Page 46 of The Problem with Sports
I rushed up on her and put my hands on her shoulders, not caring if she was going to deck me for touching her. It’d be worth it, anyway. “I know I fucked up, Andie,” I rushed out. “I know I overstepped and acted like a complete dick during our fight, but…fuck, baby, Iswearto you, I never meant to undermine you or…confuse Grant. I would never do anything to hurt that kid.” And that was the God’s honest truth. “Grant thinks Steven and I are friends, for fuck’s sake.” She huffed out a small chuckle. “And I would never do anything to hurt you, Andie.Never.”
She grimaced. “Steven pointed out that I may have let my uh, old ghosts get out of hand yesterday.” I pulled her to me, and she let me.
She fucking let me.
I was probably crushing her, but I couldn’t think about that right now. “I’m sorry, baby,” I whispered against the top of her head. “I’m so fucking sorry, and…I’ll do better.”
Andrea pulled back, and I let her. Looking up at me, she asked, “Do better?”
I winced. “Gideon may or may not have pointed out to me that I’ve been a spoiled brat all my life and I could probably benefit from other point of views on life.”
“He called you a spoiled brat?”
“He also called me a dumb ass,” I admitted. “And said something to the effect of how being the baby of the family and America’s darling might have contributed to my head being stuck up my ass.”
She grinned. “I think I like Gideon.”
I smiled back until I realized she hasn’t said anything about forgiving me or taking me back. “What to sit down?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I would.”
I led her through the living room and got her settled on the couch. “Would you like anything to drink?”
Andie shook her head. “No, thank you. I just…I just really would like to get this conversation over with.”
That did not sound good.
“Uh, okay,” I agreed, worried, as I took a seat next to her. But then I remembered she had let me hug her. But was that a friend hug? She also hadn’t corrected me when I had called her baby, so that was a good thing, right?
I looked into her perfect brown eyes. “So, tell me what I have to do, Andrea,” I said. “Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”
“What if you’re not up to the task?” she asked.
That got me curious. “What if I am?” Did she forget that I was a retired professional athlete? Competition and excelling were in my blood.
“Okay,” she said, regarding me with doubt all over her pretty face. Or maybe that was just my insecurities creeping through.
“What’s the task?”
She took a deep breath. “I need you to love Grant like he’s your own, but I need you to alsounderstandthat he’s not yours.” She suddenly looked tired, and I didn’t like that. “I know it’s an unfair condition,” she went on. “I know it sucks to invest yourself in someone but have no say in the important things. I know that’s unfair and…kind of shitty, actually. But…” Andie shrugged her shoulder as if to say, oh well. And she wasn’t wrong.
Thatwasa shitty situation. But then I thought of Sayer and wondered how he dealt with it. But then again, Leta was a teenager with no health issues. It wasn’t quite apples and apples. However, I was sure this was something Sayer could help me with if I ever found myself fumbling with it.
“I can do my best,” I told her. And for a little more reassurance, I added, “With Sayer having a stepdaughter he absolutely adores, I can always talk to him for advice if I’m struggling.”
She didn’t comment at first, but then she muttered, “I think you really are going to be more trouble than you’re worth, Nathan.”
Aregoing to be?
“Meaning?” I needed it in words. I’d already fucked up epically, I needed the words.
“Meaning, while you’re working on knowing your place, I’ll be working on keeping Steven in his, Grant in his, and me in mine,” she replied.
Wait?“What does that mean, Andie?” I asked because I was confused as fuck.
“It means that…if we’re going to do this, then we all have a lot to learn,” she grumbled, and I wasn’t sure if her words were a positive or a negative because the woman did not look happy.
“So…am I forgiven?”Fuck it.I might as well ask straight-out because I was still confused.
