Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
AUGUST
Fuck. I was in far too deep with this woman.
The Tigers won the charity game, and I couldn’t even focus on the victory for two seconds — not when Sienna Slade stood in the stands in my fucking jersey. Wearing my name, and damn if it didn’t look good on her.
It had nearly knocked the breath right out of me when I’d seen her standing there, the number eleven in large blocks against the fabric.
Where had she even got it from? I hadn’t had much time to wonder before I’d noticed the tiny girl at Sienna’s side, practically her in miniature form.
I’d be lying if I said the sight didn’t have me thinking all sorts of ridiculous shit, like what our kids would like with Sienna’s blonde hair and my smile.
River clapped me on the shoulder and I was grateful to be jolted out of my own thoughts. “Good game, brother.”
I smiled and it felt forced, tight at the edges. “Thanks, man.” I hesitated, slinging my bag over my shoulder as my mouth opened but no sound came out.
“You good?” River paused next to me and I shut my mouth, nodding and picking up the pace again.
What could I say, really? That I might be falling for the girl who was only supposed to be a PR stunt?
For that conversation I’d need to put my gear back on, otherwise River would have my balls for my stupidity — because there was no way I hadn’t already blown things with Sienna.
Especially with yesterday’s kiss. Or, more accurately, the fact that I’d run away afterwards and then practically pissed a circle around her today in the stands when Brock had shown up.
“Mom will be relieved you opted to shower after your game. Can’t have you stinking up the table while we try to eat. ”
I rolled my eyes and felt my heart leap into my throat when we rounded a corner and found Sienna waiting. Her hulking bodyguard stood behind her, making conversation with Louise, but I barely noticed them. I’d thought I was prepared to see her again. I was wrong.
The oversized jersey skimmed mid-thigh on her, the pale green color making her skin glow and her brown eyes seem even warmer. I swallowed and tried to get a handle on myself.
“Hey.”
She raised an eyebrow but simply nodded at my greeting. “You changed.”
“Mom would kill him if he showed up to family dinner smelling like a football game.” River chuckled and Sienna glanced briefly at my brother, making me want to move closer and tug her face back to mine.
Irrational. What are you, a caveman? Get your shit together.
“You’re coming to dinner?” River continued and Sienna half-shrugged.
“Apparently.” She touched her hair and then tugged at the hem of the jersey and I wondered if she was nervous. “Who exactly will be at this family dinner?”
“Just our parents,” I said, actual words finally making their way out of my mouth. “And River’s baby boy.”
“Well, I’ll leave you to it,” Louise said, smacking a kiss onto Sienna’s cheek and offering me and River a nod. “Cade will accompany you, if that’s okay. Lot of press here today.”
“Of course,” River said, like we were discussing a business transaction and not my mom’s home cooking. “Shall we?”
“Nonsense,” my mom cried, waving away Sienna’s bodyguard’s protests. “You think we’d leave you to sit outside while we had dinner? Tsk.”
Sienna looked amused at the wide-eyed embarrassment on Cade’s face as he gingerly accepted a seat at the table and then a plate of food.
Above all else, my mom was a caregiver. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she started clucking over Cade, pinching his cheeks and insisting he needed feeding up. It was just who she was.
Tyler flailed his hands and River caught his son’s spoon just in time to save Sienna from getting mashed potatoes in her hair. She seemed entirely unbothered though, giggling as she tapped Tyler on the nose.
“So, how did you two meet?” My dad’s voice made me jump and I jerked my eyes up and away from Sienna to find a knowing look on his face. Clearly it wasn’t the first time he’d caught me staring.
“At a party,” I said smoothly. It was true enough, and when Sienna blushed I knew exactly which part of the night she was thinking about.
“We sat in the corner and talked all night,” Sienna added and my mom cooed like it was the most romantic thing she’d ever heard.
“I didn’t even know August was seeing anyone!” There was a note of warning in my mom’s voice that had me hiding a smile in a forkful of chicken. If there was one thing my mom hated, it was being left out of the loop.
“We kept it quiet for a while,” Sienna said, leaning in closer to my parents like she was sharing a secret. “The press can be a little…”
“Feral,” I supplied and she nodded, her lips tilting up in a half-smile that made my back straighten. “Besides, she’s here now Mom.”
“Yes, well, thank goodness for that.” Eyes the same shade of brown as my own pierced me as she glared. “We’re happy to have you here, Sienna. And you too, of course, Cade.”
