Chapter 17
SEVENTEEN
“Did you know?” Chelsea’s voice was barely a whisper, low enough that no one else could pick up on her pointed question.
The rest of the girls sat around the large sectional, the baseball game playing in the background.
Almost everyone else wore a Hawks jersey, their backs decorated with the names and numbers of people they loved.
And here I stood, hoping the one person I knew wouldn’t make an on-screen appearance tonight.
“No,” I answered, chewing on the edge of my thumbnail. When everyone jumped up and started screaming at the game, my heart leaped into my throat. God, I needed to get out of here, needed to find a new day care. “Victoria said Hadley was dating a guy named Cam, but nothing more than that.”
Add another point to the long list of things I learned about my new friends, Victoria and Hadley, this afternoon.
It also turned out that Victoria’s sweet and goofy husband, Adam, was Adam Rice, a bona fide movie star.
Chelsea almost passed out when she found out, asking Victoria dozens of questions about his latest project.
On any other day, I would have been right there with her.
But today, all I could pray was that no one noticed the color draining from my face.
I should have left, should have rushed out the minute I made the connection between Hadley and the Hawks.
But every time I made an excuse to leave, something in my gut stopped me.
Victoria was as warm and welcoming as always.
Hadley asked me tons of questions about Anna, sitting by my side as I swiped through my phone’s photo album.
Even the other girls, Brianna and Ollie, were so open and kind, I didn’t want to go just yet.
This was supposed to be my night, damn it, and Jace would not ruin anything else for me.
Ollie came over into the kitchen, tilting her head at Chelsea. “This is driving me mad. How do I know you? Your face is so familiar, and I hate that I can’t place you.”
My best friend gave her best smile. “Have you ever come to The Skyline? My husband and I own it.”
“Yes!” Ollie snapped her fingers. “God, you own that place? Shit, you’re making me feel like such a slacker. I haven’t been there in forever, but you have the best summer patio in the entire city.”
Chelsea’s face beamed with pride. “Thanks. That was all my husband, but I’ll happily take credit for it.”
“Okay, so new plan. The next time the guys are out of town, we’re hitting up your bar. Do a real girls night with much better drinks.”
“Hey!” Hadley snapped from the living room.
“You know I say it with love,” Ollie called over her shoulder. “But seriously, please tell me we can come. I need these girls to go out to an actual bar, or they might force us to start needle-pointing soon.” Her dark, wide eyes pleaded with mine. “Sister in singlehood, please agree with me.”
I held my hands up. “Not sure the mom is your best ally. I’m usually in bed snoring by nine.”
Ollie shook her head, but her warm smile never left her face. “Just wait, I’m going to get you all out on the dance floor with me. Never doubt my powers of persuasion.”
As she headed back into the living room with a cold bottle of beer, my eyes lifted just long enough to glimpse the Erie City dugout.
Fuck. The little lift to his nose, the way his hair curled around the tips of his ears.
Jace. He hadn’t changed much in the past two years, but now, every feature reminded me of Anna.
But where my daughter made it all adorable, Jace was something else entirely—delicious, desirable. And completely off-limits.
I cleared my throat and ducked my head, but Chelsea caught me staring.
She muttered a curse under her breath before swallowing the last of her beer.
Even without a word, her wariness was as clear as day, from the downturn of her lips to the way her eyes narrowed at the screen. Hating Jace just because he’d hurt me.
No one knew about Anna’s father, not really, but Chelsea was the only person who knew about my night with Jace.
And even though I never admitted it, she had to know he was Anna’s father.
There was no other option. I should have told her, should have gotten this weight off my chest. But what good was it to tell people when he had no interest in being a part of her life?
I was Anna’s parent, the only one she’d ever need.
Her paternity was a secret I’d take to my grave.
Chelsea and I wandered back into the living room, not saying another word to each other. The inevitable questions would come on the way home. As I settled on the couch, Victoria nudged me with her elbow. “Are you okay, Kins? You’ve been quiet since we got here.”
“I’m always quiet,” I muttered.
“I wouldn’t say that,” she sighed. “You’re reserved, but you’ve said about three words to me today, and your eyes keep darting to the door.
” Victoria paused, searching my expression.
Her eyes were caring and worried, like she wanted me to be comfortable here in her world.
Her concern loosened the knot in my chest, and I let myself relax.
“Yeah,” I lied. “All good here.”
Hours later, after the game finished, the wine continued to flow, and the conversation had shifted from baseball to almost everything else.
The more I sat with these women, the more I relaxed, letting my past fade away to a distant memory.
As much as I hated leaving Anna, I needed a night like tonight.
Needed to just be Kinsley for a few hours. Not the working mom, but just me.
As the clock chimed in the background, Chelsea yawned at my side. I clapped my hands on my knees. “Sorry, guys. We should get going. Her husband has been on babysitting duty all night.”
“Fine,” Ollie groaned from the couch. “Leave us and go be a responsible parent.”
Brianna tossed a pillow at her friend’s face. “Ignore her. The minute I get her in the car, she’ll be snoring in the passenger seat.”
“Because you drive like a grandmother,” Ollie groaned. “What’s the point of borrowing Damien’s car if you’re going to drive it under the speed limit?”
