Page 46 of Forever Player

“Okay, you got yourself a deal.” I extend my hand to shake his.

He shakes my hand and the second our hands connect I feel the attraction. That zap of chemistry I’ve never felt before. I pull my hand back because I need to keep my wits about me.

“I’ll just stand back here for safety reasons.” I swallow.

Holding Maylee in front of me I mutter, “I am in big trouble with that daddy of yours.”

She replies with a goo goo gaga sound and I feel like she gets me because she is clearly starry-eyed for him too.

Brett swings once and a crowd forms around him. The axe lands only a couple of inches from the bull’s-eye. Everyone around makes ooh and ah sounds. Bonnie walks up to Brett and rubs his arm, and he pulls his arm back.

I watch her smiling and trying to chat him up and his response to her is, “You’re going to want to move out of the way when I’m swinging.” He also says it with a harsh voice that makes Bonnie recoil. She is a beautiful woman. She was always beautiful with the perfect blond hair and body. Watching him brush her off gives me satisfaction after she stole my boyfriends in high school. It also makes me realize I’ve never been in a relationship I trust. A relationship I knew I could depend on. Even with my parents, things were very flighty. When we were young Dad worked a lot, Mom went into town to see friends. Even when I was sick, I’d sometimes find myself alone. My brothers were younger, so they weren’t much help. If anything, I had to step up and take care of them most of the time and as they got older, they had my back too.

I snap out of my daze as Brett swings for the second time. He nails the axe right in the bull’s-eye and the first thing he does is turn around, his eyes roam over the crowd until he lands on me with a flashing smile and glistening eyes. He waggles his eyebrows up and down and his excitement is contagious. I find myself laughing at his adorable response. The man passes him the teddy bear and the crowd around him cheers.

He walks over to Maylee and me, leaving Bonnie behind without a second glance.

“Look what Daddy won you,” he says, holding the teddy bear up to Maylee.

“You’re cocky,” I say to him.

“I’m confident,” he corrects. “I need to be and when I land my eyes on something I want, I do not get deterred.”

It feels like there is an underlying meaning to his words. My stomach flutters at the thought that he wants me and it scares me, because when did I turn into a schoolgirl with a crush?

“Looks like I’ll be having a good night’s sleep tonight,” he says.

“Oh dear.” If my hands were free, I’d be fanning myself. He takes Maylee from my arms and holds her above his head. He brings her down and pecks her cheek. “You proud of your Daddy?”

She obviously doesn’t answer but my baby looks happy.

“I was going to let you sleep in my bed anyway. I felt bad about you sleeping on that hard floor,” I confess.

“And you’d like my big strong body to keep you warm at night,” he adds, placing his arm over my shoulders while he holds Maylee on his side.

I’m smiling again because I like the way his arm rests across my shoulders in a claiming way.

“How about we get us some hot cocoa?” he asks.

“I could definitely use something warm to drink,” I confirm.

We head over to the cocoa stand and get some hot cocoa with marshmallows.

It hits the spot.

“I never saw myself living in a small town, but this is nice,” he says, looking around and nodding.

“It has it’s perks sometimes, I miss New York though.”

I don’t know why I confess that to him at this moment. Maybe it’s because I miss the city, my friends, and my life there.

“I wasn’t going to bring this up just yet, but I would love for you and Maylee to come live with me in New York. Once these two weeks are up, it’ll be hard for me to get back here often with New York being the team’s base. I’ve thought of retiring…” He pauses and I think it’s because I have a deer in the headlights look on my face.

“You want to retire because of Maylee?” I almost choke on my own saliva.

“You and Maylee come first. If I can’t be with you two, then I don’t want to play anymore. Besides, I only have a few years… tops, left in me.”

“Brett, you can’t retire because of us. That would be crazy,” I say, feeling like the axis of my world is tilting and I can’t find my bearings.

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