Sports & The Single Dad Read online

  Sports & The Single Dad

  Emma Nichols

  Contents

  Sports & The Single Dad

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Coming Soon

  About Emma Nichols

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  books by emma nichols:

  Sports & The Single Dad

  Single Dads Club: Book One

  * * *

  By

  * * *

  USA Today bestselling author

  * * *

  Emma Nichols

  Copyright © 2018 by Emma Nichols

  1st Edition

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever including Internet usage, without written permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Cover by Megan J. Parker-Squires of EmCat Designs

  Formatting by: Love Kissed Books

  Created with Vellum

  1

  Paxton

  * * *

  Tommy pulled up in front of my uptown condo. “We here,” he announced, in case I’d failed to notice. I stared up at the building, one of the most prominent in the Charlotte skyline. I used to be so happy living here. Lately, I felt out of sorts and had begun to question all my decisions.

  Beside me, DeSean nodded and glanced around outside of the vehicle. We’d made it a habit to scope out the area before exiting. Life only grew crazier as football season began. And crazy fans weren’t unusual for a star player. My career…double-edged sword, but I loved the sport and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. “All clear,” he announced. “Let’s get you inside.”

  As usual, he walked me to the elevator and pushed the button. We rode to my penthouse suite in silence, and then he followed me to the door. When we entered, I discovered all hell had broken loose. My girlfriend, Marley, was sitting on my sofa glaring at me while my personal assistant paced. When Avery, my personal assistant, turned, I realized she was holding a baby.

  “When did you…?” I frowned as eyed the infant.

  “I didn’t,” Avery began quietly, her eyes darting back and forth between me and Marley.

  “Oh, buddy,” DeSean murmured. “This is too personal for me. I’m just gonna grab my money and go. Tegyn is waiting on me and I hate leaving her alone since she’s so close to having our baby.” He grinned proudly. While we hadn’t gotten too personal in all of our dealings, he had told me enough for me to know that they had worked hard to be together and build a life many only dream about. Even I could admit to being somewhat envious, since my life had been far from perfect since joining the NFL. And that’s the strange part. It felt like that should be the destination, like when I made it, everything else in my life would fall into place. Instead, I’d had one relationship after another fall apart. The only person I felt I could count on in this life was my personal assistant. Avery had never let me down.

  “We’ll sort this out in a minute. Let me take care of my bodyguard, then we’ll talk.” I nodded at Avery, then Marley, and glanced at the baby, wondering how that fit in with the drama. “Follow me.” I motioned for DeSean to join me as I entered the office and pulled the glass door to shut it behind me. It was essentially a glass cube in my modern condo. Normally, I loved it. Right now, however, I could see all eyes on me while I tried to concentrate. I wiped at my brow.

  “Congratulations on the new baby,” DeSean remarked absently while staring at Avery and the bundle in her arms.

  “I don’t have a baby,” I grumbled.

  He clapped me on the shoulder. “Well, buddy, I think you do now.” He shook his head. “And your girl is none too happy about it.” He made a sound low in his throat before adding, “Not at all.” Then he looked at me again. “Now, I was a single dad when Tegyn and I reconnected,” he began quietly, “and she’s truly the only mama my son has ever had.”

  “So, she didn’t mind caring for someone else’s kid?” I asked my brow furrowed.

  “Nah. Tegyn’s special. What you need is a special woman in your life.” He crossed his arms over his chest and suddenly I felt like I was getting lectured.

  “I’m not gonna lie. I’d love to have the kind of relationship you and your wife seem to have.” I grinned. “I’ve only met her once briefly, but you couldn’t take your eyes off her and when she smiled at you, the adoration was undeniable.”

  “Stop worrying about the damn arm candy.” DeSean shook his head.

  “You think I’m worried about arm candy?” I frowned. I guess I’d never thought of Marley that way, but at the moment, I could see how he would believe this.

  He nodded. “If you wasn’t worried about that, if you cared more about substance and a good heart, you’d find someone like Avery.” He tugged on his chin a moment. “Shoot, you’d date Avery. She’s a good girl.”

  I sighed. He wasn’t wrong. And he’d spent enough time with Avery to know. She often accompanied us on trips. She worked closely with DeSean setting up appearances and coordinating scheduling. She’d outlasted a bunch of one night stands and a few semi-serious girlfriends. For more than a year, she truly was the one constant in my life. I grinned as I stared at her. She seemed startled and looked away.

  “Yeah. Avery is a good girl,” I agreed. Then I pulled out the checkbook from my drawer and started to write one for the contracted amount, but then I decided to add in some extra.

  When I passed it to him, DeSean frowned. “This is more than we discussed.”

  “I know.” I shrugged. “But since you’re saving me a trip to a therapist, not to mention the trouble of finding one, making an appointment, and all that…I figured you earned a little extra.”

