Risky (Adventures in Love 2)

“He loves bananas,” I reply, and he smiles. Lord, what the hell is going on with me? “Umm.” I hold out my hands for Sampson to come to me, but he latches onto Blake even tighter. “I brought him his food. It’s in his diaper bag.” I start to stand, and he shakes his head.

“I can get it,” he tells me, kissing the top of Sampson’s head and making my stupid heart melt. “Is his bag in the living room?”

“Yeah,” I practically whimper, and he nods before turning and walking away.

“Okay, I know I’m very pregnant, but I swear my ovaries just exploded,” Cybil says, and I bite my lip so I don’t blurt out my agreement.

“Eww,” Margret mumbles. Then she asks, “You okay, Everly?”

“Great,” I lie, because the truth is, I have no idea what the hell it is I’m feeling right now.

Chapter 5

EVERLY

I pull up in front of Live Life Adventures Lodge and put my car in park before grabbing my cell phone to check my messages. Yesterday, Cybil went into labor early and ended up having an emergency C-section. I was in the office when everything happened, but apparently Blake and Tanner rushed her to the hospital, where she eventually brought a very cute—judging by the photos—baby girl into the world.

Thankfully, both baby and mama are doing great, but with Tanner obviously out with his wife and newborn for the foreseeable future, things here at the lodge will be left up to Blake, Maverick, and me. I know we’ve been working toward this happening, but I thought I would have more time to settle in before stuff got real.

After typing a quick text to Maverick, letting him know I’m heading into the office and not to worry about things, I start to open my door but stop when my cell rings in my hand. The name and number combo on the screen is one I know all too well, and with my stomach in knots, I watch my phone continue to ring.

I know I should answer. I know I should, but the idea of speaking to my ex is not even a little appealing. Part of me is panicked that he’s going to say he’s changed his mind about having a relationship with his son; another part of me is worried I’ll hate him even more if that’s not why he’s calling. After a deep breath, I slide my shaking finger across the screen and put the call on speaker.

“Lex.” I go for casual, praying he doesn’t hear the shake to my voice.

“Umm, hey, Everly.” He clears his throat, and I wonder why he sounds so nervous. “How have you been?”

Really? I haven’t spoken to him in weeks, and that’s his question? How does he think I’ve been? “What’s going on?”

“Well . . .” He clears his throat again. “I . . . well, I talked to my mom yesterday, and I . . .” He lets out a long sigh. “I told her about Sampson,” he says, and I frown. The last he told me, he did not have much of a relationship with his parents, and I got that, because the way he described them made it seem like they would be the last people you would want in your life. “She wants to meet him.”

“You’re kidding, right?” I ask as anger curls up in the pit of my stomach.

“She’s his grandmother,” he replies, and red fills my vision as I stare at the lodge in front of me.

“I can’t do this right now,” I whisper, wondering if I might be having a heart attack. It feels like my heart is beating way too hard and that I might just puke at any moment.

“She doesn’t live far from where you are now. You could just take him to meet her at a restaurant or something.”

Oh my God, so he wants me to take my son to meet her on my own? He doesn’t even want to be there when our son meets his grandmother for the first time?

“I just got to work. I’ll text you later,” I say in a rush, needing to get off the phone before I start to scream and say something I might regret. I knew he didn’t care for our son, but for him to put me in this situation just shows me how little he ever cared about me.

“Everly, it’s not a big deal.”

Not a big deal?

“Stop,” I hiss. “Just stop. I need to think about this,” I say right before I hang up on him. When I get out of my car, my legs feel like Jell-O, and I’m seriously questioning my ability to make it across the distance between me and the steps to the deck, up them, and into the lodge without passing out.

“Everly,” a deep voice calls, and before I can turn my head to confirm it’s Blake, he’s standing next to me with his concern-filled eyes roaming over my face. “What happened? Are you okay?”