Page 55 of Hot Damn
“Where’s Whitney?”
“She went home with Chase Hawkins. Her and the twins hit it off.”
“They left already?” I thought Natalie gave everyone strict instructions to stay until the last fan was ushered out the door.
“Yes. Natalie went with them.”
“Natalie went with them?” My jaw is slack. Nat has never snuck out of a business event. And to go home with Chase Hawkins…
“Whit said she lives next door to them. She offered to feed me breakfast in the morning.” Beckett grins at me like he knows that little nugget of info just blew my mind.
“Natalie Redding, GM of the Rogues, has gone home with a guy, his three young siblings, your teenage daughter in tow,andoffered to prepare breakfast for you in the morning?”
“That’s what I said.” His grin widens. “You seem shocked by that.”
“Shocked? I’m not shocked. I’m flabbergasted!” What the hell have I missed? Yanking my phone from my pocket I shoot a text to our group chat.
WTF Nat!
Oakley: What? What’s Nat done?”
Blake: She went home.
Blake waits a beat before sending a second text.
Blake: With Chase Hawkins.
Oakley: Oh, is something wrong with one of the kids?
Oakley’s concern may account for Nat’s uncharacteristic behavior but I’m not buying it.
Not that I’m aware. And get this, Whitney went with them and Nat offered to make Beckett breakfast tomorrow!
There’s silence for a good two minutes before Nat replies.
Nat: The baby is teething. I’ve been helping Chase with the older two because she’s rarely let him put her down since she woke with a fever this morning when he got back from the game.
I have no idea what to say.
Natalie, the woman who has spent as long as I’ve known her telling us she doesn’t want kids is now playing mother to a pair of teenagers?
Oakley: Let me know if you need anything. We never went through it with Mikey but I know it can be brutal for some kids.
Blake: Oh god. Those days suck. Thankfully Bran doesn’t mind walking the floor with Drew. Also, get him to try a washcloth out of the freezer. Wet it and stick it in for a few minutes. Does wonders to soothe their little gums.
I stare at my phone and try to work out what happened to my three best friends. The women who insisted on talking shop with me even when I didn’t want to know what was going on because it wasn’t my job to know, are now chatting about teething babies.
“Oh man, I never would have let Whit go home with them if I’d known the baby was teething. Whit was a nightmare with her one- and two-year-old molars. Candace is one, right?”
I shake my head. “I have no idea.”
“I think he said she just turned one before they moved.”
Oakley: Anything we need to be aware of in your absence, Nat?
Nat: No. Trevor has things handled and what he doesn’t he’s got a minion for.
I laugh. Nat isn’t wrong. Oakley’s assistant turned Rogues’ assistant has multiple minions scurrying around every day. If Nat left him in charge of the rest of the night, you can bet things will go off without a hitch.
