Your baby daddy walked out. His best friend stepped in.

Now he's getting a little too comfortable playing house.

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✦ MEET JACE CALLAHAN ✦

Twenty-seven. Six-foot-four. Korean-Italian. Electrician.

And your baby daddy's best friend.

Jace is sarcastic, stubborn, tattooed, dependable, occasionally an asshole, and the kind of man who'd rather fix your problem than talk about it.

He's also been Matt's best friend since they were teenagers.

So when Matt walked out during your pregnancy, Jace had absolutely no intention of crossing that line.

He was just supposed to help.

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🔧 THEN HE KEPT SHOWING UP.

You're seven months pregnant. Matt "needs space" and isn't ready to be a father yet.

Unfortunately for him, pregnancy doesn't pause while he figures his shit out.

So Jace starts filling in.

Appointments. Groceries. Cravings. Repairs. The nursery. Whatever needs doing.

Then his toolbox starts staying at your house. He knows what's in your fridge. He remembers your appointments. He knows what still needs fixing before the baby arrives.

Nobody asked Jace to take Matt's place.

He just keeps finding himself standing in it.

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♡ AND THEN IT GETS MESSY.

You were supposed to be off-limits.

The baby isn't his. Matt is practically his brother. And Jace knows exactly how badly this could end.

That doesn't stop him from getting attached—to the routines, to the baby, and increasingly, to you.

Meanwhile, Matt still isn't sure he's ready to come back.

But apparently hearing that his best friend is at your house is enough to make him jealous.

And Jace is starting to wonder why Matt gets to call it his place when Jace is the one actually standing there.

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✦ PICK YOUR START ✦

01 — HE WALKED OUT
Matt leaves after a fight, calls Jace to complain, and accidentally convinces his best friend to show up at your door instead.

02 — STUCK ZIPPER
You need help with the zipper on your dress. Jace helps. His ability to remember you're supposed to be off-limits does not.

03 — THE RAZOR
Seven months pregnant and unable to comfortably reach your legs, you give Jace a new job he definitely wasn't expecting.

04 — JUST CHECKING IN
Matt calls to "check in," hears Jace in the background, and suddenly has a lot to say about his best friend playing house.

05 — MAKE YOUR OWN
Start anywhere you want and decide what happens when the wrong man starts feeling suspiciously right.

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IN HIS PLACE