Page 50 of The Secret Play

But before I could get the words out, she nodded. “Yes.”

The single word hit me like a sledgehammer, shattering my world apart.

I leaned back in my chair, the air rushing out of my lungs as I tried to process what she’d just said. She wasn’t looking at me anymore, her eyes fixed on the table as if the weight of my gaze was too much to bear.

I should’ve expected it. Some part of me had, or I never would have asked. Somewhere deep down, I think I already knew. But hearing it confirmed was something else entirely.

Winnie was mine. I had a daughter. With a woman who had lied about her and kept her from me.

A thousand emotions surged through me at once—shock, anger, confusion, more, so much more—but cutting through all of it was a strange, unexpected sense of joy. Winnie. She wasn’t just Gemma’s little girl anymore. She was mine, too.

And she was amazing.

I thought back to the day at the park, the way she’d giggled when I pushed her on the swings, the way she’d run circles around Gemma with boundless energy. She was sharp and sweet and so full of life, and now I knew why I’d felt that strange connection to her.

But as quickly as the joy came, it was swallowed by the enormity of the situation.

Gemma hadn’t told me.

For almost five years. That was how long she’d kept this secret. How long I’d missed out on being a father to my daughter. How long she’d chosen to handle this on her own, without giving me a choice.

Five years with my daughter, gone. The words rasped out of me, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Her head snapped up, her brown eyes wide with guilt. “Casey, I?—”

“Five years,” I said, cutting her off. “Five years, and you didn’t say a word. Why?”

Her shoulders sagged, and she looked away again, her voice barely above a whisper. “Because I didn’t know how. I didn’t even know your name. And by the time I figured out I was pregnant, I’d already moved across the country. I’d started a life in California, and I wasn’t ready to give that up. I needed that fresh start, Casey. After Dad…I didn’t think…” She trailed off, shaking her head.

“You didn’t think I deserved to know?” I asked, the anger simmering beneath my words.

“No, that’s not it,” she said quickly, her voice trembling. “I didn’t think you’d want to know. Most guys, a hookup calls and says she’s pregnant, he’s ready to drive very fast into a brick wall, you know? Think about any guy you’ve ever known in that situation.”

The truth was, there had been some surprise babies for my players, and each one handled it differently. Some were inclined the way she said it, others were overjoyed. “Men are not a monolith, Gem. You know me now. Do you think I would have been like that?”

She slowly shook her head. “No. But I didn’t know you then, and I didn’t want to burden you with a choice I’d already made. It wasn’t your fault that I decided to keep her. That was my choice. Not yours. You shouldn’t have to be saddled with a child and a stranger as your child’s mother.”

The words stung, even though I could hear the sincerity in her voice. She hadn’t done it out of malice, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.

“Do you know how much I’ve thought about that night?” I asked, my chest tightening. “How many times I wondered who you were if I’d ever see you again? And now, to find out like this?—”

“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice breaking. “I know I should’ve told you the minute I figured it out. I know I should’ve found a way. But I didn’t, and now…”

She looked at me, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

“Now what?” I asked, my voice softening despite myself.

“Now I don’t know what to do,” she admitted.

Neither did I. So, I stood, pacing through her house as I tried to process everything. Pacing helped me think. The playoffs were right around the corner, the team was under immense pressure, and now this—this massive, life-changing revelation—was crashing down on me.

And then there was the other problem.

“Do you know what this means for us?” I asked, stopping to look at her.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s against company policy for me to fraternize with a player’s family,” I said. “If anyone finds out?—”

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