Better?” she asked.

Lucas smiled as he nodded. “Much, thank you.”

“Anytime. Okay!” she said clapping her hands together. Lucas could tell she was nervous but she was hiding it well with that big fake smile. “Manuel, Elli? Can y’all come on over here real quick? Oh Dad, you too.”

Lucas turned to see William and Elli walking towards them. A very skinny man that had a camera in his hands followed behind them and when everyone reached them, they all smiled. Fallon flashed a big grin before turning and pulling a sheet off six large posters. Everyone took a step forward looking at the images as Fallon started talking.

“So here we go, first we’ll start outside, where Tasha will greet Lucas since he just came home from a hockey game. He’ll throw the bag down and pick her up before kissing her; she’ll be holding a bottle. Next we’ll move inside for a romantic dinner,” Fallon moved her hand along each poster and Lucas’ stomach twisted with each image of him and Tasha together. “Next, we’ll go out to the vineyard where there will be shots of them walking away, Lucas holds the glass, Tasha with the bottle.”

Fallon took a deep breath and smiled big as she pointed to the last image. It was a close up of Lucas and Tasha with Tasha’s lip in between his teeth. Lucas’ heart was pounding against his chest as Fallon clapped her hands in excitement, “This is the money shot. This will be everywhere, so it has to be perfect. That’s why I saved it for last.”

“Looks great, Fal,” Elli said with a great big smile on her face.

“Good, good, let’s get started,” the camera guy said walking away.

“So you changed the whole campaign?” William asked. He had his chin pinched between his fingers as he looked over each image. Fallon stood a little taller as she nodded.

“Yes, I think what I came up with is better than what we had.”

William nodded once before pinning her with a look. “I don’t like that you did it without the consent of the board, and I definitely don’t like that you did it behind my back.”

Fallon nodded. “I did what I thought was best for the company and for Lucas since he is our model.”

William looked over at Lucas, and Lucas shrugged his shoulders since he had no clue what Fallon was talking about. He didn’t know what was wrong with the last campaign and he wasn’t going to ask. He was still caught up on how he was basically going to be making out with some girl he didn’t know. Yeah, he had done it a lot before, but he was a changed man and there was only one woman’s lip he wanted to bite.

Fallon’s.

“Well let’s hope you have all your ducks in a row, Fallon Ryane. You better not mess this up.” William gave her one last look before he walked off, leaving Lucas with Tasha, Elli, and Fallon.

“Well that was nice,” Elli said biting her lip. “Reminds me of my dreaded mother. Blah.”

Fallon laughed. “I’m not worried about it; everything is going to be fine. I can feel it!”

Lucas slowly raised his hand causing everyone to look at him. Fallon’s eyebrow went up as she said, “Yeah?”

Lucas took a deep breath in since he knew that a fight was about to happen, but he couldn’t stay quiet. He couldn’t, so he said, “I think there might be a problem.”

Fallon didn’t understand why but her heart started to beat uncontrollably but it had. With just one look in Lucas’ nervous eyes, she knew something was wrong and there was no way anything could go wrong today. Her father was on her like white on rice, and he was ready to tear her apart for changing the campaign. He was just itching to and Fallon couldn’t afford to give him any reason to do it.

As she eyed a gorgeous, black suit clad Lucas, she took in shuttering breath before saying, “What, Lucas?”

Lucas looked over at Tasha and then back at Fallon before saying, “There is no way I can make out with this girl.”

Fallon took in a sharp breath as she watched Tasha give Lucas a dirty look. When she glanced over at Elli, she saw that Elli was holding in her laughter and Fallon had no clue what was funny. Fallon then looked back up at a nervous Lucas before clearing her throat. “Excuse me?”

“I can’t make out with her.”

“And why is that?” Fallon asked. Her nails bit into her palms as she tried to control her breathing.

“Because she isn’t you.”

For the love of God.

“Lucas, not right now.”

Lucas shook his head. “I’m not doing it. I promised I would never kiss anyone but you and I am standing by it.”

Elli let out a little “awww” while Tasha just glared. Fallon was having a hard time breathing because, even though it was the sweetest thing ever and she couldn’t love him more for it, she wished that he would just make out with Tasha! “Lucas, I appreciate you staying true to your word but I really don’t need you to right now. I need you to make out with her. I give you a pass — hell, I’ll kiss you senseless afterwards.”

Lucas shook his head again. “No way. I can’t”

“Sure you can,” Fallon insisted. “It’s quite easy. We do these things all time.”

Tasha crossed her arms in annoyance as Fallon pleaded to Lucas with her eyes. He glanced over at Tasha before looking back at Fallon. “That’s the thing Fallon. I do these things with you. Only you inspire these things from me. I won’t feel right doing them with anyone but you.”

Fallon closed her eyes as she drew in deep breaths. Bless his heart for being the most amazing man in the world but damn it, couldn’t he channel the old Lucas and make out with this chick?

“What’s going on?”

Fallon’s eyes flew open to see her father standing beside Lucas with a nasty look on his face. Fallon ran her hands up her neck, cupping it tightly as she drew in another deep breath. Lucas looked over at William before turning to Fallon. He pulled her hands from her neck and pulled her off to the side.

“I can’t do this, Fal,” he whispered, “What was the other campaign? Did I make out with anyone?”

Fallon shook her head, tears gathering in her eyes. “No, but you were to be pictured drinking.” When her eyes met his, his shoulders fell as his eyes filled with love. “I couldn’t have you pictured doing something that isn’t you anymore. So I rewrote it,” she said in a sad small voice. When her father got wind of this all, her ass would be grass.

Lucas closed his eyes cupping her face. “You don’t know how much that means to me Fallon, and I wish I could do this, but it still wouldn’t be me. There is one woman and only one that my kisses belong to, and that’s you.”

Fallon’s heart filled with love since that was the one thing she had always wanted but not now. Not when she had over a hundred people there working, or her father, or hell, Elli! She looked incompetent and she didn’t want her father to have the satisfaction of watching her fail, but what was she supposed to do? She couldn’t make Lucas do it and she never would because she would never ask him to not be true to her or to himself. If he felt that strongly against kissing Tasha, than she wouldn’t ask him to do it.

“Hey guys, everything okay?”

Fallon looked over to see Elli with a small smile on her face and her hands holding her little belly. Fallon nodded, pushing back the tears as she tried to figure out what she was going to do. Maybe she could call the other models back in, or maybe rewrite the campaign real quick. Something had to be done because the campaign had to be done today. There was too much that was happening that needed the finish product.

Fallon was officially screwed.

“I can’t do it Mrs. Adler,” Lucas said. Fallon glanced up to see Elli smiling at Lucas.

“Well what do we need to do so that you will do it?” she asked, cupping the back of his bicep with her hand, “This has to be done today. There are a lot of things in motion and every single one of them needs this campaign.”

Fallon’s chest seized up and she was sure she was having a panic attack. Even Elli knew the severity of having this campaign done today.

Lucas shook his head before looking down at Elli. “Unless you can make that girl Fallon, then I have no clue.”

Elli glanced over at Fallon and smiled. “Done. Fallon will be your other half, no big deal.”

Whoa, what?

A grin came across Lucas’ face as he looked down at Fallon. “Sounds great to me.”

Fallon’s head whipped to the side. “Um, not to me! And this is a big deal, a huge one! I’m not campaign worthy and we already have a model!”

Elli shrugged her shoulders. “Well not now, but you can be,” Elli turned to where the makeup and wardrobe crew stood. “Hair, makeup! Get Ms. Parker ready, she will be the new model. Ms. McNeal, thank you so much for coming out and you will be reimbursed for your time but we will not be needing you. Mr. Manuel, if you can give us another hour and then we can get started.”

Fallon watched as Elli went into Eleanor Adler mode. Elli was spectacular when she channeled her inner Shea Adler; it was a sight to see. When Manuel threw his hands up in frustration, Fallon actually prayed for his safety. Elli pinned him with a glare before walking towards him, “Problem Mr. Manuel?”

“Yes! I have things to do; I am only supposed to be here for five hours. I’ve been here three and we haven’t even started!”

Elli shrugged her shoulders again. “Ok fine, you will be paid for your time, have a nice day,” she said dismissing him with her hand. “Janet! Call Harper, tell her to bring me out my camera and equipment.”

As everyone stood in complete shock as Elli turned to look back at Fallon. “You gonna get ready? We’re burning sunlight, sugar.”

How in the world did Fallon get talked into this?

Fallon wasn’t a model, she was far from it! She was a just a mommy, with a mommy body and there was no way she was going to look good enough to make the campaign everything she wanted it to be. She also looked terrible in orange, or maybe she thought she did because she hated it so much, but there she stood in a short, lace-trimmed, orange dress, wishing like hell the company’s color was something else. Fallon moved a piece of her hair out of her eyes and let out a breath. She loved her hair in the big curls they did and she loved her makeup. It was pristine, and the big chunky pearl jewelry she wore was heavy but beautiful. The orange suede pumps were to die for and Fallon felt like a million bucks, but that didn’t keep her from being nervous. Not only did she have to worry about the color of her attire but she also knew that William was probably going to kill her before the day was over.

As she came out the wardrobe tent, Fallon met eyes with Lucas first but it was only for a second before she met her father’s angry gaze. William stood and came towards her as everyone moved around them, trying to set up Elli’s equipment. Fallon stood a little taller, hoping that she didn’t look as nervous as she felt. All William had to do was pull the plug and everything would be ruined.

“So you rewrite a campaign that your boyfriend won’t even do? What were you thinking? Didn’t you think that you should have run it by him first?” William asked sternly. He wasn’t yelling, but it was bound to come.

“I did what I thought was best. I would rather have had him make out with some girl than be pictured drinking,” Fallon said.

“I think that would be the board’s choice or his. He shouldn’t have volunteered for a wine ad if he doesn’t drink!”

Fallon took in a calming breath. “He is the best-looking man on the team; he was the best choice. We could work around his sobriety.”

“You made another bad decision, like always. When are you ever going to do something right?”

Fallon’s eyes filled with anger and hurt-filled tears. “I don’t know Dad, but I’m pretty sure when I do, you’ll be the first to tell me. Now if you will excuse me.”

Fallon walked away quickly, needing to get as far away from William Parker as she could before she started crying. She hated how much she let him get to her. It was sad that she thought that if she had done a good job with the campaign then maybe he would be proud of her. Didn’t she know by now that he would never be happy with her? She would never be good enough? It was a never-ending battle with him, and until she basically walked on water, he would never be happy.

Before Fallon could get far, someone took a hold of her hand. She turned to see that it was Lucas, and before he could even ask her what was wrong she collapsed in his arms, holding him like her life depended on it.

“Fallon, are you okay?”

She nodded against his chest, breathing in through her mouth and out through her nose. She couldn’t cry, it would mess up her makeup and then she would be put back in the ungodly makeup chair. Lucas’ hands came up to her face, directing it so she was looking up at him. “What happened?”

She shook her head, closing her eyes. “My dad is an asshole. Nothing new.”

“What did he say?”

“That I basically messed up again, like always.”

Lucas’ thumbs moved along her cheeks and when she opened her eyes to meet his loving gaze, she practically melted in his arms, “I think what you have done with the campaign is great, now that we have the right leading lady.”

Fallon gave him a small smile before saying. “You just like me.”

He chuckled before meeting her mouth with his. He kissed her for so long and so hard, that she knew she was going to have to go back in that makeup chair, but she didn’t care. She would sit in that chair all day if afterwards her mouth could meet Lucas’. When they parted he kissed her nose and smiled down at her, “I may be partial but even Elli said that everything is amazing.”

Fallon nodded. “Well at least one out of the two people that matter is happy.”

“Hey, I’m offended by that. Me and Aiden are the only two people that matter, oh and Audrey, and we think you are amazing,” Lucas said with a goofy grin.

Fallon smiled as she leaned her forehead against his. “I just wanted him to be proud of me.”

Lucas’ smile fell as he kissed her lips softly. “I’m proud of you Fallon, I know that that may not be enough, but I am and I think your dad will come around.”

Fallon blinked twice before pressing her lips to his while her heart swelled with love. She loved this man with everything inside her, and she still couldn’t believe she was getting another chance with him. When they parted, she smiled against his lips. “It is enough.”

Lucas smiled as he hugged her tightly to him. “Come on baby girl, they are waiting for us.”

Fallon smiled up at Lucas as he locked their pinkies together and started for Elli. Elli watched as they came towards her. Her camera was in her hand and a huge smile on her face. A smile formed on Fallon’s face because that was the Elli she knew — the sweet, picture-taking Elli Fisher. Now she was the team-owning Eleanor Adler, and Fallon couldn’t have loved her more. Elli would forever amaze her and Fallon had never felt so blessed for their friendship than she did in the moment. If Elli wasn’t quick on her feet like she was, Fallon would be sitting in the dirt crying.

Just as they were about to reach Elli, Lucas looked over at Fallon and she smiled before he said, “By the way, you look hot in orange.”

God, she loved this man.

Chapter 33

“So Mickey will be there, right?!”

Lucas smiled over at Aiden, nodding his head. He wasn’t sure who was more excited about going to Disneyland, but Lucas was pretty sure he was. He had waited a long time to have a family to take to Disneyland — he still to this day could recall when he went with his mom and dad. It was one of the best vacations of his childhood and now that it was happening for him, Fallon, and Aiden, he couldn’t have been happier. Even though it was only a mini-vacation, it was their vacation. It was three whole days to spend at the most magical place on earth — to shop and play on the beach — all while being with the two people that completed him.

“Yup, it wouldn’t be Disneyland if he wasn’t.”

“Awesome!” Aiden said with a giggle.

Aiden turned quickly to look back out the airplane window. He was basically bouncing in his seat with a bright grin on his face. Lucas smiled, running his hand down Aiden’s back lovingly, before looking over at Fallon. She was looking through her phone with his hand resting in her lap, holding hers. She looked classic in her pale orange dress that crossed and weaved into a pretty bow along her back. Her hair was in a low bun and her makeup brought out the honey brown of her eyes. Her lips were glossed and Lucas couldn’t help but notice the small diamond hearts that adorned her ears. As he admired her beauty, he smiled — she was breathtaking.

Lucas’ eyes left her beautiful face down to a pair of long tan legs. He lingered at her knees for a minute or so until he came to where her legs ended at a pair of sexy, yellow high heels. Lucas had to shift a little from the sudden stiffness that left no room in his shorts at the sight of the heels. Ever since that one night against the car, he couldn’t look at a pair of her heels the same way. It was torture. His need to get her naked intensified with every sexy dress, every pair of high heels, every sexy kiss, and basically, anything that had to do with her. He needed her, he wanted her, and waiting around for a moment when Aiden wasn’t within 100 feet of them was honestly killing him.

Lucas shook his head before leaning over and nipping at Fallon’s earlobe. She let out a quiet giggle and then looked over at him with a grin.

“Hey,” she said, “I’m working.”

“How are you working when you are not supposed to have your phone on?”

Fallon gave him a naughty grin. “I had Rob send me all my spreadsheets before I boarded. I’m looking over them.”

Lucas shook his head as she giggled. “You are a workaholic.”

“Yup,” she said with a nod, “to the core, just like my dad.”

Lucas watched as a sad smile replaced her radiant one. Fallon covered it well by looking back down and moving her finger along her phone. Lucas hated that she didn’t get along with her father anymore. She used to be close to him, but Lucas did remember William always trying to run Fallon’s life. So maybe there wasn’t any hope for them. All Lucas could do was hope that he was there for her as much as he could be. He squeezed her hand, placing his chin on her shoulder, watching as she went through page after page. He had no clue what she was reading or doing, but he loved being so close to her.

“Can you give me three days of no phone?”

Fallon laughter filled the plane as she shook her head quickly. “I won’t answer it, but I need my e-mails.”

Lucas chuckled. “Okay, but that means you will be on the phone the whole way to Cali.”

She gave him a small grin before looking back down at her phone and then back up at him. “Yeah.”

Lucas let out a frustrated breath before taking his hand from hers. “Hey!”

“Hey nothing! You would rather be on the phone than spend time with me and Aiden,” he said in a huff. He looked over at the back of Aiden’s head. “Right Aiden?”

Aiden only looked back for a second to nod his head before he was looking back out the window. Lucas shook his head. What did he expect from the kid’s first plane ride? Lucas looked over at a wide-eyed Fallon and shrugged his shoulders. “We would like your attention, too.”

Fallon narrowed her eyes, giving him the meanest look as she slowly leaned over, never breaking eye contact, before dropping her phone into her purse. When she sat back, he gave her a cheeky smile as she said, “Happy?”

“Very.”

Lucas slid his hand back into hers and brought it to his lips, kissing the back of her hand. She leaned her head against his and took in a deep breath before letting it back out. Lucas looked down at their hands and took in a calming breath. As he looked down their hands to her skinny wrist, he thought of something and looked back up at her. “Why didn’t you ever get that wrist tattoo you wanted?”

Fallon shrugged her shoulders as she looked down at their hands. “If I do remember correctly, it was supposed to be both of us.”

Lucas smiled as it all came back to him. He would never forget that day.

“Get some ink.”

Fallon’s body shook with her laughter and it tickled Lucas’ stomach as he gazed down at her. She turned onto her stomach, looking up at Lucas before she slowly placed a strawberry in his mouth. As he chewed, his eyes drifted to where the skirt of her dress was riding up with every move she made. It was so hard to keep his hands off her, he wanted her all the time, and he couldn’t imagine not touching her. It scared him to think that they weren’t going to be attached at the hip after that afternoon. Fallon was starting school, and he was about to start training camp. What was he going to do without her every day?

Fallon shook her head. “My dad would have a fit.”

“So? He wouldn’t know until you go home and when is that? In three years?”

Fallon giggled. “I do go home for holidays.”

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. “So get it somewhere he won’t see.”

“No, ‘cause the only place I want a tattoo is on my wrist.”

Lucas smiled as he picked up her hand and started to examine her wrist. “That would be a very sexy place for one.” She giggled as he ran his tongue along her wrist to her pinkie, where he softly bit. “We should get matching ones.”

She laughed as she pulled her hand from his, pushing him onto his back and crawling on top of him. “Isn’t that something you do with your soul mate?”

“Soul mate? What’s that?” he joked.

She smiled. “You know, that one person, like your momma always says. That person that takes your breath away with one glance, the person you’ll love for the rest of your life, the one that even after 90 years of marriage you still love like you did the very first day. You know, the one.” She gave him a shy smile and then snuggled her face into his neck, giggling.

Lucas smiled, taking in a deep breath as he ran his hands down her back onto the back of her thighs. He had fallen hard for this girl, and he knew he was going to love her for the rest of his life. No one understood him the way she did. No one could make him laugh the way she could. No one could make him feel safe like she did. She was his person, his one.

“You are my one,” he whispered.

She slowly raised her head and looked down at him with the biggest, brightest set of caramel eyes he had ever seen. He had never loved the color of someone’s eyes until Fallon. She was beyond beautiful, and she was all his. “How do you know?”

