Touchdowns and Tiaras: The Complete Boxed Set

by Frost, Sosie

  I tossed everything I could find onto a tray. String cheese. Cold chicken breast. Some brown rice. A banana. Half of an Italian sub.

  I brought the tray to the den and thunked it down on the coffee table. Then I retreated a respectable distance.

  “There,” I said. “Give her something.”

  Piper’s eyebrow rose. “As much as I think she’d love leftover Kung Pow chicken…”

  “I brought it all. Would’ve hauled in the fridge too, if it made her stop crying.”

  I didn’t expect Piper’s grateful smile, a flicker of forgiveness.

  “I see her favorite.” She reached for the banana. “Rosie, look what Cole gave you.”

  Through the sniffles, tears, and chubby hand rubbing her face, Rose squealed in excitement.

  “Nanner!”

  And just like that…she was happy.

  I collapsed on the couch.

  I’d known the kid for less than fifteen minutes, and already my heart couldn’t handle this bullshit. I terrified the baby and then made her goddamned day in a five-minute span.

  Rose squished the banana, and Piper took it away from her. “Can I borrow your kitchen to cut this up?”

  “You desecrated this place with the diaper change. Do whatever it takes to make her stop crying.”

  “Babies cry, Cole.” Piper winked. “Get used to it. You might have one someday.”

  Never. Was she crazy? Who would trust me with a baby?

  I followed Piper to the kitchen. She steadied Rose on the island and fed her chopped up pieces of banana. The kid giggled with each bite. Like, lost her shit. I made millions of dollars and lived in a fucking mansion, and still I had never felt as happy as that baby with her damned piece of fruit.

  “Yum.” Piper hummed the word.

  “Ummm,” Rose mimicked.

  “Tell Cole thank you.”

  Her tiny little voice was heart-melting. “Ank you.”

  I hated asking. I ducked away from the kid and cleared my throat. “Are you…where’s her father?”

  Piper hesitated, almost long enough that I regretted the question.

  “We’re not involved,” she said. “He’s…hardly in her life.”

  That made our adventure in the hot tub more palatable. “You’re raising her alone?”

  “I didn’t have a choice.” She bopped the baby on the nose with a kiss. “I got pregnant in college. Grad school actually. I wanted my doctorate.”

  “In what?”

  “French Literature.”

  “Booming career field,” I said, accidentally insulting her. Figured. “I…haven’t met anyone with that major before.”

  “What was yours?”

  “Hell if I can remember. Football?”

  Piper shook her head. “Jocks.”

  “Nerd.”

  “Very much so.” She smiled, proud. “I love literature and art and everything that my father warned wouldn’t pay the bills. But he supported me anyway.”

  “Didn’t know Maddy had a heart.”

  “He doesn’t. He was hoping I’d find a nice man and get married straight out of school.” She sighed. “He expected me to have a big home, family, and kids…but not so soon.”

  “And you didn’t marry Rose’s father?”

  “God no. Jasper was a mistake. He was the arrogant, popular, selfish fraternity president. But he chased me, and he was the only one who ever did. But he only dated me because he thought he’d look better with a pretty virgin on his arm. I was too naïve to realize his game. Then one day…whoops.”

  Rose chattered. “Mamamama.”

  “You said it, meatball.”

  “So…” I tried to put it delicately. “You got knocked up.”

  “My dad was furious. He had been paying for everything—college and my apartment and food and books. Cut me off the instant I refused to marry Jasper. He said he’d give me a job, and I took it, but…”

  “You don’t know the first thing about football.”

  “Bingo. But he said I was smart enough to learn. I dropped everything, started working, had my baby, and now…” She shrugged. “Here we are.”

  Rose grinned at her mother first, but she spun and gave me a cheesy smile too. The banana did the trick. She grabbed a hunk of fruit, squished it in her fingers, then extended her hand toward me. When I didn’t move, she squeaked and bounced on the counter.

