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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Christy

I’ve learned there is one drawback to dating a professional athlete—they are gone a lot.

He was on a two-city, seven-day trip, and though he got home late last night, he came to my house as soon as he arrived.

Waking up in his arms is better than I would have imagined.

We decided since Nolan already declared he was good with my relationship with Evan, he could stay the night without fear of Nolan finding out, and it’s the best decision we’ve made so far.

“Good morning,” he whispers, holding me tighter and kissing the top of my head.

“Good morning.” I pause, not wanting to get up just yet but then remember. “What time does the barbecue start today?”

He rolls over onto his back and stretches out his legs. “I think they said eleven.”

The team is hosting a family barbecue for all the players, and he’s invited us to attend with him. When he asked, I thought it would be fun, but the more I thought about it, the more nervous I got. People know we’re dating—there’s no doubting that with the picture posted online—but showing up with your son to a players’ family function is a little different.

I sit up, and he wraps his arms around me before I stand up.

“Why are you so quiet?”

“It’s just … are you sure we should go? I mean, we’re not really family.”

He kisses my arm. “Yes. I’m positive. You’re important to me, which makes you like family. I know some of the other guys are bringing their girlfriends, so don’t worry.”

“Yeah, but bringing Nolan is different.”

“Nope. It really isn’t. This is a family barbecue. It is literally for kids like Nolan. Now, Jake bringing whatever girl he has this week would be more inappropriate than me bringing you and Nolan.”

He raises his eyebrows at me like he’s proven my point right.

I nod. “Okay, yeah. That makes sense.”

“Great.” He hops off the bed. “Let’s get my hair cut, then get going.”

I laugh, then head his way to kiss him. “Funny how your sister made you my first appointment of the day, conveniently before this barbecue started.”

He holds me closer. “It’s like she knew what my schedule was,” he teases. “Just glad you were able to get the rest of the day off too.”

I kiss his lips. “Me too.”

Evan pulls into the stadium and heads straight to the players’ entrance.

“This is so cool!” Nolan says in awe as we park. “We really get to go on the field again?”

Evan turns to face him. “Yep. We’ll play catch too. You have your glove, right?”

Nolan holds it up. “Sure do!” He unbuckles and opens the door. “Let’s go!”

We all exit the car, and Evan comes right over to me to hold my hand and lead the way.

We enter the players’ entrance, and he walks us to the field, where a mini carnival is set up with all kinds of kid games in the outfield and tables of food, ready for anyone to take. I’ve only met a few of the players, and I knew some were married with kids, but I’m a little surprised to see just how many people are here.

I grab Evan’s arm. “How many players are on the team?”

“Every team has a forty-man roster, it’s kind of a thing.” He nudges me playfully. “But this is also all of the support staff and their families.”

I nod, feeling a little more comfortable to hear just how many kids there are.

“Oh, Mom, can I go over there?” Nolan points to where a few tees are set up for kids to hit balls into the net.

“Sure! Let’s go!” Evan holds his hand out to Nolan.

“You coming?” he asks me before he leaves.

I see Zoe standing by the drinks, so I nod my head her way. “I’m going to go say hi to Zoe and grab us some drinks. I’ll meet you over there.”

They take off running, and I laugh to myself as I head toward Zoe.

“How are you?” I ask when I get close enough for her to hear.

“Ugh. So pregnant. But I’m here.” She grins with both hands out to the sides to show off her very big belly.

“Girl …” I draw out. “The end is the worst. It’s good you came out today. It will help.”

“I’m thinking of getting in that bounce house to try and bounce the baby out of me,” she teases.

I laugh as I reach down to grab a few waters from the cooler when I hear a woman say my name.

“Christy?”

I turn around, and my blood turns ice cold as I stand frozen before the woman in front of me.

“You gold-digging bitch,” she yells as she suddenly slaps me very hard across the face.

Tears prick my eyes as I drop the waters I’m holding, place my palm on my face, and turn to run away.

Evan

I’m loading the tee for Nolan to take his next swing when I see a woman slap Christy harder than I’ve ever seen anyone do before. I look down and thank the Lord that Nolan has his back to her, so he didn’t see a thing.

I turn to Zach, a pitcher on my team, who is sitting with his two sons and just saw what I did. “Can you watch him?”

“Yeah, bro. Go.”

I run toward the woman. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

“That’s my wife!” a man’s voice says behind me.

I turn to face him and see it’s Eddie. I know better than to yell at a woman, but there’s nothing stopping me from yelling at a man. I don’t give a shit if he owns the team or not.

“Why the fuck did she just slap my girlfriend?”

He steps up to get in my face. “I should ask you, why are you trying to play dad to my son?”

I don’t back down, and I get in his face even more, even though I’m floored by what he just said. “Obviously because you aren’t man enough to do it yourself.”

So many things race through my mind at what just happened, but first things first. I need to find Christy.

“Never mind. It doesn’t even matter since you walked away.” I turn and chase after Christy, not wanting to give that piece of shit a moment more of my time.