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I chuckle, remembering how she schooled my dad. “That type of woman wouldn’t have stood up for herself today. I couldn’t have done it better myself.”
She huffs. “He’s protective, and that’s not a bad thing. The biggest problem I see right now, Damon, is that we’re two strangers who are about to raise a child together. Most couples suffer through the sleepless nights of a newborn already knowing each other and having a loving relationship to draw on. How will we have patience for one another? Are we even on the same page as to how we want to raise this baby? There are so many questions we need to answer—visitation, insurance, money. I’m starting to get nervous that we don’t have a plan.” She chews on the inside of her cheek.
I shift over to the couch and grab her legs, forcing them onto my lap so I can massage her feet.
Her head falls back to the pillow, and her eyes close. “Are you trying to distract my Type A brain? If so, it’s not going to work. The thoughts will just come back, but feel free to continue.” She chuckles.
“I don’t have all the answers, and there’re definitely things we need to discuss. How about we plan on having two to three nights a week together to get to know one another? We can decide what’s best for our baby. We don’t need our parents’ approval on what’s going to work for us. If we want help, which I will need when the baby is with me, we’ll hire nannies. But first things first, let’s get to know one another a little better before we go into freak-out mode, okay?”
I dig into her arches, and she sighs. “Since you’re being so kind as to massage my feet, I’m going to let the whole freak-out mode comment go for now.”
I chuckle and run my finger up her arch to see if she’s ticklish. She tries to remove her foot from my hand, and I smile because I now know one more thing about her.
“What’s your favorite food besides a Reuben?” I ask to start the ball rolling.
We spend the next two hours finding out all the stuff you usually discover on the first few dates. She finally yawns, and I say good night. I’m climbing back into my Mercedes when my phone dings. I pull it out of my pocket to see a text from Bryce.
Bryce: It wasn’t me. I swear. But it’s going live tomorrow morning, and I wanted you to know.
My stomach sinks.
The next text comes through with a few pictures of Adeline and me together. One is even from outside the school that first day. The caption reads,Say goodbye, girls, Chicago Grizzlies greatest “player” is going to be a daddy.
I turn off the ignition and knock on Adeline’s door. Guess I’m going to see if Adeline will let me sleep on the couch tonight in case the press come knocking.
Chapter10
Adeline
It turns out there’s something worse than getting knocked up by your one-night stand who happens to be a professional football player—getting outed and having people write horrible, nasty comments about you.
There’s nothing quite like being eight months pregnant, feeling as if you weigh as much as an elephant, being swollen from fingers to toes, and having women pick out each and every flaw you’ve been self-conscious about.
“You need to stop.” Damon tries to take my phone for the millionth time, but I snatch it back. “They’re just jealous.”
“Well, how does it feel to be the prized bull every female cow wants to mate with?”
“Then I guess you should feel good because I impregnated you, not them.”
I glare at him from the corner of my eye.
He laughs. “I’m kidding. Don’t listen to these women. I’ve seen girlfriends and wives of teammates go through this a zillion times. You have to ignore it. You cannot let their perception become your reality. Bryce went through it with Miles.”
“Bryce wasn’t as big as a house. I mean, what are the chances they shoot me at my worst angle every shot?” I whine. I hold up my phone with the picture of me outside Ira’s. People have commented how big the bag is and how someone there said I ordered three sandwiches for myself.
“You’re going to make me call the cell phone company and shut down your service.”
“God, Damon.” I turn off my screen. “I didn’t really think it would be like this. I mean, I knew it would garner attention, and I figured some people would say I got pregnant on purpose, but these people are just brutal.”
He takes the opportunity to steal my phone, but we both know he’ll have to give it back at some point. “It will blow over, and they’ll be on to someone else.”
“I guess.”
The doorbell rings, and I jolt up.
Damon’s hand lands on my knee. “Relax, it’s just the groceries I ordered.”
My forehead wrinkles. “What?”
