Free A Daddy for Christmas: Holiday Romance (Holiday Romance Collection Book 2) by Danielle Lee Zwissler Page A

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    Megan was sitting down beside the man, and the two boys were deep in conversation when he walked into the restaurant. Brice’s jaw clenched, his fists were to his sides. He cleared his throat, startling Megan and the boys.
    “What’s this?”
    Megan’s smile dissipated at his tone. “Brice?”
    “Having fun?” Brice said in a cold tone. Jacob’s eyes widened, and Brice hated that he had frightened him. Brice bent down and kissed Jake on the head. “How was your play?”
    “It was awesome, Brice! I wish you could have seen me, I remembered all my lines, except for a few.”
    Brice smiled despite the anger. “I bet you were wonderful. I’m really sorry I had to work tonight.”
    “That’s okay.”
    Brice looked up.  He couldn’t help the disgusted look on his face that was directed toward Megan. Megan stiffened. It was like Jenna all over again. “I better go. I wouldn’t want to intrude on this—moment.” Brice turned, and Megan yelled after him.
    “What is your problem?!”
    Brice stopped just before exiting the diner. He turned around, his face was red, and his jaw was clenched. He was wearing his uniform, as he was still on duty.
    Megan’s lip trembled and Jacob started to cry. Brice could feel his stomach cramp.
    “Ja…”
    “What is your problem?” Megan said. She was closer now, and Brice swallowed.
    Brice shook his head. “It didn’t take you long.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “I told you I couldn’t get off work, Megs.”
    “Don’t call me, Megs, like that!”
    Brice looked around the diner and nearly every eye was on the two of them. “I can’t do this in here.” Brice had to be smart, he had his uniform on, and he was still on duty.
    “We don’t have to do it at all,” Megan seethed. She went to turn, when Brice whispered.
    “So, what, that’s it?”
    Megan didn’t even turn around to look at him, she just nodded curtly.
    Brice blew out the breath he was holding, and turned and opened the door. When it shut, Megan trembled right along with it.
    “Mommy, what’s wrong? Mommy?” Jacob asked, frantically. “Why is my…Brice mad?”
    Megan started to cry, but stopped herself in time. People in the diner were staring, and she didn’t want to ruin Jacob’s night. “Nothing’s wrong, baby.” Megan’s eyes were wet, and she tried to smile at Jacob. “Want some ice cream?”
    ***
    “Want to tell me what went down at Maple’s last night?” Carl asked as he came into the precinct. He placed his clipboard down on his desk, and came around to where Brice was sitting. “What happened?”
    Brice looked up, his eyes were red.
    “Shit, man, what happened?” Carl asked, concerned.
    “Megan broke up with me.”
    Carl’s eyes widened, and he sat on the edge of Brice’s desk. “What?” he asked, surprised.
    “I was supposed to get the night off, remember? It was Jake’s play.”
    “She broke up with you because of that? Listen, Man, I’ll talk to her.”
    Brice shook his head. After he left, he had time to think about what had happened, and he couldn’t get the image of her holding that putz’s hand out of his mind. “She was with some other guy last night. I saw them pull into the parking lot across from Maple’s. She was holding his hand.”
    “What the hell?”
    Brice didn’t know what to think. “Yeah, so I went inside. I couldn’t stand it, I was so damned jealous. I just went nuts.”
    Carl took a deep breath and looked at Brice. “You didn’t do anything stupid, did ya?”
    Brice shook his head. “No. I told her I couldn’t talk to her in there. I had already made a fool out of myself by walking in on her ‘family scene.’”
    “What do you mean?”
    “She was with this guy and his son. The real shit about it is that she had Jake in there with them. It was just like it was with Jenna, only this time it was some other guy and not my own brother. Jacob saw all of that… just like my nephew! I thought… I thought she was