Hendrix - Kelsey Clayton Page 0,25
me with a look. “I mean it, Colby. I don't care if she skins her knee. I want you to call me.”
It's adorable how protective she is of our daughter. Some guys might be offended if they were talked to like this about taking care of their child, but I'm glad Brenna has always had someone willing to go to bat for her. Everyone needs that in their life.
“Brenna,” I call. “Come give your mom a hug.”
Her little feet run across the floor until she wraps her arms tightly around her mom's waist. I can tell Saige is nervous, leaving her with me, but this is my chance to prove to her that I can do it.
WE SPEND THE DAY doing everything imaginable. I had another bounce house delivered and set up in my backyard. We ate ice cream for lunch. We watched The Little Mermaid in the theater room...twice. We even had a pillow fight before Brenna jumped on my bed for a straight hour.
By the time it reaches six o'clock, we're both exhausted. We grab a few blankets and cozy up on the couch. Brenna is playing some game on her iPad while I flick through the channels. I'm about to turn on a football game when something else catches my eye—the red carpet to Topher's movie premier.
I figured Saige was on her way there when she stopped sending me a text every half hour making sure everything is okay. A part of me says that turning this on is a bad idea, but for some reason I do it anyway.
There are a few other actors, actresses, and producers that get photographed and interviewed, and then I see them. All the fans surrounding the red carpet begin to scream, and the camera pans around to the limo Topher James is getting out of. He's wearing an all-black tuxedo with a cocky grin on his face. He doesn't even turn to help Saige out of the car, but lets her manage on her own.
Dick.
She looks breathtaking. The dress she's wearing is black, to match his tux, but it sparkles in the light. It's cut low on her chest with a slit up the side. Her hair is half tied up and curled, and her makeup looks professionally done. As gorgeous as she looks, I have a feeling she isn't the one who chose all of this. Saige is the kind of girl who would rather wear jeans and a tank top. The most makeup I've seen on her face, even in the last couple weeks we've reunited, is a little eyeliner and the cover-up she wore when she needed to hide the bruise on her cheek. Other than that, she embraces the natural beauty she possesses.
As they walk down the red carpet, I can't help but notice how uncomfortable she looks. Big parties and being in the spotlight was never her thing. Even with the draft, once she found out it was going to be televised, she was iffy about it. Therefore, walking that red carpet is something that puts her completely out of place.
If Topher cared about her, he would hold her hand or put an arm around her. Do something. But instead, he's waving and winking at his fans like his fiancée isn't standing three feet away from him. He doesn't deserve her. I've thought that since the minute I saw them together on that talk show. However, after that almost-kiss the other day, the topic has been front and center.
That moment has been haunting my dreams, and if she wasn't engaged, I would try again. I've sworn off relationships since I was drafted. And yet, something about Saige has me questioning all of that. It's the same thing that pulled me toward her all those years ago. But, the fact that her fiancé is a complete tool be damned, I'm not a home-wrecker. I just have to live with the fact that I fucked up, and Topher James hit the jackpot instead.
“Do you like him?” I ask Brenna, tipping my head toward Topher on the screen.
She glances up from her iPad but only for a second. “Meh, he's okay.”
I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing. “That doesn't sound very convincing.”
“I just want a dad.”
That sentence hits me straight in the chest and makes it hard to breathe. “What?”
Keeping her eyes trained on the screen, she moves her fingers around it like a pro. “Everyone at school has a mom and a dad. I'm