Page 16 of Tell Me Lies

“Now, tell me all about this nanny job,” Winter says. “I want to know everything.”

I waste no time diving into my newest endeavor of watching NHL star Logan Sterns’s daughter. And for the first time, I smile so hard that my cheeks hurt when I listen to Winter squeal in excitement. Her husband is in the NFL, and somehow, I knew she’d eat this up.

“Hey, how’s it been working out with Maci so far?” Walker asks in between reps as he lifts his legs up, pulling the weights on the machine higher before slowly bringing them back down. “Poppy talked to her yesterday and said Mace wouldn’t stop gushing about Amelia. She adores her, man.”

I can’t fight the smile on my face that comes from hearing how much she likes my girl. She’d be crazy not to, but still, it’s nice to know that Amelia is spending time with someone who adores her.

“It’s going good. Real good.” I take a sip from my water bottle. “She’s stepped into Maddie’s shoes effortlessly. And Amy loves her.”

“That’s awesome, man. I’m glad it worked out,” he says, seeming pleased with my answer.

In the back of my head, I keep thinking about how I’ll be back to square one in five more weeks. I know I need to find someone else to take care of Amelia once our six-week agreement ends. And that means I should start looking soon. Really soon.

“How’s Poppy been feeling?” I ask, keeping my voice low.

His entire face lights up, but when he speaks, I can still hear the worry in his tone. “She had an appointment a few days ago. They said everything looks great. Not too much longer, and she’ll be twelve weeks. The doctor said, at that point, the chance of a miscarriage goes down significantly.” He sighs. “I wish I could fast-forward the next week and a half so she’s out of the first trimester. Every day, both of us are so scared something is going to happen.” His expression looks pained. “I can’t watch Poppy go through that again.”

“Hey,” I say, nodding my chin up. “She’s nearly there. And the doctor said everything looked fine, right?”

He nods.

“All right then. Just relax for now, okay? Try to enjoy it all.” I do my best to assure him it’s all going to be okay, even though I can’t guarantee anything.

I imagine how cool it must be to go to baby appointments and see that little being growing throughout the weeks. With Amelia, I missed all of that because I had no idea her mom was even pregnant. If it hadn’t been for her parents knowing I was the baby’s dad, I don’t know if I ever would have gotten the chance to be her father. And the thought of that makes me sick.

“You’re right,” he utters. “Thanks, man.”

From the corner of the room, I hear a phone ring, and right away, I know it’s mine because of the obnoxious ringtone blaring “Who Let the Dogs Out” throughout the weight room.

“Dude, you have cashed in whatever scrap of swagger you had left,” Kolt calls from the treadmill. “‘Who Let the Dogs Out’? Are you serious?”

“I think it’s catchy.” Ryder shrugs. “Sterns is living his best no-longer-cool dad life. Leave him be.”

“I’m still cool,” I say, beelining it for my phone.

“Keep telling yourself that, man!” Kolt calls out, and I give him the finger.

Seeing Link’s name on the screen, I grin and swipe to answer. “Oh, hey, Shithead Number Three. What’s cracking today?”

Out of the four Sterns brothers, Link is third in the lineup. First is my oldest brother, Carter, then me, followed by Link, and then the baby, Travis. Growing up only a year apart, Link and I have always been each other’s biggest competition. And both of us ate, slept, and breathed hockey from a young age.

“Just calling to check on you, dickwad,” he tosses back. “How’s it going? How’s the new nanny doing with Amy?”

“Seems to be doing good so far,” I tell him truthfully. “She’s nice, and I’m convinced she’s fairly normal. Not like the type to go digging through my underwear, smelling them or anything.”

“Dude, isn’t that a guy thing? Like something a creepy bastard would do?” Link sounds less than amused. “But anyway, that’s great, I guess? Wouldn’t want an underwear-sniffer watching my angelic niece.”

I bark out a laugh. “For fucking sure. How’re Tate and Crew?”

“Both doing good,” he answers, and I can hear the pride in his voice. “He’s really been into baseball lately. We got him one of those plastic T-ball sets, and it’s all he wants to do.”

Crew is my nephew, and he and Amelia are very close in age, which makes it fun when we all get together. And now, Tate is pregnant again and due in a few months.

“Might have us a future baseball star. Maybe he’ll play for the Red Sox and be close to his uncle Logan,” I tease Link because he never misses an opportunity to torment me on being a New Englander now.

“No way. Your old ass will be retired, and you’ll probably be a guest star on random podcasts by then,” he says seriously. “Talking about how awesome you once were.”

“You do realize I’m only a year older than you, right, asshole?” I shake my head. “If I’m old, you’re old too, motherfucker.”

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