  “She’s sharing with you.” Piper explained. “She doesn’t do that for just anyone. I’d say you’re forgiven.”

  She shared with me?

  I couldn’t leave the kid hanging, but I didn’t want to get too close. Rose made nothing out of it, dropping the banana in my hand and ending the moment with a little coo and smile.

  She served herself another piece and then offered one to her mom. Piper gobbled it up with fake ravenous noises. Rose loved it.

  Why did the twenty-pound bundle of energy feel safe touching me? Being around me? Sharing with me?

  I ate the bit of banana to make the kid happy.

  “She’s…” I didn’t know what to say.

  “Amazing,” Piper whispered. She cleared her throat. “And getting so big. I feel like she’s already all grown up.”

  We had different definitions of grown up.

  “I’ve been working a lot,” she said. “Out of necessity. I have a nanny for her, but she’s expensive. And my job’s keeping me away from home more than my budget expected.”

  “Because of me?”

  “Well, Mr. Hawthorne…Let’s just say you aren’t very good for either of our careers at the moment. You’re even worse for my personal life.”

  “Can’t be all that bad. You liked the hot tub.”

  She didn’t take the bait. “But now you understand. I can’t be fooling around in hot tubs with bad boy linebackers. I have to think of my baby. She comes first.”

  Christ. Now I felt like a total dick. Her baby had nothing to do with what happened in the hot tub, but everything to do with me resisting the trade. It wasn’t fair that my feud with the agency was separating Piper from her baby.

  A year ago it wouldn’t have mattered to me. Hell, a week ago, I wouldn’t have given a shit. But now? I just ate a piece of smooshed up banana served to me by a giggling baby who looked at me without fear.

  I’d never had anyone trust me like that.

  “Look.” I sighed, deep. Hated what I was about to do. “I’ll talk with Maddy again.”

  “You will?”

  “Yeah. No sense in you working this hard. If Maddy wants the trade that bad, he can waste his time fucking with me.”

  I thought it was good news. Piper wasn’t convinced.

  “Why won’t you just agree to the trade?” she asked. “It’s a great opportunity for you…and your only chance to keep playing.”

  Rose reached for me. I didn’t trust myself to take her offered hand.

  “It would be the biggest mistake of my career. Of my life.”

  “Being melodramatic again?”

  “You know which team wants me the most,” I said. “Ironfield would give their left nut—” I censored myself before the baby learned anything worse from me. Twenty minutes in my presence and I was already the worst influence in her life. “Ironfield is desperate to sign me.”

  “But isn’t that good? They won the championship last year.”

  And unless I wanted to exchange future championship rings for brass knuckles, I wasn’t going anywhere near that team.

  “They know my reputation. Worse, they know what I’m capable of doing on the field—legal and not. They want me on their team, but not as the lynchpin to their defense.” I exhaled. “They’re trading for me because they plan on making me hurt people.”

  Piper eyes widened. “What do you—”

  “They want me to be The Beast. Not the player, but the animal. The monster. They’ll ask me to break the rules. To play dirty. And the worst part is…I know I can. I know I would. I spend every minute of every day struggling t
o control my thoughts and actions, but there’s a pit of rage that exists in me. If I go to Ironfield, they’d expect me to become a villain. I’d be dangerous and wild and full of hate. I don’t want to become that man, beautiful.”

  “Cole—”

  I didn’t let her speak. “I’ll talk to Maddy. You have more important things to do than spend your every waking moment here with me. I’ll do business with him again. No sense in you missing out on time with your little girl.”

  Piper wrapped an arm around her baby, keeping her steady on the counter. Such a natural and protective and loving movement, and she didn’t even realize she did it.

  “Cole, that’s very generous of you.”

  “If we have business to conduct, no reason it can’t be done during business hours.”

  “That’s true.”

  “Or over dinner.”

  Piper’s eyebrow rose. “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me.”

  “Are you…asking me out?”

