The Curve Ball - Samantha Lind Page 0,77
recognizes Reese, she does a damn good job hiding the fact.
“I’m Reese, and this is Austin and Nicole,” Reese introduces all of them before I can.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Riley tells them.
“I know Austin because he plays for the Eagles,” I interject, giving her some context as to whom I’m talking to.
“Oh, nice. That is the hockey team, right?” she questions.
“Yeah, babe. That is the NHL team in town,” I chuckle as I answer her.
“How old is your daughter?” Riley asks Reese.
“She will be one next month!”
“She is such a cutie,” Riley replies.
“How old is your daughter?” Reese asks.
“Six months,” I answer for Riley. I know it makes her a little uncomfortable when people assume that Evie is her daughter.
“Such a fun age!” Reese exclaims. “Now that we are back in town, we should exchange numbers and get together with the girls. I can always use some other moms to hang out with that have little girls.”
“That would be awesome. I’ve got my sister-in-law here in the neighborhood and two nieces, as well,” Riley tells her as she pulls her cell from her back pocket. The girls move away, exchanging numbers as they head off with the kids again.
“I guess they’ve hit it off,” Austin chuckles as we watch them walk away.
“I’d say so.” I cannot help but laugh right along with him. “I can’t say that I’ve met someone that Riley didn’t get along with. She is pretty go-with-the-flow, laid back. I think that is why it has been so easy for the two of us. That, and I know deep in my bones that I can trust her with my daughter’s life.”
“She sounds like a good one, then. Glad you found her.”
“All thanks to Derek, well, and Evie. She’s Derek’s little sister, so that created some challenges, but after he got over the shock, he has been good with it. Doesn’t like seeing or hearing about any PDA,” I say, chuckling. “But in the grand scheme of things, he’s been pretty chill about it. I knew it could have been a whole lot different. I was expecting him to kick my ass, and he might have if Riley hadn’t been there to step between us and put him in his place.”
“I could see how that might complicate things,” he says as his attention flashes to Reese and Nicole as she lets out a cry. “I’ll be right back,” he says before he takes off to where they are at the end of a slide.
I watch as he helps console his daughter. She didn’t like something about going down the slide, I’m guessing.
“Hey, you,” I whisper into Riley’s ear, pressing a chaste kiss against the skin just below. “Having fun?” I ask, wrapping my hands around her as I stand flush behind her. Her ass presses firmly against my crotch, causing my dick to stir in my shorts. Not what I need popping up while we’re at a public park.
“Hey, yourself,” she replies, turning her neck slightly, giving me more access. I have to remind myself once again that we’re in public, and I can’t be pervy like I can when we’re in my enclosed backyard.
“Want to go lay out the blanket and let Evie play with some toys?” I suggest.
“Sure,” she says, then bends down to pick her up from the baby area they have here at this park.
I take Evie from her arms, flying her through the air like an airplane as we make our way over to the stroller. Riley pulls the blanket from the basket and spreads it out on the ground in a shaded spot in the grass. I take it she’s done this many times. She spreads out a few toys from the stroller, as well, and I set Evie down, and she army crawls herself over to one of them. It instantly goes into her mouth, just like everything else she gets her little chubby fingers on.
“So, I have to ask, are you just that good at hiding your shock when you meet people, or do you not recognize Reese?”
She flashes me a small coy smile before answering. “When I first walked up, I didn’t realize who she was. She just looked like another mom at the park with her daughter. But once she told me her name, I thought, no way, but then once you told me that Austin played for the Eagles, I recalled reading that she married a hockey player. I asked her after we walked away, and