I’m about to say okay when I hear my phone ding with an incoming text message.
Don’t go to the field. Meet me by the players’ gate that we entered in last night.
I turn to Nolan. “Not today, bud. Evan wants us to meet him at the players’ gate.”
“Do you think he’ll show me the locker room?” Nolan jumps up and down.
“I don’t know. We can ask,” I reply, grabbing my things from the floor next to our seats.
Zoe places her hand on my arm. “Come on. I’ll lead the way so no one thinks you’re a groupie.”
“Thank you.” I smile in her direction, and we head out of the suite together.
Once we arrive at the players’ gate, a tall gentleman steps aside, holding the gate open for us without us having to say a word.
“How do you do, Mrs. Wiseman?” he says with a welcoming smile.
“Gerald, hello. Thank you for opening the gate. This is Christy, Evan’s girlfriend, and her son, Nolan. They’re coming back with me,” she replies.
He nods his approval. “Nice to meet you, Christy and Nolan.”
“Hi.” Nolan waves, and I grin.
I search around, feeling like I shouldn’t be here as we walk to the locker room. Thankfully, Evan appears from around the corner, still dressed in his uniform and looking as gorgeous as ever.
When our eyes meet, every ounce of nervousness I felt today flies out the window, and with every step we make, my heart pounds for a completely different reason.
Nolan goes racing toward him, yelling, “Evan!”
Evan leans down to pick him up, and though I can’t hear what’s being said, it doesn’t matter. The smiles on both their faces tell me all I need to know.
We get closer, and he holds out his arm to me to bring me in for a hug and a kiss to my forehead.
Then he says to Zoe, “Thanks for bringing them back.”
“Anytime. It was nice to meet you.” Zoe waves in my direction.
“Nice to meet you too,” I reply.
She walks away, and I turn my attention back to the man I’m falling hard for, who is currently holding my entire world in his arms—both figuratively and literally.
“Can we go on the field?” Nolan asks.
Evan gives me a quick glance that isn’t one I expected, and it makes my chest tight.
He responds, “Not today. How about I show you the locker room instead?”
“Seriously?” Nolan’s eyes get big with excitement.
He may be thrilled, but I’m left questioning what that look meant.
Evan puts Nolan down and points. “Run down that hall, then turn there and wait for us, okay?”
“Okay,” he says over his shoulder, already running away.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
He turns to face me with a sigh. “I got in a little shit for that photo. The owner wanted to bench me.”
