“I’m fine. I guess I’m just trying to take it all in.”
“The fact that nothing went as planned tonight? Or that I’m a single dad?”
“Both,” she admits. “I hope your mom rests well tonight. I sprained my ankle a few months ago playing volleyball. It really does hurt.”
“They gave her some pain pills.”
“Good.”
But there’s something else on her mind. I can feel it.
“What’s wrong, Masey?”
“Just thinking about Ranger. He’s so precious. I can’t imagine why a woman would give up custody of him. It’s none of my business—”
“The short version is that she was a bitch who thought Ranger was a burden, so he’s all mine now.” It’s a sore subject with me.
“Oh, my gosh. That’s horrible. He’s just a baby.”
“And a really good one. But her loss is my gain.”
“Absolutely. Were you together long?”
I hesitate. “A night.”
At my admission, she falls silent. I get it. What is she supposed to say? She probably sees a man whore careless enough to nail a random girl and get her pregnant. And what sucks is that she’s not altogether wrong.
“I met her at an after-party following Noah’s last Super Bowl win.” I may as well put the truth out there since it seems like I’ll be seeing Masey another time or two. “By the time she came in…I was drunk. She hit on me, thinking I was my brother.”
“I can see that. You look a lot alike.”
“We hear that all the time. Anyway, I don’t remember what happened exactly. Honestly, the next day I thought I’d just had a really vivid dream. But a few months later, she went public and claimed Noah had fathered her baby.”
“Oh, I remember Harlow calling me about this. She believed that woman at first.”
“Most people did. It was only after a pre-birth paternity test revealed that Noah wasn’t the father but someone related that we put two and two together. When Ranger’s mother realized I wasn’t famous or worth millions and that I wasn’t her gravy train, she asked me if I wanted custody. If not, she was going to terminate the pregnancy.”
“Oh, my god. At least she asked you.”
“I’m grateful every day she did. I hired a lawyer and had the papers drawn up. She signed them an hour after Ranger was born. I told her she’s welcome to call and ask about him. I said I’d be willing to share pictures or give her updates if she wanted them. She’s never reached out. I hear she’s following an NBA team these days.”
I try not to sound cynical or bitter. I’m better off without Mercedes Fleet in my life. But I know I’ll have to explain all this to my son someday. Granted, not for a while. But I have no idea how I’ll keep him from feeling unwanted and unloved by the very woman who gave him life. How will that affect his heart? His psyche? His beliefs about women and love and commitment?
It worries me, but I know I can’t solve this problem tonight.
“That’s horrible. She doesn’t know what she’s missing.”
“You’re right. Ranger is such a good baby and—”
“I meant you,” she says softly, cupping my shoulder gently in the dark. “You’re wonderful.”
I feel her touch through every part of my body. My blood races. My heart revs. My cock, which I finally managed to rein in, stands tall again. But sleep isn’t happening, so I roll to face her.
“I’m just trying to be decent. Becoming a single dad hasn’t been easy. If it hadn’t been for all the family support, especially my mother and Harlow’s sister-in-law, Britta, I don’t know how I would have made it. I knew almost nothing about babies when I walked out of the hospital with Ranger. I was terrified I’d fuck up.”
“I’m in awe. You’ve done great.”
I need to lighten the mood and stop looking into her eyes or I’m going to forget that I promised to keep my hands off her tonight. “Thanks. I’ve done my best. So…you’re here until the eighteenth?”
“Yeah. I have an option to rent the villa for another two weeks, and it’s a nice place. But at some point, I have to go home, right?”
Part of me wants to ask what it would take to make her stay. The other part of me knows it’s ridiculously premature and none of my business. Besides, where the hell do I think anything between us could possibly lead? Still, that doesn’t stop me from wanting to get closer, kiss her, something…