28. Daddy Wilson

I scanned the crowded room. The co-ed shower was going better than I’d thought it would when Avery told me about the idea. I expected it to be nothing but presents and stupid “don’t say bride” games that no one wanted to play. I hadn’t factored in that Wren was planning it. She created a casino night, and all the money the house won went to Chris and Avery as a wedding gift. They were donating it all to Blondie’s Birds, the charity Chris had started for the Boston Zoo’s birds.

Chris and Avery already lived together, and since they didn’t need things for their place, gifts were adventures for their two-week honeymoon. Dinners at restaurants she’d picked out, honeymoon suites, and couples’ massages. My girl was creative, and not a single present had to be opened.

It had been entertaining. I’d played a few rounds of blackjack and some craps while trying not to watch my girl flit around the room in that gold dress, making sure everything was organized.

Not one moment was boring. Sure, it was a bit torturous watching her and not being allowed to touch her. But she was coming back to my place after she was done here, and I’d have the entire night to enjoy her. And my daughter was happy and full of smiles. So I had nothing to complain about.

As the night began to wind down and there were only about twenty of us left, I sought out my ex-wife, Kristine, and her husband, Dave, who were sitting at side-by-side slot machines.

“Got a minute?” I asked when I sidled up next to Kristine.

Her long blond hair tipped over her shoulder as she looked up at me. “For you, I’ve got exactly five minutes,” she teased. Beside her, Dave chuckled.

“Need a refill?” I asked, pointing to his beer. “It’s almost last call.”

He lifted his chin. “Thanks. I’ll make sure no one steals your win, babe.”

Kristine smiled. “Aw, my hero.” She stood and wandered toward the bar with me. “What’s up?”

“I’ve been seeing someone.” I cleared my throat. “And it’s serious.”

“That’s…” She gave me a small smile, though her brow creased in question. “Great.”

Twenty-some years ago, when she and I had this conversation in reverse, it had made more sense. We had a five-year-old, and bringing Dave into Avery’s life was going to affect her. Although Kristine hadn’t been the most consistent parent in the world, she loved Avery and the two of us co-parented well. But now Avery was twenty-nine, so my ex-wife was probably wondering why the fuck I was talking to her about this. But Avery’s initial reaction might be hurt or upset, and I wanted her to have someone to talk with about it. Someone who already knew and had already had time to process it.

“I’m worried about how Avery is going to take it, so I was hoping for some support.”

At the bar, I ordered refills for both her and Dave.

“Why would she care?” she asked, frowning. “It’s not like you’re dating her best friend.”

Eyes pinched shut, I sighed. Maybe Wren and I hadn’t hidden our attraction as well as I’d thought if everyone was so quick to guess.

“Oh shit. Wren?” Kristine’s voice was high-pitched .

I opened my eyes and held up a hand. “Shh. Kris. Literally no one but Leo knows.”

“You should probably be more worried about telling Heath than telling Avery.” Despite her words, the smile pulling at her lips told me my ex was happy for me.

“Thanks for that.” I frowned.

She shook her head and glanced past me. I followed her gaze, finding Wren watching us carefully. Her shoulders were pulled back tight with nerves. She knew I was talking to Kristine about this today. I didn’t want to do it at the wedding, and as soon as Avery found out about us, she would call her mother. Wren wasn’t jealous of my ex-wife, but she worried about her best friend’s mother’s reaction.

“Can you do me a favor?” I muttered.

“Besides talk Avery off a ledge when she finds out?” My ex chuckled.

“Yes, besides that.”

“What?” She peered up at me.

But I couldn’t pull my eyes off the woman across the room who was shifting on her feet and worrying her bottom lip.

“Can you send the signal women put off that says hey, I’m cool with you being with my ex Wren’s way?”

With a laugh, she blew a kiss to Wren, then gave her a finger wave.

Immediately, the tension eased out of my girl’s body.

“It’s cute how gone you are for her, but I’d stop staring like that if you don’t want people to know.”

Fuck. She was right. I forced my gaze back to the bar, where the bartender had set the drinks, and tossed a twenty into the tip jar.

“You two look cozy.” Leo appeared next to Kristine and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

“He was just telling me about his new girlfriend.”

“Oh, fun. Now I’ll have company to watch the train wreck with.” He chuckled.

“I’m not telling anyone else tonight,” I grumbled.

Leo knew the plan and he was on board with waiting until after the wedding .

“In the end, Avery will be okay with it.” My ex-wife patted my arm.

“It’s Heath who’s going to kill the bastard,” Leo added.

She shrugged. “I agree. What do you think? Will he toss Tom off his sailboat or bury him on the golf course?”

“Golf course.” Leo tapped the neck of his beer bottle against her wineglass.

I scowled at both of them. “I’ll leave you to plot my funeral.”

By now, the only people left were our closest friends and family. Even most of the team had gone home. From what I could tell, only Emerson, my third baseman—as well as Chris’s best friend and soon-to-be brother-in-law—was still here.