“Because I do”

Fallon’s eyes filled with tears as she glanced down at him. “Is that right?” she said, bringing her hands up to his face and cupping lightly.

“Oh yeah it’s right, my little country girl. You are mine for forever.”

Fallon gave him a small smile before pressing her lips to his. He kissed her with everything inside him, holding her close to him as he devoured her mouth. He hoped they didn’t get kicked out of the park for public display but then again, he didn’t care. Something else to tell the grandkids, he thought as he moved his hands up from her thighs to the middle of her back.

When they parted she grinned down at him and said, “You still love me?”

He laughed. It had been a week since they first told each other they loved each other, and for some reason, she was having a hard time believing him. To reassure her, he said, “Of course I do.”

“I love you too,” she gushed, running her nose along his. “So when we are totally devoted to each other and married with many little babies around us, we’ll go get matching wrist tattoos, okay?”

He nodded as he gazed lovingly up in her eyes. “Totally devoted?”

“Yup, totally devoted.”

“Who says I’m not totally devoted now?”

Fallon giggled. “You very well may be, but we are not married and there are no babies around us.”

Lucas gave her a naughty grin before he smacked her ass playfully, pressing his hard-on into her cushion of softness. “Wanna start practicing for those babies?”

Fallon laughed. “You were a total horn dog back then.”

Lucas looked over at her, confused. “I’m not anymore? Man, I’m going to have to step up my game.”

Fallon continued to laugh and Lucas joined in, leaning against her as their bodies shook with laughter. When they calmed down, he brought her wrist up to his lips, kissing it lightly as he looked into her eyes. “Totally devoted?”

Fallon took in a sharp breath as she nodded. “Totally devoted.”

“I’m there, Fal.”

Fallon let out the breath she was holding as she shook her head. “What if I’m not?”

Lucas’ heart broke a little, but he could tell she wanted to be there with him by the way she was gazing into his eyes. “You may not be now, but I think you are almost there.”

Fallon nodded. “I’m trying.”

“That’s all I can ask for.”

Fallon leaned her head against his, placing a sweet soft kissed against his lips. As they parted he ran his nose along hers before reconnecting their lips. Lucas slid his hand along Fallon’s legs, pulling her closer for more, but she stopped him with a giggle as she pulled back.

“What?”

She shook her head, moving away from him. She crossed her legs and fixed her skirt before saying, “Not only are we on a plane, Aiden is right next to you.”

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. “We are at the back, and Aiden isn’t even paying attention.”

Aiden chose that moment to turn and looked up at them with wide eyes. “Are we almost there? I’m bored.”

Lucas let out a groan as Fallon giggled, pulling Aiden across Lucas into her lap. As Lucas watched them play a game on Fallon’s phone, his control was snapping.

When the hell were they going to get naked again!?

Watching Aiden’s face at Disneyland brought Fallon to tears. She cried the whole time and she knew that both Lucas and Aiden thought she was crazy, but she didn’t care. It was true; Disneyland was the most magical place on earth! The day went too quickly for Fallon and she wished they could have done it over. Aiden was in heaven and Fallon could honestly say that Lucas was too. She wasn’t sure if her favorite part of the day was watching Aiden meet Mickey for the first time or if it was when she and Lucas kissed beneath Sleeping Beauty’s castle. Both times were magical and she would remember them for the rest of her life.

They all slept like rocks that night, and the next morning she made a humongous breakfast before they all went out for a day of shopping. It surprised her how Aiden didn’t complain much, but she knew it was because Lucas kept him occupied. Apparently Lucas had promised Aiden that he would take him to the kids’ Billabong, and they had spent most of the afternoon there. Aiden left with so many bags, Fallon knew Lucas wasn’t going to be able to get them in the car — especially after her trip to Kate Spade — but he had somehow.

The next day, Fallon sat on her bright pink beach towel in her amazing Betsy Johnson black and white lace bikini. She had to have it when she saw it while shopping for Audrey. There was something about the lace, and pretty little pink flowers, that screamed her name. Fallon was ready to break her budget when she tried it on — it fit her body perfectly — but Lucas was basically drooling and demanded to buy it. Even though she told him no, he bought it anyways and she figured she would wear it for him today.

As she watched Lucas and Aiden run through the ocean, she soaked in the fantastic California sun. There was something about California that could bring a smile to even the saddest person. She loved the sound of the ocean, the smell of the air, and basically everything about it. Or maybe the reason she loved California so much was because it was the place where she first fell in love. When Lucas brought up that day at the park, Fallon couldn’t seem to catch her breath. She could recall everything about that day. The taste of the strawberries that he had insisted on dusting with sugar and the way the sun was so hot since it was the last day of the summer. She had been beyond in love with Lucas and was like she said, totally devoted. He had been her everything.

As she watched him now, she couldn’t help but feel that way again. How it happened was beyond her, but like anything else between them, it was bound to happen. Fallon watched as Lucas picked Aiden up and threw him in the ocean. Her body jerked with the worry of Aiden messing up his cast but Lucas assured her that he had sealed it well with the plastic bags. Fallon had to trust him so she sat back, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth.

When Fallon’s phone rang, she took it as a sign from God to answer since she was ready to freak out with worry over Aiden. She sat up, picking up her phone to see it was Elli.

“Elli Adler! I’ve been waiting to hear from you,” Fallon gushed. She had been sitting on pins and needles waiting for the proofs from the campaign. Elli had said she would have them to her as soon as possible, but it had been three days and Fallon was freaking out.

Like always.

Elli’s laughter rang over the line and Fallon smiled. “Fallon Parker, it is mighty hard to edit pictures, be pregnant, take care of a nine month old AND run a hockey club. Just saying.”

Fallon laughed. “I’m just pickin’, are you done?”

Elli laughed again. “Of course I am, that’s why I’m calling you. Janet is sending you the 10 proofs. I am really happy with these and I’m sure you will be too. After you love them, send them to get printed.”

“Awesome, can’t wait to see them! Are they good?”

Elli let out a breathy sigh. “They are exquisite. I swear Fallon, y’all are flippin’ gorgeous together. I was actually getting turned on watching y’all make out!”

Fallon giggled as her body warmed from head to toe. It had been a long couple of weeks of not having Lucas inside her, or on top of her, or anything with her. She was beyond ready, and they needed to find time to do that.

“You’re making me blush Elli!”

Elli giggled. “Take a look at them, let me know.”

“Wait, answer me this,” Fallon said quickly since she thought Elli was going to hang up.

“What?”

“How’d it feel being back behind that camera?”

Elli was quiet for a moment and then said, “It felt fantastic, and I didn’t realize how much I missed it.”

“Aw, you gonna quit and go back to it?”

Elli let out a laugh. “It’s funny you say that cause that’s what Shea asked.”

Fallon smiled. “So are you?”

“Not right now, I might talk to Papaw about taking it easy, especially with baby number two coming, but I love running the team. I love the guys and I love the business aspect. I feel important.”

Fallon nodded. “I know what you mean babe. Okay, well I’ll let you go. I’ll call you soon.”

“Alright, bye.”

Fallon hung up the phone and went to her e-mail to see that Janet had made quick work of sending her the pictures. Just as Fallon opened the e-mail, Lucas flopped down beside her, breathing hard.

“Our son tried to drown me!”

Fallon giggled as she looked over at him. Her eyes traveled down his perfectly ripped body, causing her toes to curl. Jeez, he made her hot with one glance!

“You’re fine. How’s his cast?” she asked, looking back at her phone. She had to look away, or no telling what would happen.

“Fine, it’s sealed up well. My mom taught me how to do that.”

Fallon nodded with a small smile. She was about to say that Molly knows best when a picture of her in Lucas’ arms, kissing him senseless, came up on her phone. She took in a quick breath, a bright smile on her face as she scrutinized everything about the picture. It was perfect — the colors they wore, the backdrop, the hockey bag at their feet — and then them. They were gorgeous. Elli was right.

“Oh, the pictures came in?” Lucas asked. She nodded her head as he placed his head on her shoulder. She could smell the salt from the ocean, and cold drops of water fell along her shoulder. She didn’t mind too much, she was too busy scrutinizing the pictures. She went to next picture and with each one, her smile grew brighter. They were perfect. She hated orange, but she had to admit she looked good in it — especially beside a sexy Lucas. When she came to the pictures of them in the vineyard, her breath caught. They were stunning, Fallon in a long, orange, mermaid-styled gown and Lucas in a crisp black suit. It was spectacular and Fallon couldn’t be happier. That was, until she came to the close up of her and Lucas with her bottom lip between his teeth. It was racy, but elegant. Only she knew that he was moving his tongue along her lip while everyone else would only see that they were completely in love. He was gazing into her eyes like she was the only woman in the world, and the look of completion on her face was timeless, perfect even.

“Wow, that’s hot,” Lucas gasped beside her.

“I know.”

“I want a copy of that. Can you put it on my phone?”

Fallon nodded. “Sure.”

“And get me a big copy for above my bed, because that’s a good picture to go to sleep to.”

Fallon giggled as she looked over at him. “You’re crazy.”

“About you babe,” he said, kissing her cheek. “So these will be at the party?”

“Yup, lining the whole place. Think everyone will love them?”

Lucas nodded. “I don’t see why not, they are awesome.”

Fallon gave him a cheeky grin before going back through them again. She couldn’t get enough of them. She even wanted her own copy for her room. They were that good. Eleanor Adler was something, that’s for sure.

“So do you have a date for this thing?”

Fallon glanced over at Lucas as a small smile came across her lips. She shook her head slowly as she said, “No.”

Lucas gave her a sly grin before moving his face close to hers. “Wanna go out with me?”

She let out a girly giggle, causing him to smile fully at her. She took in a deep breath before shrugging her shoulders. “I guess.”

“You guess?” he asked with one eyebrow cocked.

Fallon laughed. “Well no one else has asked me.”

Lucas narrowed his eyes before he smacked her phone out of her hand.

“Hey!” she yelled as he stood up. She went to reach for her phone but Lucas took a hold of her ankle and started pulling her towards the ocean. “Lucas!” she yelled as sand scratched her butt. “Stop!” she laughed. “Sand is going up my butt!”

Lucas laughed before stopping and picking her up over his shoulders. She screamed the whole way to the ocean while Aiden laughed like it was the funniest thing he had ever seen.

“Aiden help me!” Fallon yelled, but Aiden wasn’t moving.

“Nuh-uh, he’ll throw me!” Aiden laughed.

Lucas went until he was waist deep in the ocean before he smacked Fallon’s butt loudly. “You guess you will go with me?”

“I’ll go with you!” she yelled.

Lucas’ laughter ran up her spine as he brought her down into his arms. He placed a kiss on her lips and when they parted he smiled against her lips. “Good.”

Lucas then pushed her under the water.

Fallon came up sputtering for air and after getting the water out of her eyes, she looked up into Lucas’ gorgeous face.

“I ain’t going anywhere with you!” she spat, stopping his laughter.

“Really? Cause I can dunk you again,” he said with a cocky grin.

“Do it Daddy! Do it!” Aiden chanted from the beach.

Fallon cut him a look as she pointed to him. “Whose side are you on!”

Aiden giggled as Lucas grinned down at her. “So are we going to safely get to the beach, or am I dunking you again?”

Fallon glared up at him and then smiled sweetly when she decided she wanted to play nice. “You know I’d only go with you.”

He gave her a grin before turning and heading towards the beach. That was her chance and she took it, jumping on his back and dunking him underwater. She swam quickly away from him and by the time she heard him sputtering she was already walking up the shore. Aiden was laughing so hard, he couldn’t breathe but that didn’t stop Fallon from picking him up and throwing him into the ocean too.

When she flopped down onto her beach towel, she shook the excess water off herself and smiled towards her two stunned boys. “Don’t mess with Momma.”

*******

Fallon stood in a towel looking down at the four dresses she had laid out for the party. Lucas and Aiden’s babysitter, Susie, was due there at any moment, and Fallon still wasn’t dressed. She couldn’t decide if she wanted to be sexy, sweet or professional. It was driving her insane. When her door opened, she turned to see Audrey looking gorgeous in a pale pink one shoulder sheath dress. Glitter covered the bodice and went down the dress in pretty little swirls. She wore pale pink platform heels with a sparkly bracelet on her wrist and big diamond earrings in her ears.

Fallon’s shoulders fell at Audrey’s beauty and her heart broke because they hadn’t talked since Audrey and Lucas had fought. She had missed her baby sister so much, and seeing her all dolled up to the nines was bittersweet. She knew Audrey was still with that douche bag but she didn’t want to argue with her, she just wanted Audrey to be happy.

“You look stunning Audrey,” Fallon gushed.

Audrey smiled as she twisted her hips, causing the dress to swoosh back and forth. “Lucas got me this dress.”

“It’s fantastic.”

Audrey blushed as a beautiful bright grin came over her face, “Thanks. Why aren’t you dressed though? Susie’s here.”

“Crap! I can’t decide on what I want to wear,” Fallon said. She pointed down at her dresses before looking back at Audrey. “I don’t know if I want to be sexy, sweet or professional.”

Audrey laughed while she moved towards the bed, looking down at the dresses. She pointed to the backless black one and shook her head. “Mom and Dad are going to be there, so that one is out.”

Fallon nodded her head as she went on to the next one. “This one is nice, but I don’t like that bow. It’s between this grey one and that grey and black one. Try them on real quick.”

Fallon nodded again, picking up the first dress and throwing it on. It was black and went to her knees. There was lace that went around her neck as a halter top, showing a lot of her back.

“What shoes?” Audrey asked with her index finger on her chin.

“These black ones,” Fallon said sliding her feel into her black suede heels that had a big black bow on the side.

“Hmm, okay next dress.”

Fallon undressed quickly and threw on the next dress. It was a light grey with a fitted skirt that went down to below her knees. It cut down low and the sleeves were made of grey lace that was designed in pretty flowers. Fallon slid her feet into her grey lace heels and when she looked up, Audrey was grinning at her.

“That’s it.”

Fallon clapped her hands together and ran to the bathroom to fix her makeup so that it matched her dress. She noticed Audrey had followed her and was leaning against the doorway as she applied her eye shadow.

“Everything okay?” Fallon found herself asking.

“Yeah.”

“How’s things with…that guy you’re seeing?”

Audrey rolled her eyes. “Everything’s fine with us.”

“Okay,” Fallon said, even though she knew Audrey was lying. Audrey shrugged her shoulders and turned to leave the room without another word. Fallon shook her head in disgust. She wanted to shake Audrey to death but knew it would do no good. The girl was in love.

After finishing the rest of her makeup, she made sure her hair was in perfect curls before leaving the bathroom and heading downstairs. Fallon reached the bottom step just as Aiden took off towards the door and threw it open. Audrey stood up from the couch, and so did Susie as Lucas came in, looking devilishly sexy. He wore an expensive, sleek-looking blue suit with a silver tie. His hair was combed over to the side, and, thankfully, he hadn’t shaved. A grin stayed on his face when he looked over at Audrey before starting towards her. Fallon watched as he reached for Audrey’s hands and squeezed them tightly before placing a kiss on her cheek.

“Well I must say Audrey, you look gorgeous,” he said with a charming smile on his face.

Audrey’s cheeks dusted a beautiful deep red before she pulled her hands from his while trying not to smile. “Whatever.”

Lucas laughed. “Come on Audrey, you still can’t be mad at me.” Audrey shrugged her shoulders. “You are too pretty to still be mad at me,” he finished and that did it. She grinned over at him and smacked him in the arm before turning to go to the kitchen.

“Dad, this is Mrs. Susie, my babysitter!” Aiden said from beside Susie. Susie smiled up at Lucas and Fallon snickered at the look of awe on Susie’s face. She had been watching Aiden since he was a baby. Whenever Audrey couldn’t keep Aiden, Susie would. She was a sweet lady in her late thirties with an infectious laugh. She was so funny and Aiden just adored her.

Lucas turned the charm way up as he shook Susie’s hand. “Nice to meet you, I’m Lucas Brooks.”

Susie giggled as her face turned bright red. Fallon couldn’t blame her. Fallon was blushing and Lucas wasn’t even turning the charm on her. “Nice to meet you too,” was all Susie got out before she started giggling like a school girl.

Lucas smiled as he said, “So are you an all-night babysitter?”

“Lucas!” Fallon yelled. Lucas turned quickly and when their eyes met, Fallon was about to hire Susie for all night. Lucas’ eyes went dark as he slowly came towards her with a sexy grin on his mouth. Fallon slowly blinked once, bringing her bottom lip in between her teeth as he closed the distance between them and met her lips with his. Her hand came up to his cheek and welcomed the rough feeling from the hair along his jaw against her palm. She craved it, missed it even.

“They do this all the time.”

Fallon parted from Lucas with a bashful grin on her face before looking over at Aiden. “Hush, Aiden.” Aiden giggled as she looked up into Lucas’ eyes. Yeah, it was about time they had some alone time.

“Audrey?” she asked.

“I’m coming home,” Audrey said, passing by them. Fallon smiled widely up at Lucas and he returned it.

“Good,” she said before running her finger down Lucas’ bottom lip. “Is it okay if I stay the night?”

Lucas didn’t need to say anything, his eyes said it all. He slowly nodded before bringing his lips close to hers. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Chapter 34

The first thing Fallon saw when she walked into the campaign party was the close up picture of her and Lucas. Along the bottom, in the signature orange, it read:

“Rocky Top Wine is sensational, but it tastes better from her lips.”

It looked amazing, and Fallon couldn’t wait to see it hung along the walls of the arena and all through Nashville. Lucas squeezed Fallon’s hand and she glanced over to see him grinning at her. “Looks amazing babe, I’m proud of you,” he said. Tears sprang to her eyes from the overwhelming feeling of accomplishment and Lucas’ loving words. Lucas then leaned over and kissed her cheek softly before grinning down at her.

As they walked closer to the where the party was in full swing, each of the 10 pictures stood large in different spots along the outside of the party. Black and orange adorned every surface of the arena. Since it was a tie in, Grace suggested that they used black and orange. A color from each party, and Fallon couldn’t agree more. It looked a little Halloween-ish but it worked, and the way Grace had done it made it look classy. Fallon couldn’t wait to find Grace and thank her. She had done an outstanding job.

Fallon saw everyone from the company and a lot of the guys from the team. Elli had made it a mandatory party since the guys were leaving out Sunday for their first game of the playoffs against the Minnesota Wild. It was the Assassins last hurrah before things became serious. As Lucas and Fallon walked hand in hand through the party, Lucas would stop and shake hands with someone before introducing Fallon to them. Fallon did the same thing with her co-workers and it felt nice to have someone on her arm. She felt amazing and was beyond proud of herself for how the campaign had come out, but she couldn’t take full credit.

When Elli came into view, a large smile formed on Fallon’s face. The campaign would have never happened if it wasn’t for Elli, and Fallon would be eternally grateful to her. Elli looked amazing in a short burgundy Dolce & Gabbana baby-doll dress. She wore black tights and amazing sparkly silver platform heels. Her hair was in a pretty bun with a braid wrapped around the base. Shea stood beside her in a nice tailored gray suit with a burgundy tie. His hair was done nicely to the side, and Fallon couldn’t help but notice the burgundy Chuck Taylors he wore. Shea’s arm was wrapped tight around Elli’s waist, his hand resting against her swollen middle. Love radiated from them, and when Shea leaned over to kiss Elli’s nose, Fallon melted inside.

