Page 101 of Already At Risk
Of course, I didn’t bringthattopic up on the phone just before this, or the baseball game, not wanting to get ahead of myself. But I had asked if Chloe was continuing to feel better, and Natalie said she was doing good, only bummed that she’d had to miss out on field day at school.
In my mind, it was just another reason to take her to a baseball game. Something to make up for it, right? From what I’d noticed, Chloe seemed to love sports of all kinds.
“I think that’s a great idea,” Daphne said, brightening at my suggestion.
Thank God.
I probably didn’t need to be asking Daphne about this, but I wanted to besoaboveboard that no one would think twice. I clearly wasn’t afraid of sneaking around with Natalie London, despite what it could mean for my career, but if there was any situation where I didn’t have to, I didn’t want to.
“I hope you’re going to that engagement party this weekend, too,” Daphne added, surprising me. “The one Julian and Juniper were talking about.” She waved her hand dismissively, like the exact details were lost on her. Or maybe she just didn’t want to admit aloud that Noah London was getting engaged. “Continue to foster those client relationships, Bryant.”
Well, it was good to know that Daphne supported my integration into the London family dynamics. But honestly, I’d been debating whether I should skip out on the festivities this weekend. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to celebrate Noah’s engagement; I couldn’t be happier for him. But spending time with Natalie’s entire family while we were both trying to keep each other at arm’s length (her more than me)…I wasn’t so sure that was a good idea.
But at the same time, I didn’t know when else I’d see Natalienext. We didn’t have a date for the trial, something I was still waiting on, and while we’d have some work to do ahead of it, everything was still up in the air.
“I’ll try to make it,” I said, fully knowing that with Daphne’s nudging and my desperation to see my favorite single mom again, there wasn’t a chance I’d miss it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
cameron
ICOULD TELL THE party was already in full swing by the time I pulled up to Noah’s new multimillion-dollar home in the Boston suburbs. The sounds of happy chattering, an unrecognizable music genre that I knew was Beau’s doing, and joyous laughter swirled in the air, coming from the back of the house.
Wandering through the yard, I spotted Noah first, over by the patio table, wearing an enormous smile, his arm slung around Gemma’s shoulders and Delilah strapped to his chest. I didn’t miss the sparkle of a new engagement ring on Gemma’s finger when she lifted her hand to adjust the little sun hat on Delilah’s head. She laughed at something Noah said, pure happiness in the sound, and they both appeared a bit misty-eyed as they stood there together, taking in their surroundings. They had this look like the entire scene before them was too good to be true, and something about it was sopurethat my heart lurched unexpectedly.
I’d never thought much about marriage before, not in real, concrete terms. I didn’t have anaversionto the idea, but I’d also never made choices that would lead in that direction. I’d dated casually throughout college, always open with partners aboutwhere I stood, that my career path was my priority. I made sure we were compatible in that way, and for the most part, things always worked out.
I figured that one day, once my career was established or maybe once I found the right person, I’d think about relationships differently. That I’d think about marriage…more.
Suffice it to say, I’d thought about marriage more than a few times in the last month.
In general terms, of course.
Two tall men, one much larger than the other, walked up to Noah and Gemma, and based on their size alone, I assumed they were Noah’s teammates. Looking closer, I recognized one of them as the Knights’ kicker, Phoenix Jones. Not wanting to interrupt their conversation, I scanned the rest of the crowd in the backyard instead, trying to pretend I wasn’t looking for one person in particular. A flash of brown hair against the landscape, the exact shade of Natalie’s, made my pulse tick faster. But it was Chloe, running across the yard after a golden retriever. Now, I just needed to find her mom.
But after another full sweep of the backyard, I came up empty. Natalie-less.
“She’s not here yet.”
Fuck me.
Glancing at Julian, who’d made a sudden appearance beside me, I decided not to bother lying.
“Who brought Chloe, then?”
“Her dad did,” he answered, and I stiffened at the thought of Korey being here. Luckily, Julian eased my worries a second later. “He dropped her off and left. I guess it’s one of his weekends with her, but she begged to come. That’s what Blake said when I was talking to him.”
As if on cue, the oldest London brother scooped Chloe straight off the ground, sending her into a fit of giggles. The golden retriever jumped into the air after Chloe, standing on her hind legs as though she could save the nine-year-old from her uncle.
I waited until Blake put Chloe back on the ground before looking at Julian.
“Did Blake also say when Natalie was going to show up?”
“Why do you care?” Julian countered, flashing me a grin.
As unhelpful as ever.
I rolled my eyes before spotting Collins.
