Page 26 of The Big Puck

She nods, barely looking at him, and unexpectedly reaches out and clasps my hand. “Maybe we can go get those photos now?”

Flashing a glance at Gavonza, whose brows furrow over his eyes as he glares back at me, and then at Jason, who wears an amused smirk, I try to figure a way to handle this that won’t get me in trouble.

In a miracle of luck, there’s a loud knock on the locker room door, and I thank fucking heaven for whoever is on the other side of that door, swearing I could kiss them.

Then a familiar voice shouts, “Are you decent? Can I come in?”

My heart stutters, and I freeze. Lainey doesn’t wait for an answer and shoves inside with the stroller ahead of her, filled with my baby girl to guarantee she gets a warm welcome reception.

Her gaze darts to Tina’s hand holding my arm, and I quickly step away from the girl and introduce her.

“Your wife and baby, how adorable.” Disappointment dims her smile, and she lets go of my hand.

I briefly wonder if it would be easiest all around if she kept thinking that, but that would be impossible. And fucking stupid.

Chapter 10

LAINEY

“She’s not— She’s my nanny,” Spence says after the briefest pause.

He makes the word nanny seem like a dirty sexy thing, and I bite my lip because I want to say a whole lot of something that would likely be trouble.

“This is Lainey Hall,” he emphasizes the Hall. “Jason’s younger sister. She’s helping me out with my—with Krissy for a couple of months until my Aunt can move in.” Spence flashes a warning glare aimed at the young kid, Sabien, whom I’ve read about and whom Spence and I watched in clips last night. He looks younger in person and not as filled out as Spence—but then, who is? Not one person on the team I realize, as I look over the half-dressed bodies spread around the locker room. They’re all staring back at me, nodding and murmuring hello.

Spence picks up Krissy, diverting their attention. More than half the men have kids, and they gravitate to him.

Drawing a deep breath, he explains to everyone in the room who Krissy is in halting words. It’s clearly difficult for him, which shuts everyone up and makes a funeral parlor seem livelier than this locker room.

Tina gasps and brings a hand to her mouth, looking at Spence like her ovaries just exploded with eggs all having his name on them. She gravitates to his side and touches his arm.

Boom.

The sight turns on some kind of rusty old lever in me, sending protect signals off like I’m Batman and I just saw the bat signal over Gotham City.

My man—even though Spencer Logan is not technically my man, or even my charge, but he is my cause, my mission, and that’s just as good—is in trouble, under assault by a young girl with a crush, who wants way more than casual attention—trust me, I know this is true. I wonder if she’s even legal.

“You poor guy. That’s so awful,” she says and stares up at him with heart eyes. “Krissy is so adorable, and she’s lucky to have you—”

“And me,” I say, pushing the stroller forward, forcing her to back away from poor Spence. The last thing he needs is someone encouraging him to feel plagued. He struggles mightily against the sadness and weight of his circumstances as it is.

“Thank you for bringing Krissy by,” Spence says as he hands her back to me.

“Let’s snap a photo of you holding her here in your element.” I slip out my phone and aim before he can say no.

“Oh, yes,” Tina says. “I’d buy that picture.” She backs up, and Spence holds Krissy against one shoulder and angles so they’re both facing my camera, and I snap several before his shadowy smile fades.

“I need to get out of my skates,” he says as soon as I lower my phone, and this time, I take the baby from him and settle her back in the stroller.

Jason comes over and gives me a hug. “Where are my cookies?”

I laugh and smack his shoulder. “I’ll bake some later.”

“I’m holding you to that.”

“Did you look at any of the condos the realtor lined up?” I wave to Spence as I turn the stroller around and head back to the door. Jason follows me.

“Not yet. I’m looking at a couple of them later.”