Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

JENSEN

Me

Are you at home?

Princess

Yes.

Then why won't you answer your door?

Technically, I'm not in my apartment, but I am in my building.

Doing what?

Having a coffee with a friend. I'll be a half hour.

I stand in front of her door, typing out a response. I didn't know Kate had friends outside of our group, and definitely not one living in the same building as her.

I have to be at the airport in an hour, so I was stopping by to drop off a few things. But give me this friend's apartment number and I can stop by and say hi.

AUDREY is eighty years old and is nervous about strange men. What "things" are you dropping off?

Come down, and you'll find out. It would make sense for me to have a key to your place, just in case you need me.

Yeah, not happening. I've gotten by fine these past thirty-five years.

That was before you were carrying my baby.

I'll be down in a minute.

It has to be ten minutes before Kate rounds the corner, walking toward me down her corridor.

Dressed in a long black flowing skirt and a white cropped T-shirt. Her hair is up in a high-top ponytail with a few pieces framing her face.

What is it going to take to get this girl on my side?

Sliding her key into the lock, she opens the door and waves her arm inside for me to enter.

"What have you got there?" She eyes the bags I'm holding as we both walk across to her kitchen counter.

I've only been here a handful of times with the boys, but her apartment was the first real insight into the true Kate. When she doesn't think the rest of the world is watching, she likes to do calligraphy in bright colors. She has favorite plates and mugs that are chipped and worn, but they sit at the front of her cupboards, the ones she uses all the time.

"How do you keep on top of all these houseplants?" I say, looking around. She must have at least ten in her teal living room alone. There are two more floor plants in the entryway.

She shrugs. "It's nice. They oxygenate my apartment, and I enjoy looking after them. That's Herbert." She nods at a spider plant. It hangs from the corner of the ceiling above her TV.

I smile and set the bags down on the countertop. She's so fucking cute, and she doesn't even know it.

Her eyes flare as I start unloading the bags. "What's all this?" Coming to stand next to me, she peers into one of the bags. "Jensen, what is all this?!"

"My flight to Alberta leaves in three hours. I've gotta check in and head through security. But I wanted to make sure you're all set while I'm away. I was going for a week but shortened it to four nights, so I'll be back sooner."

"These must've cost a fortune!" She picks up half a dozen parent and baby books. "Did you buy the entire store?!"

I point at one with a pink cover. "That one's great."

She looks up at me in surprise. "How do you know?"

I continue to unload the bags. "I read seventy percent last night."

And fell asleep with it on my chest. Then I read the rest this morning.

Kate's a decent cook. I know this from when I've been around, and she's made dinner for us all. But like hell am I having her work the crazy hours she does and then come home and prepare her own food.

So, I batch-cooked a bunch of vegetarian options. There's enough to get through the next four days, and I have Jon on standby. He's an okay chef, but he's not me. Taking out the freezable containers, I stride over to her freezer and begin loading them in. "No meat in any of them."

"Jon made these?"

I roll my eyes and shut the freezer door. "Nah, I did."

Kate fights to hide her surprise.

You think you've got me all figured out, don't you, Princess?

"Um, well, thank you. It really wasn't necess?—"

"It was. You get home from work at, like, what, eight in the evening? Let me guess… then this goes on." I open the door on the microwave, and the food splatters inside tell the story.

Rushing over, she slams it shut and stands in front, her face flushing red. "Microwave meals have come a long way."

Reaching out, I lightly run the back of my knuckles across her stomach. "Do I need to repeat what I said yesterday?"

"No."

"I'm going to anyway. I'm going to treat you like a princess, Princess."

Me

I'm boarding my flight. Jon, can you check on meal levels? Zach, I've booked Kate in for her first prenatal class and another space if Luna wants to go. Let me know. Jessie, just keep a watch out for me.

Jessie

Watch out, as in like a stalker?

Jon

Oh how the tables have turned. I'm here with popcorn.

Zach

When is the class?

Me

This Saturday. I'll be back early Friday, so I'm going too. If you need to stalk, then stalk, and Jon, fuck off.

Zach

I'm surprised she agreed to it.

