Chapter 28
Travis
“Are you sure you don’t need any help in here?” Alyssia’s Uncle Theo comes in to ask yet again.
I look over at him after I slide the chocolate chip skillet dessert onto the oven rack.
“The paella is simmering, dessert is in the oven, and I’m about to start chopping vegetables for the salad.”
“Looks like you’ve got it all handled,” he says, but instead of leaving he moves closer to the opposite end of the counter, folding his arms, studying me.
I’ve figured this was coming all day. He’s been giving me looks off and on throughout the day.
“You’re not cheating on my niece, are you?”
I stop short with the knife in my hand. Theo stares at the knife, but then looks back at me, his gaze unwavering.
“Cheating?” I shake my head. “Never.”
He snorts. “You’re an athlete and you live in one of, if not the, most glamorous places in the world. Everything from the cars you drive, to this apartment, to your sponsorship deals are fancy. A guy like you has to have women chasing him all over the world.”
“That’s true,” I admit while cutting the red leaf lettuce for our salad.
He lifts an eyebrow.
“I’ve had my share of relationships, but things now, with Alyssia are different.”
“Because she’s carrying your baby.”
“Because I want to take care of her, if she’ll let me.” The words come from me easily. I’ve had time to sit with this realization over the past few weeks. “She amazes me, slows my world down in a way I’ve never experienced before.”
He eyes me.
“For now.”
“I don’t anticipate it changing anytime soon,” I reply. “It’s taken me time to wrap my head around being a father, and moreover, falling for Alyssia …” I pause to let my words sink in for both me and Alyssia’s uncle.
“But once I choose something, I don’t know how to do anything halfway. It’s flat out or nothing.”
“What about you career?”
“What about it?”
He steps closer. “It’s afforded you all of this.” He waves a hand, gesturing toward the kitchen. “But have you ever thought how hard it is on her?”
My stomach tightens.
“After what she’s been through losing her parents, almost dying herself in that accident, and now becoming involved with someone who does what you do for a living?”
I tighten my grip on the handle of the knife. Nothing he’s just said is new to me. Ever since reading those articles about the accident, I’ve tried to figure out how to approach the topic of my career with Alyssia.
I’ve gotten the sense that it makes her skittish about opening up to me.
Part of the reason she hesitated in telling me about the baby was due to overhearing what I’d said at the gala. But seeing those articles, I realized that once she found out about my career, she also prolonged telling me out of fear of my job as well.
“I’ve thought about it,” I tell him. “What happened to Alyssia’s parents won’t happen to me.”
“Can you guarantee that?”
“My sport has made drastic advancements over the years to improve safety. There hasn’t been a death in a race in over a decade.”
He nods but doesn’t look completely assured. There are no guarantees in life. He knows that and so do I.
“I would hate for my niece to experience anything like what she has in her past.”
He gives me a grim expression.
“Are you two done in here? We’re hungry?” Theo’s husband calls out as he enters the kitchen, Alyssia trailing behind him.
“You’re not bothering him while he’s trying to cook, are you?” Owen asks, accusingly.
“We’re just making conversation.”
“Well make yourself useful and finish helping me set the table.”
“Sorry.” Alyssia drops her hand onto my arm. “I hope he didn’t make you uncomfortable.”
Covering her hand with mine, I lean down and brush my lips across hers. A tiny gasp that I want so bad to catch with my mouth passes her lips.
“Your uncle really loves you,” I tell her.
That’s the only reason his interrogation didn’t piss me off. He’s looking out for her the best way he knows how. If I know Alyssia like I believe I do, she didn’t make it easy for him to be there for her.
I brush my lips against hers again.
“Paella and the salad are done. Let’s eat.”