Page 117 of Learn Your Lesson

The conversation floated from Vince and Maven’s wedding to our playoff race, the afternoon fading into evening with everyone smiling and laughing and having a great time. Even I couldn’t hold my displeasure at the surprise barbecue for long — not when Ava was this happy, when the guys were relaxing when they very much needed to, and most of all, when Chloe was smilingso contently.

After dinner, the girls worked on helping Arushi tidy up — despite how the guys and I had tried to do it ourselves. They insisted it was so they could gossip and to leave them alone.

I smiled when I watched Chloe give Ava a list of jobs to do, knowing that would make my daughter feel better than if she’d told her to go play.

God, she justknewher. Like she always had.

Like she was her own.

I was lost in that thought as Jaxson ribbed Carter about how he’d been ogling our dentist all day. Carter tried and failed to deny it, his voice pitching up a few octaves.

And then, the punk escaped further interrogation by throwing me under the bus.

“Besides, if anyone is ogling anyone here, it’s our goalie.”

I whipped my head toward him, narrowing my gaze.

“I mean, he’s practically fucking his nanny with those sad eyes of his every time she walks by.”

I punched him hard in the chest, which earned me laughs from Vince and Jaxson as Carter rubbed the spot. He shrugged his shoulders and mouthedsorry, like I should have been understanding that he was just doing what he had to do to get the conversation to steer away from him.

“He’s got a fair point there, Daddy P,” Jaxson said, taking a pull of the IPA in his hand. “I’ve seen you smile more today than in the entire time I’ve known you.”

“Fuck the smiles. You’ve beenlaughing,” Vince pointed out, like it was the equivalent of seeing a trick shot. “Does our new friend Chloe have anything to do with that?”

I slow blinked at them with my lips in a flat line, refusing to entertain the question.

“Oh, he’s got itbad,” Carter said, shaking his head on a drink of his beer.

“I do not haveanything,” I argued. “Other than, finally, a competent nanny who my daughter adores.”

“I don’t think Ava is the only one doing the adoring,” Jaxson said with a wag of his brows.

Fortunately, I was saved from the hellish conversation and having to blatantly lie to my friends when the girls joined us. Grace jumped on Jaxson’s back while Maven slipped under Vince’s arm, planting a kiss on his cheek before he was beaming down at her.

Carter tried to put his arm around Livia, who simply arched a perfect brow at him and blinked. I found it hard not to laugh as he cleared his throat and pretended it was just a stretch before folding his arms over his chest.

Chef Patel was entertaining Ava, watching her hold her breath in the pool for all of three seconds before she’d pop back up. Arushi, bless her, acted like it was the most fascinating thing in the world. My girl was lucky to have her.

And then, there was Chloe.

She stood across from me, right between where Maven and Livia were, her skin a bit pink from the sun. My heart ached a bit as I watched a smile bloom on her face at something Carter said, and I willed myself to look away before anyone else caught on to how gone I was for her.

Because I was.

I was so fucking gone it wasn’t funny.

My focus rested entirely on not letting that little fact show — to my teammates or to myself, if I was being honest. It took so much effort that the conversationfelt muted to me.

Until the second Livia slammed me back down to Earth with one stupid name.

“Are you really going to make me leave tonight without even a single detail about Noah Balboa?”

The question was aimed at Chloe.

Which made no fucking sense.

“Noah Balboa?” Maven asked on a laugh.