Page 90 of Intercept My Heart

“Our children. I love the sound of that.” He grinned while I rolled my eyes. This wasn’t the way I imagined it in my head, but I was happy all my children were by him. If nothing else, he was an excellent father.

“Mmmm, this food is so good it doesn’t make any sense. Usually, new restaurants are always good in the beginning, and then they fall off after a couple of months, but not this one. They are really doing the damn thing.” I moaned, scooping another spoon ofcreamy grits into my mouth. Dinero chuckled, so I glanced up from my bowl.

“What’s so funny, baby daddy?”

“I think it’s funny that you never used to like grits, but now it’s all you like to eat.”

“You’re not wrong. I’ve always hated the texture; now I can’t seem to get enough.”

“What else can’t you get enough of?” he probed with humor laced in his tone.

“Check, please,” I joked.

“I’m just messing with you. Anyways, how have you been? I know I check on the baby a lot, but are you straight?”

“I guess you could say that. Work is going well, and the boys are happy, so I have no complaints. The only thing I’m focused on right now is delivering a healthy baby and being the best mama I can be.”

“Well, from what I can see, you’re already doing a great job. Anytime I take Cash and Moolah anywhere, people always compliment them for their manners. Although Moolah has me on edge every time, I’m realizing that he only tries that shit with us.” We both laughed and shook our heads.

“I try my best. I’ve accepted the fact that I’m raising Money Jr. He acts like you in so many ways, it’s crazy.”

“Yeah, it’s wild to see yourself in your children. I never thought I would get to experience it, and it blows my mind every time. They both have different traits of mine, which makes me feel like I’m bipolar. Cash is so calm; meanwhile, Moolah stays trained to go. I almost had to stop him from knocking out one of the players on my team a while back.”

“Yeah, you were a little thrown off back in the day. I used to think you were so quiet and sweet until I witnessed you beat several people’s asses.”

“You know what’s so crazy? I swore up and down I would never get into a fight over a girl, but you came and changed all of that. I had hands for whoever tried to fuck with you. I didn’t give a damn who it was either.” My breathing hitched, remembering all the times he came to my rescue.

“Do the boys know you’re leaving this weekend? It is your weekend with them, after all.” I gave him the side-eye because since he had been in their lives, he hadn’t missed a weekend with them.

“Actually, I planned to bring them with me, if that is okay with you. One of my former teammates and a few other well-known players are hosting this event for young and up-and-coming players. They don’t know it yet, but they’ve been nominated for an award.”

“What kind of award?”

“It’s basically a recognition of young players around the country who are projected to be the next big thing. It’s one of the reasons scouts came to their games. They have started observing players younger than they did when I was playing. I think this would be a really great opportunity for them to see people on the high school, collegiate, and professional level since they are on track to be on the same path.” The passion behind his words warmed my heart.

Dinero’s chest always swelled with pride at the mention of our children, and I loved to see it. While we may have had a rough start in the beginning, I could see how much happiness having a father brought them. They talked about him constantly, and at night, I would see them watching old clips of his college and high school highlights. They idolized him not only as a player but also as a parent, something I wanted them to have more than anything.

“It sounds incredible. I’m sure they are going to be geeked about it. I’m kind of sad, because the boys and I have never traveled without each other. Are you driving or flying?”

“I’m driving. It’s only five hours away, so I figured it would give us a chance to hang out and stuff.”

“Oh.” I probably sounded like the biggest hater right now, but all of this was so new to me. It’d always been us, and now I had to adjust to it being them and him.

“Why are you looking like someone stole your best friend?”

“I don’t know.” Here came the waterworks. I swore being pregnant made me even more of a crybaby than I normally was.

“What are you crying for?” Nero shook his head before reaching over to wipe my face with the napkins on the table. I turned my head so I wouldn’t draw any attention from the other patrons. “Talk to me, with your crybaby ass.”

“You guys are a family, and I’m by myself.” I shrugged, and more tears fell. I had been thinking about this for a while as I became further along in my pregnancy. In my head, I pictured Dinero and our three children having dinner together as a family while I stood on the outside. Dinero got up from his side of the booth, making me scoot over so he could sit next to me.

“Do you really feel like this, or are these pregnancy hormones? ’Cause either way, you’re tripping. We’re all a family, even if it may not be in the traditional sense. I’m not taking them away from you. We’re sharing them and raising them together.”

“I understand, but it still feels like I’m an outsider. Pretty soon, you’ll be coming to take all three of them for the weekends to spend family time together, and I’ll be alone.” I hadn’t planned to tell him about my feelings because, deep down, I knew this was all on me. Still, it hurt to think about how different our lives had become since high school. We made all these plans for the future, and it saddened me to think none of them would come true.

Dinero wrapped his arm around me and allowed me a moment to be in my feelings. I appreciated him being here, even if he felt I was being emotional.

“How is the food tasting? Is there anything else I can get for you two?”

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