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“You want kids of your own?” I was intensely curious.
“I love kids, but I’m okay being the aunt. The one who can give them back at the end of the night.”
“You’d be okay just being the aunt?” How she was with Hunter, that statement didn’t jive.
Her lips pressed into a thin line. “Marriage. Kids. That life isn’t for me.”
“I can’t believe you don’t want a family.” Something was holding her back.
“Yeah, I just can’t do that level of commitment.”
She didn’t want a relationship, but why? Had she had a bad experience, a cheating ex, or was she one of those people who truly didn’t want an attachment? That didn’t make sense because she was so close to her family. Wouldn’t she want the same for herself?
“There’s no deep meaning behind it. Some people just aren’t meant for kids and family.” Brooke’s tone was slightly defensive.
“If anyone is the poster child for kids and family, it’s you.” I watched her, gauging her reaction.
Her face pinched. “That just shows how much you don’t know me.”
I shifted in my chair and lowered my voice. “I’d like to get to know you.”
She looked at me then, her expression open and vulnerable.
It gutted me because she was the most deserving person I’d met. She was amazing with her customers, her family, and even me. Her sworn enemy.
“Can we stay and practice more? Please?” I looked up, surprised to see Hunter standing in front of Brooke.
“Is practice over?” I asked, scanning the field where kids were hanging around the bench, some talking to parents and others packing their bags.
“That was quick.”
“What are you talking about? It was so long,” Cammie said as she walked up.
I was so lost in our conversation that I didn’t pay attention to most of the practice or even notice the kids were already packing up to leave. “Sorry about that, kiddo.”
“I don’t know. Let me see if your mom is ready for you to be home,” Brooke said to Hunter as she stood and pulled out her phone.
I tucked my camp chair into its bag and did the same with Brooke’s while she texted her sister.
“She said we have more time.” Brooke tucked her phone into her back pocket.
“Can I stay, too, Daddy?” Cammie asked.
She and Hunter stood side by side with equally cute, pleading expressions.
“I don’t know how we can say no,” I said to Brooke.
Her lips quirked. “I guess it’s fine.”
She moved to pull her chair out of the bag, and Hunter said, “You can play, too.”
“Yeah?” Brooke asked, looking at me. “Are you?”
“I’ve got some extra gloves in the trunk. Let me grab them.” I jogged toward the parking lot, past the other parents who were leaving. I wanted to spend more time with Brooke. Between that kiss and the glimpse she showed me of her tonight, I wanted to get to know her.
We might be wrong for each other, and it might be the worst timing in the world, but she intrigued me.
ChapterThirteen
