Page 160 of Pucking Rebound

“Okay. Let me reword that then. You knocked up my assistant, who was an Eagles’ employee at the time.” He takes a breath. “She was staff, Jordan, and you know how that ends. She would have been fired, and at best, you would have had game suspensions. Did my past fuck ups not teach you anything?”

He’s got me.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. Tell me what the fuck you’re going to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“Support her, be there for her and the baby? What exactly?”

“Of course I am going to be there for her. What kind of man do you take me for?”

He takes a quick intake of breath, as if he figured something out. “Shit. Is she Teacup?”

Unable to look at him, I run my hands down my face. “Yeah.”

Silence stretches between us for what seems like forever.

“So, she’s the one?” Wade asks, much softer this time, as if remembering our conversation from that day in the locker room before New Year. “She’s the one that could be something truly special?” he quotes me verbatim.

The skin of my cheeks heats to a billion degrees. “Yes. But when the media discovered she was your sister, she called it all off. She didn’t want to upset you and didn’t want anyone to find out about us. She’s always putting everyone first before herself.” I lay my hands on top of my head and lace my fingers together. “It’s been fucking killing me not seeing her every day. She won’t reply to my texts. She said she needed to end us because you were the most important thing to her, and she wanted to focus on her family.” I drop my arms. “And what started as a rebound thing for her became so much fucking more, Wade. I promise it was never a fling for me. It never once felt like that.”

Narrowing his glare, he chews his bottom lip as if contemplating. “Do you love her?”

“It’s pretty hard not to. She’s fucking?—”

“Amazing.” His voice is full of admiration.

I shove my hands into the back pockets of my jeans. “And she’s having my baby. I can’t believe I’m going to be a dad,” I say as the realization hits me, and I can’t wait. I’m so excited.

“Happy?”

My mouth breaks into a massive smile so big it hurts my cheeks. “Ecstatic.” I’m having a baby with the most beautiful girl in the world. “I fucking love her.”

“Well, why didn’t you say so?” Wade rushes over and lifts me off the floor in a giant bear hug.

I struggle to get my words out as my legs dangle. “Because I thought you were going to kill me.” He lowers me to the floor and holds my shoulders while I try to remain cool, when secretly inside, I’m freaking out.

“Break her heart and I will.” He tilts his head to the side in a sinister way. “I’m just fucking with you.” He pats my shoulder twice, laughing his head off. I’m not testing that theory, although I have no intention of breaking her heart. “Right, let’s get Kali, and then we have work to do.”

“Work to do?” I ask.

“I have a plan.”

“A plan?”

“She wanted to focus on family, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, you’re part of our family now.” Wade holds his hand out for me to shake. I grab on to it and he pumps it up and down. “Welcome to the family, Jordan. I’m so fucking happy for you, man. And I know you’ll look after her.”

“That’s if she’ll let me.”

“She will.”

We stand back from each other as emotion builds in my chest.

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