Page 35 of Rookie Move

“To stay married?” she asked.

“Definitely not. But to see you. To be a part of your life. It’s my biggest regret,” he said.

She walked around the kitchen island and hugged him. “We’re making up for that. Only forward matters. I’ll call her back. Eventually.”

“Good. Now, how about some French toast?”

“Why do you think I came over here so early on a Sunday?”

Her father grinned.

“Tell me what other amazing ideas you’ve pitched to Brenda.”

She laughed. “Nothing new yet. Just trying to do my part to help the team. I’m honestly having a lot of fun. It’s always different, so I’m not getting bored.”

“I’m glad you found a spot on the team. It’s a great organization, and I know you’re an asset to that department.”

“You’re just saying that because you got me the job.”

“And you earn that job every day. Over the last four years, I’ve gotten to know your determination, and if it wasn’t the right fit, you wouldn’t stay. You get that grit from me.”

“I’m glad I got something from you,” she said.

“Rylie. You are not your mother. You know that, right?” he asked.

He wouldn’t feel that way if he knew about Desmond. In that respect, she was her mother.

But was she, really? With Desmond, it had quickly become so much more than a fling.

Ugh, she was so damn frustrated about everything. She wanted to tell her dad about Desmond. To be open and honest with everyone. But was it naïve to think they could do that without it backfiring in some way?

“You really are the best, you know that?” she said, pushing aside thoughts of Desmond and the mess she’d managed to get herself in.

“I haven’t been, but I’m working on it. You know you can talk to me about anything,” he said.

“I know. Thanks, Dad.” She squeezed his hand when he put a plate of perfectly golden French toast in front of her. “You know, I might need you to teach me how to cook. I’m pretty terrible.”

He laughed. “I’m only great with breakfast.”

She grinned and dug in to her meal. She relished the time she got to spend with him when it was just them.

***

The following afternoon,she worked through her list of tasks. She had to follow up with a few radio stations and podcasts where a handful of the players were dropping in to do media appearances. It was one of the new tasks Brenda had asked her to manage. She had another expense report to finish too, but first she had to tackle the latest game night giveaway.

They were handing out wireless chargers with the team logo on it to the first ten thousand fans that showed up at the game tomorrow night. The boxes had arrived late Friday afternoon, but she hadn’t had a chance to look at them yet.

“Hey, Rylie.”

Rylie looked up to see Edwin and Biscuit in front of her desk. The puppy was getting better, but he still tugged on his leash.

“Hey. What’s up?”

“Biscuit is supposed to go down to practice soon, but I just got emailed about an emergency with payroll. Can you take him down?” Edwin asked.

“Of course. That’s way more fun than expense reports.”

“I’m going to have to agree to disagree with you on that,” Edwin said with a chuckle.

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