Shea was a dream.

“I see you eyeing Adler, and I don’t like it,” Lucas whispered in her ear.

Fallon giggled as she elbowed him softly in the gut. “I am not, they’re just so in love with each other.”

Lucas nodded as he glanced over towards them. “Yeah, they are,” he said. Fallon looked up at him as he brought her hand to his lips. “I want you to meet someone before we head over there.”

Fallon smiled. “Okay.”

Lucas directed her towards a younger-looking guy that stood alone by the refreshment table. He was extremely tall and completely gorgeous. He had long blonde hair that dusted the top of his shoulders; his eyes were the brightest blue Fallon had ever seen. They were almost like ice, and when he pinned Fallon with them, she felt like he was looking into her soul. He was so sweet-looking, and man he was pretty! Lucas reached up and cupped the guy on the shoulder before grinning down at Fallon.

“Tate Odder, this is my girlfriend, Fallon Parker. Fallon this is Tate, he’s our new goalie. He doesn’t speak a lick of English, but he’s a good kid.”

Tate reached his hand out, taking Fallon’s before bringing it to his lips and kissing the back of her hand. “Nice, to, meet you,” he said before flashing her a killer smile. Fallon noticed that he had a gap between his two front teeth and her heart stopped.

He was a doll baby!

“Oh aren’t you too cute for words! I could just pinch your cheeks! It’s so nice to meet you too,” Fallon gushed. Tate grinned down at her while Lucas glared over at her. Fallon giggled before reaching up and pinching his cheek, she had to! He was a sweetie! “How old are you?” she asked, since he looked like he was 10.

“Twenty.”

“Aww, you’re a baby! Lucas you need to keep an eye on him, he is just so sweet.”

The grin remained on Tate’s face as Lucas shook his head. “I’ll catch up with you later Tate, come on Fal,” Lucas said pulling her away, “Thank God, he doesn’t know much English. Damn Fal, you just emasculated him!”

“I did not!” Fallon denied as she looked over at him. “He’s a doll baby, so sweet.”

“Gosh, he’s a man, treat him like one,” Lucas said with a shake of his head.

“Well excuse me,” Fallon laughed as they made their way to Elli and Shea, “I thought he was cute.”

“You treated him the way you treat Aiden. He’s a man, not a boy.”

“Whatever,” Fallon laughed. She didn’t think she was that bad and if she was, she would apologize later. She couldn’t help herself though, he was such a sweetie. He looked like one of those guys you have to love and take care of. Maybe it was her momma bear ways but Tate was just too sweet.

When they reached Elli and Shea, a large smile formed on Fallon’s face before she wrapped Elli up in a hug.

“Hey girl!” Elli gushed as they parted. “Pictures look awesome, huh?”

“Amazing! I love it,” Fallon gushed. “Hey Shea.”

“Hey, you look beautiful,” he said with a grin as Elli leaned over, kissing Lucas’ cheek.

“Thanks,” Fallon said sweetly.

“Elli, you look beautiful,” Lucas said with a grin just for the team owner. Fallon noticed the way Shea’s chest puffed out as he glared over at Lucas, but Lucas didn’t seem to care. If she was him, she would care. Shea was scary.

Elli smiled, running her hands down her belly. “Thanks, but one day, I will wear a dress like Fallon’s. Until then I will be wearing these kinds of dresses.”

Fallon laughed as Shea smiled lovely down at Elli. “I love your dress.”

“Yeah but I bet you like the purple Gucci dress I have at home that I’ve wore once, more,” Elli said with a pointed look. “I’ll never get into that dress again, Shea, if I keep having babies!”

Shea shook his head. “I don’t care. I love you just the way you are.”

A quiet, heated moment passed between them and Fallon felt like she was interrupting a private moment when she said, “You know Elli, you never did tell me what you’re naming this one. I had to find out from Lucas that you were having a girl!”

Elli blushed, tearing her gaze away from Shea and smiling over at Fallon. “Sorry about that, I was trying to keep it a surprise, but Shea’s got a big mouth,” she said with a grin for Shea. “We’re naming her Posey Rose.”

Fallon blinked twice and told herself not to laugh. It was their child and if that was what they wanted to name her, more power to them. Even if it was the ugliest name Fallon had ever heard.

“Posey Rose?” Lucas asked.

Fallon elbowed him in the gut, causing Lucas to let out an oomph as Elli said, “Yup. Shea got to name Shelli Grace so I get to name this one, and I love oldie type names, and Posey is just gorgeous. So Posey Rose is it, and then we are done. Right Shea?” Elli looked up at Shea and he nodded quickly. Elli looked over at them with a grin and Fallon noticed that Shea was shaking his head. When he put up two fingers and mouthed ‘more’, Fallon couldn’t hold in her laughter and almost fell over from laughing so hard.

“What?” Elli asked. She looked up at Shea, catching him with the two fingers up and she smacked him in the chest. “I ain’t having anymore! I’m done!”

Lucas pulled Fallon away, both of them laughing as Mr. and Mrs. Adler had it out by the cocktail table. Lucas wrapped Fallon up in his arms and kissed her neck as they stopped in front of the large portrait of them kissing in the vineyards.

“Shea’s going to keep her pregnant for the next five years,” Lucas said against her neck.

Fallon giggled. “You’re probably right.”

“He’s a lucky man.”

Fallon nodded. “He sure is.”

Lucas bit softly at her ear, causing Fallon’s eyes to slowly shut. As he ran his tongue down her lobe and along her neck, she let out a breathy sigh, wishing they were anywhere but at the party. “So am I,” he whispered in her ear. “God, I want you so bad.”

Fallon took in a shuddering breath. “You have no idea how much I wish we were anywhere but here.”

Lucas took in a jagged breath before biting down softly on her neck. “Wanna leave?”

Fallon was about to say yes, but before she could, she heard “Fallon?”

Fallon opened her eyes and looked over to where her mother and father stood, eying her and Lucas. Lucas took a step back before reaching out for William’s hand. After shaking hand with him, Lucas kissed Nora on her cheek and complimented her flashy red dress. Nora had come dressed to impress and Fallon figured she must have visited Dr. Swartz in the last few days. Nora didn’t look a day over 30 and her lips were too big to be real. Beside her, William stood tall and dashing in his black suit with orange tie. He leaned awkwardly over to Fallon, kissing her cheek before Nora did the same.

“Well darlin’ don’t you look stunning. I love this dress,” Nora gushed, running her hand down the lace of the bodice.

“Thanks Momma, I love yours too.”

Nora gave her a sweet grin as William eyed Lucas. Fallon glanced over at Lucas, wondering what William was looking at, just as Lucas cleared his throat. “I’m going to go visit with coach.”

“Why?” Fallon asked, begging him with her eyes not to leave.

“Because he is my coach,” Lucas said with a tight smile. “Visit with your mom and dad. I’ll be back in a few.”

“Actually Lucas, Nora hasn’t met Bacter yet. Why don’t you take her with you,” William suggested.

“Oh yes! I’ve heard so much about him,” Nora said, locking arms with Lucas. Fallon continued to beg Lucas with her eyes not to leave, but he gave her a small smile before shrugging his shoulders and walking away. Fallon felt as if she was having a panic attack as she watched Lucas and Nora walk away. Why on earth would Lucas leave her? He knew she had daddy issues! If Fallon wasn’t so damn horny, she would be rethinking going home with him.

“Fallon Ryane, everything looks amazing in here,” William said, looking up at the picture in front of them. Fallon glanced up and nodded even though he wasn’t looking at her.

“Thank you. Grace Justice is the party planner.”

“I know that, but that’s not what I mean. I mean about the campaign. It looks amazing,” he said. Fallon glanced over him, her breathing picking up as she looked at his profile. “I was wrong for doubting you. You knew what you were doing, and I’m sorry for what I said.”

Fallon couldn’t breathe; she couldn’t even form words as she looked up at the man that she had been starving for love from. Was this the moment he would say he was proud of her? Would he take her into his arms and tell her he loved her? Fallon watched as he took in a deep breath and looked over at her. “Since you have the capital for the cellar, I’m approving you to go with it. Let’s hope you don’t mess it up since it is a lot of money. Good job though, Fallon. You sure are a beautiful woman.”

Fallon’s heart shattered into a billion pieces as she watched her father walk away without even a second glance back at her. He had approved her dream, but he couldn’t even tell her he loved her, or that he was proud of her?

So much for hoping for the impossible.

Lucas could tell by the look on Fallon’s face that the encounter with William wasn’t a good one. As William talked to Fallon, she looked as if she was hanging on his every word, waiting for that moment when he would tell her he was proud of her. When William walked away, Lucas knew he didn’t say it because of the way Fallon’s shoulders sagged and by the way she turned slowly to look back up at the portrait of them. Lucas excused himself and went towards her. He wrapped her up from behind, and when she saw it was him, she relaxed against his chest, leaning her head against his.

“Everything okay?” Lucas asked, pressing his lips to her cheek.

“I’m contemplating if I’m going home with you. How dare you leave me with that man?”

Lucas chuckled against her cheek. “Sorry baby girl, I was trying to help.”

“Well, young Skywalker, help, you did not,” she laughed as Lucas’ heart warmed. “You remember all those nights we watched Star Wars?”

Lucas nodded. “Good nights.”

“Long nights. I can’t believe I was so obsessed then.”

Lucas laughed. “I never understood it, but I did it for you.”

Fallon looked over at him, a smile on her glossed up lips. She looked amazing tonight, classy but sexy all in one. He wanted to rip that lace off her and bury his face in her chest. He wanted her naked. Now. Lucas had a feeling that her dress would end up in shreds on the floor beside his bed before the night was over. Or at least he hoped it did. Fallon took in a deep breath as Lucas’ grip on her waist became tighter.

“Come dance with me,” he whispered against her neck.

Fallon nodded and Lucas let her go, taking her hand in his as a very well-known R&B song started. Lucas grinned back at her and she was all smiles as they reached the large dance floor. Fallon pulled her hand from his and started moving her body to the hard-hitting beats. Lucas pulled her to him, moving their bodies together in perfect unison. There was no room between them as they rubbed against each other. It was their foreplay before the real foreplay started, and Lucas’ mind was swirling with lust. There was something about dancing with Fallon that had him on edge. Then she wrapped her arms around his neck at the end of the song and whispered, “You know I’m the best you ever had.”

Lucas almost came undone. Luckily, a beautiful guitar melody started and Jason Mraz started to sing about looking into someone’s eyes, taking Lucas’ mind off getting Fallon naked. As he gazed into her eyes, it wasn’t about the sex, it was about the love. He held her close, his hands running down her back and ending right above her bottom. Fallon locked her hands behind his neck, leaning her head against his as they swayed to the music. As they moved slowly, their bodies closely together, Lucas felt like no one else was in the room. It was only them.

Lucas couldn’t believe how far they had come. It was as if he was back in his 21-year-old body, only wanting her and knowing that he could never love anyone the way he loved her. He was so lucky to have this second chance, and it still blew his mind that he had her in his arms again. As she placed her lips to his, he couldn’t help but think that all his hard work had paid off. That he finally had his reason for living back, and that no matter what he would always love her. Fallon would always be his person, his best friend, and no matter what happened at least he knew that he gave their relationship everything inside him. He just hoped that she did the same, because his life would never be complete without her in it.

As they parted and she opened her eyes, Lucas smiled, running his nose down hers. “I won’t give up on us,” he whispered.

Fallon smiled. “Good song, huh?”

“Yeah, but I mean it Fallon. This is me and you, until the end.”

Fallon closed her eyes as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I hope so.”

Lucas waited for her to open her eyes before he said, “You don’t need to hope Fallon. It’s the truth.”

Fallon laughed nervously. “How do you know that, Lucas? You can’t tell the future.”

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. “No, but I know what is in my heart, and it’s you and Aiden.” Lucas cleared his throat as Fallon looked into his eyes with her own eyes filling with tears. “I love you, Fallon.”

Her shoulder’s fell as she leaned her head against his. She took in a shuddering breath as he held her close, waiting for her to say it to him. When she opened her eyes and a tear spilled over her plump cheek and he knew she wasn’t going to say it. “I’m trying, but …”

Lucas shook his head before saying, “At least you are trying. That’s all I can ask for.”

“You deserve better. Maybe Audrey was right.”

Lucas shook his head. “You are too good for me Fallon, so shut up, and come home with me. Now.”

Lucas knew in his heart that she loved him, she was just being stubborn. Instead of dwelling on her not saying that she loved him, he would much rather take her home to put her body to work. Lust filled his eyes at the thought of what he wanted to do, while his hand slid down her back to her bottom. If he thought about the possibility of her not loving him, he might fall apart. So he pressed himself against her and nipped at her chin as he pushed all those thoughts to the back of his head. A small smile pulled at the side of Fallon’s mouth as she glanced up at him through half lidded eyes. “I’m ready when you are.”

Lucas was impressed with the fact that they had made it all the way home and even in the house before they started pulling at each other’s clothes. Once inside and after making sure Levi wasn’t home, Fallon worked on undoing his tie as he looked for the zipper of her dress.

“Do not rip this dress,” she said between kisses. Lucas laughed against her lips since he was thinking just that as she slowly removed his jacket.

“Then take it off,” he said, pulling away from her. She took a step back from him, running her hands down her body before unzipping the dress slowly down the side. Fallon moved like she was dancing to music that played only in her head, and Lucas begged to be in there with her. As he leaned against the door, his body was taut as he watched her slowly move the dress down her body, exposing inch by delectable inch of her beautiful tanned skin. She wore no bra, but that wasn’t what had him hard as a rock — it was the naughty lace thong that barely covered anything. Fallon brought her hands up her body, cupping her breasts before turning and giving him a spectacular view of her round bottom. She started to walk away, her heels clicking on the marble floor and Lucas almost tripped over his feet trying to catch up to her.

As they climbed the stairs, pieces of Lucas’ suit were left along the way, and he couldn’t have cared less about the wrinkles that it would cause — all he cared about was removing that lace thong. When they reached his closed door, Fallon reached for the handle to open it, but he stopped her. Moving his hands into hers and then above her head as she let out little gasps of air, he pressed his aching bulge into her soft ass and dusted kisses along her shoulders and up her neck. She was breathing hard, and her eyes closed as she lengthened her neck, giving him all the room he desired. He moved his hands from hers and slowly moved them down her body until he came to her lace thong.

Lucas placed soft kisses along the back of her neck as his hand moved inside of the lace, cupping her softly. He moved his lips down the middle of her back and was rewarded with a shiver as he continued down her body. He kissed along her spine, until he reached the top of her thong. Lucas dropped to his knees and looked up at her to see she was looking over her shoulder at him through those sexy wide eyes. As he grazed his teeth along the top of her thong where all three straps of lace met, Fallon let out a soft moan. He pulled the fabric away from her body with his teeth and she writhed against the wall.

“Oh God, please,” she cried.

Lucas couldn’t take it anymore and jerked his head quickly to the side. The sound of ripping fabric filled the hall before the thong hung from his mouth and a devilish grin formed on his face. Fallon turned quickly, looking down at him before she reached down, taking the panties from his mouth and throwing them down the hall. Lucas stood up and reached for her, pressing their warm bodies together as he opened the door. He pushed her inside and shut the door behind him before turning to lock it. When he turned he found Fallon sitting on the edge of the bed, with her legs crossed and a naughty smile on her face. Lucas’ dick twitched at the sight of her beautifully naked body, and he swore he came when her finger came up, beckoning for him to come to her.

He didn’t keep her waiting.

Quickly closing the gap between them, his body was on fire and he needed her. Now. He went to push her back in the bed, but she shook her head, running her hands down his chest. Her hands stopped at his hips as her mouth did work on each of his abs. He didn’t realize what she was doing until she ran her tongue slowly down his swollen shaft. Lucas took in a sharp breath through his teeth before locking his fingers behind his head. He knew if he didn’t, he was going to rip her hair out from the pleasure she was about to give him.

When Fallon took him into her sweet succulent mouth, Lucas let out a long husky moan as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. She swirled her tongue along the head of his shaft before taking him to the back of her throat. She started to go faster, repeating the motions, making it entirely too hard for Lucas to keep his hands locked behind his head. When she ran her nails down his thighs before cupping his balls, he couldn’t take it anymore. He pulled away from her and before she could say anything, he flipped her over onto her belly and drove into her. She cried out his name and that drove him to go into her harder. He picked her up by her hips, giving him a better angle before plunging deeply inside her. Lucas couldn’t go slow, he couldn’t. He drove into her to the hilt and then back out before repeating it again.

“Harder,” she cried, and he didn’t disappoint. The sound of flesh meeting and Fallon’s moans were the only noises coming from Lucas’ room. When she came, she shuddered as her body clenched in spasms around his hot, bulging shaft. Lucas bit down on his bottom lip as he tried to push past the intense pleasure her tight, wet flesh was giving him. He was only able thrust into her twice more before he exploded inside her with a great cry of deliverance. His body convulsed as his fingers bit into her hips.

Lucas opened his eyes to see only the profile of Fallon’s face. Her breathing was erratic, and Lucas knew his was too. He looked down to where they were still connected and smacked her ass playfully. Fallon let out a cry and he laughed as he pulled out of her and fell down into the spot beside her. Lucas took in a deep breath before looking over at her flushed face. He smiled before slowly leaning over and pressing his lips to hers. They parted slowly, and he went back for more. Her hand cupped his face as his pulled her closer to him. Fallon pulled back, and smiled before nipping at his bottom lip.

“Goodness me, that was fantastic.”

Lucas nodded. He then slowly ran his nose along hers before meeting his lips to hers for more of her drugging kisses. As they continued to kiss slowly, he couldn’t bring her close enough to him. He wanted to mold their bodies together and live together as one.

“God, I love you,” he whispered against her lips. He went to kiss her again but she pulled back.

“I’m trying to allow myself to say it, Lucas, I am, but it’s just so hard. I want to, but I’m scared of what could happen. I’m scared you’ll leave me again, and then I’ll be brokenhearted again. I can’t do it again.”

“Fallon I’m not going anywhere. I love you, I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that I’ll never cheat, lie, or do anything to hurt you. I promise you that, you got to believe me baby, you have to trust me.”

Fallon nodded. “I’m trying Lucas, I am. Just don’t hate me okay?”

Lucas shook his head. He knew she loved him — call him cocky — but he knew. Fallon was his, and he was confident that she wasn’t going anywhere. Things were still a little messy in some spots but for the most part they were good. He didn’t know what else he had to do to prove he would never her hurt again but he would figure it out. Nothing was going to come between them again. He loved her too much to lose her again.

Lucas moved a stray piece of hair out of her eyes and kissed her nose before saying, “Fallon, I could never hate you. I love you too much.”

