“Rowan, did you want to get a drink?” Jordy tipped his head at the menu still in Rowan’s hand.
Right, so they were going to just ignore it, then. “I’ll have a white wine?” His uncertainty made his order sound like a question, and he blushed. The attendant didn’t notice,apparently, because she smiled, confirmed the order, and hurried away.
As Jordy warned, the flight wasn’t long—just under two hours—but it was plenty long enough for the flight attendant to make a half-dozen more comments about Rowan and Jordy’s fictitious marriage and their charming child. Not that Rowan could disagree on that point; Kaira definitely was as cute as a button.
When Rowan agreed to the trip and learned that he’d largely be off the clock, he had vague ideas about following Taylor’s instructions to find a gay bar or a musical. But somehow, once they got to the hotel room, leaving felt like too much effort.
Kaira said she was too tired to leave and wanted to eat while watching TV, and Jordy, apparently relieved enough to stay in, decided they should order room service and let her break the “no eating in front of the TV” rule.
When he turned to ask what Rowan wanted, Rowan gave up his vague plans for going elsewhere and asked for a burger and fries. He was on vacation. He could do what he wanted.
Somehow, watchingMoanawhile having a picnic on their hotel-room floor turned out to be just what he wanted.
BRINGING ROWANto New York with them was a great idea. Traveling with Rowan was just as smooth as traveling with Janice, if not smoother. Rowan wasn’t fazed by the business-class seats or five-star hotel, nor did he question Kaira when she declared that it was time for a picnic and instructed him to put down a blanket for eating. He simply rolled with everything, as if the whole trip was routine.
Jordy could have called his mom to meet them in New York so she could take on Kaira duties in his absence, but as much as he loved his mom, she tended to vacillate between overly strictand too permissive, and Jordy always seemed to be the biggest loser. Kaira wasn’t allowed to go in the ball pit that was surely a danger to her, but she could have ice cream for dinner.
But he didn’t have to worry when Rowan had her. She would be safe, well-fed, and probably exhausted before dinnertime.
After a couple of audio interviews, Jordy was sent for a photoshoot. He never minded the silly in-uniform photos, but the model-like out-of-uniform poses always felt weird. They slapped makeup on him, styled his hair, and shoved him in front of a plain backdrop. Then he tried to hold still and look where he was told to and not to smile while the photographer moved around him, snapping photos and calling out directions.
Twenty minutes later, Hailey, the PA assigned to keep him on schedule, ushered him to another room for a taped interview and then finally guided him to the dining room for lunch with the players and their families. After a long morning playing dancing monkey, his shoulders loosened as he caught sight of Kaira sitting with Rowan. He barely remembered to thank Hailey before he hurried over to his baby.
Kaira and Rowan were laughing with the rest of the table, so neither of them noticed Jordy’s approach. He sat down in the empty chair next to Kaira and waited.
She did a perfect double-take, squealed, “Daddy!” and launched into his arms.
“Hi, peanut. Hey, careful of the table, please.” No one would be upset if she sent a few pieces of cutlery toward the floor with an errant elbow, but Jordy preferred not to make extra work for the waitstaff.
Kaira kneed him in the stomach as she turned around. “Sorry, Daddy. Did you have a good day?” She poked her finger into his hair. “You’re all crunchy. Did you get to play with makeup?”
“No, but I let someone else try some on me. What do you think?”
Kaira wriggled farther away—the better to judge the effect—and then said seriously, “You look very pretty.”
Someone across the table was snickering, but Jordy ignored it. “Thanks, peanut. That means a lot coming from you.” He smacked a kiss on her cheek and then deposited her in her own chair. “Did you and Rowan have a good morning?” He made eye contact with Rowan over her head.
Rowan gave a minute shake of his head. Jordy had already caught the faint whiff of chlorine from Kaira’s hair, which meant—
“We went swimming! With Miss Jenna and Gabby and Dan.”
Jordy lifted his head and met Jenna Yorkshire’s gaze. She waved. Next to her, her husband, Tom, paid Jordy zero attention; he had his head bent in intense conversation with Ryan Wright of the Vancouver Orcas, on his other side, and Dante Baltierra, who was across the table from them. “Of course you did.” Why would she want to do something she couldn’t do at home? How silly of him. He made an apologetic face at Rowan, but Rowan just shook his head fondly.
“I convinced her to go to the library after lunch.”
Oh.
Jordy felt his face freeze and tried to cover for it, but too late. Rowan had noticed, and so had Kaira.
“You should come!” Kaira said enthusiastically.
He shook his head. “Sorry, baby, I can’t. I have a meeting after lunch. You and Rowan have fun, though.” He’d been looking forward to taking her to the New York Public Library for the first time—she’d been too young to appreciate books much last year—but Rowan was an actual librarian. Jordy wouldn’t get in the way of that.
“We can do something else instead so you can come. Ryan mentioned a scavenger hunt thing?” He quirked his lips. “Unless you want in on that as well.”
Jordy was pretty sure the scavenger hunt was confined to things that could be found within a two-block radius of the hotel, but his daughter’s attention span knew no such boundaries, and he had no desire to rein her in as she tried to drag him all over the city. From the expression on Rowan’s face, he knew it too. “Pass. So, library tonight, then? After dinner?”
Or tomorrow morning. Kaira might need a nap this afternoon.
