Now, though, it seems obvious. The woman before me may look like the Aria Ryan I thought I knew... but the real Aria’s eyes are clear blue. She isn’t hiding behind anything, she isn’t twitching or looking for an exit, desperate for a fix.
“This is so effed up,” the other woman, who looks like Tinkerbell if she’d dipped her hair in a well of black ink says. “I’m Cleo, by the way. And who exactly are you?”
“Tatum,” I say, running a hand over my jaw, floored by the reality of the last twenty-four hours. “And I really need to find... Ashley.”
Aria weaves between us and returns to her desk that is covered in bills and paperwork. She adjusts the sleeves on her top as she sits down. “So, she’s using again?” she asks, her voice soft.
I nod. “Yeah. It was pretty obvious when I saw her yesterday.”
“Where did you see here?” Aria asks, biting her bottom lip.
“She came to my apartment.” I shake my head. “God, this is messed up. I swear, we only met once--”
“Met?” Cleo scoffs.
I lift my hands in defense, realizing Aria’s friend isn’t going to take any bullshit. I’m glad because right now I can’t handle any games either. “Fine, you’re right. We slept together. Once. The whole thing is a blur. And that was a year ago.”
“Then what?” Aria asks, looking as shaken up as I feel.
“She had our daughter with her.” I drop my face in my hands. “God, it’s crazy saying that out loud. I have a daughter.”
“You didn’t know?”
I shake my head. “No. Not until yesterday. Aria... I mean Ashley...” Fuck this is crazy. “She showed up, asked for cash. I gave it to her, but when she tried to go, I wouldn’t let her take Rose.”
Aria takes in a sharp breath. “She named her daughter Rose?”
I nod. “Yeah.” A small smile tugs at my lips, thinking about her little hands, her soft, chubby cheeks. I’m already in love with her. “She’s the sweetest thing in the world,” I say honestly.
Aria is blinking back tears and I realize it’s a lot for her to process too. I’m a father and she’s an aunt. In the space of a day. And we’ve both been caught up in Ashley’s lies and deception.
“When was the last time you saw your sister?” I ask.
“Not in over a year,” Aria says, rubbing her temples. “Her phone is disconnected. I tried calling her earlier.”
“You know her though,” I say. “She’ll come back for Rose at some point, right? I mean she’s her daughter.”
Aria and Cleo share a look.
“What?” My heart is sinking into my stomach because I already know what they’re going to tell me.
“Ashley isn’t exactly loyal,” Cleo says. “Her interests are self-centered and unless she’s done a one-eighty, I wouldn't hold my breath.”
Aria looks away like it pains her to hear the truth about her sister. But she doesn’t deny it.
“This isn’t about being loyal. This is about her child,” I say. “I can’t believe she’d just abandon her.”
“You won’t find her,” Aria says softly. “Ash doesn’t play by regular rules. She does what she wants when she wants it.” She picks up a stack of bills. “Case in point.”
I don’t register the comment, but Cleo fills me in while Aria picks up her phone and places a call. “Her sister has been using her name for a while now,” she explains. “Kind of fucked her over.”
“Who are you calling?” I ask, but Aria just holds up a finger as she begins to leave a message.
“Hey, Mom. It’s me again. If you know anything about where Ash is, can you tell me? It’s really...” She lets out a shaky breath, and I can tell she’s trying to hold back her emotions. “It’s really important. Thanks.” Then she hangs up and begins putting the papers in a stack, tears falling down her cheeks.
Her long dirty blonde hair falls in her face and when she licks her lips, I see a very different girl than the Ashley who came to my place last night. Ashley was all hard edges, Aria is soft, vulnerable. Scared.
And I realize that in a way, we’re in this together. That’s if she wants anything to do with Rose.
“Do you want to come to meet her?” I ask, dragging a palm over the scruff on my jaw. “I’m really freaking the fuck out. And since you're her family--”
Aria cuts me off. “Of course, I want to meet her.”
“Even though your sister has screwed you over?”
“Family is family,” she says, pushing away from her desk. She has the body of a dancer, the face of a star, the gentle voice of a girl who’s been broken more times than she can count. The complete opposite of the woman who showed up at my place last night.
“Then come on,” I say. “Let me take you to meet your niece.”
Aria and Cleo silently converse. Eventually, Cleo nods. “I’ll teach your Tiny Tumblers class this morning, okay? And I can totally lead Pirouetting Preschoolers at one o’clock.”
“You sure?”
Cleo nods, picking up a purse from the floor and handing it to Aria. “You’ve covered my ass more times than I can count.”
When we step outside the studio, Aria lifts her brow, pointing to my Porsche. “This is your ride?”
I shrug, unlocking the car and a minute later we’re zooming down the freeway. Silence spreads between us and I can’t get a read on Aria. I didn’t know Ashley at all, and now I’m sitting with her sister. Rose connecting us for the rest of our lives, in one way or another. It’s a fucking lot to process so I don’t press her for conversation. She’s probably trying to sort out her own feelings on the matter.
Me? I don’t know what to think about the twins -- about Ashley. Right now, all I can think about is protecting Rose. Because if Ashley is as unreliable as Aria says, she can’t have custody of our child.