  It was easier than asking her to stay. “Don’t get presumptuous, beautiful. Now that you know why I want to stay with the Monarchs, we can talk about my options over dinner.”

  “Oh…of course.”

  “And then we’ll finalize my plans in the hot tub.”

  She rolled her eyes, but I liked the way she smirked. Rose reached for her, and she settled the baby on her hip and shouldered her diaper bag. Stalling. Trying to think of a reason to say no…or maybe what she’d wear when she said yes.

  “We can have dinner.” Piper arched an eyebrow. “But it will be purely professional.”

  “Of course.”

  “I mean it, Cole.”

  “You have no faith in me.”

  “I can’t get involved in anything…complicated.”

  “I’ll make sure the menus are real simple.”

  “Fine, one dinner.” She cast me a devilish smile. “Then…maybe the hot tub.”

  I hardened, but Piper was the best kind of tease. I followed her to the door, but only Rose looked back. She waved at me with an uncoordinated flap of her fingers.

  I never imagined myself the bye-bye type, but I waved as the door closed.

  I immediately dialed Maddy.

  I told myself I called to get the agency off my ass. Figured it’d be easier to score with Piper if I did her the favor and relieved her of her trespassing responsibilities.

  But that wasn’t the real reason.

  I did it to help her.

  I did it because that baby gave me a piece of banana.

  I did it just to know it’d make Piper happier.

  Maddy answered on the second ring. “Cole! Got that checkbook ready? The league wants twenty-five grand in fines for a clean hit. I’m already appealing it, don’t worry—”

  “I didn’t call about the fine,” I said.

  “Oh!” He got too excited. “Is Piper there? Did she talk to you about the trade?”

  “Yeah.”

  He laughed, artificial and condescending. “Good man. I knew you’d eventually sign the waiver. You do like to make it hard on us, big guy.”

  “I’m not consenting.”

  “But—”

  “This is over, Maddy. I’m not taking the trade. I’m staying with the Monarchs.”

  “Cole—”

  “Stop sending Piper here. I realize the trade is important, but you don’t have to force Piper and her baby to my house anymore. From now on, if you got a problem with my decisions, you deal with me.”

  “The baby? She had the baby over?”

  “Yeah, because you made her deal with all this shit after hours.” And the thought still pissed me off. “So listen to me, Maddy. This is the last time I say this fucking bullshit. I’ll pay the fine. I’m not consenting to the trade. And you’re not sending Piper over here anymore. Got it?”

  “I apologize for my daughter’s behavior, Cole.”

  Was he listening to a word I said? “It doesn’t matter.”

  “She never should have brought the baby.”

  “It’s not about the baby—”

  “If she didn’t impress upon you how important this trade is then she wasn’t doing her job properly. I trusted that she would convey the seriousness of this deal, and it’s apparent that she’s only inconvenienced you.”

  “That’s not—”

  “Don’t worry, Cole. I’ll take care of it.”

  “Take care of it?” That sort of shit never sounded good. “What the hell are you going to do?”

  “I’ll fire her.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll resume management of your representation I’ll start the appeal for the fine. See if we can get it bumped down. Thank you, Cole. I’ll be in touch.”

  “Listen to me, you son of a bitch…”

  The call disconnected. I redialed, but Maddy bounced me to voicemail.

  My temper snapped, but I didn’t put my fist through a wall. I didn’t yell. I didn’t even have the urge to drive to the agency and punch that bastard in the nose.

  A new feeling prickled over me, as consuming and painful as the anger.

  Regret. Dread.

  Panic.

  This…would make for an awkward dinner conversation when I took Piper out.

  How the fuck did I get her fired?

  9

  Piper

  I knew who knocked on my door.

  He was goddamned lucky the oak separated us or I’d teach him an entirely new definition of the word football.

  Cole could pound all he wanted. I wasn’t getting up. Too many boxes and clothes and toys and everything cluttered the living room. Why would I waste my energy tip-toeing through the disaster to answer him?

