His Secret Starlight Baby

by Michelle Major

  “That’s a lovely offer, but...” Cory paused and swallowed back her refusal. In truth, the idea of selling her jewelry appealed to her in a way she couldn’t explain. It might be difficult to craft enough items to make it worth it, although she’d fashioned a dozen pair of earrings just the other night while Jordan was at the bar. She’d gotten so caught up in the relaxing rhythm of her work that she hadn’t even realized how much she’d done or how late it was until the grandfather clock in his family room chimed midnight.

  “Can I think about it and give you a call tomorrow morning?” she asked Brynn. “I’ll have to take a look at my supplies and the timing to figure out if it’s something I could manage.”

  “But you’ll consider it?” Brynn grinned. “I’m so happy. Yes, call me whenever.”

  The guys came back into the kitchen at that moment, and the rest of the evening went by in a series of bright and easy moments filled with laughter and conversation. It was becoming clearer with each moment that Starlight was the kind of place Cory would be lucky to call her home. She tried not to think of how much Jordan was coming to mean to her. But after they drove home in companionable silence, they put Ben down for bed together, and to Cory it felt like they’d become a family. It felt like everything she’d secretly dreamed of, so when he drew her into his arms and then his bed, she let herself go without reservation.

  * * *

  “I’ve missed you, babe.”

  Cory whirled around at the sound of the familiar voice. The jar of pureed sweet potatoes she’d been taking from the shelf crashed to the floor and shattered. Chunks of orange goop splattered across the white squares of linoleum and onto her jeans.

  “Still a klutz,” Kade said with a smirk. “One of the things I love about you.”

  Her brain continued to have trouble with the fact that her ex-boyfriend was standing in a grocery aisle, so close she could reach out and touch him if she wanted. She didn’t want to touch him or talk to him or even acknowledge his existence, although Kade was a hard man to ignore. His hair was close cropped, the way he’d always worn it, and he was dressed in a striped button-down, dark jeans and a leather jacket. No one could deny his raw masculinity, but seeing him only made Cory somewhat sick to her stomach.

  She tried and mostly failed to calm her breathing as she looked past him to the grocery store clerk who’d appeared at the end of the aisle.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said to the older man even as she stepped in front of the cart that held her groceries and Ben. For some reason, she felt the need to put herself between her son and Kade. “It slipped from my fingers.”

  “We’ll get it cleaned up in a jiffy,” the clerk told her. His eyes widened as he realized who was standing with her. “My son and I loved watching you in the playoffs this year, Mr. Barrington.”

  Kade flashed his patented thousand-watt smile. “New England was a tough loss.”

  “You’ll get them next year.” The man pulled a cell phone from his pocket. “Would you be willing to take a selfie with me?”

  “Sure thing,” Kade said easily, then glanced at Cory. “Give me a minute.”

  She didn’t answer, but there was no way she was giving her ex even one solitary second. As soon as Kade started toward the clerk, Cory unsnapped Ben’s infant seat from the shopping cart and headed in the opposite direction, leaving her groceries deserted in the aisle.

  She’d almost made it to her car when she heard the sound of footsteps jogging toward her.

  “Babe, come on. Don’t be like that. I came all this way.”

  She didn’t break her stride. “For nothing, Kade. I don’t want to talk to you like this.”

  “Then you should have texted me back.” He caught up to her as she unlocked her car. “You didn’t return my phone calls, either. I needed you after that last game. You’re the only person I wanted with me.”

  “We’re over.” She opened the car door and bent forward to clip Ben’s seat into the base. “We’ve been over for a while, Kade. Even before I left Atlanta. You know that.”

  “Is that our boy?”

  Anger clawed at her throat, making it difficult to breathe. “He’s not yours.” She shut the car door and turned. “You know that, too.”

  “He could be.” Kade gave a dismissive shrug, the diamond stud in his left ear glinting in the pale sunlight. It had rained overnight, so the air smelled like pine and forest even more than usual. She tried to let the scent calm her thudding heart.

  “I’ll give him my name,” Kade told her like he was offering to bestow some kind of prize on her baby. “I’ll give him everything you and I never had. All the things we wanted. The best schools, the biggest houses.”

  “That’s not what I want for me or for my son.” She shook her head. “It never has been.”

  “What do you want?” His expression tightened with obvious frustration.

  “A happy life,” she said simply. “What happened to the new girlfriend, Kade? I heard you were engaged.”

  “I broke it off because she wasn’t you. We’re still a part of each other, Cory.” He reached around her and tapped his open palm to the peeling roof of the Buick. “You think you’re going to get some fairy-tale happiness with Jordan Schaeffer?” Kade gave a dismissive sniff. “That guy was washed up before he even left the team. He had potential but no follow-through.”

  “How do you know about Jordan?” she demanded. “How did you even know where to find me?” She held up a hand before he could answer. “My mom told you.” Kade was the only thing in Cory’s life her mom approved of.

  “At least she would talk to me.” The irritation in his tone was clear. Kade had always been one for instant gratification, so Cory could imagine that not being able to immediately reach her had been a real problem.

