Baby Daddy Wanted (Crescent Cove 5)

“It’s not like that.”

He rubbed one of his pecs. “Not what your little shove said. I’ll give you a pass because I saw how many bees were swarming around her honey pot.”

I curled my fingers into fists.

“Now, now, Moose, I’ll give you one pass,” he took the beer out of his front pocket, “but only one.” He lifted one long finger with a wink, then took a long gulp from the can and finished it before crunching the can and tossing it into our recycle bin. “Man up,” he said over his shoulder and sauntered over to the paver cutter, put his glasses on, and flicked the switch on the wet blade.

Christ, the heat must be getting to me.

Or the fact that I had wanted Vee for so long I couldn’t even breathe around it. And now the whole damn town was looking at her like she was a big ole ice cream cone and it was ninety-seven-degrees and one hundred percent humidity. Oh, and couldn’t forget the talking about her like they were longing for a bite.

I stalked away from the pile of lumber I was supposed to be measuring and pulled out my phone. My fingers flew over the keys before I could stop myself. Anger and frustration leaked into my words, but I was working on too much adrenaline.

And the thought of her messages overflowing with other men.

Men that could replace me so easily.

“Just go over there, for God’s sake.”

My back straightened at Gideon’s voice.

“I don’t know what you’ve been waiting for, but now’s definitely not the time to be a pussy.”

I swung around to face my oldest friend in town. “Oh, and are you manning up about Macy?”

Gideon stuffed his hands in his front pockets. “Little different there.”

“I don’t see how.”

Gideon rocked back on his heels. “I have a whole different set of problems. You? Not so much. Both of you are unencumbered, both young, and Vee’s all about being serious no matter what she says in that ad on The Cove. You? Dude, you were born to be attached to a woman and with a family.”

“She wants one part of a man—and not necessarily mine.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “She doesn’t know I’m alive.”

“Because you don’t speak.”

He wasn’t wrong. Every time I tried to open my damn mouth, I went absolutely brain dead. I have three different Master’s degrees, but speaking to this one woman was beyond me.

“Go get our lunches and talk to her.” Gideon shook his head when I tried to open my mouth to argue. “Charge it to the company and just go. The natives are getting restless.”

r /> I tipped my head back to stare at the cloudless sky. “You suck.”

“I’m your fairy fucking godmother. Go get your princess, you idiot. Oh, and ask Macy for a bunch of those caffeine smoothie things she’s doing. I’m fucking addicted.”

I trudged back to my truck. My pocket exploded with text orders from people on the team. Word got around fast and no one wanted to miss out on café food. Unfortunately, none of the notifications included a reply from Vee.

Our current job was only a few streets over from Main Street so it was a quick drive. Summer and Fall were Gideon’s busiest seasons, then it would be me snowed in up at my cabin for most of the winter. I held off most of my big projects until then.

Like impregnating a particular baker?

Ugh.

I had to park down the damn street because, as usual, Brewed Awakening was hopping. As I passed people enjoying the unusually sunny day, I heard more comments about Vee. Didn’t people have other shit to talk about?

Okay, so not everyone was, but it felt like it. And I should have stopped at my damn house to get a real shirt. Lucky was my size, but he liked to wear his shirts a size smaller to show off his freaking body.

I, however, did not.

Maybe I should have put my sweaty thermal back on.