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His expression darkened, and his eyes flashed with warning. “Watch it, Brady. I might be injured, but if I hear you talk about my wife and sex in the same breath again, I’ll kick your ass.”
I wasn’t surprised by his reaction. Prentice’s obsession with his wife was well known…and not unusual when it came to the wives and girlfriends of my teammates. I’d been purposely pushing his buttons. However, I backed off because I knew he meant it, and I didn’t want him to worsen his injury.
“How does your wife know anything about my love life?” I rephrased.
“You mean the one that doesn’t exist?”
I growled in annoyance. “Yes.”
“I might have mentioned it to her.”
I rolled my eyes and grabbed a bottle of water from the table to my left, twisting off the cap and downing it in a few swallows.
“And before you ask, you came up because Lennox was pissed at Tank for that little scandal last month. He’s exercising the morality clause in Tank’s contract.”
Every contract with the Nighthawks included a clause with a code of conduct. If a player wouldn’t sign it, Lennox walked away. Still, I wasn’t sure how I’d been brought into that conversation.
“How does that have anything to do with me?”
“Indirectly,” Prentice explained. “Talk of Tank shifted to the other players, specifically single ones. He’s worried about a few, but I assured him that you wouldn’t be an issue.”
“Thanks,” I said gratefully. I appreciated Prentice’s faith in me.
“However,” he added. “Without solid roots here, he’ll always wonder what your intentions are when your contract is up.”
I frowned, studying Prentice’s face to see if he was serious. There wasn’t a hint of humor in his eyes. “Are you telling me that being single could hurt my chances?”
He shook his head. “No, Lennox and the coaches focus on talent and dedication. You know that. I’m just saying it might not hurt if you’re not only the best QB—besides me, of course—but you show you're settled here.”
“Like buying a house?” I knew that wasn’t what he meant, but I gave it a shot, anyway, since I already owned a house on Long Island.
“Like finding a wife.”
I rolled my eyes and started walking toward the tunnel. “The last thing I need is a relationship,” I grunted. “I need to keep my head in the game.”
“That’s what we all said.” Prentice laughed.
I sighed. “That’s great for you guys, but I don’t need or want that kind of complication.”
“I hate to be a broken record, but…That’s what we all said.”
As we entered the locker room, I glanced around, and my brow furrowed as I thought about how many of my teammates had gotten married and started families over the past six years. There had to be something in the…I looked down at my empty bottle and grimaced. “Maybe I shouldn’t be drinking the water around here.”
Prentice chuckled and shook his head. “Damn, I’m going to enjoy watching you meet the right woman.” Then he whipped out his phone and started giving me notes as I gathered up my stuff to hit the showers.
2
TALIA
Landing a job at K-Corp’s daycare was a dream come true for me. The investment firm owners were all family men and had put their money where their mouths were when it came to building a space where the children of their employees spent their time—and they had a considerable amount of money since they were all billionaires.
I thought it was a long shot when I applied since I only had a high school diploma, but they’d still asked me in for an interview. When I got the call telling me I got the job, I did a little dance around my bedroom before rushing out to share the good news with my parents.
Now that my first day was here, I was more than a little nervous. I’d never had a full-time job before, but I was looking forward to working with kids. I figured it would be good practice since I wanted to have a whole slew of my own when I found the right man.
Not that I had a ton of opportunities to meet a guy who wanted the same thing as I did. The boys I had gone to school with were nowhere ready to settle down because of our age. But only being eighteen didn’t matter to me since my mom hadn’t been much older when she got pregnant with me.
All thoughts of my mom and the babies I wanted in the future fled when I walked through the doors of K-Corp. My mouth was dry, and my palms were sweaty as I headed up the elevator after going through security. But when I exited the lift and heard the happy sounds of kids, my nerves fled. Rushing down the hallway, I walked into the entrance of the daycare area wearing a wide smile.
