Chapter 26

TWENTY-SIX

The field explodes into chaos as the offense moves into position. I keep my eyes focused on the player on my side of the field that the quarterback seems to be favoring today.

Sure enough, the QB throws the ball straight to him, but he barely makes it two steps before I tackle him to the ground and bounce back up on my feet. The next three plays result in no forward progress, and it’s time to let our offense on the field to try to score some points.

We run to the sidelines as Dom slaps me on the back, a shit-eating grin on his face. “You’re crushing it out there today.”

I shoot him an arrogant smile. “I know.”

He puts a hand to his chest pads and throws his head back laughing. “An arrogant Ty. I never thought I’d see the day. You’re going to ruin your nice Canadian rep.”

“No way,” Gabe interjects. “Everyone knows Ty’s the nicest of us all. No one would ever buy that he’s arrogant.”

My grin turns more sincere, and I shake my head at these guys. Then my gaze moves up to the seat I had reserved for Lexi, next to Danae and Alayna. There she stands, with Alayna leaning in and whispering something as she points at the field—likely explaining the game to Lexi. Alayna’s been a die-hard fan of football ever since she became friends with Dom in high school. Lexi’s gaze moves to the sidelines, searching, until it lands on me. My smile grows to match hers, and my heart beats double time as some weird caveman desire flares through me when she turns around and shows off the back of the jersey she’s wearing. My name is stitched on the back, and a certainty I’ve only ever felt on the field pulses through me.

Someday that name is going to be hers.

I never really got why the guys cared so much about their girls wearing their jerseys.

I get it now. Oh fuck, do I get it now.

My thumb slides across my lower lip as images of her wearing only that jersey start infiltrating my mind.

“Get your head out of the gutter,” Romel mutters, handing me a tablet.

I shoot Lexi a wink and then take a seat between Romel and Gabe on the sidelines. I look at the tablet, reviewing a couple of potential plays this team is known for but hasn’t used tonight.

“How’s it going with Lexi?” Romel asks.

“Great,” I say.

“And Tanner? Any word from him since Thanksgiving?”

I filled the guys in on Tanner’s incessant demands for me to get a paternity test early on, but even they were shocked he didn’t attend Thanksgiving.

A heavy sigh escapes. “Nope. This is the longest I’ve gone without talking to him.”

“Have you brought up the idea of a paternity test to Lexi, or at least filled her in on what’s going on with him?”

I look over at him. “How would you start that conversation without sounding like a dick? We’re finally in a good place. She’s been opening up to me more. She told me she loved me,” I admit, my chest expanding at how good it feels to say it out loud. We might’ve had a little hiccup after the anatomy scan, but since then things have been better than ever.

His eyebrows shoot up. “Seriously?”

I nod. She tells me she loves me every day, and there’s no way I want to do anything that will risk the strides we’ve made.

“I’m worried if I bring it up now, she’ll go back to shutting me out.” The idea guts me.

“Listen man, I get it. I know you don’t want to rock the boat, but I also think if you two have gotten as close as you claim, then you can explain it to her in a way she’ll understand. We all know this isn’t coming from you, but you can’t deny in our profession it’s a good idea to have those test results on hand. When the press finds out—and they will, especially once she can’t hide her bump—there will be questions. And you’re lucky she’s gone so long without showing much. Sydney was showing by eighteen weeks, and there’s no way she could’ve hidden it this long. It’ll be easier on you both if you have those results to dispel any rumors before they even start. Look at it as your insurance policy against getting hassled by the press. Because if you think Tanner is bad now, he’s nothing compared to the press vultures.”

“Fuck. You’re right.”

“I know.”

I glare at him. “Does it ever get boring being right all the time?”

He smiles wide. “Nope. Just wait until you’re a dad and can pull the ‘I told you so’ card. It feels darn good.”

I chuckle to myself. It’s always funny to me when Romel replaces a swear word with the child-friendly version. The rest of us talk like a bunch of sailors and then there’s Romel who acts like he’s auditioning for a role on The Good Place .

Another play and we’re back on the field. I spend the rest of the game playing the best I’ve played all season, and I can only attribute it to my good luck charm in the stands—the woman with dark hair, blue eyes, my name on her jersey, and my baby growing in her belly.

When the game ends in another win for the Wolves, I’m eager to get through the postgame interviews and out to my girl.

I rush through my shower, get dressed, and then I’m out the doors with a backward wave to the guys, who just laugh at me as they quickly finish so they can get out to their women too. I push through the door to find Lexi standing there with Alayna and Danae, and my breath fills my chest. Goddamn, she’s beautiful.I never want to take this feeling for granted.

