“I can have more than one friend,” Harrison said, but her big blue eyes pooled with tears. “Gabs…”
“Want to know a secret?” I asked, gaining her attention. She nodded, and I lowered my voice. “Your uncle told me you were his best friend and that I would always come in second. So don’t worry, he kept his promise. He said Gabby is always number one.”
The little girl glanced at her uncle, and he nodded. She wiped her eyes, and in less than a second cuddled farther into his lap. Harrison met my gaze over the children’s heads, and his eyes warmed. He looked so natural with the kids—so happy. For one stupid half-second, I wondered what his children would look like. Would they get his green eyes and strong jawline? Would they be stubborn like their father?
Whoa. Take a step back.
I swallowed the knot in my throat. I was being level-ten extra, thinking about Harrison having kids. We were barely friends, and this thought crossed a line. I wasn’t even sure I wanted kids, so I had no idea why it even popped into my head. I mentally scolded myself.
“Becca’s been keeping me company during the blizzard. What did you monkeys do?” Harrison asked, and I focused on their answers and not him.
“We used all the old cardboard boxes to build a spaceship! Want to see?” George jumped up from his uncle’s leg and faced me. “Come on, Ms. Becca. You and Uncle Harry need to try it out. It has buttons!”
“I’m game if you are,” I said as George took my hand and dragged me to a door just off the living room. “I love boxes. They’re the best toys. I used to build entire cities with them and pretend I was mayor.”
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” Blair wore the same expression toward her children that my mom always had when I did something irritating. “Just tell them no.”
“I don’t mind. I’ve been cooped up with this guy for a while. I could use a new friend.”
“Great!” George exclaimed and led me down the hall to a large door where a flight of stairs descended into a massive playroom.
The number of toys all strewn about the floor was a lot to take in, but I was pleased it had all the markings of being used often. Kids should be free to play and use their imaginations, not made to behave in ways based on their parents’ expectations. Knowing Blair raised her children to explore and be creative made me happy. I smiled when she and Harrison followed with the other kids.
“Uncle Harry! You get in first.” Gabs pointed her little finger at him and tugged on his pant leg.
There was no way Harrison would fit in the cardboard box. His broad shoulders alone would barely fit, but he didn’t seem concerned. Crouching down on all fours, he followed Gabby into the small spaceship.
Footsteps pounded down the stairs, and a tall, handsome man appeared next to Blair. “Don’t you want to open more presents?” Blair’s features held an exasperated expression. “I swear. I buy them all the gifts in the world, and they only want to play with the box they came in.”
I laughed and offered her a shrug of my shoulders. “Kids, I guess?”
She smiled then jutted her chin to the man beside her. “Becca, this is my husband, Ben.”
I shook his hand before turning my attention back to Harrison and the three kids on the floor. Together they filled the room with the sounds of beeping and fake explosions as they played.Kind of like my ovaries watching him with little ones.
No. I stopped that train of thought as quickly as it appeared and then focused on the cardboard spaceship taking over their floor and the beast of a coach acting silly with his young niece and nephews. I cleared my throat, hoping my face didn’t give away my embarrassment.Do his players know how silly he can be? How fun he is?
Did he only let his guard down with Blair and her children? I studied his hard angles and more gentle facial expressions. Who knew this big man had such a soft side?
“You look deep in thought.” Blair stood next to me and brought a chipped mug to her lips. The scents of coffee and vanilla wafted my way.
“His athletes probably don’t know all the sides to your brother.”
“I don’t know all his sides.” She laughed. “But I see what you mean.”
“It wouldn’t hurt for them to see him acting like this. Carefree and fun, rather than the hard-ass most people think of him as. Because he’s not.”
Blair narrowed her eyes and studied me. I recognized the look—she was curious. Harrison disappeared farther into the spaceship, and Blair jutted her chin toward upstairs. “Want some coffee?”
“Yes, please.” I followed her back to the main floor as playful sounds carried from the basement. She putzed around, grabbing a mug with pictures of her kids and filling it with coffee before sliding it across the island counter to me. She set a carton of milk and a jar of sugar next to it and then handed me a spoon. I sighed in relief—people who drank black coffee had to be psychopaths. “Thank you.”
“I’ve been trying to come up with a line that would assure you I wasn’t prying, but I got nothing.” Blair shrugged, not appearing the least bit ashamed of herself.
I smiled. “Naturally you are curious about me. I’m an open book—too open, sometimes. In fact, you might regret asking me anything. But ask away.”
She chuckled and released a long breath, a smile toying with her lips. She had an easy, unassuming presence that complimented Harrison’s tough exterior. “You’re so different than his ex-wife, who was the last woman he brought over. I don’t think she acknowledged the kids with more than a half-assed hug in all their years together, let alone mention the fact that Harrison isn’t the toughie he portrays himself to be. I’ve always known what was under the surface, but most people don’t care to look.”
“I can’t really speak about his ex since I never met her, but from what I can piece together, she wasn’t a good fit for your brother. She could’ve been lovely and wonderful, but they clearly weren’t compatible long-term.” I blinked away the thought of who would be a good fit for him—someone tenacious and willing to call him out when he was being a jerk; someone soft where he was hard.Kinda like… nope.
