Chapter 18
CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN
Liam
The second I walk into the facility, I know that my focusing on my job will be difficult.
Not because of my schedule.
Because Alie is here.
Somewhere in this building—behind glass walls, closed doors, and professional boundaries—is the woman I’ve been thinking about, craving for two years.
Apparently, one kiss isn’t gonna cut it for me. I want more.
I walk into the locker room, toss my bag down into my cubby, and try to focus on my routine. Tape, stretch, talk to my teammates as they arrive. It should feel normal. I’ve been doing this for years.
But nothing feels the same.
I’m a grown man. A professional athlete, for fuck’s sake. I thrive under pressure. Two minutes on the clock, down a touchdown? I live for it. Media, contract negotiations? Bring it on.
But somehow, the idea of seeing Alie today—knowing I’ll likely see her in some of these meetings—has my mind spinning and my heart pumping like it's a playoff game.
I grab my phone, headphones, and a towel, then head into the gym and start my sets.
I last about forty minutes before I give up the pretense of patience.
“Where you going, Pitz?” one of my new teammates, Wyatt St. Clair, asks.
“Uh, I have a paperwork thing upstairs.”
He nods like it makes sense and continues lifting weights.
It absolutely doesn’t make sense. All my paperwork has been signed, sealed, and delivered.
“I’m heading out after I’m done, so I’ll see you tomorrow,” he calls after me as I pull the door open.
“Later, man,” I say over my shoulder.
I take the fastest shower of my life, toss my bag over my shoulder, and make my way up to the administrative floor.
It’s quieter up here. A more controlled environment—carpet instead of turf, coffee instead of sweat.
When I find her door, it’s closed. I look up and down the hallway to see if anyone else is around, and then I knock lightly.
I can hear movement and a muffled sound that definitely isn’t Alie’s voice.
I knock again.
“Just a second.” Alie’s voice carries.
The door opens then, and the moment I see her, everything else just fades away.
Her hair is tied back today, and she’s got glasses on. She looks beautiful in a way that hits hard.
“Liam,” she says, startled. “Hey.” She moves into the doorway and closes her door slightly.
“Hi,” I reply slowly. “You got a minute?”
She hesitates. Just for a moment.
Then I hear it.
A tiny laugh.
It takes my brain a second to process what I’m hearing.
When I look over Alie’s head, I see her.
A little girl sits on the floor in front of Alie’s desk, surrounded by crayons, paper, and coloring books. Dark wavy hair. Big brown eyes. Tiny sneakers on her little feet, tapping on the floor as she looks up at me curiously.
Everything inside me freezes.
“Can I come in?” I ask, my voice coming out a little rougher than I intended.
Alie moves back and pushes the door open. “Uh … ” she looks over at the little girl. “Yeah, come in.”
She closes the door behind me.
“What … ” I look from the girl to Alie. I can’t seem to form words.
Alie clears her throat.
“This is Seraphina,” she says softly with a smile. “Sera.”
I can’t stop looking between them, trying to put the pieces together.
The little girl grins. “Hi!” With her chubby fists in the air, she looks at Alie and asks, “Who dis, Mommy?”
Mommy?
I stare at Sera because something about her hits me like a punch in the chest. Not because she’s here. Not just that she’s adorable. It’s the way her eyes look … familiar.
My stomach drops, and I turn to look at Alie.
She won’t meet my eyes.
Suddenly, the air in the room shifts, and I think I might just pass out.
“How old is she?” I ask slowly, my voice gravelly.
Alie scrunches her brows and looks at me like I’ve done something wrong by asking.
“She’ll be two in September.” She crosses her arms and glares at me.
Two. My brain does the math before I’m ready. Then the room tilts.
I can’t stop the sharp, disbelieving laugh that slips out. “Alie.”
She closes her eyes briefly, like she’s trying to school her emotions. Then she takes a deep breath.
“Liam, before you say anything else, we need to talk privately. Not in front of her.”
My heart is pounding in my ears.
“Is she … ” I swallow, forcing out the words. “Is she mine?”
Alie’s silence is answer enough, and she still looks … angry.
Everything inside me detonates, and I drop my bag and have to take a step back, bracing myself against the wall.
I look at Alie. “You—” I run my hand through my hair, trying to catch my breath, trying to think. “You didn’t tell me.”
Sera looks between Alie and me, sensing the shift in the room. “Mommy?”
Alie immediately moves to comfort her, running her hand over her wavy brown hair. “Hey, baby. Why don’t we take your coloring books into Poppy’s office for a while, and you can color with him?”
Sera nods happily. “Yes, Poppy color too.”
Alie glances at me as she opens the door. “I’ll be right back.”
Silence crashes down on me, and my gaze hasn’t left the door.
She comes back into the room only seconds later, closing the door behind her.
“You didn’t tell me.” My voice is quiet, but no doubt she can tell that I’m upset.
