“Why’d Sailor’s mom show up all of a sudden? I thought she was out of the picture?” Gareth asks, but then adds, “Sorry if that’s overstepping. You don’t have to talk about it.”
“All good,” I tell him, and glance back over at Hailey. “She showed up out of nowhere. She won’t admit it, but I suspect it’sbecause of those videos. She thought if she tried to win me back, it would behergetting the attention.”
Both Gareth and Austin look at me with awhat the fucklook.
“She left us to go pursue a career in Hollywood,” I explain further.
“Ah.” Austin nods his head. “That makes so much sense. She’s chasing clout.”
“She sure is,” I agree in a growl of annoyance.
“How’s Hailey handling it?” Gareth asks, glancing around the field.
The stadium is starting to fill up—the game starts within the hour.
“I’m not even sure I can give a confident answer. It feels like she’s been withdrawing, and rightfully fucking so. But at the same time she’s still present and gritting her teeth through it.”
“She’s a fucking champ.” Austin laughs.
“You can say that again.”
“You think she’ll get fed up with the baby mama drama?” Austin asks curiously, stretching out his arm.
“God, I fucking hope not. If she walks out of my life, I swear.” I shake my head. “I don’t know how the hell it happened so quickly, but I’ve definitely fallen for her. And since everything else has been such a public spectacle, I figured the best way to prove myself to her is in another public way. To make sure she knows I'm serious.”
“Oh yeah?” Gareth says, surprised. At the same time, Austin asks, “What’s the plan?”
Looking back over at Hailey again, I smile when our eyes connect like magnets. Like they always do, because we’re meant for each other. “You’ll see in about fifteen minutes.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
With a small, final wave in Declan’s direction, I turn and go back to my seat, lowering my baseball cap further while I avoid Addison’s watchful eye.
The heat is blistering, making me grouchy, or maybe that’s a certain ex-fiancée that keeps lodging her way beneath my skin. Her snide comment from earlier echoes through my mind as I attempt to smooth my hair, the humidity making it more unmanageable than it already is.
I know I should play nice with Sailor’s mother, but I have no interest in speaking with her. It’s hard to be around a bully, especially one who’s an adult. But in less than twenty-four hours she’ll be gone, and I’ll be able to process everything that’s transpired this week.
Things have been moving so quickly with Declan, and being forced to work through the situation with Addison while still trying to figure out what we mean to each other, has been a challenge, to say the least.
This morning she cornered me in the kitchen while Declan was packing things into his truck, and suggested that I stay behind.
“There’s no need for a nanny today, Hailey,” she sneers, waving her hand dismissively in front of me. “You can take the day off. Perhaps some time for yourself wouldn’t be a bad option—you could stand to get your hair done.”
For a second I’m too stunned to speak, then my brain catches up. She’s such a vile woman. “Oh, Declan already told me I wasn’t on Sailor duty today! I’m going to the game because he wants me there, not because I’m required to be there.”
Then, he walks back into the house and straight to me, kissing me on the side of the head. “Alright, I’m headed out. See you there, sweetheart.”
Declan glares in Addison’s direction, before walking out.
I resist the urge to laugh.
“I wonder what people must be thinking,” Addison snarks the moment my butt hits my chair. Having Sailor between us isn’t nearly as big of a buffer as I need for this woman.
Just a few more hours and she’s gone.
I know better to engage, but at this point, I relent. “About what?”
I wonder if she can hear the exasperation in my voice.