The bodyguard looked up, eyebrows raised like he was surprised to have been spoken to as he swallowed a large mouthful of food. “You’re a wonderful cook, Mrs Ashford.”
My mom waved a hand. “Please, you’ll call me Annie. You too, Sienna.” Mom grinned at me from across the table and I grimaced, knowing what was coming next. “How about after dinner we pull out the photo albums? August was such a cute baby.”
River spluttered in mock offence and I hit him on the back. “Better?”
He glared at me but couldn’t resist a grin when Tyler giggled at our antics. “Much. It’s okay, Mom just liked that you were so—”
“Fat,” Mom chipped in, sighing happily as she placed her cutlery down on her plate. “So cute and fat, those little arm rolls were just precious. He still has his dimples, you know?”
Sienna was biting her lip as she focused on cutting her chicken, but at the mention of my dimples she looked up and grinned broadly. “Killer dimples.”
I flashed them at her and River rolled his eyes, digging one finger into my cheek mockingly. “You’re just mad you didn’t get them,” I taunted and he scoffed.
“Who says I don’t?”
“It’s true,” Sienna said, “River doesn’t smile enough for us to know either way.”
As if to prove her point, my brother scowled and Dad chuckled.
“What about you, Tyler?” Sienna said, turning to my nephew and tickling under his chin until he squealed.
“Do you have any dimples?”He burbled without much sense and Sienna nodded.
“Exactly.” She poked gently at the dimple in Tyler’s chin and then flashed a smile at River.
“Maybe it skipped a generation.” More chuckles sounded and I straightened in my seat, loving that my family loved Sienna as much as I’d known they would.
She fit here like this was where she was meant to be and a strange pang went through me as I realized we were already more than half-way through our thirty-day-contract.
I wasn’t sure just one month with her was enough.
Even if we were at different places in our lives, I could admit that I wanted her, that life was more interesting and a little brighter when I was with her.
I tried my best to shake off the thoughts. In twelve days, we would likely be staging a break up.
Tyler continued talking to himself, mostly nonsense words with the occasional mention of dadda. Shit was adorable.
We started to clear the plates away and River left the table to grab Tyler’s baby wipes and begin the long process of removing the mashed potatoes from his hair and between his fingers.
Sienna watched me. Her gaze was like a physical heat on the side of my face and when I met her eyes she didn’t look away.
Something pulsed between us, her lips parted and I felt like I could feel her heartbeat in my own chest.
“Pie?” The moment shattered as my mom put the large dish onto the table and my dad brought in more plates.
Tyler made grabbing motions with his little fingers and River ignored the baby’s non-verbal demands for pie, continuing his task with the wipes until Tyler began to fuss.
“Here, I’ll take him.” I stood and reached for Tyler, a smile slipping free when he saw me coming and reached up for me to carry him. He was a little soggy and smelled like baby wipes, but he was a warm lump in my arms that made me melt. “Sienna, why don’t I show you the backyard?”
Her chair scraped back as I led us out of the kitchen and through the backdoor. The space wasn’t that big, but it did go back a little way and the walking soothed Tyler’s restlessness.
“Do you think they’ll save me some pie?” she said somewhat wistfully as our steps flattened the semi-long grass and I made a mental note to come back and cut it for my dad.
“I’m sure they will.” I laughed quietly and smoothed a hand over Tyler’s back as he nestled his head under my chin. “I’m just hoping to keep you out here long enough that my mom forgets about the baby photos.”
Sienna’s laugh was high, girlish, and I chuckled with her as we walked in a slow circle. “It’s nice out here. Your parents are lovely.”
“Thank you.”
It was quiet for a moment as we paused in the relative privacy of the overgrown oak tree at the back of the garden. I bounced gently from foot to foot and Tyler didn’t complain. “About last night—”
She was close enough that I could smell her perfume and count each eyelash when her eyes fluttered closed. “It’s okay, I get it. You got carried away. Let’s just forget about it.”
I frowned, hurrying to catch up to her as she walked back in the direction of the house. “That’s not—”
“Seriously, August. Don’t worry about it. It was a nice kiss, but that’s it.” She shrugged and I wished I could see more than the side of her face right then so I’d know what she was thinking. “These things happen.”
She made it sound like I tripped and fell on her mouth. “Sienna—”
“Oh look, they did save me pie,” she said cheerfully and hurried off before I could say anything more.