Page 41 of Keeping the Score

She starts to hand Tilly to me, but Smitty says, “He’s gonna be opening gifts. I’ll take the baby.”

I blink at him. Andi hands Tilly over to him and she regards him with a tiny crease between her eyebrows and a pouty bottom lip. He grins at her. “Hey, Matilda. I’m Uncle Marek.”

Damn. I clear my throat.

“Here.” Dilly hands Andi a beer. “Have a drink.”

“Oh.” She takes it hesitantly, glancing at me. “This seems like a guys’ party.”

“It’s a shower,” Dilly says. “You can stay.”

She looks back at me and I dip my chin in agreement.

Smitty hands me the first gift and the next hour is spent unwrapping all kinds of things—clothes, toys, little rattles that go on her wrists and feet, and another tummy time mirror toy. While I’m opening gifts, Dilly is writing things down.

“I see you already have one of those,” Crankster says. That’s the nickname we gave Noah Lawson, a rookie who never smiles. “I can return it.”

“That’s okay,” Andi puts in. “We can take one to my place. She spends lots of time there.”

The guys all exchange looks. What? I told them about my neighbor helping me.

“Alfie sent this.” Benny hands me one more gift. “But he couldn’t make it today.”

I take the gift, nodding somberly. His baby was about the same age as Tilly when the car accident happened. I don’t blame him for not being here.

“Thanks, guys,” I say, looking around the room. “This is really unexpected and awesome. You didn’t have to do this. But it means a lot.”

Andi beams at me and I smile back at her.

Later, in an aside, Smitty asks, “What’s with you and your neighbor?”

“What? Nothing.” I look over at Andi, standing near Benny who’s holding Tilly, and laughing.

“Uh huh.” He nods knowingly. “You went to get her. Why’d you do that?”

“I…” Fuck. “I have no idea.”

He hoists his eyebrows. “She’s hot.”

I can’t argue with that; Andi is objectively hot. “We’re just friends. Look, don’t get any weird ideas. I told you guys about her.”

“You told us your neighbor was helping. We all pictured a little gray-haired old lady. Someone grandmotherly.”

I choke on a laugh. “Oh. Well, that was wrong.”

“No shit.”

We go join Andi and Benny.

Andi says, “Hey, I met some of your competitors last night.”

I frown. “Who?”

“Three players from the New York Bears.”

Everyone in the room bellows with disapproval.

“Who?” I demand. “Where?”

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