“That’s where we hid the piece of paper with the gender of our baby. We don’t want to look at it yet.”
Alex’s eyes widened. “What?”
Presley turned to him. “You’re not allowed to look in there either, Alex. Promise me.”
Rather than listen and immediately put it back, Fern peeked at the paper before folding it and returning it to the jar. Great.
“No worries.” She smiled. “Secret’s safe with me.”
There was no chance of this being secret for the next five months if Big Mouth knew. But more than that, would I be able to resist trying to get it out of her? Not knowing what we were having was killing me. Becoming a father was the most exciting thing to happen to me, and I was consumed by curiosity. I would love my kid no matter what, but I really wanted to know. I supposed if Fern accidentally let it slip, so be it. But I would never go against Presley’s wishes to find out.
“The baby is going to be my crother or cister,” Alex said with a mouth full of ice cream.
Presley squinted. “Huh?”
“My cousin and my brother or sister. Crother or cister.”
Damn. Thanks to his uncle boinking his mother, that was true. Poor kid.
“I get it now,” I said. “Crother or cister like cruncle—crappy uncle.” I chuckled.
Alex laughed. “Cruncle used to stand for crappy uncle. Now, it’s cuncle—cool uncle.”
“Nice! I’ve been upgraded. Thanks, buddy.”
“You’re welcome.” He giggled and got up to put his bowl in the sink before running off.
Presley yawned as she rubbed her stomach. “I think I’m crashing from the sugar. I’m feeling tired.”
“It’s either that or, you know, the fact that you’re carrying around a little human.”
“Thank you for the ice cream.” She stood from her chair. “I’m gonna head to the room and lie down.”
“I’ll join you in a bit.” I wriggled my brows. “I promise I got the hint that you’re really tired. I won’t try anything. I’ll just rub your feet if you’re not in the mood.”
“I’m never too tired for that,” she whispered. “I just need a little nap and I’ll get a second wind.”
Fern snickered from the corner of the room as she prepared her tea. That woman had supersonic hearing.
The old lady and I were the only ones in the kitchen once Presley left.
Fern steeped her tea as she headed toward the hallway to return to her room. “You’re just dying to know, aren’t you?” she said as she passed.
I stared her down silently. Of course, I want to know. But there was no way I’d break my vow and ask.
Fern took a sip of her tea. “It’d be mighty funny if this baby ended up looking like Tanner and not you, wouldn’t it?”
“I’m sure you’d be tickled if that happened.”
She winked. “Tickled pink.”
Then she disappeared down the hall.
It took me a second.
Tickled pink.
Holy shit.
I let the euphoria sink in for a few seconds.
Wow—girl dad.
FREE HOLIDAY GIFT FOR OUR READERS!
* * *
Dear Readers,
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading Well Played. We’d love to stay in touch and invite you to join our mailing list and receive back a fun collection of THREE FREE HOLIDAY short stories.
Sexy Scrooge
The last thing I needed was to share an Uber with Scrooge—a cocky lawyer on a snowy Christmas Eve. It was bad enough I was on my way to court for the gift of eviction. Although maybe today wouldn’t turn out so bad after all. The Sexy Scrooge and I started to connect as we trudged our way through a storm.  Our ride was about to end. But would I ever see him again?
The Merry Mistake
Note to self: Ask Santa for glasses this year. When I accidentally mistook a gorgeous man resting outside my building for a homeless person in need of lunch, we got into it. I’d only been trying to do a good deed around the holidays, but he called me righteous. I called him something far worse. If only I didn’t have to see him again. But fate had other plans.
Kissmas in New York
It was just supposed to be a simple kiss with a stranger. I'd done it to prove a point—that I hadn't lost my sense of adventure. But you know what they say about the best laid plans. Maybe I'd get something in my stocking after all this holiday season...
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
* * *
Thank you to all of the amazing bloggers, bookstagrammers and BookTokers who helped spread the news about Well Played to readers. You make the book world go round, and we are so grateful for all of your support.
To our rocks: Julie, Luna and Cheri – Thank you for your friendship and always looking out for us.
To our super agent, Kimberly Brower – Thank you for always believing in us and working so hard on our behalf!
To Jessica – It’s always a pleasure working with you as our editor. Thank you for making sure Levi and Presley were ready for the world.
To Elaine – An amazing editor, proofer, formatter, and friend. We so appreciate you!
To Julia – Thank you for being our eagle eye!
To Kylie and Jo at Give Me Books Promotions – Our releases would simply be impossible without your hard work and dedication to helping us promote them.
To Sommer – Thank you for bringing Levi to life on the cover. Your work is perfection.
To Brooke – Thank you for organizing this release and for taking some of the load off of our endless to-do lists each day.
Last but not least, to our readers – We keep writing because of your hunger for our stories. We love surprising you and hope you enjoyed this book as much as we did writing it. Thank you as always for your enthusiasm, love and loyalty. We cherish you!
Much love,
Vi and Penelope
OTHER BOOKS BY VI KEELAND & PENELOPE WARD
* * *
Park Avenue Player
Stuck-Up Suit
Cocky Bastard
Not Pretending Anymore
Happily Letter After
My Favorite Souvenir
Dirty Letters
Hate Notes
Rebel Heir
Rebel Heart
Mister Moneybags
British Bedmate
Playboy Pilot
OTHER BOOKS FROM VI KEELAND
* * *
The Spark
The Invitation
The Rivals
Inappropriate
All Grown Up
We Shouldn’t
The Naked Truth
Sex, Not Love
Beautiful Mistake
Egomaniac
Bossman
The Baller
Left Behind
Beat
Throb
Worth the Fight
Worth the Chance