Page 31 of Sven

She shook her head.

“Why not? It’s the best sport.”

“Roll Tide... and continue.” She gestured for him to keep going.

“I should have known,” he said, shaking his head. “Football? American football at that? Hockey is superior.”

“Well, it’s a good thing we don’t have to agree on everything. Now, tell me what you need to tell me.”

He smirked at her, and she tried to ignore the little flutter in her heart.

“Okay... It probably works out better for you not knowing my past anyway,” he said.

This piqued her interest. While her and Sydney’s google search had shown him to be one stylish playboy, there had to be more to his story. She found herself wanting to know it all.

“I’ve been playing professionally since I was twenty. And—well, I was kind of known as a ladies’ man,” he said, looking at the table.

That wasn’t surprising with how attractive and charming he was.

He blew out another breath and slightly drummed his hands on the table. “Over a month ago now, someone showed up and told me I had a kid... That kid clearly being Winnie.”

What a minute. Natalie’s brain was trying to catch up. He’d only known about Winnie for a little over a month?!

“So, when I found out about them and found out where they were staying, I moved both of them in. I started noticing things with her mother were weird... and she was coming onto me. I just wanted to be there for them and take care of Winnie, yaknow?” He finally looked up at her, his eyes searching his for understanding.

She nodded and had to stop the instinct to reach out and take his hand.

“A couple days before you came, I woke up one morning to find her gone. Not only that, but she had taken lots of really valuable sports memorabilia and some other stuff . . . and stole my other car.”

Natalie’s mouth fell open. “How did you get Winnie back?”

“She left her here.”

“She did what?!”

Sven shrugged and shook his head. “I know. You’ve met that precious angel. How could anyone leave her?”

“Oh my god, Sven. What a mess!”

This time, she couldn’t help it. Her hand gravitated to his on the table. The moment her hand touched his, it was like time stopped. She wanted to pull her hand back. She would do just that any moment now, but she just couldn’t seem to. But then his other hand closed over hers, and her heart was just about to pound straight out of her chest. He took another deep breath, looking at the clasped hands. He squeezed her hand and let it go, putting his hands in his lap.

“Do you know where she is now, Winnie’s mom?”

He shook his head.

“Did you call the police?”

He shook his head again.

“Don’t you think you should?”

“I don’t know... something doesn’t feel right about calling the police... I mean, she is the mother of my child, after all. I did call my lawyer, and we are working on a paternity test just so I’ll be able to get full custody, and I hired a PI to find her, so I can find out things about Winnie...” he said barely above a whisper, his voice cracking.

He cleared his throat and stood from the table.

“I’m thirsty. Are you thirsty? Can I get you anything?”

“No, I’m good. Are you?”

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