Me

She hasn't, but she will on Saturday.

Zach

Are you trying to get a slap?

I close out the message thread and hand over my boarding pass to be scanned.

My phone buzzes in my pocket.

"Sir, all phones beyond this point should be switched into airplane mode."

"Sure, give me one second."

I step to the side and answer. "Yo, what's up?"

"You want me to stalk a lawyer?"

I turn my back on the other passengers boarding the plane. "Just make sure she's doing okay."

"She's thirty-five years old. I'm sure she can take care of herself," Jessie replies.

Not in the way I can.

"Just stop by one night this week to check if the stock of meals is going down."

Jessie huffs out a breath. "Let's get real for a second. I get that she's pregnant, and you want to take care of her, but you sound obsessed. Not just with the baby, but with her too."

You have no idea.

"I'm just trying to step up."

"I know, I know. You'd tell me if there was more, right?"

I should tell him more; I owe my best friend that since I'm the only one he's confided in about what happened in Texas and the whole reason he was traded to the Scorpions against his will. Even worse, Jon knows how I feel about Kate since Felicity saw what she saw. I feel like a shit friend for keeping secrets like this when he's been so candid with me and only me.

But now isn't the time.

"I'm about to board my flight."

"So there is something?"

"When I get back, I'll come over; we'll have a few beers and shoot the shit."

"Right, well, I'm heading back to Dallas next week, so make it soon. Damn man, I thought you told me everything."

"Up until yesterday, there wasn't much to tell."

For a few beats, he goes silent on the other end of the line.

"Alright."

"Heading back to see your mom?" I ask.

"Yeah. She needs me. Dad turned up again last night."

"Is she okay?"

"She will be."

I nod and then look up to see a very angry member of the cabin crew. "Look, I gotta go. I'll be in touch."

"Alright."

Finding my seat in first, I sit back for the short one hour forty-minute plane ride I've taken more times than I can count. Usually, I love heading home since I have a close family, but right now, I want and need to be in Seattle.

But I can't let my sister down.

Connecting my phone to the plane's WIFI, I realize there's a question I forgot to ask her.

Me

Are you okay?

Princess

Since you last asked? Yes. Nothing has changed in the past three hours.

I want to tell my parents. I'll be home with family, and you know we're close. Doesn't seem right keeping it from them. Unless you don't want me to?

You can tell them, but it will probably leak to the media.

The media know nothing about me and my personal life. My family is as loyal as they come.

I won't be telling mine. Maybe Easton at some point, but not my parents.

She is; she's ashamed of me. I know Kate is from a family with serious money and social status. Her family owns one of the largest law firms with offices across the country. They probably wouldn't approve of rough-and-ready Jensen Jones from Alberta. I've got money, but I'm a working-class boy.

Why not?

She begins typing a message and then stops. It is me. My heart sinks. It's not just that I drive her to the point of insanity but because of who I am and who they would or wouldn't approve. And that pisses me off.

Why not, Kate?

Finally, she begins typing again. I'm so focused on my screen that I don't notice we're about to take off until the same airline attendant asks me to buckle my seat belt.

Let's just say it won't sit well with my parents…

"Fuck."

My new best friend and biggest fan spins around in the aisle and pins me with a glare.

"Sorry."

Wincing, I get back to my phone.

You have a real way of making me feel good, Kate.

It wouldn't matter if I was having a baby with Jesus Christ himself—it still wouldn't be good enough.

I'm going to tell my parents about the baby on this trip home, and when I get back, I'm going to go with you to tell yours. They can tell me I'm not good enough for you to my face.

It's not about whether YOU'RE good enough for me. It's the fact that I'm having a baby, period.

They don't want you to have a family?!

Can we talk about this another time? Maybe not over text?

Who the fuck are these people? The Monroes just went straight to the top of my shit list.

Damn right we are. What the fuck, Kate? You're thirty-six!

Thirty-five.

You drive me crazy; you know that?

Hard same.

I catch myself smiling. Somehow, in the space of ten seconds, it's morphed from a full-blown scowl.

It turns me on. I've got a boner at thirty thousand feet.

Insufferable.