Page 34 of Forever Mine

I nod as he mentions each of his brothers. “What number is Ollie?” I ask as I look out at the field. From this distance, they all look the same.

Beau points out to the field. “He’s number twelve.”

I search the field until I find my nephew. “He’s a goalie?”

“Yep, the coach let him play there a few weeks ago, and he did so well that they keep him there now.”

I nod and watch as the teams go back and forth on the field. When Ollie blocks a goal, I stand up and cheer, screaming Ollie’s name. I swear he hears me as he looks up at where we’re seated, waving wildly.

When I sit down, I’m covering my mouth with my hands, excited. I turn to Beau. “Oh my God, do you think I embarrassed him? I was too loud, wasn’t I?”

Beau chuckles. “No way. That kid is eating it up.”

I look out on the field, and sure enough, Ollie is pointing up here with a big smile on his face. I wave at him again and then hold my hands in my lap. I take a deep breath, enjoying being outside, watching my nephew play with his friends, sitting in the stands next to Beau. We are watching the game when I see two women sitting in the aisle below us. They’re both looking toward Beau and me, and I try to ignore them and focus on the game being played in front of us.

One of the women puts her hand on my knee to get my attention. “Hey,” she says.

I smile, about to say hi when she leans past me. “Hey, Beau.”

His hand goes to my thigh and squeezes. “Hey, Marlene. This is my wife, Natalie. Natalie, this is Marlene. Her son and Ollie have had a few playdates.”

I nod with a smile fixed on my face. “Oh great, yeah, it’s nice to meet you.”

She nods, and her smile tightens as she looks at me before brightening up again when she looks at Beau. “So I’m thinking about the next playdate, and I think we should go to the new pizza place across town. They have the video games, and we can sit and talk while the boys play.”

I tense. Did she really just ask my husband out on a date in front of me?

Beau coughs. “Uh, yeah, that would be fine. Nat and I would like that, wouldn’t we?” he says, sliding closer to me.

Dumbfounded, I just stare at the woman and try to process it all. Has my husband been out with this woman before? Have I been a fool? After all this talk about the guy at the gym flirting with me, has he been with someone else?

I know women like Marlene, and when she sees that I’m now looking at her curiously, she smiles even more. “Hey, I haven’t been, but are you the one that owns Work It Out?”

I nod, forcing a smile to my face. “Yes, that’s me.”

Marlene tilts her head to the side, lifts her glasses up on her head so I can see her eyes, and makes a big to-do of looking me up and down. Without her saying a word, I know exactly what she’s thinking. It’s not like I haven’t dealt with it before—heck, ten years ago when I started teaching workout classes, I thought it myself. I’m a plus-size woman that teaches fitness classes. I now own a gym. I help people get in shape, and that look she’s giving me is that she thinks I’m not fit for what I do.

I do my best to act like I’m not fazed by her judgment. “So you’ve never been? You should definitely come in. Any friend of Beau and Ollie’s is welcome. Now, if you don’t mind, this is the first time I’ve gotten to watch my nephew play, and I don’t want to miss a second of it.”

She rears back, gives me a smirk, and turns back toward the field. As soon as she does, I slide a few inches away from Beau, pushing his hand off my leg.

I will not cry. I will not cry.

My mind is going a thousand different directions, but I will not cry.

I force my attention to the game being played in front of me. I get completely entranced with the six-year-olds on the field. My eyes are glued to Ollie, and when he saves a goal, I jump up and cheer again. This time, Ollie’s looking for me before I even stand up. I wave my fist in the air, and he does the same.

“Natalie.”

I don’t look at him. Beau says my name in a soft, pleading voice, but I don’t look at him.

Until he tries again. “Natalie, baby.”

I hold my hand up and hiss at him. “I’m not doing this here, Beau.”

When the game is over, I don’t wait for him. I make my way down the bleachers and don’t stop until I’m next to Ford and Lilian.

Lilian sees me first and pulls me in for a hug. “Natalie, you’re here!” I hug her tightly, and when she pulls back, she’s holding me at arm’s length, not letting me go. “I heard you cheering for Ollie. I was this close to being jealous when he was looking at the stands, but once I figured out it was you, I was okay.” She says it all in a rush and then pulls me in for another hug. “I’m so glad you came.”

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