Chapter Seventeen

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

LUCA

I’m falling in love with this kid.

The way he scrunches his nose when he doesn’t like something.

How he always wants to include everyone in what he’s doing.

His sweet little voice as he tries to say my name.

I’ve got it bad.

Like ready to transplant my life to New York to be near him, bad.

Which terrifies me.

Because what happens if he’s not mine?

How am I supposed to say goodbye after he’s stolen a piece of my heart?

Not that I want to. I’m in this either way.

But Leigh is the wildcard.

After his nap, the guys and I kidnapped Zach so Leigh could have some time to herself and get ready for dinner without a toddler running around her ankles. He’s been fed and watered, and now they are tackling dessert.

Or rather dessert is tackling them.

The kitchen is a disaster, but the warmth and laughter makes it all worth it.

Zach giggles beside me and pushes his finger into the pile of flour on the kitchen island. He turns to me and slides it across my forehead, the same way Bash did to him.

“Imba.” Zach giggles, copying the line from the Lion King , just like Bash.

I pull him against me in a hug, laughing along with him to hide the lingering fear beneath the surface.

It’s only been a few days, but he already feels so ingrained into this tiny mismatched family.

Him and his mom.

And I could lose them both.

Physical pain manifests in my chest at the thought, and I reach up and rub the spot over the offending organ.

“Mama!” Zach yells, reaching his hands toward where she walked through the mudroom door behind me.

I quickly lift him so he doesn’t fall from the chair, but also so he doesn’t wrap his flour-covered-hands around Leigh.

Once I get Zach settled on my hip, I finally get the chance to look up. When I do, the first thing I notice is Holt, Bash, and Enzo frozen in place, jaws dropped.

Turning to see what has them all catching flies, my jaw falls right along with them.

She’s dressed in me .

Leigh looked beautiful the night we reconnected at the hospice fundraiser.

And she was stunning when I saw her at the spring training gala.

But neither of those moments compare to seeing her now. She wears a little black dress that shows just enough cleavage that I’m liable to stare at her chest all night, paired with tights that are practically painted on and knee-high boots that would look spectacular draped across my shoulders. But all that isn’t what has my heart pounding and my dick twitching. No—she had to go and top it all off with a purple and white leather Monarchs bomber jacket with a gold number twenty-three stitched on the sleeve. My old number.

Mine.

Just like I want her to be.

Leigh’s gaze darts between the four of us, standing there in stunned silence. “Uh—” She twists her hands together nervously across her stomach. “I hope you don’t mind. I borrowed your jacket. Mine was still wet from the snow earlier.”

Mind? She’s lucky my friends and her son are in the room, otherwise she’d already be draped across the kitchen island so I could show her just how much I don’t mind.

“Oh, he definitely doesn’t mind,” my twin mutters, hoisting Zach from my grip.

I glare daggers in his direction as I tug my apron off and step toward Leigh.

“It’s fine,” I manage, but what I really want to say is “you can wear my clothes any time you want. What’s mine is yours as long as it goes both ways.”

And by that, I mean everything under her clothes as well.

Not that I’m about to let her in on any of my less than chaste internal monologue.

I’ve already made my intentions known.

The ball is in Leigh’s court now.

But damn, I hope when the night is over, she chooses to explore all those things.

She crosses the kitchen, stops in front of me, and leans down to kiss Zach’s forehead. “These cookies look amazing.”

Zach squirms in my arms, and I set him back down on his stool. The moment I do, he grabs a gingerbread cookie and offers it to Leigh. It’s shaped like a star with way too much icing and sprinkles, but you’d never know it by the way her face lights up.

She takes a bite, and her exaggerated moan has me stifling a groan of my own.

“This is delicious,” she croons and Zach beams under her praise. “Did you make this?”

He nods confidently, and my heart melts even more.

“You did a great job,” she tells him before looking up at the rest of us. “Thanks for keeping him occupied while I got ready.”

The guys all answer at the same time.

“Of course.”

“No problem.”

“We love that kid.”

Leigh’s eyes soften, and I swear there’s a hint of something more in her gaze, though I can’t place it.

She turns back to Zach and leans down over the island so she’s at his level. “You going to be good for these guys tonight?”

The toddler gives her an assertive nod before digging back into the flour in front of him.

Well, I’m glad he’s confident, because I’m a ball of nerves.

I lift my head and narrow my gaze at my best friends. “You sure you’re okay handling bedtime? We can be back before then if you need us to.”

“Absolutely not,” Holt reassures me as he returns to rolling out a mound of gingerbread dough. “I helped raise my sister. It’s like riding a bike. We’ve got this.”

“Plus”—Bash nods in Leigh’s direction—“you need a night off as much as she does. You’ve been wound tighter than a damn tourniquet.”

I groan and roll my eyes.

“On that note,” Leigh offers me her hand, “I think it’s time we go.”

I stare at it, wondering if it’s a trap. Outside of when I told her about Jack, she hasn’t initiated any kind of contact with me.

Not to mention, I’m in awe of how okay she is with leaving him for the evening.

How did she manage to be away from him for an entire week during spring training? Or when she has to travel for Renegade Hearts? I’ve only known Zach a few days and I can’t imagine missing a single moment of his life. What if something happens and he needs us?

My eyes dart between her hand and Zach. “Okay, but you have our phone numbers if you need us.”

“Yes, helicopter-dad.” Enzo helps Zach back onto his chair where he’s already picking out the next cookie cutter he wants to use. “Now go. Leigh looks too beautiful to let this night off go to waste.”

I glare daggers at my twin for the second time, silently reprimanding him for stealing my line.

He shrugs as if to say, you should have said it first then.

I hesitate, chewing the inside of my cheek before looking nervously in Leigh’s direction. Her blue eyes unravel mine and it’s enough to spur me into placing my hand in hers.

We need this to figure out whatever the hell this thing between us is before I combust.

Turning, I raise one brow and gesture toward the door. “Shall we?”