Fallon closed her eyes, pressing her forehead to his. “I’ve been waiting so long to hear you say that again. It’s like a dream.”

Lucas nodded his head. “I know what you mean and baby,” she looked up and he smiled, “I’ll wait forever for you to make my dreams come true because baby girl, I’m not going anywhere.”

A small smiled tugged at her lips as she gazed up into his eyes.

“Totally devoted?” she asked breathlessly.

He smiled. “Totally devoted sweetheart, only to you.”

Lucas was in no way, shape or form in the mood for hockey. He was in the mood to stay in bed with Fallon all afternoon. He hated saying goodbye to her, and he knew that when he saw her later that night, it would be to say goodbye at the airfield. Lucas wished he could have skipped the practice but there was no way, not with the playoffs starting the next day. He couldn’t believe it was the end of the season and in a way he was glad. He was excited for the summer with Fallon and Aiden, excited about what they would do. Maybe they could go back to California for a little bit or maybe somewhere more tropical. He didn’t care, as long as he was with them.

“Thinking hard there, Brooks?”

Lucas looked over from where he was unlacing his skates to see Anderson smiling at him. He smiled back as he nodded. “I’m ready to win this series.”

“Me too, so ready.”

Lucas nodded again, removing his skate and cleaning the ice off the blade before placing it in his locker. Anderson was doing the same as Lucas and he thought they were done talking but then he said, “So hey, we’re taking Odder out again before we get on the plane. The guy is hilarious when he is drunk. You should come with us.”

Lucas looked over at him, his eyebrows drawn in together. “Odder isn’t old enough to drink.”

“So? We buy it for him. Wanna come or not?”

Lucas stood up, looking across the locker room where Tate sat taking off his goalie equipment while listening to his iPod. It was guys like Anderson that had gotten Lucas in trouble when he was a kid, and there was no way he was going to let it happen to Tate. Tate was a good kid, and he had a bright future ahead of him. Lucas pointed a finger at Anderson and said, “Stay away from him.” Lucas then walked across the locker room and stood in front of the young goalie. When Tate looked up, he pulled his headphones from his ears and smiled.

“Lucas. How are you?”

Lucas nodded. “Good, what are you listening to?”

“Captain, give me, country music. Help my English.”

“For the love of God,” Lucas groaned before turning to look at his fellow teammates. “Does anyone care about this kid?! Country music?”

Everyone looked at Lucas like he was crazy but he didn’t care. He pulled the iPod from Tate’s hands and shook his head, “Country music bad, sad. Make you cry. I’ll get you good music. Stay away from these idiots okay? Stick with me.”

“You?”

Lucas nodded. “Me. Is your family here in the states?”

Tate looked down at the ground, shaking his head. When he looked up at Lucas, his eyes were filled with sorrow. “My family die last year.”

Lucas hadn’t known, and seeing Tate’s face he knew that the death was still raw. Lucas cupped his hand on his shoulders. “My dad died a while back, but my mom is still here and she is great. You’ll love her. Come on, get dress, we’ll go have lunch.”

Tate flashed him a winning smile and Lucas smiled back. He couldn’t help but feel protective over the kid and he wasn’t going to let anyone corrupt him the way he had been corrupted.

Wasn’t going to happen.

Taking Tate out was good idea but a bad one all at the same time. Since Lucas had spent a good part of the afternoon bonding with Tate, he hadn’t packed, which meant he was losing time with Fallon and Aiden. Lucas prayed that Levi had already started packing for him, or had it done, but it was doubtful since Levi probably thought Lucas had already done it. Lucas rushed back to his house and ran up the stairs to the back door, mentally picturing what he needed to pack so he could get it done quicker.

As he climbed the stairs, Lucas had no clue what suit he was going to wear, since his lucky one was still in a crumple along his stairs. He really should have hung the suit up, but the more he thought about it, getting Fallon in his bed was more important at the time. A sly grin came over his face at the thought of Fallon moaning out his name the night before and he couldn’t wait to see her again. Couldn’t wait to hold her and kiss her one last time before he was gone for four days.

Lucas reached the back door, pushing it open in a rush. When his eyes fell on Levi, the grin that was on Lucas’ face disappeared and thoughts of Fallon went along with it.

Because Levi wasn’t alone.

Audrey was in his arms.

Practically naked.

Chapter 35

Lucas felt like he was having an out-of-body experience.

All he could hear was Fallon’s words of what the guy had done to Audrey, what he had called her and how he had treated her. Lucas stood in the doorway, stunned as his eyes left Audrey’s shocked face and met with Levi’s laughing ones. Rage filled Lucas from the inside out as his pulse picked up in speed. His jaw clenched as his workout bag dropped to the ground.

“Lucas,” Audrey gasped. She moved away from Levi and picked up a shirt up off the ground before putting it on. “Oh God.”

Levi laughed. “What’s the big deal A? It’s just Lucas.” A tick started in Lucas’ eyes as he watched Audrey scramble for her clothes. “He knows I have sex.”

Lucas saw red and at that moment, he knew he was going to kill his best friend.

Lucas wasn’t thinking, he just acted as he closed the distance between them. His hand came around Levi’s throat, slamming him into the wall as Audrey let out a shrilling scream. Levi looked up at Lucas with a dumbfounded look on his face but Lucas didn’t care. He had known that Levi was an ass to girls, but being an ass to Audrey wasn’t going to cut it.

Not Audrey.

“What the fuck dude!” Levi struggled to say. “Let me go.”

“Lucas!” Audrey screamed. She ran towards them and tried to push him away, but he wasn’t going anywhere.

“You like hurting girls,” Lucas sneered. He leaned in close almost touching Levi’s nose with his own. “Let’s see how you like the pain.”

Audrey took a hold of Lucas’ bicep and pulled as she cried, “Please Lucas, quit. Please. It’s fine.”

Lucas looked over at her and shook his head. “No, he isn’t going to hurt you anymore.”

“What the fuck have you told him, you bitch?!” Levi yelled. Lucas slowly looked back over at Levi and watched as Levi’s eyes went wide. Lucas then pulled back and slammed his fist into the space right beside Levi’s head. Audrey screamed out as Levi flinched and closed his eyes. Lucas couldn’t believe he was looking at the same person he had thought was his brother for years. He had loved Levi and when he heard or saw the way he treated girls, he didn’t care. He never knew that Levi was physical with them; he only thought he was an asshole. Finding out that he had physically hurt someone that Lucas personally loved was incomprehensible. Did he even know the person he had been living with for so many years?

Levi opened his eyes and Lucas saw fear along with some anger swirling in his blue eyes. Lucas took in a deep breath, trying to control his breathing and anger, while Audrey stood behind him, screaming and crying to let Levi go.

Lucas cleared his throat and said, “Are you seriously talking to her like that? Are you crazy? That’s Fallon’s sister, not only that, but she is basically my sister. Are you fucking crazy? How dare you?”

“I didn’t do anything to her,” Levi sneered, trying to get away.

Lucas shook his head. “I know that you hurt her and that you’ve said fucked up things to her. Let me hear that you do it again, Levi, and I swear I’ll fucking kill you.”

Levi shook his head. “I didn’t do anything.”

Lucas dropped his hand from Levi’s throat and took a step back. Levi’s hand came around his throat as he glared over at Audrey. Lucas hoped he wasn’t crazy enough to do anything to Audrey in front of him, but he wasn’t going to put it past him. He moved in front of Audrey, breaking their eye contact, and when Levi looked up at Lucas, he glared.

“I can’t believe you are picking some girl over me,” he spat out.

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. “I can’t believe I’ve lived with someone I really didn’t even know.”

Levi let out an empty laugh. “You used to be the same way.”

Lucas shook his head. “I never hurt a girl in my life.”

Levi moved away from him. “No, you got lucky that Fallon likes it rough. I guess I went after the wrong sister.”

Audrey took in a sharp breath behind him and Lucas shook his head. “I suggest you get the fuck away from me before I put my fist through your head.”

“Whatever dude,” Levi said before leaving the room. When he was gone, Lucas turned to see Audrey looking in the direction that Levi had left in.

“Really Audrey? Levi?”

Audrey glared up at Lucas. “I told you to stay out of it!”

“And I told you I wasn’t going too! Are you crazy? I know Fallon has told you what kind of guy Levi is! What are you doing?”

“I love him!” she screamed before a sob ripped from her body. She fell forward, placing her hands on her thighs for support as tears rushed down her face. Lucas shook his head, running his hands through his hair and resting them at the back of his head as his eyes fell shut. What was he supposed to do? He knew that Levi was a douche and he would never love Audrey, he couldn’t. It wasn’t in his genetic makeup to love anyone but himself. That was who he was.

Lucas opened his eyes, taking a step towards Audrey before wrapping her up in his arms. She didn’t come willing but after a moment of seeing that Lucas wasn’t going to let her go, she wrapped her arms around him and sobbed into the middle of his chest.

“Why doesn’t he love me, Lucas? Why?” she cried.

Lucas moved his hand along her back, hoping that it was soothing her because he had no answer to that. He didn’t even know what to say or what to do. When she looked up at him with the same wide eyes as her sister, Lucas found that he couldn’t breathe past the lump in his throat. He shrugged his shoulder, moving a piece of hair out of Audrey’s eyes before saying, “Because he isn’t your person, Audrey.”

“How do you know? I love him so much, maybe he just needs time,” she suggested but Lucas had already started to shake his head.

“No, AA, listen to me. You deserve better, stop this. Please.”

“I can’t,” she cried.

Lucas wanted to smack some sense into her. Didn’t she understand that Levi was using her? How do you tell someone that without breaking them? But Lucas knew that even if he did, she wouldn’t believe him. She was just as stubborn as her sister, if not worse. Lucas knew that if a man ever placed a hand on Fallon, she would kill them in a New York minute, so why was Audrey waiting it out? What for?

“Audrey, he is using you.”

“No,” she said shaking her head. “He loves me, he is just scared or something. I have to try because if I don’t, I’m going to be alone for the rest of my life.”

Lucas’ heart broke. How could someone so beautiful think that?

“Audrey, there are other men out there…”

“That don’t want me. I’ve tried and I always find these assholes. So yeah, sue me for trying to change him, sue me for believing that he’ll change for me. That he does love me.”

Lucas shook his head again. “Audrey, I’ve known him most my life. He isn’t going to change. I promise you, he isn’t. I’ll help find you find a good man. I’m on a team with 26 single guys! There has to be one of that team!”

Audrey shook her head. “I want him.”

Lucas’ shoulders fell in defeat. He knew that he wasn’t going to be able to change her mind, so why waste the breath? She backed away from him and moved a hand through her hair as she looked everywhere but at him. Lucas took in a deep breath and was still dumbfounded that Levi was the one that hurt Audrey. He was still angry and wanted to hurt Levi, but what would it do? Audrey was so engrossed in him and convinced she could change him that it would do no good. She needed to realize the error in her ways. Lucas couldn’t do it for her, neither could Fallon.

Oh fuck. Fallon was going to kill Levi.

“Fallon is going to kill him,” Lucas said quietly, “and you know it.”

Audrey looked up at him with her eyes full of tears. “You can’t tell her. Oh God, please Lucas, promise me you won’t.”

Lucas shook his head. “No way. If you don’t tell her then I am. I can’t walk around with this on my conscience! She’ll kill me for knowing and not telling her.”

Tears spilled over Audrey’s cheeks as she took a step towards him. “Please Lucas, I’m begging you. I’ll tell her. I promise. I just have to wait for the right time. Me and Levi are still working things out. This was the first time in weeks that he called me a bitch. We are making progress, I promise.”

Lucas shook his head. “Audrey you have to tell her. I can’t keep something like that from her.”

Audrey nodded her head, running her hand along her cheeks before saying, “I promise I will, soon.”

Lucas couldn’t believe he was about to agree to keep this from Fallon. Maybe it was the desperation in Audrey’s eyes. Her eyes were so sad, and so full of hope that Lucas didn’t think he could tell her no. Or maybe it was the fact that Lucas hoped and prayed that, for Levi’s sake, he did change because it was obvious Audrey loved him. She wasn’t a stupid girl, so she had to see something in him. But if Lucas heard or saw Levi even looking at Audrey wrong again, Levi would answer to him.

Audrey deserved better and Lucas didn’t believe for a second that it was hard for her to find a man. She was perfect in his eyes and if she gave him the chance, he could find her someone with no problem. She was every man’s dream, just like her sister. Lucas loved Audrey, and he would do anything for her, but even with his love for her it was still hard to agree with her request. Lucas took in a deep breath and shook his head in disbelief before looking up at Audrey. “You have a week.”

**********************************

Fallon noticed that Lucas was being uncommonly quiet as they all rode out to the airfield. She had tried several times to start a conversation with him, but he wasn’t really paying attention. Fallon thought maybe he was nervous about the upcoming playoffs but that wasn’t like him. Lucas was never nervous and she knew something wasn’t right.

Fallon moved her hand into his and when he glanced over at her, she smiled. “I’m gonna miss you.”

The side of Lucas’ mouth pulled up as he squeezed her hand. “I’m going to miss you more, baby girl.”

“Daddy, I’ll miss you!” Aiden declared from the back.

Fallon watched as Lucas’ smile grew before he said, “I’ll miss you more, bud.”

Lucas then brought Fallon’s hand to his lips and kissed softly. He placed their hands in his lap and took a deep breath in as he turned onto the street that brought them to the airfield. He parked and let go of her hand to get out. Worry filled Fallon as she got out and went to meet him at the back of the truck. Was it nerves that made him quiet or had she done something? She thought back to the last couple days and everything had been perfect. They were back to their old ways, and even though it scared Fallon, she was okay. Great even. She had missed the love they used to share and having another chance at it was a blessing.

Aiden stood beside Lucas with his arms wrapped around his legs while Lucas grabbed his bags. Fallon took one of his bags and smiled when he looked up at her. He smiled back, chucking her on her chin before picking up Aiden and wrapping his other arm around Fallon. The bag Lucas carried kept hitting Fallon in the side but she didn’t care. She had a dreadful feeling in her chest and she didn’t know why. She didn’t understand what was going on and it killed her not to know.

A crew member met them half way and took Lucas’ bags before walking briskly back to the plane. Lucas wrapped Aiden up in his arms and kissed him loudly on his cheek.

“So what are you going to do while I’m gone?” Lucas asked.

Aiden smiled. “Do my homework, practice hockey, clean my room and watch the Assassins win.”

Lucas nodded, a wide smile on his face. “Exactly, and take care of Mom, okay?”

“Okay, make sure you practice reading on the plane Dad. I packed your workbooks in your bag.”

Fallon’s heart swelled at the look Lucas and Aiden shared before Lucas pulled Aiden close, kissing his temple. “I love you, bud,” he whispered.

“I love you too, Dad,” Aiden choked out. When he pulled back and Fallon saw the tears rolling down his cheeks, she had to fight back her own. Aiden had become used to having Lucas around — so had Fallon — and she knew it was going to be hard on both of them for the next couple of days. Lucas had reassured her that they only had another two months and then it would be the three of them for the summer, no interruptions.

Fallon couldn’t wait but what if he was second-guessing them? He had been acting so weird since coming over to the house to get her. What if he didn’t want it to be the three of them anymore? Why did she always doubt his love? Why couldn’t she trust him? She needed help.

Lucas placed Aiden down and looked over at Fallon. “Hey, make sure you call that real estate agent for me, please. Odder has been staying in the team condo and it’s driving him crazy, or at least I think it is. I can’t understand half of what comes out of his mouth,” he said with a laugh.

Fallon smiled as she nodded. When Lucas had come to pick them up, he noticed that her neighbor was moving out and asked Fallon to find out the details. She loved Tate and would love for him to live beside them. “I will. I’ll call tomorrow during work.”

“Awesome. I’ll call you tomorrow, make sure you answer my call,” he said with a wink. She giggled as he pulled her to him. His hands moved along her hips to the middle of her back, where he pulled her in closer, kissing her nose. Fallon closed her eyes as her arms locked around his neck, pressing her breasts against his strong chest. When his lips met hers, all of Fallon’s worries left as quickly as they had come. He gave her long, drugging kisses, his hands tangling in her hair as his lips moved with hers. There was no way he was second-guessing anything when he kissed her like that. She knew he still wanted her, and boy, did she want him.

She had to trust him. Had to trust their love.

When they parted, he kissed her nose with his eyes still shut. “I love you baby girl. I’ll call when I land.”

Fallon’s legs went weak at the sound of those five words. She had craved them when she and Lucas were younger and loved the feeling she would get when he said it. It brought such joy to her heart to know that it still affected her the same way. Fallon was so close to saying them back, but this wasn’t the moment. She wanted to tell him when it was just the two of them. Not when they were in an airfield with Aiden at their feet. So Fallon nodded, tightening her arms around his neck so they were closer before saying, “Please do. I have a feeling I’ll start missing you once you walk away.”

He smiled against her lips before kissing her one last time. “Okay, baby.”

He parted from her, giving her one more smile before leaning down to kiss Aiden. When he stood up, he cupped Fallon’s face once last time, and then turned for the plane. Fallon was proud that she hadn’t cried in front of him but when his back turned and he started for the plane, she let the tears rush down her cheeks. She would never get used to this, never. It was like watching a piece of her walk away and it honestly broke her heart. She couldn’t understand how she went so many years without him because now that she had him, she was never letting go.

Never.

Fallon sat at her desk the next morning on the phone with the condo listing agent. The condo was decently priced and Fallon didn’t think that Tate would have any problem affording it. It was good for a young guy, and she knew that he would love it when he saw it. After hanging up the phone, she started checking her e-mails. A lot had happened over the weekend for Rocky Top, and Fallon was excited to get started. There were thousands of new orders and Fallon was happy to see that almost all her ad requests had been filled.

It was a great start to her day.

Fallon opened an e-mail and typed in Elli’s address. Since she had gotten the go-ahead from her father, she was ready to start work on getting the cellar opened but first she needed Elli’s approval. After typing out a long detailed email, she attached the reports and floor plans. Once done, she leaned back and eyed the e-mail. Was she really ready for this? It was going to be a lot of work and if it failed, she would not only have to deal with the disappointment from her father, but also from herself. This was her dream, and with one click it would be sent off to become a reality. Fallon had no doubt that Elli would approve it — it was a great plan — but still the fear weighed heavy on her heart.

The morning went on and Fallon still hadn’t pushed send. She was in the middle of filling out ‘Thank you’ cards when a knock came at the door and Audrey came in. Fallon smiled as she laid down her pen. “Hey you!”

“Hey,” Audrey said with a grin. As she walked towards the chairs in front of Fallon’s desk, Fallon couldn’t help but notice that Audrey looked amazing. She had on a pair of gray skinny jeans with a white, flowing ruffle shirt. Over the shirt was a grey blazer and around her neck was a turquoise colored scarf, but that wasn’t the best part of her outfit. It was the shoes. Lord, they were amazing turquoise-colored peep toe heels, and around the heels there was a grey ribbon that tied into a bow at the back. She looked too hot to trot and Fallon was beyond jealous. She should have picked that outfit out for herself!

