Happily Ever All-Star: A Secret Baby Romance - Sosie Frost Page 0,86

The locker room had cleared out, but I hadn’t moved beyond the bench. “Good game!”

“Right.” At least I was partially dressed. Didn’t remember pulling my suit trousers on, but I buttoned them before reaching to shake Jack’s hand. “Hell of a game.”

My fingers hadn’t stopped trembling.

Jack noticed. “You and I gotta talk, Jude.”

The hollering echoed through the locker room. Lachlan descended upon us, hopping from the bench and onto Cole’s shoulders. His presumptuous celebration promptly ended as Cole launched him into the lockers. That didn’t dull Lachlan’s smile, and even Cole smirked.

“J-u-u-u-de!” Lachlan laughed. “You played a fucking great game!”

Cole searched the emptying locker room. “Where’s Doctor Honeybuns?”

I had no idea.

Would she even want to see me after what I’d done? I hadn’t just disregarded her advice…I’d ignored her fears. What kind of man was I?

Did I really think I deserved her?

…Or the baby?

“I’m not hurt,” I said. “Yet.”

The word lingered. Jack motioned for Lachlan to shut the locker room door, but I wasn’t in the mood for a chat.

“We gotta get to the bus,” I said.

“Fuck the bus.” Jack slapped his chest. “I’m the goddamned MVP of this game. The bus will leave when I tell it to. We’re talking. Now.”

“You know what I’m going to say.”

“I still want to hear it.”

And I had to say it, or I’d never believe the words came from my own lips. “I can’t do this anymore.”

Cole frowned. “Do what? Did that corner’s injury spook you?”

“Damn right it did.” I rubbed my face. Felt like I hadn’t shaved in two days, and it was probably true. I hadn’t picked up the razor, not when my hand trembled too hard to hold it still. “What if it had been me out there?”

“Everyone thinks that,” Jack said. “Every man on the field imagined it was him.”

“You’ve never experienced something like that. I have.”

“You planning on getting hit again?”

Jack was a good man. A good leader. He could read between the lines, even if he hadn’t had a bad injury yet.

Lachlan’s smile faded. I liked him. He was just a kid, and he had a long career ahead of him, but he was still innocent to a lot of the bullshit in the league.

Only Cole understood. He hadn’t been injured, but he had hurt men before. For as much as I worried about another injury, Cole feared causing the pain.

“I don’t want to get hit again,” I said. “Not if I can help it. Not if I do something about it.”

“Like what?” Jack asked.

“I’m gonna pull myself out of the game.”

Lachlan panicked. “Jude, it’s the championship. You can’t just pull out. This isn’t prom night!”

Cole silenced him with a glance. “You afraid of getting hurt?”

“I’m already hurt.” I squeezed my fist closed. It stopped the tremor, but it’d be back. “I’m hiding it. Unsuccessfully. Rory knows something’s wrong, but she doesn’t know how bad it is. Hell, I don’t know how bad it is. I can’t risk anything happening. Not now. Not when I’m so close…”

Jack didn’t let me go silent. “Close to what?”

Her.

“A chance I never had before,” I said. “A family. Rory and the baby. I’ve never…I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. And if I get hurt—”

“That’s normal,” Lachlan said. “You got a kid coming what…any minute now? No wonder you’re a basket case. Believe me; I’ve been through this—a lot. If you weren’t a football player, you’d worry about something stupid—like walking in front of a car.”

“It’s not like that.”

Cole nodded. “Never thought I’d say it, but Charming’s right. When Piper was pregnant with Ethan, I had nightmares every night. Found myself in the nursery with Rose, just cradling her. You can’t imagine the shit that festers in your head when it’s almost time. Part of becoming a father.”

“You don’t understand.”

“The championship is nothing compared to having a kid,” Jack said. “I’ve done both. Sammy changed me more than any football game.”

“It’s not the same.”

“It’s exactly the same.” Jack squeezed my shoulder. “It’s normal. You can’t do anything for Rory right now. Your part is done until that baby comes. You think it’s hard sitting on the sidelines waiting for the defense to get our ball back? Fuck. You’ve never felt more insignificant than when you’re sitting at her side during the delivery.”

Lachlan laughed. “They tell you to hold ice chips. Any idiot can do that.”

“She trusted you with the ice?” Jack asked.

“Hell yeah.” Lachlan grinned. “I came prepared and brought a five-pound bag of ice. Accidentally spilled most of it