“I’m trying to be safe,” Brianna said.
“Boring,” Ollie mouthed to me.
Glancing over at Chelsea, I nodded over my shoulder, “I’m going to run to the bathroom, and then we can head out.”
She nodded, and I rushed into the other room, taking a few minutes to check in at home before rejoining the party.
I padded down the hallway, taking in as much of the house as I could.
Pictures lined the walls, black and white candid shots of Cam, Hadley, and Emilia, his daughter.
There were plenty of other people in some of the frames, other teammates and friends who seemed to be more like family.
At the end of the hall, one picture stood out the most—an image of Cam on the field with the rest of his team.
While Cam was the focus of the image, someone else pulled all my attention.
Jace stood to his right, his face hard with concentration.
He only had that expression when he was on the field, using everything to get the win.
It was a far cry from the friendly guy I’d met, the one who ordered me pancakes with the works and watched me as the sun set over Lake Erie. Two sides of the same coin.
“There you are,” Hadley called out from the opening by the kitchen. When I stepped to her side, she pulled me into a hug. “I’m glad you came out tonight.”
“Me too,” I admitted, shocked that it rang true. “I had a lot of fun.”
“Well, you better get used to it,” Hadley teased. “We’re pulling you into our group. Chelsea too. Afraid you’re stuck with us now.”
My lip tucked between my teeth; I was unsure what to say to that.
When was the last time someone accepted me so easily?
Never. Even in school, I’d never made a ton of friends, keeping my distance as long as possible.
The only one who made the cut was Chelsea, but that was more because of her determination than anything else.
Kind of like Hadley, she’d declared we were best friends, and I went along with it.
That had worked out pretty well for me, so I smiled at Hadley.
“I like the sound of that.”
As she packed up leftovers for all of us to take home, a deep voice broke out from the front door. “Menace? You here?”
“Where else would I be, sarge? We’re in the kitchen.” She rolled her eyes and then leaned in toward me. “Get ready for the invasion.”
There was no time to ask what she meant when several sets of footsteps hurried up the stairs into the living room. No. My face flushed as I shifted, looking over my shoulder at the men who’d invaded Hadley’s home.
The Erie City Hawks.
Brianna squealed as one man came over, lifting her up into his arms. As she smacked his shoulder, lecturing him about some injury, my jaw dropped.
Damien Ramos. Connections and names flashed in my mind as five other guys shuffled over to us, stealing the leftover platters of food from the kitchen island.
My heart didn’t stop racing until the door slammed shut and all the visitors were accounted for. No Jace. Thank God. It was one thing to watch him on TV, to see his picture hanging on the wall, but seeing him in person… I shuddered at the thought.
Hadley rolled her eyes as she stepped to my side. “If you want to hang out, you’re more than welcome, but I get it if you want to head home. Love these guys, but some of them can’t shut off their baseball brains, especially coming off a big win.”
“Are you leaving?”
Victoria came in from the living room with Chelsea on her heels.
My best friend gave me a look, probably thinking the same thing as me.
Maybe I’d spoken too soon when I agreed to keep hanging out with these girls.
While they were great, the risk of running into Jace was too much.
I didn’t know what would be worse—seeing him again and having to relive his cold dismissal, or knowing that while I’d been thinking about him for years, he might not remember me at all.
“Need a break from all the testosterone?” Hadley teased.
Victoria shook her head. “I thought Adam and my brother were bad. These guys are next level. Between shoveling food into their mouths and all the sports talk, I might as well be home with my boys.”
I turned to Victoria. “Is it always like this when they get together?”
“Yup,” she said as she passed me a bottle of water. “You’d think they hadn’t seen each other in years when it’s only been an hour. They all changed out of their uniforms and came straight over here.”
Hadley shrugged. “We have an open door policy, so I’m pretty used to it by now. Parker used to host everyone, but after a few too many stains, he put his foot down. We’d just bought this place, and Cam offered to take over for a while, so there’s always a few guys hanging out during the season.”
Ah, so note to self—never come back here.
“You don’t mind?” I asked.
“Nah,” Hadley shrugged. “I like taking care of them. They’ve become my family almost as much as Cam.”
“Don’t let her fool you,” Victoria teased. “She has her favorites.”
“Oh, like you’re one to talk.” Hadley leaned in. “She already admitted Anna is her favorite baby at school.”
I side-eyed Victoria, who just shrugged. “It’s true. She’s hard not to love. Those blue eyes get me every single time.”
The color she’d inherited from her dad. The reminder was a splash of cold water down my spine, and I sat up, needing more air. I had to get out of here. Goodbye new friends; back to the solitude I go.
Before I could open my mouth to say goodbye, Hadley’s eyes lifted over my head, a wide smile taking over the bottom half of her face. “There he is. Nice of you to finally stop by.”
“Yeah, well, only because of your almost-husband. He sent me a dozen texts, demanding I get my ass over here.”
“Then he did his job,” Hadley smirked. “You’re not allowed to be Mr. Anti-Social anymore, Jace.
” Her eyes darted back down to me, and all the blood rushed out of my veins.
A loud buzzing overtook all my other senses as she held out her hand toward me.
“Where are my manners? Jace, meet Kinsley, my new friend.”