Page 163 of The Blame Game

“Okay. You sit on the ground. I can’t reach.”

“Can we move over to the grass?” he asked, because that sounded way more comfortable.

“Yes.”

Dom dutifully moved to the grass, picking up a chair to take with him. She clambered onto it as he took a seat in front of her.

He caught a glimpse of several of his teammates watching and Shea trying to hide a smile.

Dom ignored Charlie’s phone pointed at him and River.

Braiding seemed to involve a lot of tugging and knotting of his hair. He tried not to wince when she got a section tangled.

But when it was finally over, she clambered down from her chair and beamed. “Now you look extra pretty!”

“Thank you,” Dom said gravely. He stood with a groan, his back twinging. God, he couldn’t wait to stop being in pain.

“Bye, Uncle Dom!” she called out as she scampered off.

He smiled. Huh, and to think that kid had barely spoken when he first met her. No surprise that she was doing better with Antoni and Matty to love and dote on her.

Shea, Felix, and Colton were all very red and didn’t try to hide their amusement when he walked over to them.

“Stop laughing at me,” he muttered, taking a seat next to Shea.

“It’s cute!” Shea reached out and touched his hair. “Very … stylish.”

“I don’t know why she likes me so much all of a sudden.”

“Kids are like cats,” Shea said with a laugh. “They’re drawn to anyone who doesn’t pay attention to them.”

“I suppose.”

Shea leaned in, smiling. “It’s pretty adorable watching you be so patient with her.”

“Yeah? I thought you didn’t want kids.”

“I don’t.” Shea shrugged. “Doesn’t mean I don’t like spending time with them or watching them braid your hair.”

Dom touched the weird clumps sticking straight out of his head. “I’m never going to be able to get the knots out, am I?”

“Probably not. You’ll have to cut it short. Buzz it all off.”

Dom shot him a horrified look. He usually kept it around chin length and hadn’t had short hair since he was a kid.

“I’m kidding. A little conditioner and we’ll get these so-called braids out, I promise. Now, aren’t you glad you came today?”

Shea’s eyes danced with amusement.

“Glad,” Dom said drily. “Sure, we’ll go with that.”

But as he looked around, he felt a sudden pang, knowing how much he’d miss being included at events like this after his retirement.

Slowly but surely, the team would move on without him.

He couldn’t keep putting off his own future.

CHAPTER THIRTY

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