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I took a deep breath and opened the door to the magnificent man he’d become. He’d shaved, and his hair was trimmed—not too much that it had lost its curls but short enough that he looked…respectable. His navy slacks tapered to brown leather dress shoes. A navy tie, white shirt, and tan velvet blazer had me rapidly blinking my eyes.
“Hello.” He grinned
“Hello.” I smiled.
He chuckled. “You look lovely.”
I ran my hands down the front of my dress, suddenly nervous. “Thank you.”
He held out his hand. “Ready?”
I nodded.
The drive to The White Buffalo Club was quiet and calm, comfortable yet anticipatory.
After the hostess seated us in an intimate corner table, Jacob asked me if I was cold.
“No, I’m fine, thank you.”
“Let me know if you are, you can wear my jacket.”
A waitress appeared, and Jacob ordered two old fashioneds for us.
I took a sip of water. “Jacob, you’re making me nervous.”
“I’m not trying to.”
“This feels kind of strange. Us. On a date.” I rung my fingers in my lap.
“But good, right?”
I flushed. “Yes.”
He cleared his throat and reached for my hand. “I’ve been thinking about what you said the other night. About how wrong I was.”
“About?”
He took a deep breath as if his next words caused him a great deal of pain. “About the baby.”
I nodded and exhaled. I’d been holding my breath too.
He continued. “The thing is…” He cleared his throat again and shifted toward me. “The thing is that the pregnancy took me by surprise. I know we had talked about it, as if it was in the future. But we were both so focused on our careers. You, with the 2012 Olympics, and me, being drafted by the Seahawks. I didn’t really know what to do when you told me.”
“I barely remember him telling me the words.”
He reached out and grabbed my hand. “It hurt so much, Camille. I hurt so much. My flight was already booked. I had to get back to training camp. Obviously, we never intended for you to be injured. I was in a fog. I had to go. At least, I thought I did. I didn’t want to ruin my chances. I was selfish. I didn’t want to get cut before the season even started. I was afraid I would miss my shot.”
“Why didn’t you return my calls?”
“I know it isn’t any excuse, but I started hearing rumors about you and your trainer, and I just turned everything off. I missed you so much. I couldn’t believe they were true so I came to LA. I was going to surprise you and then I saw you together. It just made my head spin, and it was easier to believe the rumor so I cut you off.”
“Jacob, it was never like that.”
“I think I might see that now. I assumed too much. I should have asked.” He twirled his glass. “And what I’m really trying to say is…I’m trying to say I’m sorry, Camille. I’m sorry I left you there.”
The waitress arrived next to our table and asked to take our order.
When she left, Jacob continued. “Do you remember that first Christmas after I left the league?”