She sees me, and her eyes brighten as I walk over to her with purpose in every step. I can’t even rip my gaze away from her to acknowledge the other women before I reach her, wrap my hand behind her neck, and haul her mouth to mine.

She melts against my body as her tongue dances with mine, and I relax into the kiss. This is exactly what I needed.

“Hot,” Alayna says, breaking through my daze.

I break the kiss, remembering we’re in public and Lexi still wants to keep this under wraps until she tells her principal about us. She’s on winter break right now, but when she goes back, she’s planning to tell her, especially now with her bump becoming more noticeable every day.

“Sorry,” I murmur against her lips, my forehead resting on hers.

“For what?” she whispers.

“For forgetting we’re still in public.”

“We’re in public?” she asks, and I pull back, letting out a laugh. My whole body feels light knowing she’s as affected by me as I am by her.

Her eyes brighten as her lips twitch with a small smile, and her hands rest on my chest. “You were amazing out there.”

“I had some great motivation in the stands.”

“He was trying to show off,” Dom says behind me.

I glance back to see the other guys coming out, Gabe and Dom both making a beeline for their women, while Romel is already on his phone, probably texting his babysitter to check on Kay who’s likely asleep by now.

“I was not,” I argue, as Lexi slides her arm around my waist. I glance down at her and nuzzle her ear, whispering so only she can hear, “I thought you didn’t want to be too close in public yet.”

Her deep ocean-blue eyes meet mine, and I swear my heart skips.

“I love you, Ty. I don’t want to pretend you don’t mean the world to me. There’s only another week left of winter break anyway, so things will be out in the open soon enough.”

This woman. She’s completely ruined me for anyone else. Thank fuck I don’t want anyone but her. Without another thought, I wrap my arm around her, keeping her close to my body as we all start heading out to our cars.

On the drive home, my fingers are restless against the steering wheel as I debate how to approach this conversation with Lexi.

“You okay?” she asks.

I glance over at her before focusing back on the road. Maybe there’s no time like the present. “Actually, I was hoping we could talk about something.”

“Okay,” she says, and I hate the caution in her voice. She’s bracing herself for the worst, and I’m worried what I’m about to say will land under that definition.

“The press are going to get word of this soon, especially once we’re not hiding our relationship anymore.”

“Uh-huh,” she says when I stop talking.

“They’ll pick apart our relationship if they think it’s juicy enough, and considering we haven’t been together that long and you’re pregnant, they’ll jump to a lot of conclusions—maybe even say some nasty things.”

“Like what?”

“Like questioning the paternity.”

I swear her whole body freezes in the seat next to me.

My words rush out of my mouth like a torrent of water. “ I’m notquestioning it. I want that to be clear. I have zero doubts our baby girl is mine. Do you believe me, Lexi?”

I glance over to find her staring straight out the window. Her body is so stiff it doesn’t even look like she’s breathing.

“Lexi?”

“Y-yeah.”

“You believe me?” There’s no way she can miss the pure panic in my voice.

“You want me to get a paternity test.” It’s not a question.

My stomach tightens, but we’ve already come this far. “I’m thinking it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get one if we can. To prove those rumors false before they can take off.”

“I have nothing to hide from you, Ty. This baby is yours. If you want a paternity test, I’ll give you one.”

I pull up to my place and put the car in park, thankful I can give her my full attention. I grab her hand and hold it tight in mine. Her blue eyes don’t reveal any of the emotion I’ve grown so used to seeing there, and my heart sinks to my stomach.

“Lexi, I don’t doubt you.” I place one hand on her stomach, and her eyes flare and start to shimmer. So she hasn’t shut me out completely. “This baby is mine , no matter what, because you are mine. Test or no test, I still choose you and our baby. I trust you. But the press can be vultures, and they don’t trust anything but receipts and irrefutable proof. I don’t want your name dragged through the mud if they think this is a ploy to bag a pro athlete. I don’t want that to ruin your reputation since there is no such thing as innocent until proven guilty when you’re a public figure these days. You’re tried in the court of public opinion, even if evidence comes out way later that shows all the accusations were false. I don’t want to get to that point. I want to be prepared to put out any fires they try to start the second they light the match. Does that make sense?”

She stares at me, her gaze still more guarded than it’s been in weeks.

“Please believe me,” I beg. “I trust you. This is not for me.”

“Okay,” she says, her voice whisper soft. “I’ll ask my doctor about it at my next appointment.”

“I love you, Lexi.”

A flicker of emotion fills her eyes, but then she looks away from me, down at my hand holding hers.

“I’m really tired. The game really took it out of me. Can we head in?”

“Sure,” I say, not feeling sure about anything at all, except that I just set us back, especially since she didn’t return those three words I’ve grown so used to hearing.