“So, how’s work?” Audrey asked, crossing her legs and smiling up at Fallon.

Fallon giggled as she nodded. “Fine, sending out thank you notes, when I really should be hitting send on this e-mail.”

Audrey cocked an eyebrow at her. “Huh?”

“Dad gave me the go on the cellar project,” Fallon announced. It felt amazing to say it out loud and when Audrey’s face lit up, Fallon had to stop herself from letting out a girly scream.

“That’s awesome!’

“Right!? Eek!” Fallon screamed. She couldn’t help herself and Audrey joined in, bouncing in her seat. “But, I can’t seem to send it to Elli. What if she rejects the idea?”

“She won’t!” Audrey gushed. She got up and came around the desk. Fallon thought she was coming to hug her or give her a pep talk, but she leaned across Fallon and hit send. Fallon gasped before looking up at Audrey in disbelief. “You’ll thank me later.”

“Audrey Jane! How dare you!”

Audrey giggled. “Again, you’ll thank me later when we are standing in the middle of Parker’s Wine Cellar.”

Fallon rolled her eyes. “You know it would be Rocky Top Wines.”

“Eww, no make it Parker’s, or Fallon’s. You’re putting the capital down, so shouldn’t it be yours?”

Fallon shrugged her shoulders just as her phone beeped. “A very sexy Lucas Brooks is on line one,” Rob gushed.

Fallon’s face lit up as she reached for the phone. She picked it up and just as she was about to push line one, Audrey stood up. “I’m gonna go, I’ll talk to you later.”

Fallon smiled, laying the phone down and standing up. She went around the desk and hugged Audrey tightly. “I love you AA, thanks babe.”

Audrey laid her head on Fallon’s shoulder, and held her tight. When they parted Audrey looked at her with a sad look on her face. She leaned up and kissed Fallon’s cheek before leaving the room without even saying bye. Fallon shrugged her shoulders and decided she would question Audrey later. She missed Lucas, and he was waiting for her. Fallon ran back to her desk and picked up the phone, hitting line one.

“Fallon Parker,” she said with a grin on her face.

“Mmm, I do love the sound of your name.”

Fallon giggled. “Hey you.”

“Hey baby girl, how you doing?”

“Good, you ready to play tonight?” she asked.

She picked up her pen, and started doodling little hearts around the date on her calendar as he said, “Yup, ready to kick some ass. Are you going to watch?”

“I am. Aiden wore his jersey to school today. I think he is excited. He said that when you bring the Cup home, y’all are gonna drink chocolate milk out of it.”

Lucas laughed. “That’s my boy.”

Fallon nodded as she reached for the post it note of information she had written down for Lucas. “So I called the Realtor. The condo will be available at the end of the August. The price is $198,100 and everything is basically new inside. She said to let her know if Tate wants to look at it. I told her I’d give you her number.”

“Cool, I’ll pass on the information. The kid’s doing better. I was actually able to understand what he was saying this morning.”

Fallon giggled. “That’s always a good thing.”

“Yeah, so what are you doing? Working?”

“Yeah, filling out thank you notes, Audrey just left.”

Lucas paused and then said, “What did she have to say?”

“Nothing, we talked about the cellar stuff and then she left.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Yeah,” she said as she started to click her pen against the desk.

“Okay, well I gotta go. I’ll call you later, hopefully before the game.”

“Oh,” she said with sadness in her voice. She thought they would talk for a little bit, or at least talk about something worth a damn! “Okay.”

“Sorry babe, I gotta go warm up and stuff, but I miss you.”

Fallon smiled. “I miss you more.”

“Okay, bye.”

“Bye,” she said before hanging up. She took in a deep breath as she stared down at the phone. She missed him so much and it had only been a day. It was pathetic and she needed to get it together. It was just the start of the playoffs, and Fallon felt that the next two months were going to be the slowest of her life.

*******************************

Lucas looked towards the goal and watched as one of the Wild’s shot the puck hard at Odder. He swatted it away like it was a fly and Lucas smiled. The kid was a beast. Lucas squirted some water into his mouth and slowly spit it out of his mouth. When his line was called, he jumped over the board and skated towards his net.

“Go!” Adler yelled, passing the puck up to him. Lucas took it and went, just like his captain said to. He deked around one Wild and then another before sending a pass over to Anderson. Anderson took possession of the puck and then shot it so hard that Lucas didn’t even realize it went in until Anderson threw his arms in the air and the buzzer went off.

Lucas skated towards Anderson and wrapped up in a mainly hug along with everyone else, tapping him on the head. It was the second goal on the night, and they only had three more minutes to keep the Wild from scoring. If they accomplished that, it would be Tate’s first shut-out as an NHL goalie. A big feat for a rookie goalie and the guys were working hard to help him accomplish it.

The three minutes went fast and when the final horn went off, Lucas let out the breath that he had been holding all game.

One win down, three more to go.

Lucas skated towards Tate and tapped him on the head, smiling at him through his goalie mask. “Bad ass dude, bad ass,” he said.

Tate gave him a wide smiled and nodded. “That is good right?”

Lucas laughed. “Yeah man, real good.”

In the locker room, the Assassins joined together to celebrate Odder’s first shut-out. Coach Bacter stood in the middle of the locker room with Eleanor Adler beside him and the game puck in his hand. Tate stood beside them with a goofy grin on his face and Lucas couldn’t help but laugh. When Coach handed him the puck, Tate’s face lit up and he threw his arms in the air, yelling something out in Swedish. Everyone else joined in, clapping and yelling as Eleanor hugged him tightly.

Lucas leaned down and started taking the tape off his legs. He was proud of Odder but they would celebrate later. Right now, he would let the kid feel on top of the world. It was a great feeling and every hockey player deserved that feeling. When he saw a pair of bright gold heels at his feet, he looked up and saw Mrs. Adler smiling down at him.

“I was told you needed to see me.”

Lucas nodded his head. “I do.”

She sat down beside him and crossed her legs before resting her hands on her belly. She had gotten bigger and Lucas still yearned for his own baby. He wondered how much longer he would have to wait until he could convince Fallon to marry him and make babies with him.

It couldn’t come fast enough.

“Good game by the way.”

Lucas smiled. “Thanks Mrs. Adler.”

“So what do you need to see me about?”

Lucas took in a deep breath. What he was about to do was either going to blow up in his face, or it was going to make Fallon want to make babies with him.

He was hoping for the latter.

It was late but Lucas dialed Fallon’s number anyways. Odder lay in the bed beside his and Lucas still wasn’t used to it. Since he still wasn’t talking to Levi, he had told him to get his own room. Odder didn’t have a roommate so Lucas decided to room with him for the week. When Fallon’s sleepy voice said, “Hey,” Lucas smiled. He had missed her so much and hearing her voice made being away from her easier.

“Hey you. Sorry to wake you.”

“No, don’t be. I’m glad you called,” she said before clearing her voice. “I fell asleep on Audrey, hold on, I’m going to my room.”

Lucas’ pulse picked up. He wondered if Audrey had told her yet, but surely if she had, Fallon wouldn’t be sleeping on her as if nothing was wrong. “Okay, that was a damn good game.”

A proud grin came over Lucas face. “Thanks, baby.”

“Tate was amazing,” Fallon said.

“He was, since you brought him up. We talked and I’ll probably bring him by to see the condo when we get back.”

“Sounds good, I’ll call and set up something, for what, Thursday?”

“No make it Wednesday; also, can you meet me at the arena at nine that morning?” Lucas asked biting his lip. If she couldn’t it would ruin everything and he really didn’t have a backup plan. Lucas drew in a breath and waited for Fallon to answer him.

“Why?”

Lucas rolled his eyes, chuckling before saying, “’Cause I need you to.”

Fallon laughed. “Whatever, yeah. I’ll be there Mr. Secretive.”

Lucas smiled. “You just hate me keeping secrets.”

“I do. So?”

Lucas laughed. “So I’ll see you then?”

“Yup, but I thought you weren’t coming home till Thursday?”

“I got a meeting Wednesday morning, and they are letting us leave tomorrow night,” he answered.

“Cool, okay, yeah I’ll be there.”

“Great,” he said with a grin, “I’ll be home at three in the morning tomorrow.”

“That’s late,” she said. “What are you going to do, take a taxi home? I guess I’ll bring the truck with me to the arena.”

Lucas smiled since she had fallen right into his trap. “Why don’t you leave a key under the mat and I’ll come sleep over?”

Fallon giggled. “No way. Someone could break in.”

Lucas laughed. “No one will know. Leave me a key.”

“No.”

“Yes, I’ll even wake you up with a surprise.”

Fallon continued to giggle. “I don’t want your surprise and I ain’t leaving you a key!”

“Yes you do,” he coaxed. “I swear, you’ll love it.”

Fallon let out a breathy sigh. “No.”

“Yes,” he persisted.

“No!”

“Yes,” he said in a low seductive voice.

“No…”

Lucas laughed because he knew he had her. He also knew there would be a key under the mat for him the next morning.

Chapter 36

Lucas slowly climbed the steps, making sure not to wake anyone. With every step he cringed in pain. It was a rough game, but they had won.

Barely.

After having a fantastic game the day before, Odder didn’t have the same luck in game two. He let in three goals but luckily the Assassins’ offense was on point and scored four goals, winning the game. Two more to go and then they would have a nice break before going onto the semifinals. Lucas needed the break too — his body was aching in spots he didn’t even know he had — but that didn’t stop him from wanting Fallon. He was ready to have her naked, and God help anyone that interrupted them.

When Lucas reached Fallon’s closed door, he turned the knob slowly and was just about to go in when he heard, “Dad?”

Lucas jumped in surprise, his hand covering his mouth to hold in the girly scream that almost escaped.

“Aiden!” he yelled in a hushed whisper. “What are you doing?”

“I heard someone come in, I was checking it out,” Aiden whispered back.

“Don’t do that, it could have been a burglar!”

“I know! That’s why I brought my ninja sword,” he said. He even held up the plastic sword to show Lucas.

Lucas shook his head, chuckling, as he came over to Aiden. He bent down to wrap him up in his arms — the kid was a trip and Lucas couldn’t have loved him more.

“I’ve missed you bud.”

“I missed you too. What are you doing?” he asked as they parted.

Lucas bit his lip; he wasn’t expecting to be caught by anyone when he thought this up. “Um, I’m going to go sleep with your mommy. She missed me a lot.”

“Oh,” Aiden said, one eyebrow coming up. “You don’t want to sleep with me? All Mommy does is cuddle really close to you and drool.”

Lucas laughed. “Yeah, I’m sure. I’ll sleep in your room tomorrow.”

Aiden grinned. “Okay. Night Dad.”

“Night bud,” Lucas said. He followed Aiden back into his room, and tucked him in before leaving the room. He made sure that Aiden’s door was shut and made his way back to Fallon’s. He pushed the door open just as Audrey’s door opened.

“Lucas?”

For God’s sakes!

He shut Fallon’s door again and smiled. “Hey.”

“What are you doing? I thought you weren’t coming home ‘til tomorrow.”

“I came home early. I missed everyone.”

Audrey smiled. “That’s nice. Did Levi come home too?”

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. I’m not talking to him right now.”

“Oh Lucas, don’t do that. Everything is going to be fine,” she pleaded, leaning against the door. “He loves you.”

“Whatever, did you tell Fallon yet?”

She slowly shook her head. “I’m going too, though.”

Lucas nodded. “Alright, we’ll I’m going to bed.”

“Okay, good night.”

“Night,” he said. He then pushed the door open and slowly shut it behind him as his eyes adjusted to the dark. He toed out of his sneakers as his fingers made quick work of the button of his shorts. After pushing them down, he pulled his shirt off and started for the bed. Fallon lay on her stomach, breathing deeply as Lucas slowly crawled into the bed. She didn’t stir, not even when he pulled the covers off her. When he saw she only wore a pair of panties, his dick went hard instantly. He slid his hands up her thighs, taking a hold of the thin cotton panties and pulling them down. He waited for her to stop him, but she didn’t even move.

Lucas had forgotten how hard she slept and smiled at the memories of waking her up just like this. He slowly moved between her legs and sat back on his haunches. He bit down on his lip to suppress the groan that threatened to come out from the sight of her perfectly shaped ass. He moved his hands along the two beautiful cheeks of her luscious bottom, loving the feel of her in his hand. Lucas then took a hold of her hips and pulled up, meeting his hot flesh against hers. She came like a rag doll until she woke up. She pushed her hands down so that she was up on all fours before looking back at Lucas.

“Hey!”

Lucas laughed. “Shh, you’ll wake someone up.”

She looked at him incredulously. “What the hell are you doin’!” she asked in a whisper.

Lucas gave her a cocky grin. “Giving you a surprise,” he said before pushing inside her. Lucas’ eyes fell shut at the tightness of her while Fallon fell into the bed, face first, with her ass still in his hands. He slid out of her, and then back to the hilt with a smack. She took a hold of the bedding and brought it to her face, but he could still hear her cries of pleasure. It fueled him to go faster and he started to pound into her. With every thrust, his thighs met hers with a loud slap and Lucas’ balls where already drawing up, but Fallon hadn’t come yet.

Lucas pulled out of her, and flipped her over to her back. She looked down at him with a shocked look on her face before he lowered his mouth to between her legs. He ran his tongue up her swollen center before dipping his tongue inside her and flicking it along her clit. The blankets moved underneath him and he had to stop himself from grinning so he could continue the assault his tongue was doing. Fallon let out a loud muffled scream as her body shook under his mouth when she came. Lucas grinned as he moved his hand along his mouth while looking down at her beautiful naked body. He reached up, removing the blanket from her face before lifting her legs over his shoulders, and sliding inside of her. She was hotter and wetter this time. A low growl left his lips as his fingers bit into her thighs. She bit down on her bottom lip, looking up at him as he moved in and out of her. Her hands came up to his biceps and her nails bit into them as he continued to pound into her. When her body started to squeeze his again, he knew he was a goner. He moved his face to the side, biting into her calf as he exploded inside of her.

Lucas collapsed on top of her, his breathing matching hers as she ran her hands up his sweaty back to his face. She moved his face up, and kissed his mouth before dropping her hands to the bed.

“Goodness me,” she gasped out. “You bit me!”

Lucas chuckled against her throat, still drawing in deep breaths. “Yeah, sorry about that, but hey.”

“What?”

“Good morning.”

Fallon had a little more pep in her step than usual that next morning. After lying in bed with Lucas all morning and taking the hottest shower imaginable, Fallon was convinced she would be tired but she wasn’t. She was excited to see Lucas, and she couldn’t wait to see why he had brought her to the arena so early in the morning. As she made her way up the steps of the Luther Arena, a happy little smile stayed on her lips.

Fallon hoped that Lucas liked the pink sheath dress and black thigh high boots she had on since he had gotten them for her. She was sure he wouldn’t remember but she hoped he at least thought she was hot. When she entered the area, the first thing she saw was the ad for Rocky Top Wines above the ticket booths. She smiled, feeling on top of the world. Everything was so great at that moment. Aiden was healthy (minus one broken arm) and he was happy. Audrey seemed better and she had assured Fallon that things were great between her and the douche. Work was spectacular and she wasn’t going to let the fact that Elli hadn’t e-mailed her back in three days bother her. She was probably thinking it over, and it would all be fine.

Fallon just knew it would.

When she turned the corner and saw Lucas leaning against the wall, looking too damn sexy for words, a bright grin came over her face. Above everything else, they were great. She had thought she loved Lucas more than anything when they were younger, but it had nothing on the way she felt for him now. Just looking at him made her heart skip a beat and her stomach fill with butterflies. When he gave her that cocky grin of his, she swore she couldn’t breathe.

How did this happen again? How did she fall so head over heels for him all over again? It wasn’t an easy ride but they had made it, and boy was she glad. Lucas moved away from the wall and wrapped her up in his arms, kissing her lavishly while his hands scrunched up the back of her dress.

“Mm,” he said as they parted, “I like this dress.”

Fallon gave him a bashful grin. “Good, you bought it.”

“You think I don’t know that?” he asked with a grin.

Fallon laughed. “You don’t!” she accused.

Lucas laughed as he wrapped an arm around her waist, bringing her closer to his side. “So you caught me.”

Fallon giggled happily before wrapping her arms around his middle. He leaned down and kissed her nose before bringing his hand up to cup her face ever so lightly. She smiled up at him and said, “So why am I here?”

He nodded his head to the side. “Turn around.”

Fallon looked behind her but didn’t see anything. The only thing behind her was a chain-gated store that had been closed for almost three seasons. She knew this because this and four other units were the units she was looking at for the wine cellar. Fallon looked back up at Lucas, confused. “Huh?”

“You don’t see that?” he asked, pointing back behind her. She turned around and started for the gate. When she got closer, she saw a little pink post-it note. She reached for it and brought it up to her face to see that it was his handwriting. It wasn’t clear or perfect but it was his, and she loved his handwriting. After deciphering each word, tears sprang to her eyes as she read the words again:

Fallon’s wine cellar.

Fallon’s hand came up to her mouth before she turned quickly to see Lucas holding up a pair of keys. She shook her head as the tears started to fall.

“I don’t understand,” she gasped.

“It’s simple really,” Lucas said with a shrug of his shoulders. “I contacted Mrs. Adler about getting this spot for the special woman in my life. She informed me that you had actually sent her an e-mail that morning and that she was still deciding. I told her not to think anymore, to just let me lease the space for the next five years instead of the one year you proposed. When she asked me why she should do that for me, you know what I said?”

Fallon shook her head, tears streaming down her face as he held her eyes with his. “I said that I wanted to be a part of her dream, and since she is so damn smart and does everything on her own, this is the only way I can be.”

Fallon hiccupped a sob as she ran to him, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard against his lips. His arms came around her waist and picked her up as he deepened the kiss. When they parted, she place three kisses against his lips before smiling down at him. “I wouldn’t want this any other way than with you by my side.”

Lucas closed his eyes, leaning his head against her. “Good because I’m not going anywhere, baby girl.”

Fallon shook her head before looking over at the space that was going to be her cellar. “I can’t believe you did this.”

When she glanced back at Lucas, he was smiling at her, “It’s what you do for someone you love.”

“A five-year lease is a whole lotta of love,” she joked.

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. “I have a lifetime of love, just for you, baby.”

Fallon gave him a loving smile and she knew this was the moment. Fallon’s heart felt as if it was going to explode as she gazed into his eyes. She took in a deep breath and then said, “I lo...”

“So what do we think?!”

Fallon looked over at the person that interrupted their moment. Elli stood in a cute yellow sundress and matching yellow pumps. Her smile was brighter than her dress but for once, Fallon wasn’t happy to see her. She would never get this moment back, and she hated that Elli had interrupted it.

“I think she’s happy,” Lucas answered, grinning over at Fallon. She looked deep into his eyes, moving her hands along her cheeks to catch her happy tears. He gave her a grin before leaning up and kissing her nose.

Fallon nodded and then looked over at Elli. “I’m beyond it.”

“So you really love it?” Lucas asked.

