Tempting the Crown (The Crown 1)

I reluctantly hung up and stared at the TV. I had flipped to Sports Now to listen to the speculation about the game tomorrow. I wanted to learn as much as I could about the AFA and what was the single most important thing in Luke’s world.

I turned up the volume when I saw Luke’s face appear on the screen. They showed scenes of his appearance at the hospital today. Instead of talking about the showdown with the Sharks, the only thing the anchors wanted to discuss was the new Luke Canton.

I grinned, settling into a stack of pillows. I could listen to them talk about this version of Luke all night. I don’t know when I fell asleep, but the last thing I saw was Luke sitting next to a little boy. And I couldn’t help but think of what an amazing dad he was going to be one day.

30

Luke

Three Weeks Later

I couldn’t believe I was looking at fucking tuxedo pictures when I should have been looking at the playbook. We had a bye this week. So the timing was perfect for me to fly to Nashville for the CYAs.

But tuxes? I hated the fuckers.

“Just pick one. That’s all you have to do.” Alexa chimed in. We video chatted every night.

“Why don’t you just pick it.”

“Because, Helena narrowed it down to three. Don’t you like any of them?”

I scowled. “No.”

“Come on, Luke. Just one?”

I scanned my options. “Last one on the left.”

She smiled. “See? That wasn’t so bad.”

“You don’t have to wear it.”

“Have you seen my dress?”

That caught my attention. “No. But it better be tight and you know I love to see your tits.”

“I’ll work on that.” She played with her bottom lip.

“Did you take the test yet?” I blurted it out like a damn idiot. She may have taught me a lot, but I didn’t have a filter.

“How did you go from red carpet wardrobe to pregnancy test?” she asked.

“I want to know, Alexa. I want to know about our baby.”

It was eating me up. Every time I thought I forgot about it, I hadn’t. One of the guys would bring his sons to practice and everyone would get a kick out of tossing him the ball. It hit me in the fucking gut every time. That could be my kid. I could be doing that.

She held up a box and showed me the test on the screen. “I have it. I just don’t think I can do it without you.”

“Put the phone down and I’ll wait.”

“Luke!”

“Was that insensitive?”

“Yes.” She glared at me. “I need you here for this. It’s a huge deal.”

“You want to wait another week?”

“It’s five days. Five more days and we’ll know for sure.”