“Where did this happen? Where’d you see him?”
“I broke into his house.” She says it so matter-of-factly, I laugh.
“You broke into his house?”
Her smile widens. “Yeah. And I told him to go back to the cops and change his damn statement or he could expect the story of my cheating baby daddy to land in the hands of every NFL recruiter in the league.”
Oh, shit. “So you told him he’s the father?” I guess we kinda laid the groundwork for that the other night. “How did he take the news?”
“About as you’d expect. He denied it, but Abigail was there, so I don’t know if the denial was for my benefit or hers. Probably both. But at the end of the day, he doesn’t want anything to do with the bean, so it doesn’t matter.”
“Aww, babe. I’m sorry.” Not that I want him to be around my girls, but I can imagine being blown off by your baby’s father like this sucks. I take her hand and head for the couch, where I pull her into my lap. Having her in my arms feels so good, I canalmost ignore the pain in my knees and quads. “I kinda reek, so you won’t hurt my feelings if you don’t wanna be near me.”
She snuggles into me. Pauses to sniff my neck. Shrugs. “You always smell good.”
Huh. Pheromones are a weird thing. “Tell me what happened.”
“I had a gut feeling Ezra would react this way, and he didn’t disappoint. But what matters is that he recanted his statement.”
“And that’s all it took? A threat to tell recruiters?”
She glances away. “Well, no, I had to make one or two promises.”
The hair on the back of my neck stands up. “What kind of promises?”
“Nothing you need to worry about, okay?” When I won’t let it drop, she sighs. “I told him I wouldn’t ever sue him for child support. That he could go off to play in the NFL, and he’ll never hear from me.”
Jesus. “Rox.”
“What? I’m never asking that man for a damn thing anyway. It’s no loss.”
I kiss her forehead. “I appreciate that sacrifice. More than you know. I just want you to keep your options open. You never know what kind of obstacles life might throw at you down the road.” Pretty sure my mother was head over heels in love with my father until he started treating her like shit. Maybe if she’d had some options she wouldn’t have stayed with the asshole.
Roxy grabs my face. “Please tell me you won’t get in any more fights.”
“I won’t.”
“You promise?”
“Yes, I swear. Besides, Ezra’s only here a few more months through the end of this semester. I won’t have to deal with him next fall.”
“Thank the good Lord.”
As I smooth Roxy’s curly hair down her back, I hope I’m the man she can rely on for all the shit Ezra won’t be doing.
Because Roxy is endgame.
Somehow, this little pixie cheerleader wormed her way into my heart, and I’ll be damned if I let her walk away.
Now I just need to win over her father, but I’ll never do that if I keep fucking up.
It’s time to get serious. About my life. About football. But most importantly, about Roxy and our bean.
36
ROXY
After he takes a shower,Billy flings off his towel and flops on the bed with a groan. Water droplets glisten on his back and tight ass.
