Page 65 of Behind the Bench

Niko ushers us into his home, and the inside is just as gorgeous as the outside. Wooden beams line the ceilingthroughout his open concept living space and neutral tones paint his walls. His house is a literal dream.

“Wow, Niko. This place is amazing. It’s absolutely beautiful.”

He takes my coat from me and hangs it in the closet at our side before gesturing us forward to make our way into the living room. “Thank you. I’d like to say I designed it myself but this was all my mom. She’s an interior designer and I’m extremely grateful for her. She even cleansed the space with sage before letting me move in.”

This comment seems to pique Sadie’s interest. She’s always telling me I need to cleanse my space and get thebad jujuout of it. She elbows me out of her way as she moves in closer to Niko’s space and gives me a look.

Good lordy, I know that look. It means, “Oh my god, this guy is perfect and he’s all mine.”

Shaking my head, I follow as Niko gives us a small tour of his main floor. We set the dishes we brought down on the giant island and we’re just through the kitchen when his daughter comes barreling into his legs. He pretends to stumble backward, and then grabs her under the arms and hoists her so she’s resting on her hip.

“Everyone, this is my daughter Sophia. Can you say hi, Soph?”

She buries her head in the crook of her dad’s neck but gives us a small wave with her hand. She’s the cutest little girl I’ve ever seen. Sophia perks her head up and asks, “Daddy, who are your pretty friends?”

Yep. Definitely the cutest little girl I’ve ever seen.

Niko introduces all of us. Sophia yanks Sadie’s hand and leads her into the living room. “Come on, Sadie! I want to show you my animals!”

Lincoln and I are both chuckling when Niko excuses himself to supervise his daughter.

We make our way into the living room and sit on oppositesides of the couch. There’s only a few guys here so far, and they all seem to be mingling around the food in the kitchen. Why am I not surprised?

The football game starts and we all lose ourselves in good conversation and appetizers. I’m in the middle of a conversation with Sadie and a couple of the players’ wives when I see Lincoln follow Niko into the kitchen. Their conversation doesn’t look to be nearly as pleasant as the one I’m having, immediately putting me on high alert.

Does Niko know about me and Lincoln?

Instead of driving myself crazy with questions, I decide to get my ass up and find out if everything is okay.

They are standing at the stove with their backs to me as I weave my way through people to the island. I’m about to ask if everything is okay when Niko’s words stop me in my tracks. “She just took off three days ago. I haven’t heard from her since. Sophia keeps asking why her mom isn’t here for Thanksgiving. She’s not around much, but she never misses a holiday.”

My heart breaks at the helplessness in Niko’s voice. Poor Niko. Poor Sophia. I decide that this conversation is none of my business and am about to turn around when I hear Lincoln.

“Ya know, my mom took off when I was a kid too. I don’t really ever talk about it, but?—”

Yeah, this is definitely none of my business. My emotions grip me by the throat and I turn and walk away before I break down in tears.

I guess I never really stopped to think about Lincoln’s home life when I was a kid. My life was a big enough mess to worry about, I hadn’t even realized that Lincoln was going through his own shit. Hell, we were both kids, but I’m starting to realize there’s so much I don’t know about him. I decide now that I don’t want that to be the case anymore. I want to know everything about him as a person and a man.

The rest of the day goes off without a hitch. Detroit wins the game, the food is amazing, and the company is even better. Sadie hitches a ride home with Hunter, and the last of the players have just left. That leaves me, Lincoln, Niko, and his staff to clean up what’s left of the mess. You’d think these grown men would know how to clean up after themselves, but apparently they do not.

“You guys don’t have to stay and clean up,” Niko says while picking up a stray plate from underneath his coffee table.

I take the plate from him. “Youare the one who shouldn’t have to clean up. You were generous enough to host. And besides, I think someone is waiting for a bedtime story.” I nod to Sophia who is half asleep on the couch with her blanket and stuffy in hand.

Niko looks over at his daughter and smiles. “You sure?” he asks before scooping her up into his arms.

“We got it,” Lincoln whispers as he claps Niko on the shoulder. “We’ll finish cleaning this up and see ourselves out. Thanks for everything, man. Today was great.”

Niko waves to me before making his way up the stairs with Sophia, which leaves me alone with Lincoln. We are very rarely ever alone like this, so I take the opportunity to try to get to know this mystery man who has me weak at the knees.

“I overheard you and Niko in the kitchen earlier. Sophia’s mom took off, huh?”

Lincoln looks shocked for a brief moment, but then continues to pick up cups and napkins off the coffee table. Clearing his throat, he finally answers, “Yeah. I guess she took off earlier this week. Which isn’t really a new thing for her, but I guess she never misses holidays. They’ve been divorced a few years and Niko has sole custody, but he said something feels off this time. Niko is pretty worried. Sophia keeps asking about her too.”

“Damn, that poor kid.” Lincoln nods at my remark, butdoesn’t say anything. It’s silent for a moment before I find the courage to ask him about his mom.

“I also heard you tell him about your mom…” I leave it at that and wait for a response.

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