I head toward her room, only to be stopped by a little boy who exits his room.
“Mommy?” he asks, a little confused, I’m sure, to see a man carrying his mom.
“Busted,” I whisper as I set her down.
“Yeah, baby?” Christy asks.
“Evan!” Nolan runs into my arms when he sees me.
“Hey, bud! How are you?”
“I’m good. I watched you play tonight!” he responds with so much excitement that I can’t help but smile.
“You did? Did you see me get that hit?”
“Down the third baseline? I did!”
“Did you see thereallydeep one I hit?” I draw out my words.
His little shoulders sag. “I can’t believe that guy dived and caught it. You were robbed.”
I laugh a little. “That’s baseball. I can’t hate on the guy because he caught it. I’d like to say if the tables were turned, I would have caught that ball too.”
“You always make your diving catches. Can you teach me how to do that?”
I smile. “When you’re older, I’d love to.” I squeeze his arm muscles. “We have to wait for these to get a little bigger so you don’t hurt yourself.”
“Come on,” Christy says as she takes him from my arms. “Let’s get you back in bed.”
Nolan looks at her, then back at me. “Are you going to be my daddy?”
My breath hitches in surprise, but not as much as it does for Christy.
“Oh my God,” she blurts out, setting Nolan on the ground and squatting to be at his height. “Nolan, baby, that’s something?—”
I place my hand on her shoulder and squat down too. “Being your daddy is a big role in your life that maybe we can think about down the road, but until then, it’s like baseball. I have to try out for the team. Ultimately, you two are the coaches and get to decide if I make the team or not.”
Nolan nods his head over dramatically. “I think you made the team. Mommy, what do you think?”
She stands, placing her hand on his back and guiding him to turn toward his room. “I think little boys need to go back to bed.”
Nolan does as he was told, but stops to hold up a thumb to me. “I’ll put in a good word for you.”
I have to stifle a laugh when I hold up my thumb to him, making Christy laugh even more.
I head out to her living room and sit on the couch, waiting for her to come back.
“I am so sorry about that,” she says, waving her hands in front of her like she’s still in shock.
I reach for her and bring her down to the couch with me. When she’s cuddled in my arms, I kiss the top of her head. “Don’t be sorry. I like knowing that he feels I made the team.”
She laughs out loud, covering her face with her palms.
I hold her tighter. “I know this is all new, but I’ve already told you, I’m diving in with both feet, straight into the deep end.”
She looks over her shoulder at me. “I’ve just never dated anyone since I had him. I don’t want him to ever be disappointed. If, you know …”
I turn her chin to face me more. “The way I look at it is, you’d have to end it with me, so that would be on you. I’m not going anywhere.”
