Page 40 of Man Advantage

I mean, weren’t people supposed to wear like jerseys and team hoodies and stuff? It was a sporting event, not a business meeting.

But since I was here as a family member of a player—or, well, an employeesupervisingthe family members of a player—I was asked to adhere to the League dress code. Which was fine. I liked wearing suits and I thought I looked damn good in them. Plus, was I really going to argue with a dress code that required Trev to wear suits? Because that tailored medium-gray three-piece he’d worn out the door this afternoon was just… oh my God. I envied the fabric on his body as much as I envied the person who’d been tasked with measuring and fitting him. Goddamn.

So yeah, the League’s dress code was athousandpercent fine by me.

It was just kind of surreal to be walking into a stadium dressed like this. Then again, it was also surreal to be going in through one of the Authorized Personnel entrances. Everything about this was definitely a new experience.

The boys didn’t have to wear anything specific, and they both wore custom jerseys with their jeans. It had their dad’s number, forty-seven, and instead ofAllenacross the shoulders, it readDaddy. Several of the other players’ kids were wearing similar jerseys, including two infants who couldn’t be more than four or five months old. They were all seriously adorable, especially Trev’s boys, though I may have beenslightlybiased.

A woman in a maroon pantsuit came up to me. “Hi, you must be Trev’s new nanny.” She held out her hand. “Err, um, is that what you like to be called?”

I laughed as I accepted the handshake. “It’s accurate, so… meh. My name is Cam, though.”

“Cam. I’ll remember that. I’m Kristina. My husband is Trev’s linemate, Jackson.” She paused. “Well, the guys all call him Hoes.”

I blinked. “Hoes? Really?”

She rolled her eyes. “Our last name is Houghtaling.”

“Ah, got it.”

“Anyway, I just wanted to say hi.” Kristina smiled at Zach and Zane. “He has the sweetest boys, doesn’t he?”

“He really does. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, you know?”

“You’re not kidding. Trev is amazing. You know he even let us stay in his house for a little while when we first came to Pittsburgh?”

“Really? I mean, that does sound like him.”

“It does, doesn’t it? The team was happy to put us up in a hotel, but Trev and Bryan insisted on having us at their place until we moved into our apartment. It was only like two weeks, but it was so nice during that transition.”

“I bet. I don’t know how you all deal with uprooting every time a team makes a trade.”

She quirked her lips. “Well, the paycheck helps.”

“Okay, yeah, good point.”

She chuckled. “Anyway. I just wanted to introduce myself. Are you sitting up in the partners’ box?”

“Oh. Uh.” I fought the urge to glance at Bryan, who’d walked in a few minutes ago. “I… Trev got us seats in the owners’ box, so I think that’s where we’re sitting.”

“Okay, no problem. But if you want to join us, consider yourself invited.” She lowered her voice. “You’re not a spouse or partner, but you’re in charge of a player’s kids. As far as we’re all concerned”—she gestured at the others in the room—“you count.”

I smiled. “Good to know. Thanks! Maybe at the next game?”

“Sounds good. Enjoy the game!”

She went to chat with some of the ladies she knew, and I subtly released a breath. I appreciated the invite, but I still wasn’t sure if I should accept it. At this game, I had the excuse that Trev had already bought tickets in the other box. At future games… well, I wasn’t sure.

Mostly because of whoelsewould be there.

And it wasn’t all in my head, either.

“If one of the spouses invites you up to the partners’ box,”Trev had told me this morning,“you’re more than welcome to go. But I’m about ninety-nine percent sure Bryan will be there, too. It’s your call.”

The fact that he didn’t say“Fuck him—go sit wherever you want”told me that maybe I wasn’t imagining the potential for discomfort.

And more than anything, I didn’t want to cause problems for Trev. Things were already messy and complicated with his co-parent dating his teammate. Since neither Bryan nor Chats seemed to be in any hurry to be adults and coexist with Trev, I didn’t want to push my luck.

---