Page 14 of Sweet Thing

“She’s fine. You can make some calls tomorrow and we can figure out a plan. It’s wild but hey, wild is our brand!”

Hisbrand, maybe, with his boisterous brood around the table. Right now, I didn’t need wild. I needed assurance.

Out in the corridor, Adeline had turned left toward the back exit, so we let her lead the way. We arrived at Theo’s car first because his seniority meant he got dibs on one of the two precious parking spots behind the bar.

“We don’t have a car seat, so I’ll drive slowly while Addy holds her,” Theo said. “I’ll strap you in, Twinkle. Lars, you can follow us.”

“Sure.”

Ten minutes later, I parked outside the Kershaws’ house in Winnetka, one suburb over from Riverbrook, home of the Rebels and about twenty miles north of downtown Chicago. Most of the older players lived on Chicago’s North Shore, prioritizing closeness to work over the need to be within walking distance of the hottest clubs and Michelin-starred restaurants. Elle was already out the door, moving toward her husband and daughter and … my child.

I have a child.

If this was real, I needed it to make sense. That meant not issuing knee-jerk statements about this little girl’s future without sorting through the facts. The panic was still there, a low-level hum through my body, but the shrieking of my heart had subsided.

Elle took the baby from Adeline just as I met her at the door.

“Oh, she is gorgeous! And those eyes? Lars, she looks just like you.”

“Don’t say that, Mom.” Adeline avoided looking at me. “He’s hoping the exact opposite.”

“No, I’m not.”Yes, I was.

Adeline snorted. “Whatever, Nyquist.”

Whatever, Nyquist?Before I had a chance to respond, she was inside the house.

Elle’s eyes went wide. “What’s going on there?”

“Apparently, I’m not living up to her lofty expectations for surprise fatherhood.”

“Well, this is a shock, and everyone should be giving you grace while you adjust. Let’s get her fed and settled.” She smiled, all sympathy. “You’re not alone, Lars.”

Elle had workedmiracles in the ten minutes it took us to drive from the Empty Net to the Kershaws’ house. In the warm and homey kitchen, where I’d attended once-weekly meals for the last year, she had laid out a shit-ton of baby supplies from bottles to clothes to one of those baby beds that probably had a fancy name I’d be forced to learn.

I was in for a real education, no doubt.

“You had all this stuff close to hand?”

“Just a few things. And we have plenty more in the basement to get you started.”

Someone came in behind me. I turned hoping for Adeline—I needed to apologize—but it was Theo. Eggsbee followed and settled into the dog bed in the corner.Someone give that pup a bucket of popcorn.

“Sit down, NyQuil. Looks like you need off your feet.”

Suddenly tired as hell, I sank into a seat at the kitchen table. All I could see was baby detritus and long years of never getting laid again.

Elle cocked her head, a hopefulness in her expression that made me itchy. “I need to get her something to eat. Would you like to hold her?”

No, but I needed to be a team player.

“Sure, hand her over.” Did I sound terrified? A grown-ass man worried about a tiny little doll that supposedly had his eyes?

“Here you go. Just like that, support her head … perfect!” Quick glance of—was that amusement?—at her husband.

“I suppose you think this is hilarious.”

“Abso-fucking-lutely,” Theo chirped. “I mean, that chick sure showed you in the middle of the Empty Net.”