Page 105 of Player Misconduct
"We’re going up to the second story?" I ask, not completely sure if I want to see anymore since I’m already falling in love with the house and I know this is so far out of my grasp that it’s almost mean of him to have brought me here.
"And a third story… if you want." he says behind me, amused. But it’s mostly just a gym, theater room, and a full guest suite with its own bathroom up there.
How does he know that?
I climb slowly, one hand on the railing, the other on my belly. The second floor opens into a hallway with four doors. I peek into the first two—both are guest rooms, soft and neutral. The third door is a bathroom with a clawfoot tub that makes me want to dissolve into bubbles immediately.
And then I open the fourth, which has double doors.
I freeze.
The master bedroom is flooded with light from two large windows that overlook the backyard. A stunning king size bed with a cream colored duvet sits on one side of the room, a matching dresser sits on the opposite side,and there’s a chase chair in another corner with a soft blanket that looks like a great place to unwind and read a book… or work player charts with a cup of Leena’s tea. It's the kind of room that feels like a sanctuary after long travel days with the team.
But it's the door off to the side that stops my heart.
"What's that?" I whisper.
"A nursery," Aleksi says quietly from the doorway.
I cross the room and push the door open.
The nursery is small but perfect. Cream walls. White trim. A window that lets in just enough light with black out curtains tucked to the side. And then I see it. The crib Aleksi bought… the rocking chair… the stuffed narwhal and books that Leena sent me last month.
My throat tightens.
"Aleksi…" I turn to him, and I don't even know what I'm trying to say. "Why are we here?"
He steps closer, hands in his pockets, eyes soft. "Because I wanted you to see it. To see what it could be. What you could have."
"For who?"
"For you and the baby. And maybe one day… for us. But I’m not going to ask you for that yet. This is just about you right now."
The word lands like a stone in still water, ripples spreading before I can stop them.
"Aleksi, I can't—" I shake my head, panic rising. "I can't afford this. Not even close. This is—this is yourworld, not mine."
"It could be ours," he says, and there's no hesitation in his voice. No doubt. Just quiet, stubborn certainty.
I stare at him, my pulse hammering. "You're serious."
"I'm always serious about you."
My chest aches. I want to say yes. I want to throw my arms around him and cry and let myself believe that this beautiful home could actually be ours. That this is the house I could bring our newborn baby home from the hospital in.
But fear claws its way up my throat.
“I can’t afford it.”
“I know. I already bought it for you and the baby,” he says.
“I can't let you do this for me…it’s so much more than I can repay you for.”
“You’re giving me a son, Kendall. That’s more than enough. And I think you’ll like the last part.”
“What’s that?”
“I didn’t buy you the house. It’s in a trust for him but you’re the trustee. So in a way, you don’t owe me anything. It’s his… for you to build a family for him in. The safety you never had. A roof overhis head that you’ll never have to worry about. I see him scraping his knee out on the sidewalk outfront, him falling out of his first tree in the backyard… birthday parties in that kitchen.”