  He chuckled. “I know I’m your bodyguard, but I watch out for my people in a number of ways. Part of my job is to avert trouble. And if I know anything, it’s that Marley is trouble.”

  I groaned. “You said that about Harlow too.”

  “And I was right.” He smirked. “The best thing Harlow ever did for you was find you Avery.” Then he reached out to shake my hand and murmured, “Good luck with all that. See you soon.”

  I walked him out through the condo and when I’d shut and locked the door behind him, I turned to meet the two sets of eyes on me. “So, anything interesting happen while I was gone?”

  Both women started talking at once. Marley was far more forceful and so naturally she won out. Avery had a quiet confidence about her and an incredibly expressive face. Her brow shot up, but she allowed Marley to continue.

  It was me who stopped her. “Marley, hold up. Avery, tell me what happened.” I rocked on my heels and waited.

  Across from me, Marley snapped. “I’m your girlfriend. She’s the help. Why does she get to go first?”

  Beside me, I saw Avery bite on her lip and stare down at the sleeping baby in her arms. She even kissed the little one’s forehead, which I suddenly found to be an incredibly endearing gesture.

  I sighed. “Because Avery is less emotional. She doesn’t exhaust me when we have a conversation. And I know she’ll give me all the details I need.”

  “I’ll tell you everything you need to know.” Hands on
her hips, Marley tapped her stilettoed foot on my hardwoods, an act that normally would attract my attention, but this time only annoyed me.

  “Then Avery goes first because she has seniority.” I threw my hands up. “Fuck, Marley. Let her speak.”

  Marley’s chin jutted out. “Fine,” she growled under her breath.

  Normally, I’d try to please her. I’d bend to her whims for the sake of peace. Right now, I didn’t care. “Go on, Avery.”

  She nodded and reached up with one hand to smooth back a few stray hairs that had escaped her long dirty blonde ponytail. “Okay, so Marley arrived early for your return. There was a knock on the door. I answered it, but instead of finding an adult, I found this baby sitting in a carrier outside with a note.” She sighed and reached into her shirt. “The envelope was addressed to you, so I didn’t open it. And I needed to keep it safe.” She glanced at Marley and I imagined there might have been a scuffle over it. “I can tell you that I’m pretty sure I recognize the handwriting. And I bet you do too.”

  I studied the penmanship. Immediately, my brow furrowed. Only Harlow had ever signed my name with a heart at the end. I studied the baby a moment before peeling back the sealed fold. My chest began to constrict as I read the note.

  * * *

  Hello, Paxton.

  * * *

  Meet Molly. She’s three months old, born on Valentine’s Day. And she’s your daughter. We had already broken up when I found out I was pregnant. I started to come talk to you countless times, but every single time I tried, I saw you with other women.

  I thought I could do the single mom thing, but I can’t. At least you have Avery. I knew I picked her for a reason.

  Please love her. You have no idea how hard it is to give her up, but I can’t give her the life she deserves. You can.

  * * *

  Bye,

  * * *

  Harlow

  * * *

  I swallowed hard. DeSean was right. I have a daughter.

  2

  Avery

  * * *

  “So, this little girl has nothing but what was packed in her diaper bag, which isn’t much.” My brow furrowed. I hoped Paxton understood what I was asking because I really needed to go shopping for her, like yesterday.

  “I don’t even know what a baby needs,” he muttered. “How can I be a father?”

  Maybe it was supposed to be a rhetorical question. I sucked at those. I mostly answered everything, even when I wasn’t supposed to, even when no one wanted my response. “Well, love her. That’s easy. Will you look at that face?” I held her out to him. “Go on. Hold her,” I urged. “I need both hands. I made a list online.”

  “You’re keeping her?” Marley fumed as she stomped closer.

  Paxton was in the process of moving the baby to his arms when the sound of his girlfriend’s voice had the baby wrinkling her nose. Her mouth opened wide. Her face turned red. Sure enough, a howl escaped her. Tears leaked from her eyes.

  “Dammit, Marley,” he snapped. “Go home. I’ll call you later. Maybe.” He glared at her and she barely backed down.

  If he’d have done that to me, I’d have been a bigger puddle than the baby, balanced between us. “Let me,” I murmured as I pulled the baby back into my arms and held her upright against my chest. “There, there, little one,” I whispered in her ear while I rubbed her back and walked her away from the chaos.

  “Her name is Molly,” Paxton called out. “I think she was named after my grandmother. Harlow always did like her.”

  “Harlow!” Marley shrieked. “This is her baby?”

  I watched from the other side of the room as Paxton shifted slightly. “Actually, she’s our baby, apparently,” he responded calmly. “I have a lot to do now, Marley. I don’t have time to play with you, or appease you. And I sure as hell don’t feel like being attacked by you. Go home. Go shopping. Go somewhere, but you can’t stay here.” Then he walked over to the door and pulled it open. “I mean it.” His chest puffed out slightly and I could feel my eyes stinging.

