“Daddy, ball,” Camden says sleepily. He holds his arms out for me, which means I have to let go of Sloane to take him into my arms. He wraps his little arms around my neck, and he might as well be squeezing my damn heart.
“That’s right. You watched Daddy play ball today. We won,” I tell him.
“Congrats on the win. Three touchdowns, impressive,” Sloane says, smiling up at me.
I take a minute to check her out, not giving a single fuck if anyone notices. That’s when I realize she’s wearing Knox’s jersey. “What’s this?” I ask, reaching out to tug at the hem of her jersey.
“Supporting the team.” She shrugs, as if it’s no big deal that she’s wearing one of my best friends’ numbers instead of mine.
“I love that, I do, but you’re wearing the wrong number.”
She looks down at her jersey, then back up to me. “Knox didn’t change his number.”
Even though there’s this burning need inside me for her to be wearing my number, and my number only, I still chuckle. “No. Knox didn’t change his number, but you should be wearing my number. My name should be across your back.”
Her eyes widen. She parts her lips to reply, but all she says is “Umm.”
I smile down at her before bending so that my lips are next to her ear. I want my next words to be just for her. “I know you feel this, too, Sloane.” I kiss the spot below her ear before standing back to my full height.
She peers up at me under long lashes and nods. “I do,” she whispers.
Before I can acknowledge her confession, Camden speaks up. “Daddy, baby.” He points behind us, where Reid stands holding Coral.
“That’s baby Coral, and she’s coming to our house to see you today. You ready to go home?” I ask him. He nods, and I look over at Sloane. “What about you? You ready?”
“I’m all set.” She smiles up at me, and I want to kiss those lips, but I won’t do it here. The first time I kiss her, it will be just the two of us. “Everyone’s coming over,” I tell her. “We’re just going to order pizza. Is that okay?”
“Of course, it's okay.” She furrows her brow as if she can’t understand why I would ask her.
“Good. Let’s get him home to nap.”
“I’ll take this.” She bends to pick up my bag.
“I can carry both. I’m used to it,” I tell her.
Another soft smile is aimed my way. “Yeah, but you have me, and you don’t have to.”
Something about those ten words burrow into my chest like concrete. Solid, firm, permanent. “Let’s go home,” I mumble, sliding my arm around her waist.
“So, we’ll see you all at Baker’s?” Sloan asks Corie, Rowan, Bellamy, and Amanda, stepping forward out of my hold.
“That’s what I hear,” Bellamy replies, smiling at her husband, who’s holding their daughter and making silly faces at her to get her to laugh.
“Okay, we’ll see you soon.” Sloane turns back around and starts walking away. My bag is tossed over one shoulder, and the diaper bag is on the other.
“You going to just stand there?” Foster asks.
I turn to look at him. “Enjoying the view,” I confess.
He chuckles and shakes his head. “You need me to bring anything?”
“Nope. Just you. We’re ordering food.”
“All right.” He nods. “See you in a while.” He saunters off.
I smile as I make my way to where Sloane stopped to look back for me. Once I reach her, I place my free hand on the small of her back and lead her out to my car.
“Um, I drove,” she reminds me, once we stop next to my SUV.
