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eleven

Lane

What a beautiful morning today.

Sure, it’s below freezing with overcast skies, but it’s Tuesday—my favorite day of the week.

Might be a bit pathetic, but I don’t care. I’m not embarrassed by the fact that I enjoy spending time with Olive.

I also enjoy watching her bond with my daughter. It’s clear how much both she and Sage adore each other. I love seeing them together.

I also love how good Liv looks in a ballet skirt and leotard.

Apparently, I’m staring because Olive eyes me curiously. “What are you looking at, Hotshot?”

Since I’m not one to lie, I answer honestly. “Looking at you, Ballerina.” She immediately blushes while a small smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. “You’re cute when you blush.”

“I’m just not used to anybody being so forward with me.”

“Now you’re just lying, Liv,” I smirk. “I have a hard time believing you’re not hit on every time you walk outside.”

“And plié,” she says to Sage before turning her attention back to me. “I’m not. I’m pretty sure my aura tells people not to approach me.”

“Well, you approached me,” I tease. “Must be why I keep coming back.”

“I’m not sure why you keep coming back,” Olive whispers softly, and I can tell she’s trying to make sure I can’t hear.

Unfortunately for her, I have great hearing.

I march over to where she’s crouched in front of my daughter, and I bend down beside her. “I keep coming back because I want to know more about you. Something about you keeps pulling me in.”

“I don’t know why,” she says, refusing to meet my eyes. “I have a lot of baggage, Lane.”

“And I’ve got some of my own,” I shrug. “Who doesn’t? And it doesn’t stop me from wanting to know you.”

Olive finally turns to face me, and the moment our gazes lock, the room brightens. My heart flutters. My words fail.

I’ve been a bachelor since I came into the majors, but it’s not like I’ve never dated. I had a girlfriend when I was on our Double-A team. As far as I know, I loved her. That just wasn’t enough for her to uproot her life when I was brought up to Triple-A and eventually the Stars.

But even with her, I never felt this .

This… thing… I have with Olive feels so much different. That should probably make me nervous, but I’m actually more at ease than I’ve felt in my life.

So she can keep wondering about why I want to know her, but I won’t stop trying.

Olive is the one to break the tension by quickly turning away from me and back to Sage. “Well, I think that’s the end of today’s lesson, sweet girl!”

Sweet girl .

She has a nickname for my daughter.

How could I not want to know her?

I scoop Sage off the ground as both Olive and I stand up, and I hold my daughter on my hip. “What do you think about grabbing some lunch, Lovebug?”

Sage immediately reaches out to Liv with her arm. “Owive come, too!”

She looks at us, surprised. “You want me to come to lunch with you?”

How about that? Seems like my daughter is the wingwoman I’ve been looking for.

“Absolutely,” I smile. “We wouldn’t want to let Sage down, would we?”

“I don’t think we would,” she replies, biting back a grin. “Sage is my only student, so that won’t be an issue. Let me just go tell my mom I’m heading out now. I’ll meet you guys in the lobby.”

Olive practically prances out of the room, and I immediately kiss the top of Sage’s head.

“Best daughter ever.”

“I didn’t realize there were so many ways you could have mac and cheese,” Olive laughs as we traverse the streets of Manhattan.

When we left the studio, Sage demanded we get her favorite food for lunch—macaroni and cheese. One of her favorite places to get that is this hipster spot in Greenwich Village. It’s literally a macaroni and cheese bar.

It’s Heaven.

Unless you’re lactose intolerant, I suppose.

“Cheese the Day is probably Sage’s favorite restaurant,” I smile. “We probably grab it at least once a week, though if she had her way, we’d eat it for every meal.”

“Yes!” Sage chimes, looking up at me brightly with her signature toothy grin. She’s holding onto Olive’s hand as we walk down the sidewalk. I’d be jealous if it were anybody else, but I want my daughter to bond with Liv.

“Not a bad idea, Sage,” Olive beams at my daughter. “Mac and cheese is one of the best foods. Second only to French food, in my opinion.”

“And when you go to Cheese the Day, you can top it with just about anything.”

Sage always chooses plain mac and cheese, but I build mine up. Today, I had mine topped with bacon, buffalo chicken, and Sriracha—I love spicy food. Olive picked a white cheddar cheese sauce with bread crumbs. It’s simple but apparently delicious.

“Maybe we should go back sometime,” Olive says lowly, keeping her eyes down and away from me.

My smile is wide. “Making plans to see us again, Livvy?”

“Um,” she breathes. “Yes.” We round the corner and come up on a line of row houses on Spring Street. “Well, that’s me,” she says, pointing at a red brick home on the corner.

“Cute place.”

“It’s my parents’. I, uh… still live with them.”

I give her a reassuring smile. “Nothing wrong with that. You’re also not terribly far from my place.”

“Good to know,” she blushes.

Sage wraps her arms around Olive’s leg. “Bye, Owive!”

She bends down and hugs her back. “Goodbye, sweet girl. Can’t wait to see you for your lesson next week.” I look on happily as she stands up and takes note of my expression. “What?”

“I love that you already have a bond with my daughter.”

Olive smiles brightly at me. “Sage is such a sweetheart. I adore her.”

As she says that, I take a chance and wrap my arms around her, pulling her in close. She stiffens for a moment before returning my hug. “We both like having you around, Liv.”

“I like being around.”

“You know,” I say. “You don’t need to wait until the next lesson to see us again.”

“Wouldn’t that be inappropriate?”

“How so?” I ask. “You teach my daughter ballet. I don’t see any reason we can’t be friends.”

“You want to be my… friend?” she questions nervously.

No, I think I want to be more than that, but I know I need to start slowly .

“Yes, I do. So what do you say, Ballerina?” I hold out my pinky finger to her. “Friends?”

She smiles and hooks her pinky around mine. “Friends.”