“Do you?”
“No. But...”
I cup her face and press my lips against hers. “I want you here.”
“This is crazy.” She blows out a breath.
“Yeah. But honestly, after the week we’ve had this is probably the sanest thing that has happened.”
She laughs. “I don’t know about that.”
Through the monitor, I hear Rose whimper.
“I’ll get her,” Aria says, stepping back.
“Okay. I’ll order us some food.”
She gives me a small smile before walking towards the bedroom, and I know she’s not a hundred percent sold on the idea of moving in. But I am. Not just because I want to be close to her, but because I want -- no, need -- to make sure she’s safe.
I blow out a breath as I place an order with Farfalla Trattoria, then make a call to Knox.
“You got plans after practice tomorrow?” I ask when he answers.
“Depends,” he says. “If it’s the same plans that Drew just tossed at me, the answers no.”
I grunt. “Not likely. Mine involves a moving truck, and a few beers afterward, not a bottle of Patron and a titty bar.” I’d gotten the same text earlier today.
“A moving van, huh? Who’re we moving?”
“Aria.”
There’s a short silence before he says, “And where are we moving her to?”
“Don’t start in on me when I tell you, because I know it’s insane, but I asked her to move in here.”
“Shit, man. That is insane.”
I rub the back of my neck, knowing it’s the same reaction I’ll get from most people when they find out. But I don’t care. There are some things that are more important than what other people think. Like keeping Aria and Rose safe.
I can hear Aria now, in my room, humming softly to Rose, who’s already settled down.
“I need the help--”
“Then hire a nanny. You don’t even know this girl.”
“Yeah, I do. And she’s nothing like her sister. She’s kind and honest, and--”
“Fuck, you slept with her, didn’t you?”
“That’s not why--”
“Jesus, Tatum. You’re killing me. You know how messed up this is, don’t you?”
Yeah, but when Aria is with me, it doesn’t feel messed up, it feels right.
“Will you help me tomorrow or not?”
“Of course. You know I’ll always have your back, even when you make dipshit decisions.”
“Thanks, I think.”
“Just be careful. It’s not just yourself you have to worry about now.”
He has no idea how true his words are. Because in less than a week, my heart has been seized and immobilized by two girls. And I’m not willing to give either of them up.
Chapter Fourteen
Aria
“You’re what?” Cleo hands me an iced soy latte and follows me into my apartment. Moving boxes are stacked in neat piles and my furniture is covered with drop cloths so nothing is damaged in the moving van. There was a crew here packing all my stuff at dawn. Tatum and Knox will be here soon to help take what I need to his place. Everything else is going in a storage unit paid for by the quarterback himself.
“I know it’s insane,” I tell her. “But Tatum offered for me to move in and considering we’re taking care of Rose in shifts, it makes sense.”
“So, what? You’re like together?” She shakes her head. “Aria, you hardly know him.”
“I know enough,” I say defensively as we walk out the back door and sit outside on the steps. I take a sip of the latte to avoid her gaze.
“Shit, Ar. You slept with him, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. I did...” I exhale, turning to look at my closest friend. “I know you think this is a bad idea, but it felt right.”
“You just haven’t been with--”
I cut her off. “I know. But Cleo, I wanted to sleep with him. I chose this. No one else did.”
“And does he know about--”
“No. We haven't talked about our pasts.” Running my hands through my hair, I pull it into a messy bun. I rephrase my sentence. “Well, he has talked about his past. Apparently, some girl named Charlie broke his heart.”
Cleo smirks. “Why do you care? I thought you weren’t together?”
I feel my face flush. “We’re not. But... God, this is going to get complicated, isn’t it?”
She laughs. “Um, sweetheart, things got complicated the moment Ashley dropped a baby at his doorstep.”
Yeah, I know she’s right. But me sleeping with Tatum didn’t help matters.
“Hello?” Tatum’s voice calls out from inside.
“We’re out here,” I tell him, standing. “Hey, Knox,” I say when I see Tatum and his friend come through the door. I try to remain nonchalant. As if Cleo and I always hang out with NFL superstars.
Cleo though isn’t playing it cool.
“Okay,” she says her mouth dropped open. “I knew you’d be hot from the pictures I saw on the internet, but damn, Knox, in real life you seriously deliver.”
“Cleo!” I shake my head.
“What?” she laughs. “People like compliments.”
Knox plays along, flexing his muscles for Cleo. “No shame in playing the game.”
I meet Tatum’s gaze and we both crack up. I find it hilarious that we both have best friends who are more outgoing than we are.
“So, where is the baby?” Cleo asks, finally getting over herself.
“She’s with Jessica, our buddy Drew’s wife,” Tatum explains.
“And where is Drew?” Cleo asks. “Shouldn’t he be here for the manpower?”
Knox snorts. “I think he’s got himself double booked at the moment.”
Tatum shoots him a look that I wish I understood. Knox changes the subject. “So, what are we taking?” he asks me.
I begin pointing to the boxes that are filled with my clothing and personal items, and the two men begin loading the van. Cleo and I wipe down the fridge and stove, trying to get the apartment in perfect condition so I can get my deposit back.
