Chapter 18
Chloe
We had spentthe last fifteen minutes standing in line at one of the souvenir tents at Yankees stadium. By the time we finally made it up to the counter, Tanner still hadn’t figured out what he wanted. The poor lady kept pointing to the different T-shirts and sweatshirts, but Tanner was too overwhelmed to decide. Seeing that the line behind us was growing by the second, and the grumbling fans were getting impatient and just wanted to return to their seats before the game started, it was time to make a move. Jack jumped in and took charge.
Tanner’s head looked like it might spin off his shoulders when she handed him his bag of swag, which included one of everything.
After Jack paid for the souvenirs, we moved over to the food stand, and Tanner was no better at making a decision. Everything in New York just moved at a much quicker pace, and people were less patient than what he was used to.
Jack took charge again and ordered our hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, cotton candy, and sodas. He pulled out his wallet to pay, but I beat him to it. This caused him to sulk in his seat and continually try to stuff rolled-up dollar bills in the pockets of my jean shorts. By the third inning, he finally gave up. I refused to let him pay for everything.
My son was all smiles, chirping about the last hit from his favorite player, while I sat back as they both continued to talk about the stats for the game.
Tanner was enjoying the booing of the crowd, cursing at the umps, and he got really excited when it was time to root for the Yankees. There was no doubt he would remember this day for a long time.
Jack reached over and tugged on my hair. “Are you having fun?”
“Are you kidding me?” I yelled in his ear over the noisy crowd as one of our players passed home plate. “This is awesome. I’m having a great time.”
“I like having you both here,” he said, causing my heart to flutter. “Thank you for this.”
I tipped my head to his shoulder and looked up into his eyes that matched the crystal blue sky. “I should be thanking you.”
“Mom, look!” Tanner shouted, pointing at the Jumbotron, panning the crowd with the Kiss Cam. Square in the middle of the lens were the three of us.
Slowly, the chants and whistles started to build, calling for a kiss in front of 52,000 screaming fans.
“Well, what do you know? The old Kiss Cam.” Jack grinned as he reached over my seat and pulled me up, completing a dramatic, crowd-pleasing kiss.
Tanner went nuts as the camera stayed focused on us the whole time. Jack decided to give the crowd a show and leaned me back for an old-time movie dip. He laughed against my mouth when the stadium announcer suggested we might want to get a room. This was a kiss and a day that I would never forget.
The guy behind us clapped Jack on the shoulder and asked if we wanted him to take our picture. Jack stood up and surprised me when he pulled Tanner up from his seat and pulled us each against his side for a group pose with the infield diamond as our background.
“All right folks, on the count of three say, ‘Boston Sucks. One…Two…Three…’” His comment made us laugh as he snapped a few photos.
Once he was finished, he handed Jack back his phone, and they shook hands. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”
“You’ve got a beautiful family. I would totally be showing off those pictures if I were you.”
The guy sat back down in his seat, and for a brief moment, I wished that we were an actual family. I took a sip of my soda and tried not to think too much about his comment.
Jack smiled and thanked the man again. He handed Tanner the phone, so he could look at the pictures and take a few of his own as the players ran back out to the field. He must have noticed my blush because he poked me in the nose with his finger. “You’re cute when you get embarrassed, you know that?”
“If you say so.” I laughed through my shaky voice. All the attention and the excitement of this weekend was finally catching up to me. Jack deserved a family of his own and a woman who didn’t lie to him.
He finally opened up to me last night about his mom. We talked about her drinking and the infidelity. He confessed that living in the shadows of his parents’ relationship did more damage than he realized. He was convinced that I was nothing like her and that’s what attracted him to me in the beginning. He put me up on this pedestal and believed that I was this strong, amazing warrior of a woman. He was wrong because I was selfish and he deserved better.
He wasn’t just falling for me, but he was falling for my son too. A little boy who would never be his, no matter how much he wanted him to be. I knew that I had to tell him the truth about Tanner’s father. It was stupid of me to think that I could just forget my past and start over. As much as I wanted this life with him, I wasn’t sure I would ever have it.
* * *
“Are you going to be okay?”Jack asked, resting his hand on my knee from under the table. We were seated at a rooftop terrace restaurant overlooking the Empire State Building. It was warm and clear, the perfect summer night.
Despite the great view and perfect weather, I was a bit anxious about leaving Tanner behind with Jack’s assistant. He assured me that Jonathan was also a close friend and great with kids and that Tanner was in good hands.
“I’ll survive,” I told him and reminded myself that it was only going to be a couple of hours. I looked down at my dark green dress and tried to calm my nerves.
“So, Chloe. How did the sightseeing go today?” his friend Nick asked from across the table as the waiter poured water into our glasses.