Page 24 of If You Claim Me

Lexi gives Mildred a hug.

“Everything okay with Callie?” Mildred asks.

“She’ll be fine.” Lexi’s smile is knowing.

I drop to my knee. Last year it would have put me at eye level with Callie, but she’s grown, so now I have to look up. “How’s my favorite future pro goalie?”

She shrugs, and her bottom lip trembles.

“It’s okay, Callie,” Roman says.

She spins and throws her arms around Roman’s waist. He’s become like a father to her—not a replacement for the one she lost in a boating accident a couple of years ago, but someone who fills that hole in her young heart.

“She okay, Coach?” I ask Lexi.

Roman crouches, then brushes away Callie’s tears as they have a whispered conversation.

Lexi drops her voice. “She had a little crush, and she’s sad about it.”

I frown. “A crush? On who?”

“On you,” Mildred says gently. “Did you not realize that?”

“I thought I was her favorite player.”

“You are.” She squeezes my arm. “She’s not the only one who likes the bad boys.”

I gaze down at her. “Only the baddest, apparently.”

Callie holds Roman’s hand and stays tucked into his side as she approaches.

I drop to my knee again. “Got a lot of big feelings today?”

She nods.

“Want a hug?”

She shrugs.

“You mad at me?”

Another shrug.

“I’m not going to take Mildred away from you,” I assure her.

“But you’re marrying her,” she whispers.

I nod. “I am.”

“Because you’re in love with her?” Callie whispers.

“We’re very important to each other.” It’s not a lie. “But you’re very important to me, too.”

Her lips pull to the side, and she fidgets with the friendship bracelet on her wrist. “Did you only come to my games because of Dred?”

My cold, mostly dead heart cracks. “I came to see my number one fan. And so did Mildred. But it gave us a chance to get to know each other.” Again, it’s not untrue. “She’s hard not to like.”

“She is,” Callie agrees.