Fallon looked over at him from her spot on the couch. After spending the morning going over paperwork with Elli, Fallon decided to skip work and come home to be with Lucas. They were both dog tired but Fallon couldn’t go to sleep. She wanted to spend all her time with him, and sleep could wait. She took a hold of his hand and smiled.

“I do Lucas, thank you so much.”

He smiled. “Good,” he said running his thumb along her hand, “so I’m just going to throw this out there.”

Fallon raised an eyebrow as she smiled. “What?”

Lucas ran his tongue along his lips and Fallon took in a sharp breath as lust took over her body. She sure did love that tongue of his. Lucas grinned down at her as he threw one of her legs over behind his back so that he could lie down on top of her. His hard body pressed down into her soft one but she didn’t mind. She welcomed it.

“I’m pretty sure,” he said running his lips down her jaw. It was hypnotic and her eyes fell shut as he moved them back up to her mouth, “that you were going to tell me you loved me outside your new wine cellar.”

Fallon’s eyes shot open to see him grinning down at her. She scoffed as she smiled. “You’ll never know.”

He chuckled. “Oh come on, say it. Just whisper it.”

“Noooo,” she complained, “I want to say it when you don’t expect it!”

Lucas laughed. “So you are not denying it.”

Fallon shrugged her shoulders. “I ain’t saying nothing.”

Lucas let out a frustrated breath. “You are being difficult.”

“You’ll be okay,” she giggled. “So anyways, when’s Tate coming by?”

“In a little while,” Lucas pouted but Fallon ignored him.

“Hmmm, you know I wish he was older. Him and Audrey would be so cute together.”

Lucas looked away, taking in a breath. “Yeah.”

“You know, maybe we can find someone for her, then she’ll leave the douche!”

Lucas nodded, still not looking at her. “Has she talked about him?”

Fallon shrugged her shoulders. “She tells me that they are great,” Fallon said with disdain in her voice. “It makes me sick, ‘cause I want to know who he is so I can kill him.”

“Yeah.”

Fallon looked up at him. “What?”

Lucas looked down at her. “Nothing, I was just thinking about who would be good for her.”

Fallon suspected her was lying, but why would he do that? He wouldn’t lie to her, they were solid and everything was perfect so she smiled before saying, “I was thinking number 15, he is hot!”

Lucas glared. “Anderson?’

“Sure, the blonde-haired guy. Total hottie. Audrey will love him.”

Lucas laughed. “He’s a player.”

“Aren’t all hockey players?”

Lucas pinned her with a look before saying, “I’m not, and neither is Adler, Welch, or Titov.”

“That’s ‘cause y’all are blessed with hot females in your lives. Anderson just needs a hot chick, and my sister is that.”

Lucas smiled, “I’ll talk to him.”

“Yay! You’re the best.”

He gave her a sad smile. “Obviously not, since you won’t tell me you love me,” he complained.

Fallon started to laugh. “Oh hush,” she said with a flick of the hand, “and tell me how you are going to win these next two games so that we can lay in bed together until you leave again.”

“Shh!” Lucas exclaimed, “You’ll jinx us.”

Fallon laughed, wrapping her arms around her neck and kissing him deeply. When they parted she flashed him the biggest grin ever and then said, “I can’t jinx the best team in the NHL!”

Fallon had jinxed them.

After beating the Wild in their home arena, they came to Nashville with guns blazing and shut the Assassins out. It was extremely embarrassing. Not only was the arena sold out, but Aiden and Fallon had come to the watch the game. Lucas hated losing, but he loathed losing in front of the two people he loved.

Lucas came out of the player’s exit to see Fallon and Aiden waiting for him. Aiden looked adorable in his number #22 jersey and his Assassins ball cap. It made him feel good to see his number on his boy, but when he looked up at Fallon, he no longer felt good. Lucas felt great. She wore a pair of tight jeans with his old Sharks jersey, her shoes matching the turquoise of the jersey and her hair in a pretty side braid. She looked spectacular, and even with the loss he couldn’t help the grin that came over his face.

Aiden came running towards him and jumped into his arms, wrapping his little arms around Lucas’ neck.

“You lost,” he stated.

“I know. Sucks huh?”

“Yeah, I told Mom it was her fault for wearing that jersey instead of an Assassins one.”

Lucas smiled over at Fallon. She looked up at him with a bashful grin and shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe he’s right?”

“Maybe, but that’s okay, it wasn’t our night,” he said. He wrapped an arm around Fallon’s neck, and brought his lips to her head. “I think you look hot.”

“Eww!” Aiden complained.

“You hush,” Lucas scolded jokingly as Aiden giggled.

Fallon giggled as she wrapped her arms around his middle. “Thanks but I think I jinxed y’all,” she said sadly. “Sorry.”

Lucas smiled. “Can’t win them all babe, we’ll get ‘em tomorrow. Now come on, let’s go back to your house and watch some movies or something.”

Fallon nodded as Aiden started to bounce in his arms, “Even though you lost, can we get ice cream!?”

Lucas nodded before leaning over and kissing Aiden’s cheek. “We sure can.”

As they made their way to Fallon’s car, Lucas felt that even if the Assassins lost every single game, he would still come out of the arena feeling like a winner.

That is, as long as Fallon and Aiden were waiting for him.

Luckily, the Assassins won the next night, but it still meant that Lucas had to say goodbye to Fallon and Aiden the next day since the guys had to fly out to Minnesota for game five. Since the team was flying out early in the morning, Lucas didn’t asked Fallon and Aiden to come to the airfield. Instead, he kissed them goodbye at her house before leaving for the airfield. After parking, he locked up his truck and made his way to the plane with his gym bag on his arm. When he was stopped by someone grabbing his arm, he turned to see the last person he wanted to see that morning.

Levi.

Lucas jerked his arm out of his hand and crossed his arms. “What?”

“Listen, it’s weird between us and I don’t like it. What goes on in my love life is none of your business. I don’t stick my nose in yours, don’t sick yours in mine,” Levi said.

Lucas scoffed. “You’ve been on me about Fallon since the beginning, but that’s not the point. You went personal when you started whatever with Audrey. She’s Fallon’s sister and you know when Fallon finds out she is going to go ape shit.”

“I don’t care. Audrey’s fun to be with when she isn’t clingy and whiny. I like being naked with her, what’s the problem?”

“You hurt her and you call her names. That is where my problem comes in.”

Levi rolled his eyes. “It’s not my fault she doesn’t like it rough, she can stop it anytime. I call her names because she can be whiny. If she didn’t like it, again, she could leave. She obviously likes what I give her.”

Lucas shook his head. “She is in love with you, that’s why she stays.”

“That’s her fault. She’ll learn, but I’m not worried about her. I’m worried about us. You are my best friend.”

Lucas looked away before shaking his head. “I don’t know about that anymore Levi. I’m not the person I was when we became friends. I don’t know if I can deal with what you do anymore. I don’t like the way you talk to my girlfriend, I don’t like the way you treat her sister, and really, you get on my nerves with the women you bring in and out of my house. You are good to me when it comes to the business side, but I just don’t know about the friendship side anymore.”

Levi looked at Lucas as if he had just cut him in half, and it honestly hurt Lucas. He had been close to Levi his whole adult life, but he couldn’t take it anymore. People grow out of people and Lucas wasn’t the person he used to be. He was better. Levi had followed Lucas to help with his sobriety and Lucas would always love him for that, but it all came down to the fact that Fallon meant more. Lucas would never give her up, or give up his family, and that was one of the main problems between him and Levi. Levi hated that Lucas had done everything to make things right between himself and Fallon. That he would much rather spend time with his son and Fallon than spend time with Levi, but again, Lucas had changed.

It wasn’t him and Levi anymore.

It was him, Fallon, and Aiden.

Levi cleared his throat and looked off to the side. “Well at least I know where we stand.”

Lucas nodded before turning around and heading for the plane. Once inside, he found Odder and sat down beside him. He then noticed that Anderson was right beside him and Fallon’s request came to mind, but Lucas wasn’t in the mood to deal with Anderson. He was hurting from his encounter with Levi. He leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes, wishing like hell that Levi had grown up too. How long would Levi be the way he was, and was there a way for Lucas to help him? He knew in his heart there wasn’t, but it didn’t stop him from wishing there was.

As the plane took off, Odder smiled over at Lucas. “Good morning.”

Lucas smiled since Odder’s words were clear as day. “Good morning, I see the speech lady is working?”

Odder nodded his head. “Yes, very much so.”

“Good,” Lucas smiled, “Did you make a decision on the condo?”

“Yes, I am going to take it.”

Lucas nodded, “Great, it’s a nice place.”

“Yes, it is.”

Lucas chuckled at Odder’s few words. He couldn’t hate on the kid though, at least he was working hard to know the language.

“So you are good with women, yes?”

Lucas looked over and gave Odder a cocky grin. “I used to be. I’m a one-woman guy now,” he said with a wink.

Odder gave him a wide grin, showing off his gap as he said, “I want one woman, and I like my lady, I want to ask her out.”

“Lady?” Lucas asked.

“Yes, um, that, uh, speeeeeeeccchhhh lady,” he said enunciating each syllable.

“Oh! Okay, well ask her,” Lucas said with a shrug of his shoulders. “It can’t be hard.”

“No, I don’t think she likes me.”

“So? Make her like you,” Lucas smiled, shaking his head. “You got to have confidence, bud. You have to think that every girl in the world loves you and wants only you. That’s how I used to do, and I got myself a lot of females.”

“Yo, Odder,” Anderson said as he leaned across the aisle, “listen to Brooks, dude’s got mad game.”

Lucas laughed. “Who told you that?”

“My brother played with you back in the AHL, and when I told him about you being on the Assassins, he had nothing but stories for me,” Anderson said with a grin. “Epic stories.”

Lucas eyed Anderson, trying to put a face to his brother. Lucas had no problem remembering people but the AHL wasn’t his most sober period. “Who’s your brother?”

“Miles Anderson.”

Lucas laughed. “Man, I haven’t seen Miles in years. Tell him I said hi, and to stop telling my stories.”

Anderson laughed as he smacked Lucas’ arm and leaned back in his seat. Lucas looked over to see Odder looking over at him. “So you teach me?”

Lucas nodded his head. “I’ll help you out.”

Lucas had to, the kid was obviously desperate, and if Lucas could help he would. He could tell him some good lines and help him with his confidence, but that would be it. The kid was on his own after that.

Lucas leaned back in his seat and smiled. He was completely settled in with the Assassins and couldn’t have felt more at home. Between his home life and his work life things were great, but he still had that nagging feeling about Audrey. Lucas sat back up and reached over, smacking Anderson in the chest.

“You have a girlfriend?”

Anderson laughed. “Nah man, haven’t found that right girl yet.”

“I think I might know one.”

It was a close game, but the Assassins won and were going to the semifinals.

Thank God.

At the beginning of the period, Lucas was sure the Assassins were going to lose because the Wild were up by three, but by the grace of God, the guys came back and beat them 5-3. It had a lot to do with Adler, Titov and Odder — without those guys the Assassins wouldn’t have won. They were on point and brought the win home. After a long plane ride home and a grueling morning practice, Lucas sat on his couch watching the rain fall.

Lucas loved days like these It made him want to cuddle up with someone he loved and watch the rain fall but unfortunately, Fallon and Aiden were out with her parents. So Lucas sat alone in his big house, thinking about how much he wanted to be with them. He had missed them so much while he was gone and he was ready to spend the next few days with them before the Assassins faced off against whoever won between the Wings and Hawks. Lucas was hoping for the Hawks but either team was going to be hard, and the guys needed to be ready. It wasn’t going to be easy to get to that moment when he would hold the Cup above his head, but he wasn’t going to quit until he got there.

Lucas closed his eyes, lying back against the couch listening to the rain fall and doors open and close upstairs. Levi hadn’t talked to him in days, but Lucas didn’t let it bother him. Things were never going to be the same between them and Lucas had already accepted that.

When the doorbell rang, Lucas glanced over, wondering who it was. He slowly got up, scratching his stomach as he made his way to the door. He hurt everywhere and wished he would have stayed at the arena for a little longer to be rubbed down, but he wanted to come home in case Fallon and Aiden got done early.

When he opened the door to Fallon, a grin broke out across his face. She smiled up at him and Lucas noticed that she was drenched from head to toe. “Hey, get inside,” he said, pulling her in the door.

“Jeez! It’s raining cats and dogs out there. Were you sleeping? I’m sorry, I should have called first.”

“No, don’t be sorry, I’m glad you are here. Let me take your coat.”

Fallon smiled up at him as she undid the belt of her raincoat. She opened it up slowly, her bottom lip between her teeth as she looked up at him with a seductive look in her eyes. When Lucas looked down and saw that she was only wearing a skimpy black lace bra and matching panties, he swallowed loudly.

“Surprise?” she asked, shrugging her shoulders.

“Holy crap,” he muttered as his eyes ran up and down her beautiful body. When his eyes met hers, he smiled. Lucas then pushed her into the door, trapping her head between his hands as their mouths met. Her body was freezing but Lucas had no doubt that she would be hot in a matter of minutes. He pressed his growing erection into her as his lips dusted her jaw. She let out a soft moan as his lips moved up to hers. “What a surprise,” he whispered against them. She nodded, looking up at him with her eyes full of lust.

“Good surprise?”

Lucas scoffed, “Best damn surprise in the world! Come here.” He moved his mouth against hers, their tongues dancing together as their hands explored each other’s bodies. Lucas ran his hands up Fallon’s bare stomach before cupping her perfect breasts in his hand. The lace of her bra tickled his hands as he played and massaged her heavy breasts. She let out a sharp breath before biting down on his shoulder. Lucas let out his own sharp breath before moving his hands to beneath her thighs and picking her up, slamming her harder into the door as he tried to get closer. He needed her, he craved her and he was going to make love with her against the door. He just prayed Levi didn’t come downstairs.

Fallon’s breathing was out of control as she bit and kissed up his throat to his ear. As she swirled her tongue along his earlobe, he moved his hand in between her thighs and his fingers danced along the black lace of her panties.

“God, you drive me insane,” she gasped arching her back, causing her breasts to be right in his face. Since they were there, he ran his tongue in between them and bit along her collar bone while his fingers still played the wetness between her thighs. She let out a little cry of satisfaction as she began to rock her body against his large hand. His mind was swirling with lust and he needed to be inside her. He couldn’t take much more. Lucas was about to rip off her panties to move inside when her phone started to ring.

Fallon stopped abruptly, and started to pat the side of her rain coat for her phone. She sent him an apologetic look before looking at the screen, “It’s my mom. She has Aiden. ‘Hey Mom.’”

Lucas probably should have put her down, but he didn’t. He held her against the wall, resting his hand beside her head to keep from touching her. “Okay, yeah I’ll be there in a few. Okay, that’s fine. Alright, bye.”

Fallon bit her lip as she looked up at him with a disappointed look on her face, “I’ve got to go. Aiden’s arm is hurting, and Mom doesn’t have his meds.”

Lucas let out a loud groan before slowly lowering her to the ground. He ran his hand across his face, taking in deep breaths to calm himself. “I’m sorry,” she said sadly. Lucas shook his head, an intimate smile on his face.

“Don’t be. I’m just really turned on.”

Fallon giggled as she nodded. “Who you telling?”

Lucas laughed as she started to close up her jacket. Watching her do it actually caused him pain, so he had to look away. When she was done, she smiled up at him and he returned it, moving his hands into her hair before pulling her to him for a long intoxicating kiss. Her hands came to rest against his hard, hot chest, as she continued to kiss the hell out of him. When they parted, his hands came to her cheeks, cupping them softly as he gazed into her eyes.

“When you going to tell me you love me?”

She gave him a quirky smile, her eyes bright with excitement and lust. “When I want to.”

“That is so like you.”

“Basically,” she giggled as she shrugged her shoulders.

Lucas smiled as his heart filled with the intense love he had for her. “I love you, Fallon, so much.”

She blinked up at him, smiling as she moved her hand down his strong jaw. She shook her head and went up on her tippy toes, kissing his lips softly before breaking apart from him arms. “Can me and Aiden come back here?”

Lucas rolled his eyes. “You can’t say it?”

Fallon laughed. “I told you I’d say it when you don’t expect it! Leave me be!” she said reaching for the door handle.

“You better come back,” he said as she put her hood up on her head. She glanced back at him with the most radiant smile on her face. When he returned it, he watched as her smile fell and her eyes went wide. She wasn’t looking at him, but over his shoulder, and when he turned, he saw why.

Lucas quickly looked back at Fallon, his heart banging against his chest. She looked over at him and asked, “Why is my sister standing on your stairs in a pair of panties?”

Chapter 37

Fallon couldn’t breathe.

The first thing she thought was that Lucas was fucking her sister, but then she knew that couldn’t be right. She knew that Lucas wouldn’t do that. So then why was Audrey standing in a pair of bright yellow lace panties on his stairs? Dread filled Fallon as she watched Levi come down the stairs behind Audrey, wearing nothing but a pair of black boxers. When he wrapped his arms around Audrey’s middle and Audrey let out a little giggle, Fallon swore she only saw red.

“Now Fallon,” Lucas started but she wasn’t listening. She pushed past him and he tried to stop her but she slapped his hands away. She was on a mission.

She was going to kill Levi Moss.

Audrey and Levi looked up at the same time as Lucas tried to call her back. Audrey’s eyes went wide as she put her hands out in front of her, saying something but Fallon couldn’t hear her past the pounding of her heart in her ears. Fallon pushed her out of the way and swung her arm back before slamming it into Levi’s face.

Levi’s head whipped back and before Fallon could do anything else, she was in the air, being pulled away. “You crazy bitch!” Levi screamed.

“Let me fucking go!” she screamed, kicking her legs.

“Calm down!” Lucas yelled, holding her close to his chest. “Watch it Levi!”

“She fucking hit me!” he yelled. Levi looked up, holding his nose as Audrey went to his side. Fallon noticed that she was crying and Levi’s face was red, but she didn’t care. As soon as Lucas let her go, she was going to kill him.

“God Fallon! Really?” Audrey yelled back at her. “You could have broken his nose!”

“I’m gonna break his whole damn body as soon as Lucas lets me go!”

“No you are not, calm down,” Lucas said, still holding her tight.

No one moved or said anything as Levi held his nose, breathing out of his mouth. Fallon’s chest rose and fell as she stayed locked in Lucas’ arms, not believing what was happening. Audrey was sleeping with Levi. He was the one that had been hurting her emotionally and physically. She couldn’t believe it, but that wasn’t what had tears rushing to her eyes.

Lucas had known, and he didn’t tell her.

“Let me go,” she said quietly. Audrey and Levi looked up at Lucas and Fallon took in a deep breath. “Let me go right now Lucas, I got to go.”

Lucas turned his whole body, walking with her in his arms towards the door. When they reached the door, he let her go and she turned to look past him to Audrey. “Get dressed, and meet me at the house.”

Audrey looked down at Levi and then back up at her, nodding her head. “Okay.”

She looked up at Lucas and shook her head. “I can’t believe you kept this from me.”

“Fallon, she told me she was going to tell you.”

