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“Ow, Uncle Nick. You’re hugging me too tight.” Cassidy wriggles in my arms.
“Sorry, pumpkin. Want to show me what’s in your purse?”
She shakes her head. “Nope. Mom says my purse is private.”
“Okay then.” My eyes involuntarily seek out Lainey’s and we share a brief moment of joined humor over this cute little button.
Cassidy pushes at my arms again. I set her down reluctantly.
“Come here, baby,” Lainey says and pulls out a coloring book and pencils. “Why don’t you sit at the table while I help your Aunt Charlie with dinner.”
Cassidy obediently follows her mother’s order. She pats the seat next to her with a small but imperious hand. “Come sit and color with me.”
“Sure.” I take a seat, but it’s not long before my gaze drifts back toward Lainey and Charlie, their two heads close together whispering something. Likely about Chip coming over. My eyes linger on Lainey’s heart-shaped ass, showcased by her tight yoga pants. Every woman seems to wear them, but none like Lainey. I lick my lips thinking of all the times I’ve imagined my mouth on those curves. It’s criminal how little control I have when it comes to Lainey. I pick up a crayon and focus on Cassidy.
“Mind if I color?” I ask.
She gives me a sweet smile of approval and I shade in a leaf, carefully because Cassidy’s particular about coloring outside the lines.
My best defense here is another woman, but I’m in the middle of training camp and the season starts in two months. It’s not like I have time for that shit. The pressure builds up at the base of my neck. I reach back and squeeze it.
“It’s different this year, isn’t it?” It’s Lainey’s voice.
“Do I look tense?”
“A little,” she says and hands me a glass of water. A few orange slices and a couple of cranberries are now in the pitcher that I’d had in the refrigerator.
“Thanks.”
“Charlie is saying she needs to do a refrigerator cleanse.”
“Did she also say I need to stay away from the grocery store?”
Amusement dances in Lainey’s eyes. “Something like that.”
“I’m going to be so fat when I retire.” I lean back and rub my belly.
Cassidy giggles and copies me. “Me too.”
“You two are so silly!” Lainey exclaims. She leans forward and kisses Cassidy on the neck. The two squeal and giggle.
My throat tightens at the sound. Someday I’m going to hear that sound all the time—not just on the days that Lainey decides to visit. It’s going to be every day, all the time.
“Don’t use blue,” Cassidy orders when I try to distract myself with the coloring book. “Leaves aren’t blue.”
“You sure?”
She gives me a look I know she picked up from her mother. One that says I should know better or, in Cassidy speak, duh. I drop my blue crayon and pick up an orange one. “How about this?” I propose. “Leaves turn orange and red in the fall.”
She ponders this seriously for a minute, as if trying to figure out if I’m pulling one over on her. Finally, she nods her head. “Okay, but not blue.”
“No blue leaves. Promise.”
“And stay inside the lines,” she reminds me, before bending down to apply herself with careful precision to the flower petals on the coloring book.
I can’t help seeking out Lainey’s eyes to share how precious I find this little one, but she’s not looking at me. Her eyes are fixed on the back of Cassidy’s head. The look of pure, motherly love I see on her face causes my heart to squeeze. Lainey runs a hand down Cassidy’s shiny, dark hair until it stops, right above the arm I have flung across the back of Cassidy’s chair.
I hold my breath, waiting for her to drop that hand a mere inch until we’re touching. Cassidy’s head is bent. Charlie’s puttering with something on the counter, her back turned. Do it. Do it. Give me a sign. Anything. I need—
The intercom rings, and Lainey jerks away. Crap. Perfect timing, Chip. Not. His shitty timing was one of the reasons he never came back to the field after his injury. I allow myself two seconds to enjoy the unspoken insult and then slap my skull.
“Why’d you hit yourself?” Cassidy chirps, her little head tilted to the side.
“Because I was being dumb in my head, and if I don’t give myself a head slap now and then, the dumb stuff comes out of my mouth.” I open my mouth wide.
Cassidy peers in and giggles. “You have a big mouth, Uncle Nick.”
“All the better to eat you with.” I pretend to devour her while she screams with delight.
Charlie shoots a guilty glance toward Lainey. “Will you get that, Nick?”
No, I think, because my arm is still warm from the almost touch of Lainey’s hand, and I want to enjoy it for two seconds more. But that thought, like the crappy one I had five seconds ago about Chip, is better kept in my head. “Sure.” I push away from the table, and the still-giggling Cassidy, to go and let Chip in.
