“Trust me. He did.”
“I don’t want to interfere, but?—”
“And you may very well be the best thing—” Lane swallows thickly. “I mean, you know ...”
I incline my head, waiting for him to finish the sentence. The silly romantic in me hangs onto his every word.
Changing the subject, he starts to tell me about what he found in the shower this morning. “Desi may have undersold Kai’s pranking abilities.”
My phone interrupts, buzzing with a text from an unknown number.
Unknown: Hi Nina, this is Kai. Just wanted to let you know the hotel address if you need to pick me up tomorrow. Room 1338. Just in case.
My heart aches reading it. This kid has learned to always have an escape plan, always be ready for the adults in his life to let him down.
I show the text to Lane, whose expression grows serious.
“That breaks my heart,” I admit as I add Kai’s name to my contacts.
My phone buzzes again.
Kai: I always wanted a mom and dad. Is that weird?
Before I can figure out how to respond, Lane pulls out his phone and creates a family group chat.
Lane: Not weird at all. We’ll see you tomorrow. Tell Grandma and Coach to make sure you brush your teeth and eat protein for breakfast. Eggs and steak.
Kai: Ok, DAD. Good night.
“Dad,” Lane says softly, staring at the phone. “He called me Dad.”
“How does that feel?”
“Terrifying. Amazing. Like the most important job I’ve ever had.” He looks up at me. “But I have no idea what I’m doing.”
“Nobody does. But you care about him. That’s the most important part.”
We spend the next few minutes discussing logistics, including where and how we’ll live together. We don’t go as far as discussing sleeping arrangements, but I know that living with a hockey player will mean my minimalist kitchen suddenly houses protein powders and other supplements I can’t pronounce, along with a blender that sounds like a jet engine.
Lane takes the last sip of his hot chocolate. “Why are you willing to help with this? You could walk away from all of it—the marriage, Kai, me. Why don’t you?”
The question catches me off guard, maybe because I’ve been asking myself the same thing for days, but the answer rises inside of me like the sun at dawn. “I know what it’s like to feel like you’re too much trouble. To wonder if the people who are supposed to love you actually want you around.”
“Your mother?” he asks.
“Suzie Bass.” I take a shaky breath. “She used to tell people that having a baby ruined her figure and her career. She said it in interviews and stuff. I wish I’d never sought her out, even a little paper doll, magazine version of her, but I couldn’t help myself.”
Lane’s jaw tightens as if he’s upset on my behalf, but the softness in his gaze tells me he understands.
“The point is, no kid should feel that way. Ever. If I canhelp make sure Kai knows he’s cared for ... then maybe all that pain was worth something.”
Lane reaches across the table and covers my hand with his. His fingers are warm and callused yet gentle.
He shakes his head as if he just woke up from a really good dream but realized it’s reality. “You’re amazing. You know that?”
The simple words wrap around me like a hug, and I know they’re genuine. But all the same, I say, “I’m not amazing, I’m just doing the right thing. It’s what anyone would do.”
He frowns. “Most people would run from this situation. Most people would have run from Vegas. But you’re here, making homemade marshmallows and offering to help raise a kid who isn’t even yours.”