  Too bad his problems were no longer her concern.

  “She shouldn’t have done that,” Cory said tightly, although it didn’t surprise her. Even at Gran’s funeral, Cory’s mom had taken the opportunity to lecture her about how much she’d given up when she and Kade broke up.

  “You’re not a part of my life anymore,” she told him, proud when her voice didn’t waver. “You made it clear what it would take for me to stay in yours. I’m making choices for myself now. For my son.” She pointed a finger at him. “Not yours, Kade. Mine.”

  “Give me a break.” He shook his head. “I know you, Cory. I understand how you operate. You left me and went running home to your grandma, and when she was gone you decided your next best bet was latching on to Schaeffer. You never do anything for yourself.”

  The words hit like a series of blows. She knew in her rational mind that they weren’t true, but in some ways, he was right. Cory should have never agreed to the pretend relationship with Jordan, but she had because it was easy to go along with what worked for somebody else. Because starting over in a new place totally on her own was terrifying, and relationships were her comfort zone. She knew how to be a daughter, a granddaughter, a girlfriend. What she’d never mastered was taking care of herself.

  She’d thought she had a chance for a real change to how she did things in Starlight. At least that was what her plan had been. But her life here was based on a lie. Madison was the only person who knew the truth. Would her other friends stand by her when and if they realized her duplicity?

  “Wow, your sweet words are really melting my heart.” She glared at Kade. She might not be the best example of independence, but she didn’t deserve to be shamed for it. “If I was such a needy, clingy drain on you, then what are you doing here?”

  For a moment, there was a flicker of true emotion in his gaze. “Like I said, I miss you. You might be a train wreck, but you’re my train wreck.”

  “I’m not yours,” she said through gritted teeth. “And I’m not a train wreck. Not anymore.”

  “Sorry.” He held up his hands. “I meant it as a co
mpliment. I miss taking care of you. I miss having you waiting for me at the end of the night. I miss us.”

  “There is no us, Kade. I’m sorry you made the trip for—” She broke off, shook her head. “Scratch that. I’m not sorry. You coming here was your choice. I didn’t ask for it, and I didn’t invite you. Yes, I let you take care of me because it was easy. My mistake. I should have realized I don’t need anyone to take care of me. In some ways I owe you, because leaving you taught me a lot about myself. I appreciate the history, but I’m not going to repeat. Not with you or any man.”

  “Come on, babe.” Kade took a step closer but stopped when she held up a hand. “If you want something different, I’ll give it to you. Whatever you want. Just say you’ll try again.”

  “No.”

  He stared at her like he expected something more, but she just returned his gaze without emotion. Why had it taken her so long to realize that “no” was a complete sentence? She didn’t owe him an explanation. She owed herself a chance.

  He reached into the inside pocket of his leather jacket and pulled out an envelope, shoving it into her hand before she could protest. “I booked us a trip to Fiji. That’s where you always wanted to go, remember? I’ve got time off. My agent wanted me to go right to a deodorant commercial shoot, but I said I’ve got to reconnect with my best girl first. I even hired a nanny for the kid and rented a separate condo for them. We’ll have a real vacation, Cory. Just come with me and then you can decide about the future. Let’s enjoy right now.”

  The scattered fragments of her resolve coalesced inside her until they obscured all of her doubts about her own strength. She wasn’t the woman Kade wanted her to be. Maybe she never had been, only now she had the courage to step into the new version of herself. “I am enjoying my life right now,” she told him. “I don’t need a beach vacation to make me happy. Ben makes me happy. My life makes me happy.” And Jordan, she wanted to add, but didn’t. Because as happy as Jordan made her, Cory knew they had to go forward without anything fake between them if they were really going to have the chance she wanted.

  It would be the first time in forever she hadn’t taken the easy way out. But he was worth it. She was worth it.

  “Good luck, Kade. I wish you the best, but you’re not the best for me.”

  She climbed into her car and drove away. The envelope sat on the passenger seat, unopened. Maybe she should have forced him to take it back, but it didn’t matter. She had no intention of using the ticket. Her life was here, and it was time she claimed it.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Jordan’s heart plummeted to his toes as he pulled up to his house later that afternoon to witness Cory loading boxes into the back of her old sedan.

  He’d come to love that automotive behemoth in the weeks she’d parked it in his driveway. It represented something about the woman and her quiet independence. At first, he’d offered daily to lease something new for her or to buy her a more reliable used car.

  But she’d insisted she liked the Buick just fine, which was difficult to believe, because it drove like a tank. But Cory was proud and determined to do things on her own, and he respected her for it.

  So why was she packing up now?

  He refused to believe she didn’t want to be with him. Not when their time together felt so right. He couldn’t be the only one who sensed their bond deepening with every passing day. Yes, they talked about the time when they’d have to come clean about their relationship, but the longer it continued, the more certain he became that didn’t have to be the only option.

  They could be together for real.

  He parked in front of the garage and got out of the truck, doing his best not to appear as alarmed as he felt.

