Chapter 9
Schmidt
“I can't believe my girl will be living right down the street from me.” Wheeler smiles to himself.
Though his features appear relaxed and calm, I don’t miss the way he’s gripping the boxes a little tighter than necessary.
This is the second time he’s referred to Winnie as his girl in the last few minutes. I don’t know what game he’s trying to play, but I don’t want any part of it. I haven’t done anything to make Wheeler think more is going on between Winnie and me.
Winnie’s my nanny and nothing more. I know that and Winnie knows that, maybe I should make it clear to Wheeler too.
I open my mouth to put him in his place, but Smithy shakes his head. He knows Wheeler better than I do and I know he’ll explain later. I nod and grab another box to carry inside. I want to know what Smithy’s thinking though.
Leading the way, I show the guys where Winnie’s room is. We drop the boxes in the living room of her quarters and then Smithy and I head back out to the truck while Wheeler moves further into Winnie’s space.
“What’s going on with him?” I glance over at Smithy as soon as we’re far enough for Wheeler to not hear us.
“He’s been in love with Winnie since we were in college,” Smithy sighs. “He wants to date her, but she’s constantly turning him down. They have an odd relationship.”
“What do you mean?”
“They’ll flirt and hook up, but they don’t date.
Sometimes I’ll hear that one of them is in a relationship with someone else, then all of a sudden, they’re single again and hooking up with each other.
” Smithy shakes his head. “I don’t understand it, but I guess I don’t have to.
I'm pretty sure Winnie doesn’t want that anymore though. ”
“I was going to tell him nothing is going on between Winnie and me.”
“Nah, don’t do that.”
“Why?”
“Maybe he needs this push to finally tell her how he feels or walk away. As much as Winnie cares about him, I don’t think she’s in love with him.”
“She made a comment about how she’s always wanted kids but that isn't in the cards for her. She said she’s not what Wheeler’s looking for.” I glance behind me, making sure Wheeler isn't coming out. I don’t want him to overhear this conversation.
“Like I said, I don’t understand it. I’m sure Lils knows more about what’s going on between them, but I’ve never asked.
I had enough trouble with my own love life, until recently.
” He chuckles. “I’ve never been happier than I have been with Liliana.
It’s weird to think it’s been about a year since we started dating.
It feels like seconds and years all at the same time. ”
“What’s taking the two of you so long?” Wheeler slaps me on the back as he approaches us.
“We were talking about the start of the season and how much I'm not looking forward to it,” Smithy says before I can say anything.
“Why wouldn’t you be excited? It’s another year of playing the game we love!”
“Because that means I have to leave Lils when we go away on games. I know she comes with us sometimes, but not every time.”
“And I have to leave Tali,” I add, making sure he realizes Tali’s what matters to me, not Winnie.
“Yeah, and I leave Winnie each time, but it’s not like I'm leaving forever.” Wheeler shrugs, not really understanding where we’re coming from. He’s just trying to stake his claim on Winnie again.
“You don’t get it, man. She’s my entire world.” Smithy shakes his head. “I’d rather die than live without her.”
“I love Winnie, but I'm not sure I’d rather die than live without her, that’s insane.” Wheeler frowns like Smithy’s crazy.
“Hands down, I’d die without Tali. I couldn’t care less about anything else in life. I just need my little girl.”
“You guys are crazy.”
“Nah, you’ve just never experienced this type of love.” Smithy grabs a box and heads inside without another word.
Wheeler scowls at his back. I wonder if he’s offended by what Smithy just said, but I agree. If he doesn’t love Winnie the way Smithy loves Liliana, he’ll never understand it.
I'm confused how he doesn’t love her that much. Winnie’s amazing from what I’ve seen. She’s fun and outgoing, but she’s happy having a laidback night at home. She seems like the perfect girlfriend.
She’s just not for me.
Placing the pizza on the counter, I immediately get to work on dinner for Tali. Though she can eat pizza, I like to cut it up really small for her. I don’t want to risk her choking.
I grab a cutting board and pizza cutter and start slicing the pizza into tiny pieces. Winnie slides up next to me to see what I'm doing. She smiles up at me, making me smile right back at her.
“You’re such a good dad. She’s a lucky little girl.”
“Thanks, Winnie.”
“C’mon, babe. Sit with me.” Wheeler slips his arm around Winnie’s waist and tugs her towards his chest.
