Page 25 of One Night With The Nanny

That was why he generally avoided sports with balls that required him to catch or pass them to another player in a timely manner. He felt undignified and embarrassed when he missed or came up short.

A sport like skiing was about personal timing and negotiating the elements and swimming was about form and rhythm, both like dancing and excellent for meditation. Max had to think and act fast when a ball was bounced, lobbed, or thrown in his direction and there was no beat or pattern to take comfort in.

“I think you should ask Reid out, but not as yourself,” Mia suggested and pointed at a strip of faded hot pink tape on the paving stones.

He took a large step and got in place with his toes on the line as he’d seen her do at countless games. “You think I should contact Reid as someone else?”

“No! Don’t catfish him, silly!” She shook her head as she positioned his arms and hands so they were holding the ball level with his face. “Take him on a date but use one of your aliases so he can see that you don’t mind being sort of normal.”

“Sort of normal?” Max parroted and started to lift with his arms, but she grabbed his forearms.

“Wait. Think of it like a catapult kind of motion, but most of the motion is in your wrists and you want the ball to kind of roll off your fingertips. You just move your arms to adjust your aim and the angle, like this.” She stood next to Max and simulated the motion with her hands, letting her hand flex back and forth like a hinge until he nodded.

“I think I get it,” he said dazedly, mesmerized by how beautiful she was and how much she’d grown up. She had Ella’s big bright eyes and pointy chin but Max felt a rush of pride because he could see more of himself in her as she matured into a graceful and confident young woman. She had his cheekbones and that was definitely his nose and his thick blond hair.

She gave him a nudge. “Are you paying attention?”

“Like this?” he asked, propelling the ball with his hand and wrist instead of his whole arm. He missed, the ball sailing past the backboard and into the safety net behind it.

“That was really good!” Mia clapped as she went after it. “I want you to remember how that felt and do the same thing.” She retrieved the ball and ran back and Max cursed himself for being such a fool before. He’d worried about looking awkward and messing up, but he cherished the feel of her hands around his and having her so close. “Do what you did last time, but this time I want you to focus on the X over the hoop, on the backboard,” she said softly, her calm encouragement soothing Max. “Got it?”

“I think so,” he said as he squinted at a faded pink X, taped to the backboard. He used his hand and his wrist to launch the ball, sending it flying toward the hoop in a smooth arc. Max held his breath, then gasped out a disappointed swear when it bounced off the hoop.

“No! You almost had it that time!” She held up her hand so he could slap it, then went after the ball.

“I almost had it,” he mumbled to himself, feeling a touch lightheaded. “I might have to catfish Reid to get him to agree to go on another date with me,” Max worried out loud. “He was adamant that he isn’t interested in a relationship.”

“Hmmm…” Mia tossed Max the ball and helped him line up his next shot. “Okay. This time, I want you to pretend Reid is the hoop and I want you to... Shoot. Your. Shot.” He huffed out a laugh and took his shot. The ball floated through the air and hit the back of the board before sinking into the net. “You did it!” Mia shouted as she jumped and threw her arms around Max’s neck.

“I did it!” He hugged her tight, spinning them. “I had an amazing coach.”

“Nah,” she said, leaning back and giving her lips a thoughtful purse. “You just needed to see what you were doing wrong and learn a few basics.”

“I’m finding that fatherhood is very much like that as well.” Max pulled her close and carefully kissed her forehead. She allowed it and Max closed his eyes, breathing in the smell of her hair and regretting how much taller she was since the last time he’d kissed her forehead.

“Next, you’re going to tell me that life’s like that,” she predicted, making Max laugh as he put an arm around her and turned her toward the kitchen.

“That would be extraordinary because I haven’t quite figured that out for myself yet,” he said and she laughed and hugged his middle as they walked.

“Maybe you need to do that with Reid. See what you’re doing wrong and learn the basics.”

“How do I do that?” he asked.

She shrugged and smiled up at him. “He’s not interested in relationships, right? Find out what he is interested in.”

“There’s an idea,” Max said, thinking. He wasn’t going to explain what going back to the basics involved with Reid, though.

“You could tell him about how you made your first basket tonight, if you need something to call or text him about.”

“I might do that.”

“You should, Reid would totally eat that up. He might not be into dating a royal but he definitely thinks you’re a DILF.”

“I think we have some ice cream,” Max replied, not at all willing to confirm or deny the latter.

He waited until Mia kissed his cheek and wished him a goodnight to text Reid and tell him how well his suggestion had worked.

The reply came fifteen minutes later. Not the next business day, Max noted.

---