She gently moves some of my wild hair from my face. I scrunch my face a bit. “Sorry it’s so long and messy. I know you prefer it neat. I’ll get it cut today.”
She shakes he head. “It looks cute like this, but if you want it cut, I’ll do it for you.”
“Really?”
She nods, still focused on my eye. “Of course.”
Coach clears his throat as he stares at us. “What the fuck is happening here? You two are so…domestic. It’s unsettling.”
We both smile at each other. Wearedomestic, and I love it.
Kennedy turns to him. “Let me take care of his eye, and then we’ll talk. You don’t want it to swell so much that he can’t see the ball this weekend. He’s the best player on your team. You can’t afford to lose him.”
“You think I’m the best player?” I ask proudly.
She winks. “You know it, stud.”
Coach groans in annoyance at our banter. “Ugh, stop talking to each other like that.” He plops down on a chair at my kitchen table and tugs on his hair. “He’s a buffoon, Kennedy. He doesn’t take anything or anyone seriously. He treats women like objects.”
Kennedy’s lips tighten, and she aggressively points her finger at him. “Don’t talk like that about my husband. I’ll make you coffee to sober you up, but if you’re mean to my husband, I’m kicking you out of our house.”
He cowers under her scary gaze, but I’m just trying to play it cool, inwardly combusting over the fact that she called me her husband twice and referred to the house asours.
I have zero chill and am unable to contain my smile. She glares at me. “Don’t look so damn happy. We don’t have a prenup. Half this shit is mine. And I’ll sue for custody of BJ.”
Now it’s Coach’s turn to smile. I think I might even catch a little laugh.
Ten minutes later, the four of us are sitting at the table eating breakfast. Coach motions his head toward BJ. “Your dog sits at the table with you?”
Kennedy rolls her eyes. “Why are people so shocked by this? Where else would she sit?”
I nod. “Right? What’s she supposed to do, eat off the floor like an animal?”
Kennedy looks appalled. “That would be uncivilized.”
I grin at her word choice. God, I love her so damn much.
Coach exhales an audible breath. “Can someone please start talking before my head explodes?”
We then tell him the whole, crazy story sans the sex stuff. He can read between the lines on that, given the whole pregnancy thing.
He bites into his bacon with a perplexed look on his face. “You two got married when you hated each other?”
Kennedy nods. “We did.”
“Are you staying married at the end of the year?”
I nod, but she says, “We’ll see. One life decision at a time. It’s been a crazy year. A year ago, the thought of being in the same room as him made me sick to my stomach.”
Coach mumbles, “I’ve known him for ten years, and being in the same room still makes me sick to my stomach.”
I chuckle. “I love how we bicker like a family. Should I start calling you Dad?”
He stares at me like he’s going to kill me. “Why would I ever be okay with this?” he asks me. “You’ve never taken anything or anyone seriously. Why should I believe you’ll take my daughter seriously? For a decade,a decade, I’ve heard you in the locker room talking about women like they’re objects. Like they’re nothing but punchlines to your immature, ridiculous jokes.”
I’m about to defend myself, but Kennedy speaks first. “Daylen uses humor because he loves to make people happy and hates confrontation. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t take things seriously. The Daylen you see isn’t the same as the one I see.” Tears well in her eyes. “He’s probably the kindest, most generous and thoughtful man I’ve ever met in my life. He considers me and our child in every single decision he makes. I’d trust him with my life and not give it a second thought. I have never, and I meannever, felt more loved, protected, and seen than I have with this man. If anything, I’m the emotionally immature one, not him. I’m the work in progress, not him. I hope I give him half of what he gives me.”
I take her hand, squeeze it, and whisper, “You just did.”
