At that moment, in a complete burst of get-up-and-go, Jake bounded toward his mother. “Mommy, Mommy! I’m hungry,” Jake exclaimed while placing his hands on the edge of the table and jumping up and down.
Gabby gave a slight gurgle.
Cassie slipped an arm around her son’s small, bouncing body. “Of course you are, baby. You’ve had a big day. I got you some yummy pizza and it’s your favorite—extra cheese.”
Jake’s eyes grew wider, and his mouth turned into a smile. “Cool!”
He sat down next to his mom and stuffed a mouthful of pizza into his mouth as soon as she set a slice in front of him.
Jordan stared at the little boy, suddenly seeing Jake in a whole new way. He wasn’t just Cassie’s son, but he was his son too.
He took in the sports uniform Jake was wearing, reminding Jordan of the times he too wore that same outfit when he was a child. He used to love playing baseball, and he guessed Jake did too, judging by the larger-than-life smile he was sporting on his little handsome face.
Jake lifted his head up from the table, his eyes peering over to Jordan in a guarded way. “I know you,” he mumbled with food in his mouth.
“Jake, don’t talk with your mouth full,” Cassie told him.
“Sorry.”
Once Jake finished the bite of food he was chewing, he continued talking. “I saw you talking to Mommy.”
Jordan got down to his level, looking into his big brown eyes—eyes that were identical to Jordan’s own.
“Yes, you did. I’m a friend of your mom’s.” His gaze wandered toward Cassie, and he caught her eyes shifting down to the table as she played with the topping of her pizza as a diversion.
“Oh, okay,” Jake said happily, his shoulders bouncing up and down. “Do you know Gabby and Nick? They’re Mommy’s friends too.”
Jordan nodded his head. “I do.”
“Cool! Nick is really cool! He’s my baseball coach.”
“I know; I saw some of your game when I was driving back into town and passed the baseball fields,” Jordan said uneasily, finding it difficult to talk with his son. Words were suddenly hard to come by as he grasped for something to say. “You’ve got a good swing on you.”
By the look on Cassie’s face, she was surprised and wondering why he hadn’t stopped in briefly to watch the game. Part of Jordan had wanted to watch his son play, since he obviously loved and reveled in the game alongside him, but at this point, Jordan was simply a stranger to his kid. Jake didn’t know of the connection and DNA they shared with each other.
“You know, I used to play baseball when I was younger. I actually played with Nick.”
Jake’s face lit up with glee as he looked over in Nick’s direction, sending a nod his way.
“It’s true; we did,” he assured Jake.
“Cool! Nick is really good at baseball. He helps me practice all the time.”
A pang of jealousy flew through Jordan’s heart like a wrench. It should have been him teaching his son how to throw a pitch and hit a ball, but he couldn’t play the blame game and be mad at his child’s mother or best friend. Cassie had done her best to parent their child the only way she could, and Nick was filling the role of an absentee father like only a good friend would do. Jordan was here now though, and he was being given the opportunity to be a part of his son’s life.
“Do you still play baseball?” Jake asked.
Cassie stopped her son. “That’s enough, Jake. We don’t want to bombard Jordan with too many questions.”
Jake’s smile fell slightly. “Sorry.”
Jordan shook his head. “It’s okay; I don’t mind. You’re just a very inquisitive little boy. And no, I don’t play baseball anymore; I play football instead.”
“I like football,” Jake said before taking another bite of pizza, bringing silence to the table. Cassie played with the straw in her glass of soda while Gabby shot daggers at Jordan as if she was annoyed he was even here in the first place. He couldn’t come in and expect things to go back to the way they used to be, before he broke her best friend’s heart. It didn’t work like that. He would need to earn their forgiveness one slow step at a time. Even then, it would be a long road to recovery when it came to Gabby.
Jordan liked Jake. He liked talking to his son, even though Jake wasn’t aware he was talking to his dad.
Gabby slid out of the booth and got to her feet, looking at Jake with a huge smile spread across her face as she smoothed her straight black hair with her hand. “C’mon, buddy, let’s go check out that play area.” Then she turned to Nick and said his name in an odd tone of voice, giving Jordan the impression something was up between the two of them.