“I understand if you’d like to ask me questions.”
“Me?No.”Silas shook his head.He caught Luka’s gaze.“But Gunnar may have some.”
“The owner of the team?”I asked.
Silas nodded.
“I don’t want him badgering her,” Luka said.
“Understood.”
“But I meant what I said before,” he added.“I know it may not matter that much, but I won’t play for a team that takes money from a man like Chasten Jones.”
Silas dipped his head.“I heard you loud and clear—and I get where you’re coming from.”He glanced at me before meeting Luka’s eyes again.“Completely.”
Again, Luka jolted.This conversation was so full of emotion, and I wasn’t at my best to tease them out.
Silas cleared his throat.“I’ll let you two get some rest.Cruz will be here before you head out, Luka.”
Luka gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze, then rose.“Thanks, Coach.”
“You got it, Stolly.”
Silas offered me his hand.“Nice to meet you, Millie.”
“You, too.”
Bree’s cry split the moment of silence after the door closed behind him.Luka headed toward the nursery, and I followed.
“What just happened?”I asked.
Luka’s brows tugged together over his nose.“I’m not sure.”
“If I understood that, you requested a trade rather than play for a team that might be owned by my father.”
“Yeah, I did.”
I bit my trembling lip, but shivers had taken over my body.“ My father’s never, ever shown any interest in sports.Ever.What does thatmean, Luka?”
He slid his hands under Bree’s tiny body and moved her to the changing pad.“Exactly what I told you before.I got you.You and Bree and me—we’re a team.The most important one.”
Once Bree was in a fresh diaper, he handed her to me and I settled in the rocking chair.
While the baby nursed, worry ate at me.Because Luka was ready to give up his life here, knowing I’d not relinquished my life in Sri Lanka.
That didn’t make us partners.Not at all.
Luka leftfor the airport later that morning, and good to Coach Whittaker’s word, Paloma showed up just after lunch, relieving Cruz from babysitting duty.He’d only been here an hour or so, but the poor man seemed way too strung out for his own good.He promised to come back by that evening with dinner, and even as I thanked him, I was strategizing about how best to get him to spill the tea on his unhappy vibe.
Paloma shut the door behind him and looked at me.“Would you like me to hold your sweet pea while you take a nap?”she asked.
“You’re welcome to hold her, but I’d prefer to stay on the couch.”
Paloma nodded.“Oh, I get it.I wouldn’t let this little peanut out of my sight either.Aren’t you precious?”Paloma murmured to Bree.“It’s been a long time since I’ve handled a newborn.”Yet she held Bree with confidence, which helped me relax into the cushions.“Care to tell me what’s going on with Lennon?”she asked.
I frowned.“Cruz’s first name isLennon?”
Paloma nodded, her eyes dancing.