My child. The thought has me gripping the steering wheel, blood pumping through my body. This isn’t how I expected my life to go. I thought I’d go the traditional route eventually -- meet a girl, ask to marry her, have few kids -- the whole nine yards. This? My shoulders are tense as I realize just how far from that my life is going to be now. Everything changed in the space of just one night, one year ago.
“You okay?” Aria’s voice cuts through my emotions, her hand on my forearm. “You’re driving really fast.”
I look at the speedometer and press the brakes, decelerating. “Sorry. It’s just a fucking lot to take in.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t have slept with a stranger,” she says, the words hold an edge, but the lilt of her voice is still soft.
“I know,” I say, agreeing with her in some regards. I look over at her, the morning Malibu sun filtering through the window, her dirty blonde hair framing her face. She’s beautiful in an untouchable way. “But Rose is perfect,” I add. “Just wait until you meet her.”
When we get to Drew and Jessica’s, Aria looks surprised. “This is your friend’s house?”
I nod. “Yeah, my buddy Drew’s wife is watching Rose right now.”
“I see,” Aria says, taking the mansion in, and I get the impression that she’s not impressed. If anything, she looks more offended by it then in awe.
“I’ll be right back,” I tell her.
She waits in the foyer as I quickly give Jessica an update.
“You go out to the living room,” Jessica suggests, handing me my daughter. “I’ll go get Aria and send her your way. You guys should be alone for this introduction.”
A few minutes later I’m sitting on the couch, Rose in my arms. My palm is bigger than her head. Tears get caught in my throat and I try to push them down. Now isn’t the time to fall apart.
“Wow,” Aria says, sitting down at my side. “Look at her.”
There’s the awe I’d expected from her earlier. The right kind of awe. And it makes me like her even more.
“Rose, meet your Auntie Aria,” I say, trying to be strong for us all. I place Rose in Aria’s arms and emotion fills her eyes. She doesn’t w
ipe the tears away. They spill down her cheeks. Her chin trembles as she offers Rose her pinky finger. The baby clings to it, tightly.
“You’re right,” she says, the back of her fingers running over Rose’s head. “She is perfect.”
And I know in that second that Aria will fight just as hard as I will to keep Rose safe.
Chapter Five
Tatum
“Do you want me to drive you back to the dance studio or someplace else?” I ask when I have Rose strapped into the car seat in the back.
“The studio, please,” Aria says as she gets in the car.
We drive in silence for most of the way, Rose sleeping in the back, and the radio softly playing Taylor Swift’s newest hit.
“So, what are you going to do?” she finally asks.
I drag my fingers through my hair and shake my head. “The only thing I can. Take care of my daughter. I’ll have to get someone to watch her when I’m at practice and game days, but--”
“Game days?” Her gaze narrows on me. “I didn’t ask... what exactly do you do for work?”
“I play for the LA Chargers?”
“You’re a football player?” Something flashes in her eyes. Frustration? Fear? “Of course, you are.” She bangs her head against the headrest and closes her eyes. “Damnit, Ashley.”
“Is that a problem?” I ask, not sure why she’s upset.
She rubs her hands over her face and mutters a string of curses under her breath.
“I’m not sure how my career affects anything,” I say, tightening my fingers over the wheel as I take the exit. “I have money. I can take care of Rose. And--”
“You think your money will protect her or you when the media finds out that Ashley is her mom?”
“I don’t have any plans of broadcasting it, but even if something gets leaked, it’s not the end of the world. People have kids out of wedlock all the time.” Not that I ever expected to be one of those people. I’d always been so fucking responsible. I never slept with a girl without using protection. But I was completely wasted the night I was with Ashley, so God only knows what happened.
Aria is still muttering under her breath. She has her cell out and when I glance at it, I can see she’s googling me.
“This is so bad,” she says, scrolling through images and news articles on her phone.
I know the press will be on me when they find out I have a kid, but I also know how short people’s attention spans are. They’ll move onto another story the next day.
“So, what if I get a little media attention?” It’s obviously the wrong thing to say because Aria turns on me.
“Do you even know who Ashley is?”
“I know the two of you were on that TV show. So what?”
“You didn’t pay much attention to the gossip columnists growing up, did you?”
I snort. “No. And I still don’t. Who cares what people say?”
She laughs then, but it’s a hollow sound. “That coming from the guy who's never been thrown under the bus by the press.”
I glance over at her, waiting for her to continue.
She shrugs and I see the flash of pain in her eyes. “People can be cruel. After the show got canceled, Ashley got into some trouble. There were accusations...” Her breath is shaky when she blows it out. “Some of it was true. Most of it, actually. Ashley spiraled, and we lost everything.”
I pull into the parking lot of her studio and park the car.
“I didn’t care about the fame or even the money. But I lost friends. Or, I guess people I thought were friends. I just...I can’t go through that again. And I don’t want Rose to have to go through it either.”
I reach for her hand and squeeze it. It’s probably not the smartest thing to do, especially not when I feel the warmth of her skin against mine, feel the little sparks that ignite.
“I’m sorry.”
