Page 46 of Hello Handsome
Hayes, Bryce, and I all watched Ford’s reaction. Something passed in his eyes before it looked like he’d settled on a decision. “If I tell you something, promise you won’t tell anyone else?” he said with his voice low, meeting each of our gazes.
All of us nodded.
Ford’s jaw clenched, and then he said, “I started dating Mia to keep my spot on the Diamonds.”
My stomach sank as my other two boys broke out in protest. He was treating love like a game. But the problem with games was that they could be lost.
Hayes said, “What the fuck?” at the same time Bryce said, “That doesn’t make any sense!”
Finally, I held my hands up, silencing everyone. “Why in the hell would you do a harebrained thing like that?” Hadn’t I raised my sons to be better men than me? But Ford was going to followin my footsteps, letting anincrediblewoman slip through his fingers.
Ford took a slow breath and looked into the fire. “My contract is up for renewal this year, and Trent threatened to sell me to another team, in a different state, if I didn’t date his daughter.”
Hayes said, “You turned down a supermodel?” He reached over and hit Ford’s arm. “You dumbass.” Of course that’s what Hayes would say. He was determined only to have surface-level interactions with women.
But Ford rolled his eyes at him. “There’s more to a woman than her looks. She’s got to have it all to be worth spending your time with. And I’d rather fake a relationship with Mia than spend time with a woman I don’t care for.”
Even more reason to be with her!I wanted to yell. But I didn’t get a chance before Hayes cut in. “There’s just one problem with that, brother.”
Ford raised his eyebrows at Hayes.
“You went and caught feelings, dumbass!” Hayes took off his ballcap and threw it at Ford, reminding me of when they were kids. It brought a little warmth to my fractured heart, even if for a moment.
Retrieving the hat from the ground, Ford threw it back at Hayes, who launched it back at Ford. Bryce’s eyes pinballed between them, seemingly amused.
“Boys,” I admonished, suddenly tired. I rubbed my temples and leaned forward. “Ford, I need to speak with you. Privately.” I needed to save my son from the mistakes I’d made over the years–before it was too late for him.
“Oooh,” Bryce said, a teasing glint in his eyes.
But I replied, “Go inside.” Then I looked at Hayes. “Go home–don’t care who the home belongs to.”
Hayes smirked. “Aye, aye.”
Ford and I both rolled our eyes at him as he walked to the driveway and Bryce went inside. A heaviness settled around the firepit at what was coming. I knew I might have to say something Ford didn’t like. And that was hard as a parent—toeing the line between guiding your kids and letting them make their own mistakes.
The roar of Hayes’s truck interrupted the silence, but the sound of his engine soon faded along with his taillights. I turned back to my second born, so successful in so many ways... but not the one that mattered most.
“Ford, you know how long your mother and I were together before she passed?” I nearly whispered.
He shook his head. “Fifteen years?” he guessed.
“Sixteen,” I said. “But you know how long I was in love with her before we ever got together?”
Again, he shook my head.
“Four years.” I wrung my hands, looking down at the wedding ring still on my finger. “But she was just a friend, and I wanted to sow my wild oats instead of settling down with the woman I knew deep down was the one.” My voice broke over the lump in my throat. “I fucked around for four years.Four yearsI could have had with her, Ford. We could have had another baby. She could have watched them grow, walked them down the aisle. Hell, maybe even seen a grandbaby if they got started young enough.”
I shook my head, gazing into the fire, nearly drowning in all the what-ifs that plagued me. Not just with Maya but with Aggie, too. I’d hadyearsto date her. To love her. To focus on my future instead of dwelling in my past. But I’d never shown up for her in the way she deserved. So I took a deep breath,needingFord to understand.
“After everything I’ve learned and been through, I’ll be damned if I watch my son make the same mistakes I have. And awoman like Mia, a strong woman with a successful career and a heart of gold, she’s not waiting around, waiting for a guy to make up his mind. Not even for a professional football player like you.”
The words rang true as I said them.
Aggie was done waiting for me.
It was too late for me.
But it wasn’t too late for my son.