As the guys work on hauling the boxes, Cleo and I start in on the bathroom. With yellow gloves and bleach water, we scrub the floor on our hands and knees. Cleo comes from money. Lots of it. And I doubt she’s ever had to clean a toilet before -- but she helps me without comment and I feel a surge of gratitude for her. I wish there was a way I could repay her.
Truth is, she hasn’t cashed her paychecks in three months. When I’ve asked her about it, she waves me off, saying I can keep the change. I know she has a trust fund and teaches dance because she loves it and because it gives her something to do until she lands a part in a show. Still, she has proven herself to be the most loyal friend.
“So, with this new living situation, plus selling the Jeep, do you think you can keep the studio open?” she asks as we finish up.
“I think so,” I say, pulling off the latex gloves. “The hospital allowed me to go on a payment plan, and Tatum is adamant about getting his lawyer to claim identity theft.”
“Is that what you want? To press charges against your sister?”
“I don’t know what I want. Part of me wants to do whatever it takes to draw her out of the woodwork. To force her to own up to what she’s done.”
“And the other part?”
“The other part wants her to stay far, far away. Away from Rose and away from me.”
“And away from Tatum?” Cleo asks. She knows my fear of having Ash take away anything good that happens to me. It’s been her pattern for years. The moment she sees that I’m happy, she does what she can to pull the rug out from under me.
“What about Tatum?” Knox asks, poking his head into the bathroom. “You talking about my boy?”
Cleo laughs. “No, we were talking about you.”
Knox lifts his eyebrows. “Oh, yeah? Tell me more.”
Cleo and I burst out laughing and follow him out into the living
room. “Your girl here is trouble,” Knox tells Tatum. “I think they were whispering about you.”
Tatum clears his throat, eyes on me. God, are they ever not? My belly flip-flops taking him in. “What were you saying?” he asks me directly.
I exhale. Tatum does not skirt an issue. He is more direct than anyone I’ve ever known.
“We were debating whether or not you were a pizza or burger guy,” I say. “Because we’re starving.”
Knox beats his hands over his rock-hard stomach. “Burgers all the way.”
* * *
By the time we finish eating, unloading the van, get Rose and then get back to Tatum’s place, we’re exhausted. Jessica is pretty sure she is teething and Tatum and I both start the night naive on what that might mean.
I begin the evening in my bed trying to soothe Rose back to sleep, but then she starts crying around one am. Tatum tries to rock her, change her, feed her -- only to have me take over an hour later. By the time we’ve passed her back and forth half a dozen times, all three of us are in Tatum’s bed.
We must have fallen asleep at some point because when Rose starts fussing, it is miraculously nine thirty in the morning. I wipe the drool off my face and take in the adorable look on Tatum’s sleeping face. He looks so comfortable and in such a deep sleep that I take his daughter from the bed and tiptoe out of the bedroom.
I feed and change Rose, then place her in the baby swing. She kicks her legs and gurgles, eyes wide and focused on the shapes that dangle from it. My heart swells, watching her. It’s crazy how much I already love her. How easy this all feels.
And a small sliver of panic rushes through me because I know that nothing this good ever lasts.
Not in my world.
Chapter Fifteen
Tatum
“One drink,” Drew says, slapping my back as we leave the stadium. “That’s all I’m asking. Jessica took the kids to her parents for the week, so I’m officially a bachelor.” The salacious grin he gives me tells me he’s going to take full advantage of his wife being out of town.
I grunt, glancing at my watch, knowing Aria will be expecting me home soon.
“Knox, Redmond, and Peterson are coming.” He slings an arm over my shoulder. “If you need a bullshit reason to stop by, Jessica has a box of toys and baby shit that she told me to give you.”
I know he won’t let up. And it’s been a long time since I’ve made any attempt to hang out with him and the guys.
“Fine,” I tell him. “One drink. Then I need to get home--”
“I thought the whole point of having the twin sister move in was so that you could get your life back.”
I don’t tell him that I don’t want my old life back. Before Rose, before Aria, I was walking around without any real purpose. But now, despite the craziness of the situation, everything feels... right.
Before I head to his house, I make a stop at the store and pick up some diapers and formula and send a text to Aria while I’m in line.
Me: Some of the guys are going to Drew’s for a drink. I’ll be home in a couple of hours.
She responds right away.
Aria: Have fun. We’re good here.
Me: You sure? I can come home right away if you want.
Aria: That your way of saying you miss me? ;)
My cock twitches. Aria has been sleeping in my bed for how many nights, yet we haven’t had sex once since the first time. A night that is permanently seared into my memory. God, I want her again. But I’ve been trying to give her space, letting her get accustomed to living with me before I ask for anything more.
Me: I’d rather be having fun with you.
There is a pause in her texting. Then three dots. They’re erased before finally, a message appears.
Aria: We can have “fun” when you come home later.
I try not to text my reply too quickly and appear overly eager, but hell, I am undoubtedly interested in whatever she has in mind.
