“I play center field for the Pit Bulls.I guess you’re not a fan of baseball, huh?”He grins shyly at me.
I blink once, then twice as my mouth opens and closes several times.The lean muscles and amazing body make more sense now.So does the traveling and media attention.I search for something to say, but I keep coming up empty.
“Did I break you?”
“Schmidt plays center field on the Pit Bulls.I’ve spent so much time with the team, but I don’t think I’ve ever met you at anything.”
“You’ve spent time with the team?”He asks slowly.“How?”
“I'm best friends with Liliana Sweets… And I dated Wheeler throughout college.I go out with Lils, Smithy, and Wheeler a lot… How have I never met you?”
“Because I'm normally home with this one.”He nods down to his sleeping daughter.
“But the guys never said anything about you being a dad.”
“Because they don’t know.”Jamie swallows hard and squeezes his eyes shut.“My wife died only a few months before I was traded to the Pit Bulls.I didn’t want to deal with the questions, so I didn’t tell anyone about her or Tali.It wasn’t because I'm ashamed of them, it was just too difficult to talk about.As time went on, it felt weird to all of a sudden tell them.”
“Jamie, I'm so sorry.”I place my hand on his knee.He’s so broken, but he’s trying so hard to provide his little girl with a good life.
“I didn’t want anyone to know about Tali either.I knew if someone knew about my daughter, she’d be the center of media attention.I didn’t want to see articles about Ellie or Tali splashed across the gossip rags or anything, so I’ve kept her a secret.”He lifts his shoulder in a shrug.
“You know eventually she’ll get too old to hide, right?”I keep my voice soft, hoping to ease any anxiety he might have.
“I know… I just don’t know how to tell the guys.They’re all so close and I’ve been on the outside looking in since I joined the team.I know it’s not their fault, it’s mine.They’ve tried to include me in things, but I normally decline to spend time with Tali.”
“I understand that.They’d love her though.Wheeler loves kids.He has a bunch of little sisters and he lights up when a kid is in the room.They’d be happy to come here to hang out or they’d buy stuff to keep at their house to make sure Tali had toys or a place to nap when you’re over.They want you to spend time with them, Jamie.They’ve been taking bets on what you’re hiding for years.You should let them in.Let them be your support system.”
“I don’t know if I can do that… They’ll ask questions.”
“Then you tell them to shut up and mind their business.”As soon as I speak, I cringe.That definitely doesn’t sound professional.
“Are you going to talk like that in front of Tali?”He smirks.
“No, I know how to be a good girl when I need to be.”The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them and my eyes widen, making Jamie chuckle.
“Wow, I wasn’t expecting that.”
“You’ll learn to get used to it.”I crinkle up my nose.“If you even want me to nanny this precious princess.”I toy with the ends of her curls again.
“This is going to sound weird, but do you have any photos of you with the guys or Liliana?”He winces.
“Of course, why?”
“I don’t exactly want to call them and ask for a reference, but I don’t think Liliana’s hanging out with anyone who isn't good.But if you have a bunch of photos of you with them, then at least I know you’re not lying.”
“Do you really think I’d lie about being friends with Wheeler?”I ask with amusement in my tone.
“I don’t know.”He runs his hand through his hair again.“I just want to make sure my little girl is safe.”
“I’ll take care of her, Jamie.I’ll act like she’s my own daughter and make sure she has fun.She’ll be safer with me than anyone else, I promise.”I open the photos app on my phone and hand it over to Jamie.“I have nothing to hide.Feel free to look through all of my photos.I have a bunch of the Marshall’s kids with me too.”
He scrolls for a few minutes before his eyes widen and his cheeks heat.My brows tug together as I try to figure out why he would respond like that to one of my photos.
“Um… Winnie, I don’t think you meant for this to be mixed in with the rest.”He slowly hands the phone back to me, but I don’t miss the way his eyes linger on the photo.
“Oh, wow… Yeah, no.I didn’t plan on showing a potential new employer a photo of me in a bikini.Can we pretend you didn’t see that?”
I tilt my head to the side as I stare down at the image of myself.I look good in this photo.I put effort into curling my hair and doing my makeup before taking this.If he was going to see a compromising photo of me, at least I look nice in it.