  “Cleaning out closets?” he asked with fake cheer.

  “I’m leaving,” she said as she closed the trunk.

  “Leaving.” He repeated the word numbly, feeling like he’d just taken a swift kick to the family jewels. His past had taught him not to reveal his emotions because that would give whoever was hurting him the upper hand. Whether with his father or on the line of scrimmage, Jordan never flinched.

  He didn’t shy away now, although his insides felt like they’d been sent through a meat grinder.

  “What does that mean? You taking a girls’ trip?”

  “The pretend relationship ends now,” she answered. “I’m going to stay with Tessa for a few days until I can make arrangements to rent my own place.”

  “You can’t do that.” He shook his head, grasping at anything that would keep her there. “We had an arrangement, Cory.”

  “Which we should have stopped when your mom left, Jordan. We both know it.”

  I don’t know anything of the sort, his heart screamed. “Do we?” was his response.

  “I told you from the start that I didn’t seek you out because I had expectations. You deserved to know the truth about your son, and I wanted you to have a chance to have a relationship with him.”

  “How am I going to do that if you take him away?” he demanded, his voice cracking on the last word. He sucked in a breath and tried to muster some semblance of calm. “You can’t take him from me, Cory.”

  “I wouldn’t do that. Tessa’s cabin is ten minutes away, and I’m not planning to leave Starlight. But I need to know I can make it on my own without having to rely on someone to take care of me.”

  He wanted to argue, to tell her that he was the one who needed her. That his house would be nothing more than a shell without her in it. That he loved her. But he didn’t say any of those things. He’d spent his whole damn life hiding emotion because emotion made him weak, but somehow acting strong didn’t make him feel any more in control at this moment.

  Ben made a noise from inside the car.

  “I have to go,” Cory said gently. “I’m not walking away, Jordan.”

  “It sure looks like that from where I’m standing.”

  “I’ll call you tomorrow,” she said. “We can figure out how to start fresh. This isn’t the end.”

  She went up on tiptoe to kiss him, but he turned his head so her mouth brushed his cheek. As angry as he was, he still wanted to kiss her. But he was half-afraid that if he let himself get close to her at this moment, he’d lose it.

  He could feel her gaze on him but refused to look. After a few tense seconds, she squeezed his arm and moved away. He felt her absence like an icy wind. She could talk all she wanted about this not being the end, but watching her brake lights flash before she disappeared down his driveway, it sure felt like the end to Jordan.

  Birds chirped in the trees overhead, and the afternoon sun warmed his shoulders. It seemed somehow wrong that the world could continue when it felt like his chest was splitting open and his heart would be irrevocably fractured.

  After a few minutes, he went into the house. It was so damn quiet. Not the good kind of quiet, either. The kind that reminded him he was once again alone.

  Unable to stand it on his own, he left for the bar. He arrived in the middle of happy hour, and the booths and tables were crowded with a mix of locals and out-of-towners. After greeting a few customers by name, Jordan headed for his office but made a detour for the bar when Tanya gestured him over.

  “We’ve got a problem, boss.”

  He glanced over his shoulder at the groups of boisterous customers. “Tell me.”

  Before she could answer, a crash sounded from the kitchen, loud enough that people at several tables looked toward the swinging door that separated the two spaces.

  “On second thought, don’t tell me.” He gave a small shake of his head. “I’ll deal with it.”

  He entered the kitchen, which was filled with a tense silence only punctuated by the sizzling of the grill and the bubble from the fryer. In the past few weeks, since Cory’s arrival, he’d gotten used to laughter and conversation among his staff as they
worked.

  Madison stood behind the stainless-steel counter, glaring down at a bowl of steaming pasta. “You’d better get out of my kitchen,” she said without glancing up, “before I fillet you open like today’s fresh catch.”

  “What happened to your new leaf and kinder, gentler personality?” Jordan asked, arching a brow.

  “I’m kinder and gentler, just not to you.” She met his gaze, pointed the tip of her knife in his direction. “You cost me my best employee.”

  Jordan blinked.

  “Cory,” she clarified, as if he couldn’t tell who she was talking about. “She stopped in earlier and told me she was looking for a new job. The kitchen staff is supposed to be mine, Jordan. You’re the boss of the front of the house. I run the back.”

  “I didn’t fire Cory.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Hell, I didn’t even know she was planning to quit.”

  The chef stepped around the prep counter and lowered her voice so that only he would hear her. “Doesn’t that seem like something you should know about your own fiancée?” She gave him a hard stare.

  “She didn’t tell me. You can’t blame me for something I didn’t do.”

  “I’m not blaming you because she quit. I’m blaming you for making her want to.”

  “What does that even mean?”

  “I know about your little arrangement,” Madison said, leaning closer. “The truth. I’m the only one who knows the truth.”

  “Then why are you acting surprised this happened? It was bound to fall apart eventually.”

  She threw up her hands. “Only because you’re an idiot. I don’t care what Cory told me about the two of you being all for show when she first got to town. Things changed, didn’t they?”

  He pressed his lips together but gave a tight nod.