“Would you be okay if it was just the two of us?”
Caleb stares up at me like I’m the best thing in the world. He’s the best thing in mine. I would do anything for him. Hell, if I had to retire tomorrow, I would.
Not that he would ask that of me considering he can only sayDada, but still.
I’d do it.
A knock sounds at the door. Glancing up, the porch light is shining on a group of familiar guys. I stand up and walk over to let them in.
“What are you guys doing here?”
Dax, Graham, and Noah all brush by me and head inside. Dax holds up a six-pack of my favorite beer. “We figured you’d be a bit down after everything that happened.”
“Jasper had plans,” Graham tells me. “And everyone in Marcus’s house is sick, so he stayed home to take care of them.”
I smile at that. “Probably a good thing. I don’t want to get Caleb sick.”
Noah cracks open a beer and hands one over to me. “Exactly what we said.”
“Thanks.” I take a long pull before setting it down and shifting Caleb in my arms. “I appreciate you guys coming over.”
“I can safely say having a broken heart is the worst,” Noah tells me.
“Can’t say I like it,” I confirm.
“Is this really the first time you’ve ever had your heart broken?” Dax asks.
I nod. “When you never settle down, it’s hard for it to happen.”
“Damn.”
And this is exactly why. That knife in my heart? I never want to experience this feeling again.
“Are you just going to sit back and let it happen?” Graham asks.
“What can I do? It’s not like she signed up for this life.”
Hell, it’s the least favorite part of the job. Having a camera shoved in my face after every game? Having women come out of the woodwork to say I fathered their kid?
Yeah, it fucking sucks.
“I don’t believe that it’s over for a second,” Noah tells me, settling into one of the barstools. “What are you going to do about it?”
“What do you mean?” I set Caleb in his green foam seat by me and cross my arms. “She doesn’t want any part of this life.”
Graham waves me off. “Noah’s right. This life is hard. I don’t know if I could do it with someone who didn’t understand what we go through.”
“Why would anyone choose this lifestyle?” I say more to myself than anything.
My past coming to meet my future? I don’t know if it will ever stop. It hasn’t since Stevie left. I’m really good at ignoring the noise, but why would she want to?
“What it boils down to is if you love her,” Dax tells me.
I study him. “When did you get so smart?”
He lets out a long-suffering sigh. “My brother is getting married.”
Noah chokes on his beer and Graham nearly spits his out. “Are you shitting me? Who would be dumb enough to marry him?”
