One suite contained all the husbands of the men that had come into Bernardo’s last April. Commander Jesse Evans held a little girl in his arms with blonde curls and a big gold bow in her hair. Her tiny jersey matched his, and when he shifted with her in his arms, it readMy Daddyand the#2. She shook a purple and gold pom-pom during the kickoff.
Nick’s arm slid around my waist. “What are you looking at so intently?”
I pointed up to the suite where Jesse stood. “That must be their daughter.”
“Yeah,” he said with affection in his tone. “That’s Olivia. There’s a really good story about how they got her.”
My heart twinged at the thought of being a dad like that. Spending my days taking care of children, instead of behind the stove at Bernardo’s. Making lunches, waiting in the carpool drop-off and pick-up lines, and being a full-time dad.
Nick pointed back up. “That’s Aidan Hayes, Marcus Monroe’s husband. He and the lady beside him are holding their twin daughters, Alex and Maddie.”
I smiled and nodded. I could see it all so clearly in my head. Slipping my arm around his shoulders, I pulled him close. “That could be us one day.”
Nick tensed at my words. I looked at him, wondering if I’d said too much. Something in that statement hadn’t sat well with him. Just as I went to ask, his face brightened and he started cheering.
I looked down on the field to see who I had to suppose was Evan. The picture that flashed on the Jumbo Tron verified it. He stood six-foot-five and weighed in at 230 pounds. I could see why Nick would be drawn to him. His smile was infectious and almost dopey.
“You’re studying that awfully hard.”
I looked over at him as he peered at me with his blue eyes that reminded me of the water in the Caribbean.
“Just getting to know a little about him. His stats are impressive.” The math supported that conclusion.
He took me by the hand. “Let’s go get a beer.”
I nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, a big one.”
Nick laughed. “We better get you a hot dog too, or we might get more confessions out of you.”
I glowered at him. “I’m not a fucking lightweight. I can easily handle my beer,” I said, following him out of the seats to the concessions area.
“Come on, I’ll buy you a beer.”
As we stood in line, Nick’s phone buzzed with an incoming text. Digging it out from his pocket, buried under layers of clothing, he clicked on it and read the message. When he started laughing and typing back furiously, I had to know what was going on.
“Who is it?” I asked with amusement in my tone.
“It’s Cooper. He wants to know what the hell is wrong with me for cheering for both teams.”
I smiled. “I told you people wouldn’t understand.”
“I told him I’d explain the next time I saw him, and he said they were all meeting up at Alejandro’s after the game. They invited us to come.”
Thoughts of being in the same place as all of them had me conflicted, but the happiness on his face made the decision. So I nodded. “Yeah, sounds good.”
Nick looked at me for a moment and smiled. “It might be a good time to clear the air with them. Tell them about Seth.”
He was right. This was the perfect time. “Yeah, let’s do it.”
After the game, we said goodbye to his parents and headed to Alejandro’s.
“It’s going to be crazy in there. I might need to help them out for a while,” he said, looking at me from the passenger seat of my car.
I glanced at him. “You wouldn’t mind?”
“No,” he laughed. “I love my job there. I’m really going to miss it once I get my internship.”
I frowned, staring out the front windshield at all the traffic leaving the stadium. “Do you have to quit? If you love it, maybe you could work a night or two.”