Fallon shook her head. “You promised you’d never lie to me.”

“I didn’t lie to you,” he insisted, his hands in tight fists beside his waist.

“Um, yeah you did!” she yelled. “You knew I was worried about my sister and you knew who was hurting her! How dare you! How dare you keep this from me! That’s my baby sister!”

“I know Fallon, but I was trying to give her a chance! Don’t fucking get mad at me because your sister made a bad decision.”

“Whatever,” she snapped before opening the door and going out into the rain.

“Don’t walk away from me! We aren’t done!” Lucas yelled as she ran down the steps. When he grabbed her hand, she jerked it from him before glaring up at him. The rain was ice cold and felt like little shards of glass biting into Fallon’s skin as she looked up at the man that had betrayed her — again.

“Yes we are done! I can’t believe this. I was finally trusting you, and this is what you do to me?!”

“I didn’t do anything to you. I tried to give your sister a chance to come clean!” he stressed, fear filling his eyes. “Don’t do this, don’t blame me.”

Fallon shook her head. “The funny thing was that I when I saw her come down the stairs, I was like oh my God, he is sleeping with my sister, but then I knew that wasn’t true. It was in that instant I knew that you would never cheat on me,” she said. The rain started to fall faster and even with the rain beating against her skin, she didn’t feel it. All she could feel was her heart breaking apart inside. “Just when I started to trust you again, just when I was about to tell you I loved you, you fuck us up! Again!”

Lucas ran his hands over his face, letting out a frustrated yell before looking down at her. “I did nothing wrong here. Maybe I should have told you, but damn it Fallon, I love Audrey. I wanted to give her the chance to tell you! I wanted you and her to work it out!”

“You should have warned me, or made her tell me as soon as you found out! It’s obvious that you’ve known for a while,” she yelled. Rain was running into her eyes and mouth making it hard for her to yell. She was too upset to care.

“I’ve known for a week at the most! I don’t know what you want from me. I try so hard to please you, I do everything to make you see that I love you and only you, but you twist everything I do and make it bad. It’s like you want us to fail, that you’ve strung me along to make me think this was going to work when really you were just waiting for me to fuck up!”

Fallon shook her head. “I wanted us to work Lucas, but I can’t be with someone that keeps things from me, especially when it comes to Audrey. What’s next? Are you going to start keeping things about Aiden from me?!”

“I would never do that!”

“But Lucas, you knew how upset and scared I was!”

“Whatever Fallon, there is nothing I can say to make this right. I feel like I’ve been fighting for something that was never going to be mine. I wished for you to love me again so I could marry you and make babies with you, but it doesn’t matter. You are throwing us away, and for what? Because I didn’t tell you something that your sister should have told you?” he asked. His hands were in the middle of his chest as he looked down at her with the saddest eyes.

“You betrayed me,” she simply said as the tears rolled down her cheeks, mixing with the ice cold rain.

“I did not. I’ve only loved you. If anyone is betraying anyone, you are betraying me.”

Fallon looked at him like he was crazy, her nose flaring as she took in a deep breath. “And how is that?!”

“You said you would try, that you would give me a second chance, but you didn’t. You don’t believe me when I tell you that I have done absolutely nothing wrong here.”

“That’s what you feel, but I feel different,” Fallon said with a shrug of her shoulder.

Lucas shook his head, “Don’t walk away Fallon. Don’t do this.”

“I have to get my son,” she said before taking in a staggered breath. “I gotta go.”

Fallon turned and started for her car as her hot tears ran faster down her cheeks. As she reached for the car handle, Lucas said, “So it’s safe to say you won’t be back?”

Fallon couldn’t look at him as she shook her head. She heard him let out an empty laugh as she opened her car door and got in. As she pulled out, she watched as he stood in the rain, looking down at the ground. He looked so defeated and so hurt but Fallon refused to be hurt by him. Not again. He supposedly loved her more this time.

What a crock of shit.

Lucas stood in the rain until he couldn’t take the cold anymore. As he slowly walked to the house, he now knew he would never be with Fallon and his heart slowly broke. He felt like his chest was ripping open and his heart was falling out as he climbed the steps to the front door. Lucas had never felt such intense pain. Why did it hurt so badly? It hadn’t felt like this when she left the first time, so why was he hurting so badly now? Was it the fact that he knew she was truly done with him? Or maybe because he knew he would never see her but to get their son? That he would never feel her sweet lips against his, that he would never feel her skin touch his, never be able to hear her beautiful lips whisper his name. Was that why he was hurting so bad? Or was it because he was sober this time around?

Why would she do this to him? Did she really not love him? Didn’t she know that he didn’t lie, that he had stayed true? That above all, he loved her more now than he did when they were younger. Why would she blatantly ignore what he was saying? Did he really just waste a lifetime waiting for someone that was never going to be his?

There were so many questions and no answers.

Lucas entered the house and found Levi and Audrey in the kitchen, still caring for Levi’s nose. He walked past them to the laundry room to grab a towel. He wrapped the towel around his neck, and then turned to see that Audrey and Levi were staring at him.

“Go home Audrey. Levi, pack your shit and get the fuck out of my house,” he said. Shock went over both their faces as Lucas stood there staring at them. “Now!”

Audrey jumped in surprise, letting out a small cry before leaving the kitchen. Levi looked over at Lucas, shaking his head. “You are going to let some girl come between us, for real dude?”

Lucas shook his head. As much as he wanted to blame Levi for all of this, it wasn’t his fault. Lucas should have told Fallon, but he felt that it was something that Audrey needed to tell her. There was no one to blame but Fallon. She threw them away. She had given up what they had over something so juvenile, so small and petty. It made Lucas want to scream. He was so mad, so hurt, and so broken that he couldn’t even form words to say to Levi.

When Levi walked out of the room in a huff, Lucas fell into the chair, looking down at the ground. When he looked up, he was staring at himself in the mirror that hung by the doorway. He looked sad, and he hated that he looked that way. He got up, moving around the kitchen, looking through the cabinets. When he opened the top one above the microwave, he reached for the bottle of vodka that he had seen Levi stash up there. The bottle burned in his hand as he made his way to the island before opening the top.

The strong smell of the liquor burned Lucas’ nose as he looked down at the opening of the bottle. His hand shook as he brought it to the base of the bottle and squeezed the cool glass in his hand. As he brought it up to his lips, his eyes filled with tears. Was he really about to do this? Was he about to throw away years of sobriety because the girl he loved threw him away like the trash he was about to come once that bottle touched his lips? What was he doing?

Lucas let the bottle fall back onto the counter and then took a deep breath in as he moved away from it. He couldn’t do this; he couldn’t resort to his old ways just because he was miserable. He still had Aiden, and that thought alone gave him the strength to dump the bottle in the sink. As he watched the liquid spill down the drain, he shook his head. He may have lost Fallon but he would never lose Aiden. No matter what, that little boy would be his for the rest of his life. Lucas closed his eyes, leaning his head against the sink as he took in deep breaths.

Fallon had all of him. He loved her with every cell in his body and probably always would, but maybe it was time to just let her go.

No matter how bad it hurt.

Fallon and Aiden ran through the rain into the house before she slammed the door behind her. Audrey sat at the kitchen table, her arms crossed across her chest and a distressed look on her face. Fallon moved her hand over her face, wiping the tears and rain off her face. She removed her shoes and went to the kitchen to get Aiden’s medicine. When she turned from the counter, she found Aiden wrapped up in Audrey’s arms. He was in so much pain and Fallon felt horrible for forgetting to give Nora his medicine. She brought the pill and a box of Hi-C over to Aiden. He took it eagerly and drank the juice quickly before handing the box back to the Fallon.

“Go on upstairs and lay down, honey,” Fallon said. Aiden nodded before running up the stairs and when she heard the door shut, she looked down at the back of Audrey’s head. “I am beyond mad at you.”

Audrey whipped her head around. “For what?”

“For keeping something so horrific from me! How dare you!”

“What I do is my business, not yours!”

“It is my business when the asshole is hurting you, and all along it was Levi!? Have you gone to the doctor? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure that douche has herpes or at least the clap. No telling what you have.”

“Oh shut up, he doesn’t have anything, he’s clean. I’m clean.”

“He’s the nastiest person I know and you’ve been fucking him!? Are you crazy?”

Audrey stood up, glaring as she put her hands on her chest. “At least I’m trying Fallon! At least I am going for my happily ever after! You’re just standing there, hoping your prince comes, but you’re so blind and too stubborn to see that you have the most amazing man ever standing in front of you!”

“You know nothing about me and Lucas, so you shut up!” she said pointing her finger in Audrey’s face. Audrey laughed as she slapped Fallon’s hand away.

“Ha! You know nothing about me and Levi. Maybe he won’t change. Maybe I am supposed to go through all these frogs to get to my prince but at least I’m trying.”

“Audrey, you’re stuck in a damn Disney fairy tale! Levi will not change, he is a douche and always will be, and damn it I tried with Lucas! I gave it my all but he fucking lied to me! Again!”

“He didn’t lie Fallon, he kept my secret,” she stressed, pressing her hands into her chest again. “Doesn’t that mean anything to you? He loves your baby sister enough to keep something like that for me? I asked him not to tell you, that I would tell you. Don’t blame him for me being too scared to tell you. He did right by me.”

Fallon shrugged her shoulders. “And while he did right to you, he did me wrong. He knew how worried I was about you and for him to keep that…”

“He did it for me,” Audrey said cutting her off. “I asked him to.”

“I don’t care,” Fallon said bluntly. “I am not going to let him hurt me anymore.”

“Fallon, you are unbelievable! You say you tried but I think you just went through the motions, because if you had tried you wouldn’t be letting this break y’all up. Stop being such a selfish bitch and be the woman that Aiden and Lucas deserve.”

Fallon glared as she took a step towards Audrey. “I am the best Mom ever to Aiden.”

Audrey’s shoulders fell. “I know you are, but Fallon you aren’t being right to Lucas. He loves you so much. He is the king to your queen, the cheese to your macaroni, the prince to your princess. Y’all are meant for each other.”

Fallon shook her head as the tears threatened to fall. “If he was then he wouldn’t have lied.”

Audrey shook her head and looked down at the ground. When she glanced back up at Fallon, not only were tears falling down her beautiful round cheeks but she had such anger in her eyes that it took Fallon’s breath away. “You are going to grow old, bitter, and lonely. You are letting the one person that matters get away, all because you think he lied to you when he didn’t. You make me sick Fallon, and I have never been so disgusted with you in my life.”

Fallon swallowed loudly, looking away. Why was everyone so disgusted with her? Tears gathered in her eyes as she said, “Join the club Audrey. I don’t care if you are disgusted with me because I am being sensible and smart. I’m not going to let some man hurt me again. I’m not you.” Audrey glared up as her as she made fists at her sides, “And while I’m old and bitter, and lonely, at least I know I did what was best for me and my child. You on the other hand will probably be beaten to a pulp by a piece of shit man since you never see the bad in anyone and you think all men are princes. Grow up cupcake, men are dogs.”

Audrey shook her head. “I’m done with you. I’m not going to sit around and watch you bring everyone else down ‘cause you’re crazy.”

The words hurt but Fallon wouldn’t let Audrey see that. She shrugged her shoulders as Audrey made her way to the door, slamming it behind her. Once Fallon heard the car start and watched as Audrey sped out the driveway, the loudest sob imaginable ripped from Fallon’s body. She crumpled to the floor, holding her middle as she cried out in not only emotional pain but physical pain too. How did she manage to not only throw away the man she loved, but also her sister, her best friend?

What was she going to do?

Fallon softly knocked on Aiden’s door as she pushed it opened. Aiden lay in his bed, his cast above his head and his remote in his other hand. His hair was a mess and he looked so tired, but like always, a sweet smile rested on his lips. He was such a happy child, and she hoped it was because she was doing right as a mother.

She went across the room, crawling into the bed with him. He smiled over at her and cuddled close before shutting the TV off.

“I thought we could watch some TV,” Fallon said quietly.

Aiden didn’t say anything for a moment. Fallon glanced up at him to see his eyebrows drawn together as he looked down at her. “Why were you and AA screaming at each other?”

Fallon bit her lip, embarrassed that Aiden had heard them. She shook her head as she said, “’Cause we are mad at each other.”

Aiden sat up and Fallon did the same, looking over at him as he played with the cotton in his cast. He had been doing it so much lately that it worried Fallon he was developing a complex or something. When he looked up at her with the same eyes as his fathers’, Fallon didn’t know how she was going to make it without Lucas. Aiden’s eyes were like knives, stabbing Fallon in the heart for all the wrong she had done that day. She had started the day ready to make Lucas happy, ready to tell him she loved him but in the end, she left him.

“I don’t like it when y’all fight,” Aiden whispered. “It scares me.”

Fallon’s heart broke even more at the smallness of his voice. “Honey, me and AA are going to fight. We’re sisters.”

“Yeah, I know that, but you aren’t supposed to tell someone they can’t have their happily ever after. That’s not nice.”

Fallon looked down at her hands, hating that Aiden had heard that. “I know, Aiden.”

“Do we all not live happily ever after, Mommy?”

Fallon shook her head, “Not all of us, but you will.”

“How do you know?”

“’Cause you are awesome,” she said with a watery smile as she pushed back the tears.

“But Mommy, you and Daddy are awesome. Can’t you guys have your happily ever after together with me?”

Fallon didn’t think her heart couldn’t break anymore. “It isn’t that easy Aiden,” she whispered. How could she explain everything for Aiden to understand? He was her baby, he couldn’t possibly understand. Hell, she didn’t even understand. How could she let it get this bad, how could she hurt two people that meant the world to her?

Fallon moved her head down, covering her face with her hair so that Aiden wouldn’t see her cry. She had always been so strong in front of him and even though she was falling apart inside, she still felt like she needed to hide it from him. She was the selfish bitch that Audrey called her. She was disgusting and she deserved to feel like this.

When she felt Aiden’s hand slide into hers, it was her undoing and tears gushed down her cheeks. “Mommy, everything is going to be fine,” Aiden whispered as he leaned his head against her shoulder. “All you have to do is say you’re sorry.”

“I don’t know if sorry is enough, buddy,” she said as she wiped her face. “Mommy really messed up this time.”

“You said all you have to do is say sorry and everything will be fine.”

“I know, but I don’t think sorry will work this time.”

“Yeah it will, as long as you mean it and you make sure never to do it again.”

Fallon looked over at Aiden to see him giving her a small sweet smile. She moved her hand up to his face, cupping it lightly as she smiled. “How’d you get so smart?”

Aiden gave her a toothless grin before saying, “Dad says I get it from you. That you’re the brains and he’s the bear, or something like that.”

Fallon laughed as she moved her thumb along his cheek. “The brawn.”

“Yeah! That! He says that’s what makes you guys such a great team.”

Fallon nodded as the tears moved fast down her cheeks. They were a great team. When they were together, they worked so well. They could do anything as long as they had the support of each other, but Fallon wasn’t thinking that when she broke up with him. She was too busy taking all her anger about Audrey out on him. Audrey was right. It should mean the world that Lucas was there for Audrey when she needed him. Wasn’t that the kind of man she wanted? One that not only loved her completely, but her family too? Lucas was that man. He loved Aiden, he love Audrey and God knew he loved her.

And what did she do? Throw it all away.

Again.

God, she was an idiot.

“You know what I think you should do?”

Fallon looked up at Aiden’s smiling face. “What’s that, Punkin’?”

“I think you should tell AA you are sorry and that she will have her happily ever after because everyone should have that,” he said putting one finger up.

Fallon smiled as she nodded. “Okay, what’s next?”

“Then I think you should go to Daddy’s house and tell him you want to get married because I know for a fact that he’d marry you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yup, he told me that. He said he would marry you faster than he could shoot a puck. All you had to do was tell him you want to.”

“So you’re basically saying?”

“Go to my dad, ask him to marry you, have a baby, and then we’ll all live happily ever after together.”

Fallon couldn’t breathe as she looked into Aiden’s hopeful eyes. She wanted nothing more than to give Aiden the world, but was this even something she could give him? Would Lucas accept the apology, would he marry her tomorrow? It all seemed so out of reach and Fallon was beyond scared to even try for it. There was no use in trying if Fallon couldn’t learn to listen and try to work things out. She would always be running, and leaving Lucas behind. That wasn’t fair to either of them, not when they loved each other as much as they did.

It had to stop or neither of them would be happy, but how was she supposed to change after 28 years of being the same?

Fallon was sitting on the stairs when Audrey came through the door. She was soaked from head to toe and Fallon could tell with one glance that she had been crying. She looked up at Fallon and then back down as she slid off her shoes.

Fallon didn’t waste any time and said, “I’m sorry, Audrey.”

Audrey looked up and locked eyes with Fallon. The two stood in the quiet room, staring at each other as tears welled up in their eyes. Audrey closed the distance between them and dropped to the spot beside her, wrapping Fallon up in her arms. Fallon held Audrey tight as they both cried into each other’s shoulders. Fallon pulled back first and brushed her thumbs along Audrey’s cheeks, clearing the tears away.

“I was wrong for what I said, and I’m so sorry. I can’t stand that you kept this from me, and I can’t stand that Lucas knew and didn’t tell me but I have to stop this. I have to stop thinking that everyone is out to hurt me and learn to listen before acting. It’s a personal flaw and I need to fix it before I end up lonely and bitter.”

Audrey nodded her head. “Fallon we love you the way you are, but you can’t lash out at us. You have always wanted to fix everything about me, but you can’t. I gotta make my own mistakes and learn from them.”

Fallon cocked an eyebrow at her. “Audrey you have been with douche after douche, I don’t think you are learning here, honey.”

Audrey smiled. “I want to be in love so bad that I’ll basically take anyone. I love Levi, but that doesn’t mean I think he’s the one. I’m hoping he is, but no one else, including him, thinks he is the one. I don’t know Fallon, I just want a Lucas. A man that is totally and utterly devoted to me and only me.”

Totally devoted.

“I will always love you Fallon because you’re my sister, my blood, but Lucas can only take so much. He can only be rejected so many times before he gives up. He loves you and I know you love him. So why not just jump into what y’all do best, and that’s love each other.” Audrey said. She squeezed Fallon’s hand and smiled, “You know him inside and out, and he knows the same about you. The rest will come as you go; you just have to trust him.”

Fallon nodded. “I do trust him, I do,” she said reassuring herself, “but I’ve fucked up so much. Why would he want to be with me when I constantly hurt him?”

“Because he loves you and when you love someone it doesn’t matter what they do, you still love them.”

Fallon shook her head. It couldn’t be that easy, she had put Lucas through seven years of hell before she forgave him. She didn’t believe him when he needed her to, how could he forgive that?

“I don’t even know what I’d say to him, Audrey,”

Audrey moved her hand up to Fallon’s face, looking deeply into her eyes before she smiled and said, “Tell him you love him. The rest will fall into place.”

Lucas sat on his couch, a glass of water in his hand and mindless TV on as he tried to not miss Fallon. He told himself that they were done and he needed to accept it, but his heart and body weren’t listening. They wanted her back and probably always would. He would probably always roam the earth, wishing she was by his side. It was how he was made.