Me: Is that a promise?
Aria replies with a finger’s crossed emoji and I smile at my phone, picturing her gorgeous body spread out on my bed, my hands roaming across her curves, and I’m about to text Drew and tell him I’ve changed his mind when I get a text from Knox.
Knox: Where are you? The only reason I agreed to come to this thing is that Drew told me you were coming.
I sigh and text him back.
Me: On my way.
Knox: Good. Cause I’m pretty sure Drew has lost his shit.
I don’t ask what he means. I can guess. Drew has always been a partier. Gotten in trouble with the coach more than a few times for coming to practice with a severe hangover.
I’m not sure why Jessica stays with him. She has to know that he’s cheated on her with several women. Hell, there were pictures in the Los Angeles Times of him with two half-naked girls plastered against him.
The guy has everything, and yet he’s willing to throw it all away. And for what? Sex with random chicks. I rub the back of my neck and wince realizing what that sounds like coming from me.
There’s already a line of cars on the street outside Drew’s house when I finally arrive, and music thumps from the house.
Knox opens the door and hands me a beer. “You’re going to need this.”
I frown, taking it and glancing around at the room full of scantily dressed women. Drew has one of them in his lap, and from the glazed look in his eyes he’s already intoxicated, or close to it.
“Shit,” I mutter.
There are at least a dozen other team members here and like Drew, they’re taking full advantage of what Knox likes to call Punt bunnies -- girls whose main goal is to sack as many of the players as possible.
I tilt my beer at Drew when he waves, then I follow Knox into the kitchen.
“Jessica needs to dump his ass,” Knox says, clear frustration in his voice.
“Yeah. But you know she won’t. He had her sign a prenup before they got married.”
He just shakes his head and drags a hand through his hair. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
He raises a brow, giving me a look like I should know his meaning. And I do. He’s asking about Rose and Aria. I still haven’t told anyone about them other than him and Drew, but after the pictures that were posted, some of the guys have been poking at me for answers.
“Everything’s good,” I tell him, speaking in code when Peterson comes into the room to grab a beer. “We’ve got a good system in place.”
“And the test results? They came back positive?”
I know he’s asking about the paternity test. “Haven’t done it yet.”
His eyes widen. “Why the hell not?”
Peterson slaps my shoulder. “Whatever you need to do to get back on the field, do it. We need you out there.”
I give him a forced smile. “I’ll be ready for the playoffs. You just need to get us there.”
Knox doesn’t say anything until Peterson is gone. But then he says harshly, “You need to do that test.”
“I will.” I rub the back of my neck. My lawyer sent the test the day after I asked for it, and it’s been sitting on my bedroom dresser since.
“Look. I like Aria. She seems like a decent person. But come on Madden. Some chick shows up at your place with a kid, claiming it’s yours. The first thing you should have done is to make sure she was telling the truth.”
“Rose is mine.” My words come out harsher than I intended, and he puts his hands up in mock defense.
“Okay. I’m just offering you some advice. It’s your life. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you if it comes back to bite you in the ass.”
His words are too similar to my brother’s and I take a deep swallow of my beer.
There’s a commotion in the other room, and both Knox and I move to see what’s going on.
Peterson has a guy up against the wall, his hands around the man’s throat. “Apologize.”
“Easy, tiger,” the guy who’s half th
e size of Peterson, and looks more like he stepped off the cover of Rolling Stone magazine than a football field says. “She’s all yours if you want her.”
“Let him go,” Drew says, chuckling, a new girl in his lap, one hand up her blouse. “There’s enough pussy to go around.”
“Jesus,” Knox mutters beside me, and I can hear the same disgust in his voice that I feel.
Drew calls me over, spanking his girl’s ass, telling her to be really nice and go get him another drink.
Knox and I sit down on the couch with him, and the guy who’d just been pinned against the wall sits down in a club chair opposite us.
“Hey, you guys know Ward?” Drew asks, introducing us.
I offer him my hand. “Tatum,” I say. “Nice to meet you.”
Ward juts out his chin and gives me a grin. “Any friend of Drew is a friend of mine.”
“How do you guys know one another?” Knox asks, his scowl obvious. But I get it, there’s something about the guy that doesn’t sit right with me.
Ward frowns, clearing his throat, but Drew cuts in before he can answer, “Dude, what’s with the third degree?” Then as if remembering something, he points to both Ward and me. “Hey, T, Maybe Ward can help you.”
“With what?” I ask.
“Finding your baby-mama.” He doesn’t seem to notice my hands clenching. What the hell is he doing now? “You still keep in touch with Ashley Ryan?” he asks Ward.
Ward chuckles. “Not in ages. Heard she was a fucking yacht girl though.”
“A what?” I ask, eyebrows lifting.
“Yacht girl -- you know, slutty girls who are hired to entertain rich fuckers on their private boats. Where you from Tatum, not to know that?”
Drew laughs. “Tatum’s a good old boy from Michigan.”
Ignoring Drew, I ask Ward how exactly he knows Ashley.
Game Day Baby Page 8
