Page 64 of Cross Check Daddies
She blinks, then leans back. “No. Why?”
I hold up the white box, tied with red twine. “I figured we’d do this right.”
She lifts a brow. “Right as in...?”
“Dessert before food.”
That gets me a smile. I step in, set the box down, and pop the lid open. Her lips part when she sees it—white cake, layered thick with cream cheese frosting, fresh raspberries folded in the middle. Her smile widens.
“You remembered.”
I grab two forks from the coffee table and sit on the edge of her desk. She comes around, perches beside me, and we dig in. It’s sweet, almost too sweet, but she hums like it’s heaven.
“I need to talk to you,” she says after the second bite, licking frosting off her thumb.
I nod, licking mine too. “I know. I wanted to come to you first.”
“I talked to Cam,” she says softly.
“I know,” I say. “And it’s okay. Between us. He and I... we’re alright.”
She stares at me, eyes flickering. There’s that smile again. Sad and grateful at once.
“And what about Ace?”
I choke. “Like... Coach?”
“Yeah,” she says, almost laughing. “You didn’t notice?”
I did, and that explains why he was hanging with her kid at the game yesterday. Damn!
“I’m not blind,” I mutter. “But damn. That’s a lot of strong personalities circling the same fire.”
She shrugs. “I didn’t plan this.”
“I don’t think anyone could.”
She sets her fork down, and her energy shifts. “I want to be honest with everyone. I don’t want this to get ugly.”
I nod, wiping the corner of her mouth with my thumb. “It won’t. Not if we keep doing this. We have to be open. No backdoors.”
She leans into my hand, eyes closing for a second. Then she sits back and exhales.
“So, what are you doing here, really?”
“I wanted to see you. And... maybe steal you for a bit.”
“Where?”
“You trust me?”
She hesitates, then grins. “Let’s find out.”
She’s never been on a bike before. That’s clear the second she sees mine, and her eyes go round.
“Let’s take my car.”
“Nope. This is on your list,baby!”
