Picking up my pace to keep up with his long legs, I do my best to clear away any of the awkwardness that may be left between us after last night’s game by asking about the one thing I know will make him happy.
“How’s Sophia doing? She is such a sweetheart.”
Just the mention of her name has his eyes lighting up. Pride evident on his face. Exactly what I was hoping for.
“She’s okay. She was up before the sun so she had a rough morning. But she’s with my mom, which always makes her happy.”
I gesture to the open office door on my left. “This is me.”
“Ladies first,” Niko says while holding his hand out in front of him.
This simple act should not shock me as much as it does, but it’s been alongtime since a man has shown any type of chivalry toward me. I mean, I don’t think anyone has ever opened a door for me besides maybe a random stranger at the doctor’s office.
How sad is my life? Good grief.
I walk into my office and take a seat on the yoga mat I laid out when I got here this morning. “You can take the chair. I’m usually on my mat all day anyway.”
“May I?” he asks, pointing to the pile of rolled up yoga mats in the corner.
“You want to sit on the floor instead of in that fancy desk chair?”
He walks over to the stack of mats and unrolls one before setting it down across from me. “I’d feel awkward sitting up inthat chair with you down here on the floor. Where is your desk anyway?” Niko’s eyes scan my office. My extremely bare and completely empty office.
“I had them remove the desk since I don’t have much use for one anyway. I’ll probably put a coffee table over here on the floor with meditation cushions, and line the walls with artwork. I’m not sure if there’s any space in the arena for you guys to meditate so I’d like to transform my office into a space for that.”
Niko adjusts his giant body and attempts to sit cross-legged on his yoga mat. He grunts and moans as he pulls his legs underneath each other. “Damn. Who knew sitting criss-cross applesauce was so tough? I should give Sophia a little more credit.”
I do my best not to laugh at him as he struggles but a snort escapes me, and he looks at me playfully. “You’re getting way too much enjoyment out of this aren’t you.”
Covering my smile, I shake my head. “Nope. Not at all.”
“Liar.”
He shoots me a smirk, and my ovaries almost burst at how sexy he looks right now. Even as he struggles to get comfortable on the floor. His biceps are bulging and his thick hockey thighs are on full display as his shorts rise on his legs as he gets settled.
Holy hell. Sitting here like this makes it impossible to clench my thighs together, so I shift on the floor, attempting to relieve some of the tightness building between my legs.
Is it hot in here?
Niko finally gets comfortable and rests his hands on his knees. “Okay, I think I’m ready.”
Taking a deep breath, I try to calm the energy coursing through my body.
“All right. Why don’t we start with you telling me what’s been going on? You mentioned not getting much sleep lately?”
Niko mirrors my deep breathing before telling me abouthis trouble sleeping. “A lot of it has to do with Sophia’s sleep issues. Ever since her mom took off again around Thanksgiving, she’s been struggling to sleep in her own room. She ends up in my bed almost every other night.”
Nodding along, I do my best not to show any emotion, but it’s hard not to show empathy toward this man as he explains how he and Sophia have been struggling together.
“Once she’s in my bed, she seems to be able to sleep better. Me, on the other hand, I don’t get more than an hour or two after she joins. She’s a restless sleeper, even on a good day.” He shrugs, looking a bit embarrassed at his confession. “I just don’t know how to help her. Which means, I really don’t know how to help myself. I’m really bad at asking for help when I need it. I know I have it much better than other single dads out there so I don’t like to complain.”
Gosh, the raw vulnerability radiating off this man has me fighting the urge to reach out and hug him.
I can’t hold it in anymore, and before he can go on I interrupt him. “Niko. Don’t diminish your own struggles because someone else might be struggling too. You’re allowed to not have it all figured out. Just because you’re successful doesn’t make you immune to the hardships of parenting. Your problems are real. Don’t act like they’re less important because you have things that other people might wish they had.”
Niko’s blue eyes peer into mine, curiosity coating the corners. “Where’d you learn all that parenting wisdom? Do you have a kid I don’t know about?”
I scoff at his question and then try to explain. “No, no. Not quite. But I did pretty much raise my five younger siblings with the help of a nanny growing up.”