She pulls her hand back, frowning. “I don’t need your sympathy, Tatum. I just need you to be careful. Who you talk to. What you say.”
I feel like there’s something she’s not telling me. More to the story than just bad press.
“I will.”
She nods, still frowning as she looks over at the building where little girls dressed in pink tights skip out the doors, holding their parent’s hands.
“I want to be part of her life,” Aria says, looking back at me. “I know I can’t make up for what Ashley did, but I need to be there for her.”
“Of course.”
“I hate the idea of strangers watching her. I mean when you have to work or travel... whatever you do.” She gives a nervous laugh. “Sorry, I don’t know anything about football.”
That laugh does something to me, something it shouldn’t. And it hits me again how different she is. Not just from her sister, but from other women I’ve known. She reminds me of Charlie. Sweet, honest, down-to-earth.
But Aria isn’t Charlie. Charlie was the girl next door, the best friend, the familiar. Aria is a woman who is beautiful in a tragic way, who is one step removed because she doesn’t want to get close to the spotlight. She’s a child star with a lot of baggage, and she’s also my daughter’s aunt. Still, there’s something about her that makes me want to protect her, to keep her close.
“You can come and see Rose whenever you want,” I tell her.
“Thank you. But I was thinking that maybe I can watch her. I mean instead of you hiring someone.”
“What about your classes?”
“Cleo will help out. And I can always bring her with me if I need to. There are always parents in the classes ready to dote on a baby.”
I rub the back of my neck and think about her offer. “I’m gone away, sometimes days at a time.”
“That’s okay.”
“It’s a big commitment.”
She smiles. “For you too.”
“Except, I don’t have a choice.”
“I don’t think I do either. I know I’m not her mom, but I have to be here for her. She’s my family, Tatum. That means something to me.”
Her words, right there, are what do it for me. Make me want to trust her, believe in her. Make me want to stand by her side. All in a single sentence. A simple conversation. She is loyal, just like me. And right now, I need loyalty more than anything. People willing to stand by my side because God knows I’ve really gone and fucked things up this time.
“Okay. Give me your phone,” I tell her, taking it from her when she unlocks it, then texting myself from her number, and putting in my address. “Come by my place after work and we’ll figure out a schedule.”
When she takes her phone back, her fingers brush mine, and our gazes lock for a moment. There’s that damn feeling again. Sharp, intense, a million volts of electricity rushing through my arm and going straight to my cock.
But that’s the damn thing that got me in this mess in the first place. And it’s the last thing I should be thinking with now.
I release her phone and we both sigh at the same time.
“We’ll figure this out, together,” I tell her as she opens the door.
“Yeah.” She gives me a forced smile, and steps out, pausing with her hand on the door. “I still don’t get it.”
“What?”
“Why you? I mean I know Ashley’s type. I’ve seen the men she falls for. You're nothing like them.”
“Should I be insulted?” I laugh.
“No. The opposite. You’re just... you seem like a really good guy, Tatum.”
“I like to think I am but even good guys fuck up sometimes.”
She laughs. “Yeah. I guess they do.” Her gaze drifts to the back seat and her expression softens. Then says before shutting the door, “At least you got something good out of the mistake.”
Chapter Six
Aria
“This is insane.” Cleo has a hard time believing me when I tell her who Tatum is. “He’s a football player for the NFL?”
“Yeah,” I tell her as we close for the night. W
e’ve been running around all day teaching classes and it’s the first chance we’ve had to talk. “I mean, it’s really the worst-case scenario if you ask me.”
Cleo snorts as we lock the front doors and walk outside. It’s after six o’clock and the sun is still shining bright. “Right, a millionaire daddy is super rough.”
I roll my eyes. “I get it. In that regard, it’s a great thing. Rose is going to be provided for. But Cleo, you know what the press will do. I just can’t figure out why Ash wasn't the one flaunting this story herself. What is she hiding?”
Cleo pulls open her car door. “Babe, I’ve known you for five years. I’ve seen the shit your family has put you through. There is one reason Ashley does things and one reason only.”
“To get what she wants.”
“Exactly.” Cleo shrugs. “So, you just have to figure out what she’s after.”
“I know,” I exhale, pressing my fingertips to my temples. “This day is just so messed up.” The bills alone are migraine worthy. But Ashley ditching her baby without a backward glance? It’s a whole different level of crazy.
“Hey,” Cleo's voice cuts through my spiraling emotions. “Go cuddle that baby. It will put you in a good mood. I promise.”
“You think?”
“Sure, and if the baby doesn’t, let that hunky baller relax you.” Cleo laughs wiggling her hips as she slides into the driver’s seat.
“Oh, my God. That is so fucked up, you know that right?” But I can’t help but laugh at my nonsensical bestie. “Drive safely,” I call after her as she pulls away.
I get into my Jeep and turn up the music. I may not be able to get lost by dancing right now, but Cardi B can get me out of my head.
* * *
Tatum’s fourth-floor apartment is nothing like I expected. After being at his friend’s mansion this morning, I guess I was imagining some waterfront property. But his apartment has zero flash.
Game Day Baby Page 3