“Excuse me?” She crosses her arms defensively. “I tried—”
“When?” I interrupt. “When did you try to tell me, Alie? Because I sure as shit don’t remember being told that I have a daughter!”
Her face falls, and she looks like she’s going to be sick. “I found out a month after our night together.”
I laugh, harshly. “And you couldn’t pick up a phone? What exactly stopped you?”
“Liam,” she starts.
“So … you just what? Decided for me?” I pace around the room. “You decided I didn’t get to know?”
Tears well in her eyes. “I don’t … I don’t understand what’s happening here. You decided you didn’t want her. You did, Liam. Not me.” She points at me.
“What the fuck are you talking about? How could I decide anything when I didn’t know?!” I raise my arms in frustration and anger.
“I didn’t have your number, so Aaron said he would take care of it and contact you.
I told him to give you my number so we could talk.
He said that his texts came back undelivered.
Then he told me you’d changed your number, and when he finally got a hold of you and told you about the pregnancy, you said you wanted nothing to do with the baby or me.
” She wipes the tears from her face. “He said you told him that football was your priority.”
My chest tightens, and rage consumes me.
“Aaron Muldoon told you I didn’t want my child? And you believed him?” I point to my chest. “You really think that I’m that kind of man?”
“Liam—” she starts, but I don’t let her finish.
“You erased me, Alie,” I say hoarsely.
“That’s not fair. He’s one of my oldest friends. My best friend. I believed him when he said you didn’t want anything to do with us.” She begins to cry again.
“Two years, Alie.” I’m so bitter, but it’s also hurting me to see her cry.
“And now?” I run my hands through my hair. “Fuck. Your family knows I’m the father?”
She shakes her head. “I never told them who the father was. Presley knows though.”
I laugh humorlessly. “Of course not. There’s no way a trade would’ve been made if they’d thought I didn’t want my own kid. And that explains why Presley’s been less than friendly with me.”
“Liam, I understand that you’re upset, but I am too.
All this time, I believed you didn’t want to be involved in her life.
” She sniffs. “Knowing you were coming here, as I made that decision with our team to bring you here—it was one of the hardest business decisions I’ve ever had to make.
And I had no one to talk to about it!” She raises her hands. “Then when I saw you again—”
“What? You decided to test me? Is this some kind of game to you?”
“I was confused. You didn’t say anything about it. I guess I was trying to figure out your angle.”
“My angle? I don’t play games with people, Alie.”
“We spent one night together! I hardly know you!”
“So then, why did you agree to go to dinner with me? If I’m some stranger?”
“Like I said, I was trying to figure you out.” She covers her face with her hands.
“And have you?” I pause. “Figured me out?”
She drops her hands and looks at me. “It’s my job to protect my daughter. I needed to understand why you wanted to see me—outside of work—after all this time.”
“Right.” I huff a laugh. “And you think you needed to protect her from me.”
“If I needed to, yes.” She stands taller.
“Unbelievable.” I shake my head.
We stand in silence as I try to wrap my head around this.
Then I walk around the room, my adrenaline in high gear.
I think about that little girl— my daughter—sitting on the floor, laughing and coloring.
All the time with her I missed.
Ultrasounds.
Doctor appointments.
Her first birthday.
Bedtime stories.
“You took that time from me,” I say quietly.
She sobs softly. “I wouldn’t have if I had known—”
“But you did,” I whisper.
I feel like I’m getting smothered by my emotions right now, and I can hardly breathe.
“I need—” I stop, breathing deeply. “I need to get some air.”
“Liam, please,” she says, reaching out for me.
I hold out my arm. “I can’t do this right now.”
“You’re just going to walk out then?”
“I don’t walk out on people, Alie. You do.”
I know it’s a low blow, but I’ve never been angrier than I am right now.
“And I’m not walking out on her—I would never. I’m walking out before I say something I can’t take back.”
She takes a step toward me. “Can’t we just—”
I pick up my bag, and my hand pauses on the handle.
“Not right now,” I say, firmly.
“She has your smile, you know?” she says softly.
That nearly does me in. I close my eyes, jaw clenching, fighting off the tears threatening to fall.
Then I open the door and walk out.
Presley is in the hallway with Sera in her arms, smiling, but it drops the second she sees me.
I turn away quickly because if I don’t, I won’t leave.
So, I keep walking. Past the offices, past people milling around in the lobby, and out the main door.
The air outside hits my lungs like a shock.
I don’t remember calling for a car.
I just know that I’m sitting in the back, squeezing my hands so tight that my knuckles are starting to ache.
I have a daughter. Who is almost two years old.
Resentment churns in my gut. I’m stunned, and I feel like I’m grieving all that time I lost. But I also feel this overwhelming feeling of love. The need to protect her. The need to know her. And for her to know me.
I lean forward and rest my elbows on my knees, and cover my face with my hands.
“Fuck,” I whisper.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, so I take it out.
Alie.
I don’t answer. Not yet.
Because I don’t trust myself right now. Because this … is a game changer.