Page 29 of Second Chance for the Single Mom

“Oh, he’s a good one,” Jordan nodded. “Do you think Randy could crush dingers when he was your age? Of course not. It tooklotsof practice before he got good. He spent day after day in the batting cage, and on the field, before he got good enough to make the major leagues.”

Bran sniffled. “Really?”

“Of course, kiddo. And if you practice as much as he does? You’ll definitely make the team next month.”

Bran whirled around to face me. “Did you hear that, Mom? Coach Jordy says I might make the team.”

“Ifyou practice a lot,” Jordan reiterated.

“We’ll see,” I said. “That mom over there brought orange sliced. Go get one and I’ll meet you there in a second.”

Bran threw himself at Jordan in a reckless hug. Jordan grunted and patted his back, and then the little boy went sprinting off to where the rest of the team was gathered around the snack table.

“Okay, give me the real scoop,” I said. “How’d he do?”

“He hasgreathand-eye coordination when it comes to throwing the ball,” Jordan explained. “But he’s definitely behind the other kids in batting and fielding.”

I pursed my lips. “That’s what it looked like. He probably shouldn’t jump straight into Coach Pitch, right? I should sign him up for T-ball in the fall?”

Jordan smiled sadly. He was going to say that yes, T-ball was the best course of action for Bran. I could see it in his eyes. And I felt strangely sad that this was going to be the last time I had an excuse to see the blond man who had shared me the other night.

But then he said, “Tell you what. Bran shows a lot of promise, and he’s big for his age. How about I mentor him one-on-one for a few weeks? If I can get him caught up on the basics, he can stay on the team. And if not, then he can start at T-ball.”

The offer felt like I had been tossed a life-preserver. “Really? You would do that?”

“I’ve done that for other kids,” he quickly said. “It’s not special treatment. Can you meet here at the same time, on Tuesdays and Thursdays?”

I glanced over at Bran, who was laughing and joking with the other kids. I could already tell this was good for him. That was reason enough to say yes.

“That would be amazing,” I replied. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

As I drove home, I told myself that this was the best thing for my son. That itdefinitelyhad nothing to do with the fact that I wanted an excuse to see Jordan again.

That was just a pleasant side-benefit.

16

Lucas

I sat at my desk at work, ignoring the growing pile of unanswered emails, and stared at my cell phone.

My goddamn cell phone.

Why hadn’t Haley texted me?

I had done everything right since our night of naughty fun. I’d played it cool, giving Haley her space. I’d avoided seeming too needy. She should have reached out by now.

Yet she hadn’t.

I compulsively tapped on my phone just to make sure I hadn’t missed a text or phone call, which was ridiculous since I’d been watching it every day and night since we slept together.

Nothing.

The worst part about getting older was that you saw the past with perfect clarity. And when I thought back on my high school self, Ihatedwhat I saw. I was such a fuck-up back then, smoking weed all day and skipping class. I was happy to skip college and work part-time as a mechanic for the rest of my life. I had no ambition.

So much had changed since then, and I wanted Haley to see that. I wanted to prove to her that I was a new man, a fuckingadultversion of the boy she knew back then. Inviting her to get drinks two weeks ago was supposed to be a way to do that, but with the inclusion of Shay—and then Jordan—we never had a chance to talk, just the two of us.

Not that I regretted our foursome. That was one of the hottest nights of my life.

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