Once Upon A Half-Time 1(28)
I bounced Rose to stall for time. “She’s warming up to me.”
“So I don’t need to worry about her smothering you in the middle of the night?”
A man could dream. “Nope, she’s okay. I no longer take any athletic protection home with me.”
“The hallmark of a successful marriage.” Piper sighed. “But I’m not here to talk about your love life.”
“Just couldn’t resist butting in?”
Wrong thing to say. Her eyes narrowed.
“I told you before, Lachlan. Cross me, and I will eat you.”
Rose mimicked her mom. “Eatz you, Lock-in.”
“Sorry, sorry.”
“I’m supposed to meet with Leah Carson so we can coordinate a couple PR events for you, but I just talked to a couple coaches.”
Not what I wanted to hear. “Can’t we do this later? I got twenty guys expecting me to buy them a round in an hour.”
“I know adjusting to the pros can be overwhelming—all the interviews and playbooks and new techniques. But if you need to get help with the plays or drills—”
I stopped her before she suggested anything that ridiculous. “Baby, this offense was made for me. By the end of training camp, Jack Carson will be my little spoon.”
“What?”
“I’ll work it out. Just gotta play it cool.”
Rosie screeched. “Cole!”
Cole stalked us from the hallway, took one look at me with his kid on my shoulders, and I knew my ass would end up on the ground again. Last thing I needed was a second boot print on my chest to match his mark from earlier. He reached for Rose.
“Give me my baby, rookie.”
He took the girl, but she immediately wiggled, fussed, and fought until she was on the ground. She marched down the hall and pointed to Cole.
“Daddy! Play!” Her little feet stomped.
Even Cole couldn’t resist. He chased her before the kid ended up tumbling through the weight room. Piper groaned.
“They’re fun at that age,” I said.
“You have experience with toddlers?” she asked.
“Sebastian,” I said. “He was a nuclear warhead in a diaper. Look away for a minute, and he left a crater. Cute though.”
Piper rubbed her tummy. “Yeah…good thing they’re cute.”
“Just like me.”
“I don’t think the coaches are won over by your dimples.”
“You’d be surprised. I got this under control.”
“I trust you, Lachlan.”
“Now if you would just put in the good word for me to Elle…”
Piper waved a hand. “That’s beyond my three percent commission. You’re on your own.”
Yeah, I knew that was too good to be true.
I left the practice facility—carefully crossing the street. I wasn’t risking my ass every time I crossed the lot, especially since the guys had somehow convinced Elle to join us at the bar.
And I wasn’t leaving without her on my arm.
McCree’s was a hole-in-the-wall bar on the south side of town—a place where Ironfield’s trendy revitalization skipped. It was blue collar. It was dim. It was small.
And Wednesday nights were karaoke.
My kind of show. Especially since I now owed the team the remainder of my dignity, at least, what bits of it I’d scraped off the practice field. I skipped the pleasantries and handed the bartender my credit card.
The team knew how to haze—through my wallet and up on stage. Good thing I liked to sing.
And I had the perfect audience.
The guys filed in, but I found my seat in the corner. Elle teased her straw in a particularly fruity and tropical looking drink. She studied her camera as I leaned over the booth.
“Any requests, dear?”
The camera flashed and nearly blinded me. Fair enough.
“I’m here for the show, Charming.” Elle patted her camera. “Just documenting this embarrassment.”
“Embarrassment?” I laughed. “This is fun.”
Elle wove a hand through her hair, framing the tease of her smile and wicked dare of her eyes. “You actually want to sing?”
“I’ll serenade you all night, Red.”
“Are you flirting with me…or is that a threat?”
“Depends…what will get me those dates with you?”
“Tell you what…” Elle leaned close. “How about you and I get out of here?”
“Yeah?”
“We’ll take a nice ride downtown.”
“I’m loving this idea.”
“I’ll wear a pretty little dress.”
“Awesome.”
“And we’ll spend a nice night at my lawyer’s office, settling this divorce.”
I flagged down a waitress. “Can someone get this lady another drink? She agrees to marry me when we’re tipsy.”