me for a second before her brow drew downward. “Nope,” she said. “I’m not buying it.”
“Buying what?”
“As you and Grant are so fond of telling me, you’re Nathan Hayes. I find it hard to believe that a divorced mother of an eight-year-old is what does it for you.”
Okay.
Now I was getting irritated.
“Because that’s all you are?” I challenged.
Her head reared back in confusion. “What?”
“Is that all you are?” I repeated. “Are you only a divorced mother of an eight-year-old?” Andie still looked confused. “Or are you Andrea? Do you have your own interested? A job? Friends? Or does your life revolve around Grant and your ex-husband only?” She bristled and I knew I hit a sore spot. “Because the woman I think you are does do it for me. And the fact that she’s a mother of a young boy and has an ex-husband is irrelevant. They’re not bad things, and they aren’t enough to make me not want to get to know the woman you are, who is independent of being a mother and someone’s ex-wife.”
She let out a deep sigh. “Nathan, you have to look at this from my point of view,” she argued. “You’re a professional baseball player. The life you live-”
I let out a dark laugh. “The life I live?” I chuckled, though there was no humor in it. “I live a life where I retired early, so I could enjoy my golden years and not spend them suffering through years of aches and pains. I live a life where my brother, Gideon, calls me and cusses me out if I don’t call our mother at least once a week. I live a life where I returned to my hometown to live. Not L.A. or New York City or Atlanta or anywhere that’s for twenty-somethings. I live a life where my other brother, Sayer, calls me to warn me that his stepdaughter is going to interview me for some high school history exposé article.” Her face softened, and I appreciated that she was hearing me out. “If I wanted strippers, or models, or champagne bottles at three in the morning, I sure as hell wouldn’t have moved back here, Andie.”
“Nath-”
“Oh, and my father’s still tough enough and strong enough to kick all three of our asses if we upset my mother,” I added.
“Nath-”
“My brother married the love of his life in April, but she comes with a douchebag ex-husband we all have to play nice with as to not upset his stepdaughter, Leta,” I continued. “Gideon’s a complete dick on a good day. And the only real friend, true friend, I still have from my playing days is Sergio Hernandez, because he’s a family man, and he gets not wanting to live in the fast lane until you wreck.”
“Nath-”
“So, don’t stand there and tell me it’s odd or strange or unrealistic for me to be interested in you, because none of that’s true,” I kept prattling on. “I think you’re beautiful. I like seeing how you love your son. I respect how you get along with his father. And, even though I know nothing about your divorce, it’s clear you and your ex-husband have put that difficult experience behind you guys to do what’s best for your son.” I let out an irritated scoff. “I don’t mind baggage, Andie, because that means you’re real people. You’ve had real experiences, and they’re deeper than making sure you get the best suite at The Four Seasons.”
“Nathan!”
“What?!”
Andie closed her eyes and let out another deep breath. I noticed she did that a lot when she talked to me. Opening her eyes again, she said. “Steven’s going to think you’re using Grant to sleep with me, you know.”
I nodded because I knew there was that possibility. Hell, I thought she would think it when I had made my intentions clear. “But do you think that?”
She shook her head. “No,” she answered. “It’s obvious you don’t need to resort to games or hurtful tactics for sex. But Steven’s going to have a hard time with this.”
“So?” I asked. “You’re divorced, right?”
“Well, yeah,” she muttered.
“Then he’ll have to get over it, right?” Then a thought occurred to me. “Unless there’s still something going on betw-”
Andie shook her head. “No,” she denied. “It’s nothing like that. Steven moved on ages ago. I think…Nathan, you’d be the first guy I’ve dated since my divorce. And while Steven doesn’t have a say, we still care about each other.”
“Care about each other?” What in the fuck