Page 15 of Full Strength

“Ignore him, he’s immature.” Wyatt said with confidence.

I knew he was right, but part of me questioned whether or not I was qualified to date Addison. It wasn’t just her I had to think about. Could I handle being a parental figure for Eli? I cared about him, but was I ready? I didn’t know how Addison felt about sharing responsibilities with anyone else. Would she let me be a father? Would I want to?

It was a lot to think about, especially since we hadn’t even been out on a real date yet. I was already thinking about parenting and she just turned me down. I was getting way ahead of myself. Getting her to agree to go out with me was step one.

We landed a few minutes later, and were shuttled to the hotel next to Detroit’s arena. I gratefully stepped into my private suite and let out a sigh. I needed time alone to figure out a plan. When Reese first asked out Chloe, he took her to a private dinner in a garden. Maybe I could do things like that. We’d be able to spend time together and get to know each other without prying eyes.

I could try.

Find places where our privacy wouldn’t be compromised. I’d happily include Eli too. Then she wouldn’t have to worry about finding babysitters.

Yeah, I could come up with a foolproof plan that she couldn't turn down. I laid down on the hotel bed and felt significantly better for the first time since she’d turned me down.

My phone rang next to me and I picked it up to see my brother, Zach, requesting a video call. I answered and immediately heard crying.

I cringed at the image on the screen. I was looking at the floor, covered in cereal and toys. “Hello?”

I heard Zack in the background yelling, but he was too far away to be holding the phone. I laughed. “Owen?”

The phone moved and I laughed again. My nephew had commandeered the phone. That was probably what Zach was yelling about.

“Owen hold the phone up to your face.”

The view changed so I was looking into the kitchen. “Turn it around buddy.”

Suddenly, I was staring at a very close up view of my two-year-old nephew. “Hey there.”

His smile grew. “Gant!”

I laughed at his attempt at my name. “Hi Owen. What are you doing?”

He laughed maniacally. “I play with daddy’s phone.”

I shook my head. “Is that why daddy’s mad?”

The yelling hadn’t stopped and I was tempted to use the hotel phone to call their house phone, but I had eyes on the kid so I knew there wasn’t too much trouble he could get in.

“I play trucks.”

“Show me.” I laughed as I got a different view of his face. He was pointing the phone where I assumed the trucks was. He didn’t quite know how to change where the camera faced yet. I’d have to teach him next time I visited.

“That's cool, buddy.”

“Yeah.”

“Where’s daddy?”

I heard him giggle and realized I was aiding in a game of keep away. I almost felt bad but really my brother should be paying closer attention to his toddler.

“Owen, can you tell me what a monkey says?”

He oo-oo-ah-ah’d for me making me grin. It was my favorite animal noise he did. I was about to ask him to do an elephant when the view changed.

“Really Owen? No hiding from daddy.” Zach sounded so resigned. It made me smile wider.

“Do I need to send in reinforcements?”

Zach’s face filled the screen. “You’ve got to be kidding me. How long was he talking to you?”