Page 103 of Only for Me

“And what about you Makari? You work with a lot of professional athletes but are you truly a sports girlie? Can we expect to see you and Avianna in the stands wearing Omiri’s jersey, cheering him on?”

I had my eyes on her blazing her profile, waiting for her answer ,and she smiled big as hell. “We’ll definitely be there with Hayes on our jerseys.”

“I think there’s an inside joke there but I’ll move on.”

For the next twenty minutes, Kaz shifted to questions about the upcoming season and we remained there for the duration of the interview. After we were done, she wrapped and we all removed our mics.

“You two did an amazing job,” Kaz stated with a smile.

“It wasn’t that bad. I appreciate the way you handled things. You kept the questions respectful and professional.” Makari relaxed next to me.

“Thank you. I do my best to make things honest and transparent but still allow you the privacy you deserve, and not that my opinion matters, whatever you guys are to each otherworks. Your connection is genuine and the viewers will surely see that.”

I had been in this position so many times before but this time things hit differently. If anyone had told me a year ago that I would be sitting with Kaz explaining to the world that I was in love with the mother of my child and needed them to accept who and what we were, I would have laughed in their damn faces.

I smirked internally at the fact that I didn’t even flinch at the thought of being in love with the mother of my child…

That was my reality. I loved Makari. I loved the woman she was. It was more than just a physical thing. This was real for me. I wasn’t just going through the motions. I wanted to be a father to my daughter and the man who loved and supported her mother. The fucked up part was that I didn’t know if she wanted the same things. This woman had me locked in and I had no game plan for what the hell I was going to do about any of this.

Chapter 17

Makari

Avi and I had been stuck in the house for longer than either of us was used to and it was starting to wear on us both. I felt sluggish and out of sync and needed to touch some grass and get grounded. If I felt off, my baby probably did too, so I pressed pause on work and decided to take my little muffin to the park for a while.

The minute I unbuckled Avi from her seat and placed her in the stroller, I felt lighter instantly. She got excited as we approached the brightly colored play area, kicking her little feet and babbling her approval. For a weekday afternoon, the park was busy with children of all ages running around and the younger ones were crawling and stumbling over the padded play area for little people.

I removed Avi from her stroller, dumped a few toys nearby, and set her free to roam about while I took a seat on one of the benches that lined the exterior of the play zone. I was only a few feet from Avi and could get to her in a matter of seconds.

“She looks incredibly happy.”

I glared up at the woman who stopped near me with a baby in her arms. The little girl’s hair mirrored Avi’s in two puffs and shehad the woman’s face so I assumed that was her daughter. The little girl also looked to be about the same age as Avi.

“I think we both needed some fresh air.”

The woman smiled and nodded. She was tall with long braids that reached her butt. Although she was dressed casually in jeans and an off the shoulder shirt that had nothing impressive about it, everything about this woman screamed high-end.

There were small details like the diamonds in her ears, the bangles on her wrist, and the diamond crusted French manicure of her nails. I recognized the Kameron Tyler sneakers on her feet because after Omiri mentioned bailing on the meeting he had with them, I looked up her shoe line and fell in love with the exact pair the woman had on; so I knew how expensive they were.

“You live out here?”

I glanced at her briefly and nodded politely but didn’t give anything else. She picked up on my snub and smiled.

“Shit, sorry, I’m not really trying to intrude but you’re Makari Phoenix, right?”

I tensed and she smiled, extending her hand. “I’m Shiya Malloy. My man is Dedric. He and Omiri are teammates. This is Zaya.” She kissed her daughter’s forehead.

I smiled at the baby but didn’t completely relax. “She’s beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

Okay, a Sharks wife, that shouldn’t be so bad but I heard stories about WAGS. She was married but that didn’t mean she was going to fully embrace me. I decided not to jump to conclusions.

“Avi…” I pointed to my daughter and she nodded.

“Mind if we join you? Looks like they’re about the same age.”

“No, that’s fine.”