All In: Raising the Stakes Read Free Page A

like to say yes to drinks with him before I do the responsible thing. I climb in my car and head home to my little boy.  

Chapter Two
    Joe
    Why does that woman hate me so damn much? At least we've finally had one conversation where she didn't call me a cocky bastard.  I have no doubt she thought it, but at least she'd kept the words to herself.
    I go to my favorites in my phone to call Lacy on the drive home. I wish she still lived with me instead of an hour and a half away in Charlotte. She’s my best friend, and for the first time in my life, I don't feel half empty, but rather half-full and optimistic. Her unexpected love somehow managed to fill up the majority of the cup that's been pretty fucking empty my entire life. I'm not in love with her. I know that, and Lacy knows that, but I do love the woman and miss her. The two of us just happen to...click, in and out of bed. If I believed in something as ridiculous as soulmates, then I'd say she’s mine. Is it strange that her boyfriend and my good friend Will still shares her with me? To some people maybe so, but it works for us. At least for now.   
    "Hey, Joe," she answers right away.
    "Hey, Lace. How ya feeling?" I ask, picturing her stretched out on their couch with a hand resting on top of her growing belly.
    "Ugh, I was sick again this morning and have been a little queasy all day, even though the doctor promised me that my second trimester would be easier. Work is awesome, but I'm starting to look like a whale on camera. How was your day?"
    "I love your little belly. I'm sure you're not even close to being whale size. Things are good here. I stayed late tonight to help Katie with a few calls. The fact that she asked me to do something for her and thanked me instead of insulting me for once is some sort of progress in wooing her, I guess."
    "Yeah, if she didn't tell you to fuck off, I'd say that's progress," she snorts.
    "How's Will holding up?"
    She sighs. "It's going to be a long three and a half more months. For all of us."
    "Yeah it is," I agree. I feel the same way. Months seem like an eternity as I wait to find out whether or not I’m the father of her child. What started out as an incredibly hot threesome turned foursome has now become an unfortunate episode of the Maury Povich show. Sex has consequences no matter how fun and carefree it starts out, but I don’t blame Lacy. We were all irresponsible, and after her mother’s death, Lacy’s birth control oversight led to her getting pregnant. Now there’s a one-in-four chance that I’m the father.  
    "You coming down to stay with us this weekend?" she asks, and I smile at the hopeful tone in her voice.
    "Unfortunately no. They're making me go to a boring ass seminar on how to prosecute homicides. But at least it's in warm, sunny Florida, and all expenses are on the state."
    "Murders? Damn, you're moving up already, huh?"
    "Eventually. Both prosecutors on the homicide team are retiring in a few months, so they want me to start training up to fill one of the spots. It's not like we have many murders in this city, maybe a dozen homicides a year, with only about half unsolved. It should be fun."
    "Regret switching sides?" she asks, referring to my days as a criminal defense attorney.
    "Hell no. I wish I could go back and prosecute some of the bastards I represented." When I decided I wanted to become a defense attorney, my goal was to help good people who may have had a rough start in life or simply made stupid decisions but deserve second chances. What I realized after practicing for several years was that most defendants wanted me to pull off a miraculous third, fourth, or even fifth chance that they don’t deserve, since they can't learn from their mistakes.                                         
    "And another benefit is now you get to see a certain redhead all day long," Lacy adds.  
    "Exactly." Even if the redhead hates my guts and flees like a bat out