Page 14 of Fielder's Choice

“It’s okay if you’re older,” Josh says. “She’s an adult.”

“Plus,” Ari adds with a smirk, “she’s Sage’s future mom.”

Knox barks out a laugh. “Yeah, that’s the cocky bastard I remember.”

I ignore him. “I can’t be with somebody that much younger than me.”

“Wait, are you actually trying tobe withsomeone?” Josh asks incredulously. “You’re a one-night stand kinda guy.”

“That was before I had a kid,” I reply. “I really just want Sage to have a full family, a dadanda mom. And something about Liv yesterday just completely captivated me. I’ve never been so entranced by someone before.”

“Then don’t worry about the age difference,” Knox shrugs. “Like Josh said, she’s an adult. She might be Sage’s ballet teacher, but you’re not in a position of power over her. There wouldn’t be anything wrong with seeing her.”

I can’t help but chuckle. “Harlow did a number on you, man.”

You’d never know now, but Knox used to be the grumpiest asshole. The media literally called him Fort Knox.

Then, to get an endorsement deal with Axis Athletic Co., he needed to have a fake girlfriend to improve his image. And who was this fake girlfriend, you ask? None other than Harlow Pierce, Cole’s damn sister.

Harlow runs a blog about the team—Starred and Fast—so she got increased traffic while everyone softened to Knox. And since Cole isn’t overbearing, he didn’t care at all and was probably one of their biggest supporters when that fake relationship turned real.

“Why do we always have to blame my girlfriend for me being a nice guy now?”

Josh laughs. “Because you were a fucking dick before you started dating her. She’s the only reason you smile now.”

Knox rolls his eyes but still can’t wipe the smile off his face, thinking about the woman he loves.

“Okay, back to me,” I say. “What the hell do I do?”

“Don’t ask me for advice,” Ari laughs. “When Cole was trying to resist Rory, I told him to fuck her. Probably not the guy you want to go to.”

“I think you should just take a chance,” Josh says. “Yes, you’re older, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t work. My dad is ten years older than my mom. It’s completely possible to have a normal relationship even with that age gap.”

“But take it slow,” Knox adds. “You’ve been out of the game for a bit, so you don’t need to rush into anything. Just get to know her. See how Sage likes her.”

“Sage loves her,” I smile. “The whole way to her lesson this morning, she talked about how excited she was for Daddy to meet ‘Owive.’ And after watching them at practice, Olive seems to really like her, too.”

“Then give it a shot,” Ari encourages. “Maybe this is something that’s meant to be.”

I wonder if the guys are right.

My stomach dropped when Olive told me how young she is, but the guys were right; sheisan adult.

She might be younger, but maybe that’s not a bad thing.

Sage clearly loves her, and she also seems to like Sage.

That’s the biggest hurdle to me finding a partner. Sage and I are a package deal, so anybody I find needs to love her, too.

So, the first hurdle has already been cleared.

Maybe I should just see where this goes…

six

Olive

“Hey,Mom,”Isay,flopping myself across the crushed velvet sofa in her office.

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