“Give up?” I asked Steele.

“No point in cleaning up until he’s finished his destruction.”

“My thought exactly.”

“Where’ve you been?” Kaden asked as he bent over to check the cookies in the oven.

“Meeting a girlfriend from my past.”

Kaden and Steele exchanged glances. Both sets of brows shot upward, but they said nothing.

“The one that got away. The one I can’t seem to forget.” I was stupid to admit such a thing to these clowns. They’d surely use the information against me sometime in the future.

Steele’s brows crept up farther into his hairline. Kaden frowned, not sure what to think of my statement.

“Where’s she living?” Steele said.

“I’m not sure.”

“Does she want to get back together?” Kaden narrowed his eyes.

“I’m not interested in a long-term relationship with her or anyone else, but there are complications I didn’t know about until now.”

“Complications?” they both stated at the same time. Kaden pulled the next sheet of cookies from the oven and grabbed the batch ready to be baked.

“Yeah, a complication. I’m a father.”

Steele spit out his cookie, and Kaden dropped the cookie sheet full of raw cookies on the floor.

“What the fuck?” Kaden blinked several times and stepped over the mess to stand across the counter from me. His mouth moved, but nothing came out, as if he couldn’t quite figure out which question to ask first.

“A father?” Steele shook his head over and over, as if the motion would help him make sense of my words.

“Yeah, a father.” I held up my hand to stop the questions from coming. “I was so shocked, I dropped my beer. It drenched us, and the glass broke on the floor.”

“No wonder you stink like stale beer,” Kaden said.

“And look like you should’ve been wearing a diaper,” Steele added.

“Yeah, thanks. Anyway, in the ensuing chaos, she slipped out.”

“She dropped a bomb like that on you and left? What the fuck?” Steele shook his head and scowled. Steele rarely showed emotion, so this display was epic and somewhat touching. I’d never point that out to him though. He’d be mortified.

“She told you that you’re a father and then vanished?”

“Sure did.” Anger seeped into my tone and vibrated through my body. The anger kept the confusion and guilt at bay. If I stayed pissed at her, I wouldn’t have to accept my responsibility in this situation. After all, there wasn’t any excuse for what she’d done.

“I have zero respect for any woman who keeps a baby secret from the father. We have as much rights as they do when it comes to being parents.” Steele pounded his fist on the table. Kaden and I stared at this stranger. We’d never seen him so adamant about a subject other than hockey. There had to be a story there.

“I agree,” Kaden said. “What are you going to do about it?”

“Call her back and demand an explanation,” I answered.