So I headed toward the Jacobses table and dropped back into the seat where I’d spent most of my night.

“Everything okay with Kris?” Heath glanced over at her.

I didn’t follow his gaze. She and Leo were probably still laughing about my death.

“Yeah, she’s excited about the wedding. I’ve done my best to stay out of the way unless I’m presented with a bill to pay.”

“I remember those days with Lottie.”

Their older daughter had been married for several years and had already given Heath and Colleen two grandkids.

“We might be doing it again soon.” Colleen tried to hide her smirk behind her glass.

Heath sighed. “I keep telling you not to get your hopes up.”

“And I keep telling you that our daughter is dating someone. I’m sure of it. She only calls me from work, and twice now, when I tried to come by to see her, she’s given me the lamest excuses about why I couldn’t.”

I locked my jaw. One of those calls wasn’t from work, and I’d heard the lame excuse.

“Two days ago, she tried to convince me that she’d waxed her floor and it couldn’t be walked on until morning, so she was stuck in bed.”

Heath scoffed. “I bought that apartment five years ago, and that girl has never waxed her floors.”

That excuse was worse than the one about the facial I’d heard. Wren was not the type of woman who scrubbed or waxed floors. A chuckle escaped me, but I quickly turned it into a cough.

“See?” Colleen pointed at me. “He believes me.”

I schooled my features and held both hands up. “Don’t drag me into your relationship.”

Heath draped an arm over his wife’s shoulders. “I know you want her to settle down with one of the men you keep shoving her way and give you grandkids, but don’t give yourself false hope.”

It was hard to fight a wince, because although I could promise to take care of their daughter, giving them grandkids was off the table. And the idea that Colleen was trying to set Wren up on dates had my hands balling into fists.

I forced myself to take a calming breath. “She does seem happy lately.” I couldn’t help but throw that out there. I was hoping like hell they’d noticed her contentment.

“She does,” Colleen said.

Heath narrowed his eyes. “When have you seen her?”

I shrugged, trying to play it off. “I’ve stopped in to talk to Erin at the auction house a few times recently. Plus she’s been helping me purchase some pieces, so we’ve crossed paths.”

Head tilted, he examined me, his mind working. “Wait…”

Dread sank in my gut like a lead ball. Maybe I’d pushed too far by saying she was happy. I wasn’t sure how to walk it back.

“What, hun?” In what felt like slow-motion, Colleen reached over and patted his arm.

Angling closer, he lowered his head. “You and Erin?” His eyes cut over to Leo, who had dated her for six years, before he peered over at Erin two tables away.

My entire body relaxed, and a laugh bubbled out of me. “No.” I shook my head. “Definitely no. Never.” His suspicious gaze didn’t leave me, but I held both hands up. “I swear.”

He shook his head. “I don’t get why you’re being so damn secretive about the woman, then. Why not bring her tonight?”

I shrugged. “It’s Avery’s week. The last thing I want to do is take attention away from her.”

“What are you all whispering about? ”

I nearly jumped at the sound of Wren’s voice so close. I tried not to smile at her but failed. In her gold dress, she was glowing, and her red lips had been taunting me all night.

“Just saying what a great job you did putting this together, darling. You’re a natural at event planning.”

Wren shifted away from her mother and stood on my far side, her eyes blazing. “I’m not marrying a senator and putting on charity events forever, Mom. Get that idea out of your head.”

Don’t react. Don’t react. Fuck, the idea of her marrying anyone but me made my skin crawl. I didn’t want to hear about it, think about it, picture it. Yet for the second time in fifteen minutes, I was forced to.

“Don’t be dramatic. It doesn’t have to be a senator.” Heath sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. “But it wouldn’t hurt to find someone.”

I hadn’t realized they had such an obsession with setting their daughter up with a man. What the fuck? I would have preferred Avery not date at all before she met Chris. Focus on her friends, her schooling, her career—that’s what I always told her.

At the frustration locking Wren’s tight jaw, I was pretty sure my way of handling Avery was better than whatever this was.

“The real point is you did an amazing job,” I rushed out. “We’re all impressed.”

Onyx eyes softening, she shifted her attention from her mother to me. “Thanks.” She surveyed the room. “With all the gifts, they’ll definitely have the sexiest honeymoon ever.”

I groaned. “Please don’t go there.”

“Married people have sex. Loosen up, Daddy Wilson,” she taunted, resting a hand on my shoulder.

Through my white button-down, I could feel the heat of her palm as she squeezed.

“Stop annoying Tom,” Heath muttered, picking up his drink.

“Fine, fine.” I didn’t have to look at her to know she was rolling her eyes. “I’m going to do one more round to make sure the staff has everything handled.”

“Don’t work too hard, baby girl. ”

Next to me, Heath coughed and slammed his glass onto the table so hard I was surprised it didn’t shatter. “Son of a bitch.”

In that moment, all the air was sucked from my lungs, and my heart fell through the floor.

Oh shit.

What had I just done?