The Gate to Everything (Once Upon a Dare Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

at Christmas, but didn’t have the heart to check. Mom knew something was up.” She’d prayed it was another sinus infection at first, but a part of her had already known. It had seemed like life’s cruel birthday present considering how much she’d been stewing about her biological clock.
    His sigh punctuated the silence between them.  
    “I finally took a test on New Year’s when I returned to Atlanta, right before I left for Italy.” Her trip to Italy had been her salvation. No one had recognized her, and she’d enjoyed being a normal person again—especially knowing the hype around Jordan and the Rebels’ Super Bowl win would be insane in Atlanta.  
    “You didn’t have to handle it alone.” He put his hands on her shoulders and rested his chin on her head. “I would have been there for you, even with the playoffs. I would have wanted to know.”
    The tears Grace had tried so hard to hold back spilled out of her closed lids. God, she’d missed his touch, but she’d dreaded the comfort she’d take from it.
    “Why’d you really wait until now to tell me?” he asked quietly as the coffee finished brewing.  
    She’d never outright told him how much she feared that Farley and all the other jackals were right—that he’d be better off without her. The pictures of Jordan partying with other women that had been splashed all over the Internet and tabloids felt like confirmation that freedom suited him. It had only made the breakup harder, as had the embarrassing knowledge that her family and her colleagues had seen them. A little voice in her head told her this baby—their baby—would hold him back too.
    “You needed to focus on the playoffs,” she said instead, trying to keep her voice even. “This was the last thing you needed to deal with.”
    His sigh warmed her scalp. When she shivered slightly, Jordan ran his hands down her shoulders, warming her. Awareness was alive and well between them. She’d hoped it would be gone. Being pregnant and not being together was going to be hard. So hard.
    Since knowing she was pregnant, every day she’d feared she’d cave and get back together with him. She loved him. But all the fame surrounding him had only mushroomed, and he’d seemed happier without her anyway.
    “The playoffs and the Super Bowl ended early February, Gracie.”
    “I know,” she said, remembering how many times she’d picked up her phone to call him only to put it down. “I didn’t just wait because I wanted to be past the first trimester…there was another reason.”
    He turned her around. “What?”
    “You worked so hard to win the Super Bowl,” she said, feeling comfortable she could share this one. “It was your dream, like me earning a Michelin star. I wanted you to have some time to enjoy it.”
    His face scrunched up, and he turned his head to the side, fighting the emotion radiating out of him. “How do you feel about the baby?”
    There weren’t enough words to describe the seesaw of her emotions. “More than a little scared, but I’m growing used to the idea and doing my best to be happy about it.”
    He let out a long breath. “And what about Gracie and her needs?”
    She shrugged. “What about her? It is what it is. No use crying over spilled milk.”
    He put his hands on her shoulders and stared into her eyes. “This is about more than milk, Grace. It’s a child. Our child.”
    Jordan stepped back to give them space, and she was glad for it. Feeling his hands on her—even in comfort—was too strong a pull toward the past. She knew he was fighting it too.
    “Have you been to the doctor yet?” he asked.
    She nodded. “Yes, I had the first ultrasound yesterday.”  
    He looked down, his brow knitted, and she realized he was staring at her belly. His hand darted out to touch it, but he jerked it back. Her legs turned to lead at the thought of him touching her there.  
    “I…um…I’m not showing yet,” she said awkwardly.
    Jordan raised her chin so