  The man was finally sticking up for himself and it was such a beautiful thing, I wanted to weep. As soon as Marley stormed past him into the hall, he closed the door and wandered across the wide-open space to join me in the living room. I sank down onto the sofa and he sat next to me. I inhaled sharply and tried not to think about the fact that our thighs had brushed against each other. Then I had to concentrate hard so I wouldn’t be as aware of the heat coming off his body, warming me.

  “What do you think?” he asked as peeked over my shoulder at his baby in my arms.

  “I think Marley is a bully,” I replied with a sigh.

  He chuckled. “No, I mean about Molly.”

  “After close examination, she has a diaper rash, she’s raw under her chin, which is probably from formula building up in there and not being cleaned and dried properly. She’s kind of smelly.” I frowned.

  “So, you hate her?” Paxton grumbled.

  “No, I like her. She needs someone who will take good care of her. I don’t think she has had that before. And…I think she looks like you,” I murmured honestly.

  “You think so? I don’t see it.” He frowned and stared harder.

  “I see it in her chin. And she has your lips.” I could feel my cheeks warm. I’d basically admitted to staring at his lips. Out loud. “Mostly, I think she’s a teeny tiny bundle of possibilities you get to nurture.”

  “Possibilities. I like that. She really is. This baby can be anything she wants to be.” He reached out and touched her little fist. In response, she wrapped both hands around his finger. I heard him inhale sharply. “And just like that she stole my heart.”

  I trembled slightly. This was an entirely new side of Paxton. I’d seen him as a serial dater. I’d seen him as a decent boyfriend, a reluctant significant other, and maybe marriage material if Marley had her way. I’d seen him suddenly become the responsible one when Harlow hit the party scene so hard his coach pulled him aside and warned him it was harming his image and threatening his endorsements. That was why they broke up. They were at different stages of their lives, which seemed crazy since they’d dated all through college.

  “So, where’s this car seat I heard she arrived in?” Paxton asked, interrupting my thoughts.

  “Oh, I stuck it in your bedroom.” I started to pass him the baby so I could go get it, but instead he laid a hand on my arm and stopped me.

  “I’ll grab it.” He carefully pried his finger out of Molly’s grasp and stood up from the couch much slower than normal. I knew it was so he didn’t startle the baby.

  Dammit, he was stealing my heart too.

  “We need to go shopping. She needs…everything.” He blew out a breath and raked a hand through his gorgeous short black hair.

  “We don’t need to spend a lot of money. I know how to do this on a budget.” I frowned, thinking he was stressing over the cost.

  “You’re kidding, right? It’s not the money. It’s the responsibility. I have no idea what I’m doing. I didn’t plan this. I thought I had a good ten years before I decided to be a parent.” He shook his head and fixed his deep blue eyes on me again.

  “Ten years. I thought you said you wanted to be done with the NFL by then.” I tilted my head as I tried to process this new insight. He’d joked on more than one occasion that he’d keep me busy for ten years, then I’d be done. He’d worried that I’d have trouble finding work after he no longer needed me, so I was paid exceptionally well. Because I liked him so much, I didn’t think on those terms. And something about Paxton made it impossible to abandon him, even when I’d had other options.

  “Yeah. I grew up determined to be nothing like my father. I didn’t want to be the dad who was constantly leaving his kids, never home on the weekends. I wasn’t going to have any children until my career was over and I was doing something else, something where I could be around to watch them grow.” Paxton blew out a breath. “I’m going to call DeSean too. Be right bac
k.” Then he strode toward his bedroom while pulling his cellphone from his pocket. He disappeared from view, but I could still hear him when the phone call was answered.

  “Hey, DeSean,” he began quietly. I heard the sound of him picking up the car seat and soon enough, he was walking toward me again. “Let me put you on speaker. I have no secrets from Avery.” He set the car seat down on the floor beside me and squatted in front of me, the phone and the baby between us.

  “How about from Marley?” DeSean asked with a chuckle.

  “Right. So, I have a little girl,” he announced, sounding a little out of breath.

  “Like I said before, congratulations. Now, I know you ain’t calling me to brag, so what do you need?” His bodyguard sounded serious.

  “Well, I need to go shopping for the baby. And I thought maybe you and your family could come along. I don’t know what I’m doing. Neither of us has had a kid.” He looked at me and rubbed his forehead. “We could use some guidance, support, and I wouldn’t object to a drink to take the edge off.” Paxton forced a laugh.

  Without thinking, I laid a hand on his shoulder and murmured, “It’s going to be okay.”

  He nodded. “I know.”

  “Okay, I had you on speaker too. Tegyn nodded at me. I guess we can do this,” DeSean said.