If I hadn’t met Katie in college, I might have lived the same way.
Although, was my life that much different?
I traveled all the time for work too, although not as much as they did, and had given up my apartment when I’d lost Katie, to move in with my family.
I’d become a permanent guest in the house I’d grown up in, along with my daughter, although it was the only home Bennie had ever known.
“Good luck,” I leaned in to tell Adrian in a low whisper, tapping his arm.
“Thanks,” he said, a shy smile lifting his cheeks. “And hey, you too. I heard you had a visitor.” The corner of his mouth tipped up as he made his way into the locker room before I could reply.
Silas stepped in front of me, his eyes narrowed.
“Good luck? For what?”
“Do you have supersonic hearing or something?”
“Yes. I have to around here,” Silas said, coughing out alaugh. “Nate told me that averyattractive woman came looking for you before the game.”
“Seriously?” I said. “Does that guy ever stop moving his mouth?”
“Says the guy who used to be on my case all the time to get a life.” He quirked a brow. “I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.”
“I’m not. It’s Stella. I believe you met her at Katie’s…”
Her funeral had been five years ago, and yet I still had trouble saying the word.
Silas shut his eyes and nodded. Whenever I brought up Katie, if there was something I had to say or couldn’t say, he’d simply nod and wait for me to finish.
“She has a brother in the army. You all met when you were kids, right?”
“Teenagers, yeah. She’s usually on the road for work, but she moved back to New York and wanted to surprise me at the game.”
“I think Nate had his hopes up for a better story than that.” Silas’s shoulders shook with a chuckle. “When he said she leaped into your arms, I was curious myself.”
I rolled my eyes and leaned against the wall. “I gave her a hug. She didn’tleap. You know how Nate is.”
“I do,” Silas said with a slow nod.
Even if I wouldn’t admit it, I understood how Nate may have gotten the wrong impression. My jaw had dropped when I’d seen Stella, and I’d scooped her into a fierce hug that probably looked a lot more than friendly, but I was just that happy to see her.
Had I realized how attractive she was over the years? Absolutely, but I’d kept those thoughts to myself.
Even though we’d all been kids, I could still remember meeting Stella’s gaze for the first time. Her golden eyes werestriking, but when she became excited about something, they glowed. They’d been captivating enough to be unnerving at first.
Stella was a good friend—and a good friend’s little sister—making her double off-limits. Too much would be at risk if I’d let myself think of her as anything more than that.
I’d meant what I said about needing a friend right now. I had no idea what to do and no one to talk to about it. Speaking to my sister would only make her feel even guiltier about leaving, and for the first time since I’d become a single parent, I felt like I was in this alone. It was both frustrating and terrifying.
“Hey!” A familiar voice wafted from the hallway. Rachel, Silas’s wife, scurried up to him and flung her arms around his neck.
“Good game, Coach,” she said as Silas smiled down at her, giving her a quick peck on the lips.
I laughed to myself before I looked away. Silas had been a quiet brooder before he’d met Rachel. He was still stern and stoic on the field with the guys he managed, just as he’d been when he’d played, but he lit up whenever he was around his wife.
“I missed the first couple of innings because I had a meeting with my editor, but Stella filled me in.” Rachel nodded behind me.
I craned my neck to find Stella at my side.
