“Hi, Bug,” I say, sitting him on my lap at the kitchen island. “Cool PJs.”
“They’re doggies.” He points at a golden retriever then to a black lab.
“I see that.”
“Five minutes, Maxie,” Kai says, strolling back into the kitchen. He eyes the empty glass jars and dirty spoons before shifting his attention to Cody. “Seriously, man?”
“What?” His voice is as innocent as he can muster. “I’m sorry. But you weren’t here.”
“I was giving my kid a bath. You’re inmyhouse and you couldn’t have saved me a bite of the dessertmyfiancée made?”
Cody pauses, thinking it over. “No.”
Miller chuckles. “I made an extra of each for you. They’re in the fridge when you’re ready. The other two are for Kennedy. She’s on her way.”
“I mean...” Isaiah lifts a brow, cheeky smile on his lips as he speaks to his future sister-in-law. “Ken and I are married, so technically, what’s hers is mine, right? Because I could for sure go for another round if you want to pull those out of the fridge.”
“Why are you like this?” Kai asks his brother before turning to Miller and bending to kiss her. “Thanks, Mills.”
I cover Max’s eyes, but he just giggles as he attempts to pull my hand away. “Save it for the wedding.”
Miller gets that look on her face, the one where her lack of a filter won out and she’s about to say something I don’t want to hear.
“Sorry to break it to you, Dad, but we didn’t really save anything for the wedding.”
“C’mon,” I groan. “There are some things a father doesn’t need to hear about.”
She shrugs. “Now you know how I feel when I have to listen to all my friends refer to you as my ‘hot dad.’ Or when all the guyson the team talk about you and Reese needing to...release some tension.”
My attention shoots to my three players, and not a single one of them tries to deny it. In fact, Cody is too busy licking the glass jar clean like a goddamn dog.
“You guys can’t say that kind of stuff.”
“Well, sorry that it’s true.” Travis shrugs, no apology in his tone.
“That’s how rumors start, and Reese has too many eyes on her right now for that kind of talk.”
“No one is saying that you guys have,” Isaiah explains. “Just that you should.”
“You of all people should know how hard it is for a woman to succeed in this business,” I tell him, reminding him of his wife. “The last thing Reese needs is her players talking about her having some sort of inappropriate relationship with the field manager. You guys have to understand that she, more than any other team owner in the league, has to keep things professional.”
“No, we get it,” Cody says. “It just seems like you’re trying awfully hard to remind yourself of that too.”
The boys all laugh.
“All right, well you can all go fu—” Looking down at my lap, I find Max’s big blue eyes staring up at me. “Findsomething else to talk about.”
“Nice save, Grandpa,” Kai taunts, nodding toward his brother. “What I want to know is what the hell was up with Harrison going after you today?”
“I don’t know,” Isaiah exhales. “That guy is a cancer. Just look at how many teams he’s played for over the course of his career. I doubt it’s a coincidence that he’s always moving around. Not that it matters. With how hard Arthur and Scott worked to get him last year, it’s not like Reese is going to get rid of him now.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” I mutter under my breath.
All eyes shoot to me.
“What do you know?” Isaiah asks.
Even though Isaiah is practically family, he’s still a player and I can’t have the team knowing about the inner workings of trades and pickups before they happen. We don’t need rumors circulating the locker room, and I don’t need Reese getting heat for a decision before she’s even officially made it.
