Chapter 10 #2
The whistle blew, announcing the start of the second half, and Hannah said something that made the boy throw his head back in laughter. At the sight of it, that light in her face went from a soft glow to near blinding as she smiled up at him, and a little bit of me died inside.
“Let’s watch the game,” Nona whispered, shaking my hand to get my attention as she stepped closer to my side. “It’ll be okay. Just concentrate on your boy.”
I knew it was stepping over the line, but I needed the calm she was giving me too badly to give a damn.
Releasing her hand, I looped my arm over her shoulders, pulling her flush against my side as I turned back to the game.
As if sensing I needed her just like that, she didn’t object.
The stiffness melted away and her body went pliant.
She fit against me like she was made to be right there, always.
But as was her style, Nona got into it as the game progressed, moving and cheering loudly, so I had to eventually let her go, no matter how badly I wanted to keep her in my arms.
The game was back in full swing when movement from the corner of my eye caught my attention. I lifted my arm just in time for Hannah to tuck into me and squeeze my middle.
“Hi, Daddy,” she murmured, burrowing into my side.
“Hey, baby. You good?”
She looked up at me with a dreamy smile on her face. “Yeah.” Pulling from my hold, she skipped over to Nona with wide, excited eyes and whispered, “Ms. Nona, did you see that?”
“I did! He’s really cute,” she returned with just as much enthusiasm.
At Nona’s reaction, Hannah went positively giddy. Had it not been for the laws of gravity, she most likely would have floated away. “He came up to me all on his own. I didn’t even see him! And he was so nice. He told me I looked really pretty today,” she finished on a whisper.
Nona reached up and tucked a lock of Hannah’s hair behind her ear. “I’m happy for you, sweet girl. And you do look pretty. I’m glad he noticed.”
I watched on as Hannah blossomed under Nona’s attention, and the vise that had been squeezing my chest for the past several minutes began to loosen.
Until she spoke again.
“I think he might ask me out on a date!”
“You know the rules, Banana,” I said in a low voice. “No dating ’til you’re sixteen.”
My daughter’s face fell like she’d just found out Christmas would be canceled for good. “But, Dad—”
“Those are the rules,” I stated strongly.
“Hey, that’s okay, sweetie,” Nona said, pulling my daughter’s focus back to her. “It’s not the end of the world, and you’ll be sixteen soon enough. If he’s as nice as you say, he knows you’re worth the wait.”
“Yeah,” Hannah replied with about a quarter of the enthusiasm she’d had moments ago. “Maybe.”
Nona grabbed her hands and declared, “He will, trust me. You’re worth waiting for.”
Just when I thought Nona couldn’t possibly get any more amazing, she went and did something to prove me wrong.
That seemed to work like a charm, and although Hannah wasn’t quite as excited as she had initially been, the frown was gone from her face as she tucked herself back under my arm and watched the rest of the game snuggled into my side.
Nona
The game ended, and reality came crashing back down on me like an anvil. Seeing Trick so messed up over his daughter growing into a young woman had tugged at my heartstrings. I’d dropped my guard and let myself get sucked in by all that was Trick, and there was a lot to him.
I needed to get out of there before I allowed what was happening to go any further than it already had.
There was no way in hell I could handle another blow.
With a heavy heart, I gave my kiddos hugs and kisses before sending them back off to their dad, who’d spent the entire game either pacing while on his cell phone or staring lasers at me.
It was only one more day, but I hated them being away from me and was counting the hours until they came back.
“Great game, Shawn,” I said, bumping his fist like I’d seen Trick do when he held it out to me.
“Thanks, Ms. Nona. And thanks for the cupcakes. They were killer!”
“Welcome, honey.” Then I turned my attention to Hannah. “Remember what I said, sweet girl.”
She nodded and smiled shyly. “I’m worth waiting for.”
“You absolutely are.”
Trick placed a kiss on his daughter’s head and gave his son’s hair a ruffle as I hooked my purse over my shoulder and folded up my chair.
“Bye, Ms. Nona! See you next week,” Hannah called, walking backward and waving as she started across the field.
I returned her wave. “Bye honey. See you then.”
She spun around and jogged away as I grinned after her.
“Here, let me get that,” Trick said, grabbing my chair before I could pick it up.
“You don’t have to,” I started, needing to get away from him, not prolong my time in his presence. The longer I was around him, the harder it was for me to keep my heart in check.
“It’s no problem. Come on, I’ll walk you to your car.” With that, he left me no choice but to follow when he grabbed my hand and started leading me toward the parking lot.
We’d only moved a couple feet when a feminine voice called out from behind us, “Patrick.”
Trick pulled us to a stop and turned just as his ex-wife came waltzing up, dressed in her standard athleisure wear.
Today’s yoga pants and matching zip-up jacket were in a bright royal blue with pink piping.
She had on a full face of makeup that, while applied correctly, was too thick, and was sporting a slicked-back ponytail with one of those thin elastic headbands.
It was a style all the other Stylish Soccer Moms wore, but it didn’t work very well for Emma Wanderly’s features.
She needed something much softer, like a messy bun with loose tendrils to balance her sharp cheekbones.
She’d been coming into my salon for years, always seeing one of my other stylists, and for years I’d been dying to get my hands on her hair.
It was a lovely pale blonde that would have looked amazing with some layers to add shape and volume instead of the blunt, straight cut she preferred, but she’d never struck me as the type of woman open to suggestions, so I’d kept my mouth shut.
She came to a stop a few feet away, casting a glance down to our clasped hands before looking back up at Trick with wide doe eyes. “Can I have a moment?” Her gaze bounced between Trick and me as she finished in a soft whisper, “Privately?”
Trick hesitated for a beat before shifting his attention to me. “Gimme a second, darlin’. If you’ll wait, I—”
My heart plummeted to my stomach. As irrational as it was, I fought back the burn of tears building behind my eyes. After our night together, I knew Trick was still hung up on his ex, and this was just another glaring reminder that, in his eyes, I’d never compare.
One wide-eyed look and softly spoken sentence. That was all it took.
Pulling my hand from his, I reached over to grab the strap of my chair he had slung over his shoulder and transferred it to mine. “You know what? It’s cool. I have some stuff I need to take care of, so I should really be going.”
He hesitated for a few beats. “You sure?”
“Yeah.” That one word came out as a croak, so I pinned a fake smile to my face, hoping to hide the crack in my voice. “Totally. I’ll see you around, okay? You guys enjoy the rest of your weekend.”
And with that, I turned and headed to the parking lot, successfully fighting the urge to break into a run.
I needed to get home as soon as possible. The only way to combat the ache I was feeling in my chest was with copious amounts of sugar. Lucky for me, I still had eighteen cupcakes at home.
Hopefully that would be enough.