He was made to love only her.

Lucas shook his head just as his phone went off from an incoming text message. He took his phone out of his pocket and opened the text message. He pushed the right button so that it would be read for him, but the voice talk didn’t make any sense. He looked down at the text message and tried to focus, but he didn’t have too.

.edistuo emoC

Come outside.

No one had ever written to him like that except for Fallon.

Lucas got up quickly, placing his glass of water on the end table as he made his way to the door. When he threw it open, Fallow stood on the sidewalk, drenched to the bone. She wore his old AHL tee and a pair of jean shorts. It was raining so hard that he could hardly see her.

“What the hell Fallon? Come inside!” he yelled. The rain was loud, slamming against the roof of the house and the windows. He didn’t even know if she heard him until she shook her head.

“No,” she said simply, moving her hair out of her face.

“Why? What are you doing here? It’s cold, come inside.”

“Come in the rain with me,” she said.

“No way. I came out in the rain with you earlier and that didn’t work out for us,” he said, crossing his arms over his shoulders.

“I know but I need to tell you something.”

“What Fallon? Come inside!”

But she shook her head, her eyes pleading with his.

“Don’t you remember that time Luc?” she yelled.

“What time? What are you talking about?” he exclaimed. He didn’t know what she was doing but she was pissing him off even more. He hated that he thought she was gorgeous even when he was furious with her. Couldn’t he get a break when it came to her? Could he not be affected by her beauty, her sexiness, for once?

Fallon moved her hand over her face, clearing some of the rain off it as she said, “Out at the beach, outside your house in California? It rained for five days straight and finally there was a break so we ran out and enjoyed the sun for all of five minutes before it started pouring again.”

Lucas nodded. He remembered that day like it was yesterday but he didn’t understand what it had to do with Fallon standing out in the rain. “Come in Fallon, you’re drenched. We can talk about this inside.”

“No, wait, listen to me,” she yelled throwing her arms in the air. “You lost the keys!”

Lucas rolled his eyes as he shook his head. Even though he wasn’t in the mood to laugh, he did. That day had been insane and perfect all in one. He looked up at her and nodded, “We were locked out the house, and the car was locked.”

She did a little skip as she smiled widely at him, “Yes! So we laid on the beach as it rained, and we made loved as the rain pounded against us.”

Lucas looked down at the ground, nodding his head. “It was the day I told you I loved you.”

When he looked up, Fallon was nodding her head, wiping the rain from her face, or maybe it was her tears. He looked down at the ground, kicking the floor and mentally kicking himself. They were so happy, so in love back then, and he threw it all away. Then he got another chance and instead of doing what was right by her, he did what he thought was right for Audrey. He knew how Fallon was. He knew she could be difficult and she hated secrets but still, didn’t she trust him enough to know that he would never intentionally hurt her? He loved her, he loved Aiden, and he wanted them together as a family. What else did he have to do to prove that he wasn’t going to hurt her?!

“And I told you I love you.”

Lucas looked up and Fallon stood at the bottom step, still in the rain as she looked up at him. Even with her black makeup running down her cheeks, her hair stuck to her face and her clothes so wet they stretched from her body, he couldn’t help but think she was the most beautiful woman in the world. To this day he was still stunned by her beauty and couldn’t help but love her with everything inside him, even when she drove him insane.

“You did.”

Lucas knew he should have said something else, but he couldn’t. He just stood there staring at her as she stared up at him. She took a deep breath, moving her hair from her eyes as the rain just poured on her.

“I want to tell you I love you in the rain again, Lucas Brooks.”

It was like she had just hit him square in the chest with a puck. His mouth fell open while his eyes bulged out of his head. Did he really hear her right? He struggled to speak as he went out into the rain, stopping in front of her. It was cold, but he didn’t care. He had one thing on his mind and that was wrapping Fallon up in his arms.

Lucas wrapped his arms around Fallon and picked her off the ground. Her arms came around his neck as her legs came around his middle. She looked deep in his eyes before laying her forehead against his. Rain pelted against their skin as they just stared into each other’s eyes, not knowing what to say or do. Everything was about to change, Lucas could just feel it. He didn’t care about what had happened, all he cared about was hearing her say it. Hearing her tell him that he was the one for her. Nothing else mattered but hearing those words.

“I’m sorry Lucas….again. I haven’t been right to you, but I promise I’m gonna try to be better,” she said against his lips. “I promise I’ll be better.”

“Baby I love the way you are. You are difficult but you keep me on my toes and I love that. Just trust me and everything will be fine.”

She nodded her head. “I do, I will, I promise,” she said quickly. Her button lip wobbled as she looked down at him with her gorgeous wide eyes.

“Sounds good to me,” he said. He moved his nose along hers and placed his lips only millimeters from her, “I think I said it first,” he whispered against her lips. Fallon nodded as he felt her heart beating fast against his chest, and he knew his was beating just as fast.

“You did.”

He smiled as he again ran his nose along hers, placing a kiss against each corner of her mouth. When he looked back into her eyes, he smiled. “I love you, baby girl.”

Fallon’s eyes fell shut while his grip on her became tighter. He couldn’t wait to hear her say it. It had been so long, and before it would take his breath away. All he could hope was that it did it all over again because when being loved by Fallon gave him a reason for living. The need for her love was what had kept him going all these years, it was everything to him.

“I love you Lucas James Brooks. I never stopped.”

Lucas couldn’t breathe as their lips met, and they kissed like it wasn’t raining or like they were freezing to the bone. It was just them, just their love.

What was a little cold rain?

Her hands came up to his face as his arms tightened around her. When they parted, Fallon smiled against his lips. “I love you, so much.”

“Not as much as I love you.”

She giggled as she shook her head. “I am pretty sure I do, but anyways, where’s my ring?”

Lucas laughed. “What ring?”

“I was told if I tell you I love you and I want to get married, that you’d married me tomorrow,” she said with a grin as she held him close.

“Who told you that?”

“Our son.”

It was like the air was knocked out of him and Lucas couldn’t seem to catch his breath. Fallon had never called Aiden their son; he had always been her son. Hearing it for the first time made everything seem to fall in place. Lucas knew what he wanted and he wouldn’t stop until he got it. He wanted Fallon and Aiden in his house and he wanted Fallon pregnant. His dreams were becoming a reality and he couldn’t wait for the ride.

“Kid knows his stuff, because I will marry you tomorrow, but I don’t have a ring for you yet.”

“Maybe I need to reconsider this then?” she asked with a wink.

Lucas laughed before pressing his lips to hers, and when they parted she gave him the most beautiful, full of love, smile he had ever seen. “You’re not reconsidering anything, you made the right choice.”

“Oh, is that right?”

“Sure is.”

They stood for a moment just staring into each other’s eyes as the rain came down on them. It didn’t matter that they were soaked to the core or so cold their lips were blue. They were in love and always would be. Their love had been tested and even though they had stumbled at first, they had overcome it all and were blissfully in love. Lucas was ready for the future, ready to fail and pass tests with Fallon. They wouldn’t always agree on things, but it didn’t matter. They would work it out and they would love each other for the rest of their lives.

They would be a team.

As Lucas held Fallon in his arms, he couldn’t help but get turned on. She was probably the sexiest woman alive, and she was extra sexy all wet from the rain that still poured around them. Lucas gave her a cheeky grin and asked, “Wanna do it in the rain?”

Fallon laughed as she smacked his bicep. “Really? In the rain? I’m freezing!”

“So? We’ve done it before.”

“True and this time probably won’t be the last time either, huh?” she asked with a small smile tugging at the side of her mouth.

Lucas smiled as he leaned in close, dusting her lips with his. “Probably not, because I’m going to kiss you every chance I get. I’m going to argue when we need to. I’m going to love you with everything inside me, but most of all, I am going to fully and completely make love to you whenever Aiden is out of ear shot.”

Fallon giggled before pulling him close and looking into his eyes. “I can’t wait.”

Epilogue

“Mom, when we get home can you get in the net for me?”

Fallon rolled her eyes as shook her head at her little Marshmallow Man. “No way, you always hit me.”

Aiden rolled his eyes before looking up at Lucas. Fallon looked over and couldn’t help the grin that came across her face. He looked positively crazy in his Ghostbusters costume, and she doubted she looked any better, but they had done it for Aiden. Audrey and (unfortunately) Levi had dressed up along with them, just to make Aiden happy.

They sure were a sight to see.

“Dad, make her get in the goal, please.”

Lucas chuckled, moving his hand into Fallon’s before looking over at her with a lusty look. “Please, I’ll make it worth your while.”

Fallon shook her head. “No way.”

“Ugh!” Aiden yelled before running off towards a house. Lucas squeezed Fallon’s hand and she looked over at him with a small smile on her face.

“Come on, please.”

“No,” Fallon said with a shake of her head. “I am sick of hockey.”

Lucas laughed. “Baby, you are marring a Stanley Cup-winning forward, you can’t be sick of hockey.”

Fallon rolled her eyes. The playoffs had been long and drawn out. It seemed that every team Lucas played against would go to game five or six. When they finally made it to the Cup finals against the Bruins, it went to game seven. The game was intense but the best moment was when Lucas scored the game-winning goal with 22 seconds on the clock. Fallon had never seen him cry so much in his life, and when Lucas skated around the rink with the Cup high above his head, Fallon was the one crying like a baby. It was a proud moment and Fallon couldn’t believe she was a part of it.

“Yeah, yeah,” she complained. Lucas laughed and kissed her cheek as Aiden came running towards them with his bag.

“I just got lots of candy, Dad!”

They high-fived as Lucas said, “Awesome, go to that house. It looks loaded.”

Aiden nodded his head before running off. Lucas moved his arms around Fallon, kissing her neck as they watched Aiden run to the house. When his hands slid into hers and he ran his thumb along her new engagement ring, she smiled. Of course Lucas, being the ‘Go big or go home’ kind of guy he was, bought the biggest ring in the store. It was a seven carat, round-cut diamond in a platinum setting with two little diamonds on the side that Lucas said was him and Aiden. Fallon had thought the ring was too big, but when she put it on, she fell in love with it and didn’t want anything else.

Fallon leaned her head against Lucas’ chest as she watched Aiden run from house to house with Audrey and Levi. She hated seeing Levi with Audrey, but she was standing by her word and leaving Audrey alone about it. It wasn’t her business, but that didn’t stop her from praying every night that Levi would get hit by a bus or something.

As Lucas held her, she found herself wondering where Shea and Elli were. They were supposed to meet them — and so were a lot of other people — but it was only the four of them and Aiden. Not really the big Halloween party she was expecting.

“I wonder where Elli and Shea are. I thought they were meeting us,” she asked.

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. Odder and Anderson were supposed to come too.”

“Oh yeah, did Anderson ever say if Audrey called him?”

Lucas shook his head. “No, that’s why I invited him. I’m hoping his girlish good looks will woo her away from Levi.”

Fallon giggled. “Me and you both.”

Lucas kissed her neck again before pointing off to the side. “There are the Adlers.”

Fallon followed the direction he was pointing at to see Shea and Elli walking towards them with their double stroller. As they got closer and Fallon saw what they were dressed up as, she couldn’t have stopped her laughter if she wanted to. Shea was dressed as a Stanley Cup and Elli was dressed as her favorite number 6 hockey player. Fallon had to admit they were too cute for words but it didn’t keep her from giggling.

“Oh you ain’t seen nothing yet, look at the girls,” Elli giggled, pointing down to her sweet baby girls. When Fallon saw that baby Shelli was a hockey stick and Posey was a puck, she almost fell over laughing. Even Lucas couldn’t stop laughing as Shelli gave them a happy grin.

“Oh my goodness, they are priceless,” she gushed before looking up at Elli. “They are perfect.”

Elli nodded but then stopped suddenly, bracing her hands on the stroller. Shea placed his hand on her back, moving it soothingly along her back but it must have not helped because Elli took off towards the nearest trash can and promptly puked her brains out.

“Good God, what is wrong with her?” Fallon asked in a panic.

Shea smiled big before shrugging his shoulders. “I don’t know.”

Fallon could tell Shea was lying but before she could ask him about it, Elli yelled, “He knocked me up again!”

Fallon’s eyes went wide as Lucas started laughing. Lucas then held up his hand for a high five and Shea didn’t leave him hanging as he laughed. Elli looked miserable while Shea stood there like the biggest cock in the hen house. Fallon could have sworn Elli had said she wasn’t having any more babies, but obviously Shea had his mind set on it.

“Man, that’s messed up,” Fallon said, shaking her head. “She just had Posey two months ago!”

Shea nodded. “I know, we are keeping the kids close.”

Fallon couldn’t believe what she was hearing as Elli made her way back to them. She got out a baby wipe and wiped her mouth then hands. She took out a bottle of water and swished around her mouth before spitting it out in the grass. Elli did it like the pro she was, and with two kids, she should be a pro. “This one is a boy, I’m telling you. I was never this sick with the girls.”

“Oh Elli, I’m so sorry,” Fallon said.

Elli shrugged her shoulders in a ‘What can you do?’ kind of way before Shea wrapped her up in his arms, kissing her loudly on the neck. He whispered something in her ear and a bright happy smile replaced her queasy-looking face. Elli looked up at him and whispered something. Shea smiled before kissing her hard against the lips. It was still hard to believe that they had been married nearly two years and already had two babies with a third one on the way. Elli had found her happily ever after and while Fallon may have been jealous before, as Lucas held her in his arm, she felt that everyone should be jealous of her.

She was the lucky one.

“Do you think we’ll be that happy?” Fallon asked as she watched Shea and Elli kiss like they were the only ones in the street and not surrounded by hundreds of little trick-or-treaters.

Lucas nodded. “I know we will.”

“Really?” she asked.

Lucas smiled. “Well according to our wrists,” he said holding up both their hands so that he could read their wrists, “I love you and you love me.”

Fallon smiled as she re-read the words he had said. It had hurt like hell getting the ink on her wrist but it was by far her favorite tattoo aside from Aiden’s. Lucas had the idea to write ‘I love him’ in his handwriting for her wrist and then she wrote ‘I love her’ in her handwriting for his. It looked amazing and Fallon still couldn’t believe that they had made it to where they were.

If someone would have told her 10 months ago that she would be marrying Lucas Brooks in two weeks at one of the biggest wedding venues in Nashville, she would have laughed in their face. Fallon never thought they would make it but they had. They had been through hell and high water, but they made it through it all.

Standing tall and strong.

Together.

Fallon had never loved anyone more than she loved Lucas, and the days couldn’t go fast enough until they were married. She couldn’t wait for the big fairy tale wedding. Yeah, she hadn’t decided on the dress but it didn’t matter. She could walk down the aisle in a raincoat and she knew for a fact that Lucas wouldn’t care. She couldn’t wait for their honeymoon in the Fiji Islands, but most of all she couldn’t wait to be Mrs. Fallon Ryane Brooks. She used to dream of this day when they were younger — of course things were different — but their love was still the same. It always had been and always would be.

As Aiden made his way towards them with Audrey and Levi behind him, Fallon wished that there was a way she could get rid of Levi. After Fallon and Aiden had moved out to move in with Lucas, Levi moved in with Audrey. Fallon hated it, but she knew she couldn’t say anything. It was Audrey’s life and she was going to have to learn that Levi was the scum of the earth. She wanted Audrey to be happy, as happy as she was. She wanted Audrey to find a man like Lucas and love him the way she did.

Lucas placed a kiss at the base of her throat before laying his head on her shoulder. She smiled as she leaned her head against his. “You still love me?” she asked.

He chuckled, “Of course I do.”

Love filled Fallon completely as she smiled. “And you still wanna marry me, right?”

Lucas nodded. “More than anything.”

Fallon loved his reassurance and hated that she needed it, but it all just seemed so unreal. How did she get so lucky to have a man that was totally devoted to her and loved every little imperfection of hers? Lucas was the perfect man in her eyes — even with his temper and quick mouth — and she couldn’t help but love only him and she always would.

As Fallon watched Levi hold Audrey in his arms, her only worry was for her baby sister. Everything in Fallon’s life was coming together like a dream come true but Audrey’s was still a mess, and all Fallon could do was pray that Audrey got her happily ever after. Fallon’s wanted her sister to find true love — her one and only — like she had with Lucas. Audrey deserved nothing less.

Lucas turned Fallon into his arms before bringing her close and kissing her nose. His eyes were bright with excitement and Fallon knew her eyes matched his. She had never been so happy in her life, and it started and ended with Lucas Brooks.

“I love you, baby.”

Fallon smiled as she leaned against him, her lips almost touching his. “I love you, more.”

Lucas gave her a cheeky smile and then said, “So when do we get to start making another baby?”

Okay, well maybe she had two things to worry about.

Crap.

Acknowledgments.

To the love of my life, Michael: I couldn’t have asked for a better husband when I married you. We have been through hell and high water but we seem to always make it through as a team. I have the confidence I have because you love me. I write these books of love because I am loved the right way. I love hockey because you are so passionate about it. I love you, and I always will.

To my little bits, Mikey and Alyssa: I love you two more than anything in this world. You guys are my biggest fans and I hope that one day I make you as proud of me as I am of you two. I love you two.

To Nick: Oh goodness, how I love you. I couldn’t ask for a better teenager and I love you from the bottom of my heart.

To my mom: I love you, Mom. Thank you for always telling me I can do anything I want and for supporting me when I thought no one would.

To Noey: I love you, Bubba! Can you believe it!? Two porn books! I’m on a roll!

To Nortis, my sister: I love you and I don’t think I tell you that enough. I know that no matter what, you have my back and always will until the day we die. I will never love anyone the way I love you. Thank you for being there when I needed you most.

To Tera: I can’t believe after seven years of friendship you’re leaving me. I will miss you something crazy but don’t worry, I will always send you advance copies of my books and I will always love you.

To Althea: God, how I adore you. I am so happy that we have become so close and I couldn’t love you more! Thank you for the continued support and always being there for me.

To Claudia and Maxine: Who would have thought 10 months ago that I would meet two amazing women who have done nothing but encourage me and love me. I couldn’t have done a lot of this book without you two, and I am so glad to have y’all in my life. Thank you.

To: Jodi, Kristi, and Debbie: MY GIRLS! I love you guys more than anything. Thank you for reading Trying to Score before anyone else and being my soundboards. I love you all so much and I couldn’t have done without you!

To Susie: I love you first off, and I couldn’t have made it through this without you. Thank you so much for helping me with this book and for being there when I needed you. I love you!

To Janet: Thank you for what you did do.

To Tom Tom: I am so blessed to have met you! Thank you so much for being there through the edit of this book. I love that not only are you my editor but you have become my friend! Thank you sooooooooooooooooooo much!

To Jackie: I love you, and I’m so happy I have you back in my life for good!

To my family that I didn’t mention: I do love you, and thank you!

To the readers and my fans: It brings tears to my eyes at all the love and support y’all provide me with. Thank you so much for reading Trying to Score, and I hope to see you all again for Audrey’s story, Empty Net!

Thank you!

Love,

Toni