Page 91 of Irresistibly Risky

Layla starts to crack up as she sips her lemon-drop martini. “You sound like that dude from Zoolander.”

Aurelia throws her hands up, splashing pool water about as she does. “I know! But it’s so true. He is!”

“I don’t think he’s going to New York anytime soon. At least not to model. The press is especially hot for him right now—as you said—and I know it’s driving him crazy.”

Fallon gives me a look. “It only drives him crazy because he can’t take you out anywhere without it becoming front-page news.”

Aurelia gets a sparkle to her eye. “True, and that sucks, but I love seeing him like this.”

My brows furrow as I adjust Mason on my hip, making sure his toes dangle in the water. “What do you mean?”

“He’s in love,” she says, almost flippantly, like the answer is obvious to everyone. “Because of you, he’s grown up a bit. For once, he’s serious about something other than football.”

I shake my head. “You mean he’s in love with Mason,” I counter.

Aurelia, Fallon, and Layla share a smirk between themselves. “Take a look over your shoulder and see for yourself.” Fallon’s head bobs in the direction of the bar, and reflexively I turn to find Asher watching us in the pool, an absent, almost dopey grin on his face. His eyes meet mine, and that grin turns into a smile that makes my heart jolt in my chest and butterflies take flight in my belly.

“See what we mean?” Aurelia murmurs. “That’s the smile of a man head over heels in love.”

“I mean, I don’t know Asher all that well,” Layla chimes in, “but yeah, dude’s obsessed. Anytime he’s with Callan, he can’t stop talking about you or Mason.”

I turn back to them, all those butterflies suddenly becoming flesh-eating as they gnaw at the lining of my stomach. “I’m worried we won’t have a real future with each other.”

If what Dean said is true about Joe demanding Leo in the draft as part of the deal for him to come to the Rebels, that means he doesn’t want Asher for the long term. If that happens, a decision might have to be made in the coming months, and I’m not sure how that will go. If he’s traded, will he want us to move with him? And if he does, is that something I’m willing to do? I’m here for the Boston sports teams. For the job and the market, but also because my mom and dad are here. I want Mason to be in their lives as much as possible, but… Asher is his father.

We have no legal documents. No court dictating anything.

Other than not wanting anything to become public yet, we haven’t needed it. Mason and I live here with him, and after what I went through with Joe, I’d never keep Mason from a father who wants to be in his son’s life.

But if this falls apart on us, what will that look like?

“I think it’s pretty clear that Asher would move heaven and earth to make a real future with you,” Fallon declares. “It’s all a matter of what you want that future to look like with him.”

Mason starts squirming in my arms, interrupting my thoughts and our conversation. His arms and legs start flailing out, and he’s making a high-pitched squeal.

“What’s all this?” I laugh, looking down at him, only his gaze is trained over my shoulder. I turn to find Asher making goofy faces at him. “What’s Daddy doing? Is he being silly?”

Mason is going nuts in my arms, anxious to get to Asher so I walk through the pool, headed for Asher, who now has his arms out for him when Mason says, “Dada.”

Clear as freaking day, he says, “Dada.”

I freeze midstep in the water, staring down at Mason, who is still reaching for Asher, completely unaware of the enormity of what he just did.

“Did he say my name? Did he say, dada? And sign it?” Asher is on his feet, looking like someone just sucker-punched him in the best of ways.

My throat closes, and I have to swallow past the lump of emotion hindering my ability to speak. “He did. Oh my God! Asher, he said dada.” He also did sign it at the same time, which is just freaking awesome.

Asher’s eyes glass over, and awe fills his expression. In his next breath, he walks down the steps, straight into the pool, still in his track pants, and buries his head in Mason’s neck. “Say it again, big man. Say dada.” Mason is silent, so Asher pulls back and makes the sign for Father while saying, “Dada.”

“Dada,” Mason repeats.

“Yeah! That’s my boy!”

I laugh, even as a tear hits my cheek. My mom is sitting up. and my dad walks over to her, taking her hand because I know my mom is crying too. They told us when he was three weeks old, failed the hearing test in one ear, and then did further testing after, that they didn’t know what his auditory future would be. In fact, they painted the grimmest possible picture for us.

But he’s using words and signing, and for him to say dada is just so fucking sweet.

Asher pellets Mason’s face with kisses and then scoops him out of my arms and tucks him into his good side. I know it’s killing him that he can’t toss him up in the air or do half the things he’d like because of his shoulder.

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