I glance in their direction and don’t miss the irritation in Winnie’s eyes. She might be tolerating his antics today, but she’s not happy with him. I'm sure she’s going to yell at him later on when they don’t have an audience.
“I haven’t even gotten my food yet, Chase,” she hisses, pulling out of his grasp.
“Did… Did she just call you Chase?” Liliana blinks at them.
“That is my name.” Wheeler rolls his eyes.
“Yeah, but like, no one calls you that. Ever. I actually forgot what your first name was.” Liliana snorts with laughter.
“Oh, please! You call Smithy Travis all the time.”
“Which I’ve done since we were in college.” She points a finger in his direction. “Winnie never calls you Chase.”
“Is there anything you need me to help you with, Jamie?” Winnie’s back at my side, blinking up at me with hopeful eyes.
“Could you get Tali some juice? I like to do half water half juice.”
“Of course.” She bounces away from me with a big smile on her face.
“Jamie? Since when do you go by Jamie? Didn’t you refuse to tell Macy your first name last year? You said you only go by Schmidt.” Wheeler folds his arms over his chest and glares at me.
“Oh, calm down. What is wrong with you tonight?” Winnie pushes Wheeler out of the way and places Tali’s cup on the tray to her highchair. “You should stay away from boys, Tali. They’re crazy,” she coos.
Tali smiles up at her and as soon as I place a few pieces of pizza on her tray, she’s shoving them into her mouth.
“One at a time, Tali girl.” I hold up one finger and she mimics me, scrunching up her nose as she grins up at me. “Good girl.” I press a soft kiss to the top of her head.
I turn around to grab myself a plate of food, but Winnie’s placing one in front of the seat next to Tali. She nods to it, indicating it’s for me.
“Thanks.” I tug out the chair and take a seat.
Wheeler’s glaring from his seat at the opposite end of the table. He’s watching every interaction Winnie and I have. It’s a little awkward.
“Oh, I have sparkling water or beer in the fridge.” I push my chair away from the table to grab a few cans, but Winnie jumps up.
“I got it. What does everyone want? Jamie, you want a tangerine sparkling water?”
“That would be great.”
From the little amount of time we’ve gotten to spend together, Winnie’s paid attention to everything.
She knows how I like my coffee and what flavors of sparkling water I prefer.
She knows how Tali likes to be rocked when she’s tired and what her favorite toys are.
I wonder what it will be like in a few weeks or months.
I have a feeling it’s going to be like Winnie’s always been with us and I can't wait.
Yet, I’m almost afraid of getting used to her help. What if one day she decides she doesn’t want to work for me anymore? I could get dependent on her help and be lost without her.
Winnie hands out drinks to everyone before taking her seat on the other side of Tali.
She places a few more pieces of pizza on Tali’s tray when she runs out and smiles at my daughter.
The two of them are adorable together. I can't wait for them to get even closer.
For Tali to feel at home with Winnie. It will be amazing to see.
“You seem pretty at home here, huh?” Wheeler takes a bite of his slice and glares at my end of the table.
“I hope so. She’ll be living here.” Smithy doesn’t miss a beat. He’s gotten more and more irritated with Wheeler as the night has gone on.
“Yeah, but isn't it a little fast to be this comfortable?”
“Well, Jamie’s been very welcoming and I’ve been living here all week.
” Winnie smiles, but I can see the glint of anger sparkling in her eyes.
She’s saying this just to set him off. “He even told me I could use the massive tub in his bathroom when I want to take a bath. I plan on taking him up on that quite often.” Her smile turns into a smirk when Wheeler narrows his eyes.
“Winnie,” he growls.
“I’ll just have to remember to bring clothes into his bathroom with me.” She taps her chin like she’s really thinking about it. “Or I guess I could walk through the house to my room in only a towel.”
“Why can't you just live at my house?” Wheeler slams his fist down on the table, making us all jump.
My gaze snaps to Tali. Her bottom lip trembles before she lets out a loud scream. She’s used to it just being the two of us and I’ve never even raised my voice in front of her. The few times I’ve had heated conversations with someone, I’ve done it in my office while she slept.
“It’s alright, baby girl.” Quickly scooping her out of her highchair, I cradle her against my chest and rock her back and forth. I don’t care if she’s getting pizza sauce all over my shirt or in my hair she’s grabbing onto.
After a few moments of her crying, I excuse myself and head down the hallway. I’d rather console my little girl in my room without everyone else around. I have no clue how upset Wheeler’s going to get, but my daughter doesn’t need to be around for this type of behavior.