Page 50 of Ice Daddy
Lance spoke honestly about his career. First and foremost, it was his childhood dream come true. That alone made every single day a blessing. But, he admitted, some of the 'romance' of playing the game for a living had fled.
“That's just the business aspect of the game though, you know? There's all sorts of things behind the scenes that you don't really know about when you're a kid. Practices, curfews, contract negotiations, labor agreements. The fact that your agent takes a ten percent cut of your paycheck. Or the fact that we have very little free time at all. The list could go on and on.”
While throwing Irie up and down in the air, Lance explained that he was currently being considered to be the team's next captain—a huge honor, and another one of his childhood dreams.
“… and all I have to do to make that happen is, well, stay out of trouble,” he said, somewhat shakily.
“Lance, are you in trouble a lot?”
“I guess I've done some dumb things. Punching that guy out last night sure didn't do me any favors.” He gave a shrug. “The team told me I have to stop posting on social media. Apparently, they think I'mboastingabout thefruits of my celebrityor whatever.”
“How? I've looked at your social media and it's allcats,Lance.”
He rolled his eyes. “I didn't post those. The team did. They deleted all my stuff.”
“Which was what?”
“You know. The things from my life. Beach pics. Sweet cars. Party pics at the club, you know, whatever else.” He lowered his voice. “Girls.”
“I'm probably not the first girl you've slept with on the road,” Paige said, hiding behind a smile. “You're not seeing anyone else right now, are you?”
“No.” He paused. “Wait, are you?”
“God, no. I did have a date with a guy from Tinder the other day, but he pulled a no-call-no-show. I wasn't surprised. Guys on Tinder usually say my daughter is a deal breaker.”
“Adeal breaker?” Lance repeated in an angry growl. Jealously, he held Irie close against his body.
“Yeah. Nothing new, really. Dating is really tough for a single mom.”
“Good thing you won't be using Tinder anymore,” Lance growled. “You know that Tinder's full of horny dudes who only want to hook up, right?”
“I'm well aware, but wow, you sound jealous,” Paige laughed. “Hey, before I move halfway across the country to live with you, I should probably ask: you're not a controlling psycho, are you?”
Lance huffed. “Forget it. I got mad. The deal breaker comment pissed me off. She's not a deal breaker. She's my daughter.”
Paige threw her arms around Lance and squeezed him. “Aww. You're so cute when your feathers get ruffled and you get all overprotective.”
Lance's phone began to buzz and screech in his pocket again.
“Someone's calling you. Aren't you going to take that?”
Lance sighed. “I'll call him later.”
“After the trouble you got in last night for avoiding phone calls? I thought you were supposed to stayoutof trouble,”—she wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed him tight—“Captain.”
That word never sounded so good to Lance's ears as it did when spoken in Paige's butter-smooth southern twang. He wanted to hear it for years to come.
“Yeah. You're right.”
“Anyway, my bags are packed! I'll stay with Irie until she falls asleep, and then it's my turn to clean up.” Paige scooped Irie up. “So if you want to call that guy back, now's your chance.”
Lance nodded hesitantly. “Yeah, I guess I should.”
She gave him a long, deep kiss. “I'll see you soon … Captain.”
He smiled. “Can't wait.”
Chapter 21
