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Croft just holds his gaze silently. Maverick nods and turns to look at us.
“Get dressed quickly, boys. We’ve got a press conference to attend.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Croft grinds out. “Cassidy is no longer employed by this team.”
“What?” Cassidy screeches. “Daddy”
He cuts her off with a look. “You did this to yourself. Now go.”
Cassidy storms out of the locker room, her friends in tow.
“You’d better take care of those photos,” Maverick tells Croft. “If even one gets out”
“I’ll take care of it.”
Croft leaves the locker room, and we all stay quiet for a few stunned seconds. Then the room erupts into cheers. You’d think we just won the fucking Stanley Cup. I hope like hell that Croft can hear us.
The next evening, Kylie answers my knock on her front door with a surprised expression.
“Hey,” she says. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“I know.”
God, I hope this wasn’t the worst idea I’ve ever had. I told her I’d give her space, but my gut has been telling me to try something, and I’m going to give it a go.
“Come on in,” she says. “We’re just finishing up dinner but there’s lots more if you’re hungry. It’s roast beef with carrots and potatoes.”
“Sounds fantastic, but I already ate,” I say, following her into the kitchen.
“Pax, what a nice surprise,” Linda says, smiling. “Can I make you a plate of dinner?”
“No, but thanks. It smells great.”
I look over at Jasmine, who is giving me a skeptical look while loading dishes into the dishwasher.
“Jasmine.” I clear away the nervousness from my throat. “Your mom told me that you have gymnastics on Monday nights, and I was wondering if I could come watch you practice. I could follow you guys there in my car.”
I swallow hard as Kylie, Linda, and I all stare at Jasmine in silence.
“Okay,” she finally says.
Relief floods my chest and I finally feel myself stop sweating with nervousness. That was harder than experiencing a root canal.
Kylie shoots me a quick smile before walking over to finish loading the dishwasher.
“You need to change and get your bag ready,” she tells Jasmine. “I’ll finish this.”
An hour later, I’m sitting by Kylie on the metal bleachers at the gym where Jasmine takes lessons. There’s a foot of space between us, because I told Kylie I don’t want this to be an excuse for me to spend an hour talking to her.
I’m here to watch Jasmine. No phone, no distractions. Every time she looks over at the bleachers to see if we’re watching, both Kylie and I are. Kylie claps when Jasmine hits her landings, and I can see Jasmine soaking up her mother’s enthusiasm.
She’s a good tumbler—one of the best in her age group. When tumbling, Jasmine lands everything her coaches tell her to, and she listens to their feedback. I hold my breath during some of the stuff she does, even with the spotters in place.
I had no idea nine-year-old kids did bar and balance beam routines. Every time Jasmine falls, she gets right back up and tries again. The kid is fearless.
At the end of her class, she runs over to Kylie, her expression bright.
“Did you see my backflips, Mom?”
“I did! They were fantastic!”
Jasmine drinks some water and packs up her bag, not addressing me. Kylie gives me an apologetic look, but I shake my head to indicate there’s no need.
We all walk out to their car, and I point to the other end of the lot.
“I’m parked down there. Thanks for letting me come, Jasmine. I really enjoyed that. I could never do any of those moves, even when I was your age. Especially that cartwheel on the beam; that was impressive.”
She shrugs. “It took me a long time to be able to do one. I still fall sometimes.”
“I’ll be traveling this week with your Uncle Pike for games, but I’ll be home next Monday. Would it be okay if I come watch you again?”
She nods and says, “Sure.”
“Okay, great. Have a good week, guys.”
Kylie gives me a little wave, her smile making it hard not to pull her in for a quick kiss.
“You too,” she says.
By the time I reach my car, she’s pulling out of the lot, but I see that she sent me a text.
Kylie: Progress. Thank you for this.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Kylie
Two weeks later, Pax and I are watching Jasmine practice, his third Monday watching Jasmine’s gymnastics practice in a row. He’s lightened up and let me sit right next to him, and I’ve been looking forward to feeling his warmth next to me all day.
We talk some, but his gaze doesn’t leave Jasmine. I love that he knows how important it is for the attention to be on her when we’re here. My daughter is perceptive, and she’d know if this was an act.
It isn’t, though. Pax is totally focused on Jasmine, and when she nails a transition on bars that she’s never been able to do before, he grins and pumps a fist in the air.