  He didn’t stop knocking. Part of me thought it was ironic. The rest of me—the parts fired from my job for trying to save his—decided to let him yell in the hall until his throat burned raw.

  “Piper!”

  I didn’t answer, but Rose shouted for me.

  “Mamamamama!”

  Little traitor.

  I hauled her into my arms and flung the door open. I wasn’t happy to see him or his chiseled jaw or storybook eyes or the straining t-shirt stretched over his muscular chest.

  Rose gave him an excited squeal.

  Whose side was she on?

  “Go away,” I said. “You’ve done enough.”

  Cole spoke fast. “I had no idea what Maddy was going to do.”

  Like that made it better.

  I tried to slam the door, but Cole jammed his foot into the frame before it closed. Since he wasn’t my client anymore, I didn’t care if it hurt him. Let him break his toes or drown in his hot tub. I wouldn’t lose any sleep.

  “Did you know…” My voice rasped low. “I walked into work yesterday and found that my father had packed my office and left my things out front on the front desk?”

  “Piper—”

  “The receptionist told me I was fired. And when I asked about Dad, she handed me a note that said he’d call me when he was ready.”

  I didn’t bother telling Cole what else I’d found in my box. Dad had stashed his own framed pictures of Rose in with mine. He blamed everything on my baby, every reason my life went wrong.

  And at the bottom of his note? A plea.

  Please marry Jasper so I won’t worry about what happens to you once I’m gone.

  It didn’t hurt any less to know that Dad was looking for a reason to fire me, to force me into a marriage I didn’t want. But I wasn’t giving up. Not yet. Not ever.

  “I had picked out a dress to wear to dinner with you,” I said. “Used it as packing material for my dishes instead.”

  Cole loomed in the doorway, but he hadn’t taken a step inside the apartment. Probably because he didn’t fit. He looked down at me with a scowl.

  “Piper, I didn’t tell him to fire you. I’m sorry it happened.”

  I bumped Rose higher on my hip. “Fantastic. And since I can
feed my child with apologies, we’ll be fine.”

  “You didn’t answer your phone.”

  I hadn’t wanted to talk to Cole, but I also didn’t want him to know that I gave him a second thought.

  “I’ve been a little busy.”

  He glanced over the apartment…all of the apartment. So tiny it might have shamed me if I had any capacity for shame left.

  “I wanted to...help,” he said.

  “Cole Hawthorne, my knight-in-shining-armor.” I laughed. “Can you blame a girl for not being interested in your help?”

  He stepped into my apartment despite me not inviting him in.

  So it’d be war then.

  I kicked open a box and laid a blanket inside. Rose squealed as I set her in the box. I let her play with Mr. Bumpybottom while I got rid of Cole.

  He looked over the disaster of an apartment and kicked a roll of bubble wrap. “You’re packing?”

  “Just lost my job.” I stole the duct tape from Rose before she tried to eat it. “I can’t afford it here.”

  “Where will you go?”

  An excellent question. “I have no idea, but at least I have time to look.”

  Cole dodged a box of dishes and steadied a teetering stack of duffel bags filled with Rose’s clothes. He surveyed my home—most of which would fit in his foyer. If he thought he’d find a hot tub out back, he was sorely mistaken.

  “You actually live here?”

  He was less of an asshole at his own house. “Yes.”

  “It’s a little claustrophobic…” He crossed his arms, frowned, then uncrossed them. “I feel like I’m going to break things.”

  “Then get out.”

  He stepped away, flinching as Rose bumbled up from the box, blanket on her head and not a care in the world.

  “I wanted to talk.” He shrugged. “About…everything.”

  And I wanted to finish packing so I could move before I depleted my meager savings. “I think we’ve said enough.”

  “It looks like you’ve been stuck packing for a while. Do you want something to eat?”

  Was he kidding or just the world’s largest asshole? “Are you asking me out?”

  “You gotta eat.”

  “Not with you.”

  “You’ll want to talk to me.”