Play Along(73)

I’m met with utter confusion.

But the only one of us who should be concerned if my opinion on Isaiah Rhodes has changed is me. Because I think I might like what I see.

I bring my body closer to him until we’re chest to chest, his arm fully surrounding me, our legs tangled, and his lips ghosting my forehead.

Why doesn’t this freak me out? Why doesn’t this feel unnatural?

The scariest thing about this is that it feels so right.

“The day you and I met.” His words are soft against my skin as he speaks. “I was hiding in the women’s restroom because that was the same date my mom died. I was having a bad day, and I didn’t want anyone to see me like that. I’m always having a bad day on that date, but for the first time in a long time, while I was talking to you, I felt this spark of genuine joy that I couldn’t ignore. For the first time in a long time, I didn’t have to fake it. So, it’s your fault, Kenny. You’re the reason I’ve been hooked from day one.”

My throat feels small. My nose and eyes prick with heat.

I’ve been a bargaining piece. A second-choice fiancée and even an unwanted employee, but I’ve never been someone’s joy.

I bury my face in his neck so he can’t see me. “Isaiah?”

“Yeah?”

“We got married on that date.”

He curls into me, lips dusting the skin of my neck before placing a soft kiss there. “I know.”

Isaiah turns onto his back, bringing me with him and draping my body over his. My short legs fall between his long ones, and though he took the pillow for himself, I’m perfectly happy to go without one when the alternative is his chest.

A hand settles on my lower back as I adjust the single blanket to cover us both.

“On the worst day of the year, I had two of the best days of my life.”

My eyes screw shut as I hide myself against his bare chest.

Just like I’ve never been someone’s joy, I’ve also never been someone’s best.

I don’t know how to process that.

I exhale a shaky breath. “Isaiah?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you ever wear a shirt?”

He huffs a laugh. A genuine, beautiful laugh that he needed.

“Thank you for that, but no, not around you anymore, Doc. I see the way you look at me.”

I smile against him.

“Please. Stay here with me tonight, Kenny.”

I nod. “I’m not going anywhere.”





Chapter 20


Isaiah


The driveway is packed when I pull up to my brother’s house and the endless voices can be heard from outside. I know Cody and Travis are here, and judging by the parked cars, quite a few of our other teammates are too.

Not that I blame them. I’m lucky enough to have a world-renowned pastry chef as a sister-in-law, and wouldn’t dare miss one of these nights at my brother’s house.

With my hands full, I use my foot to open and close the front door, and as soon as I pass the threshold, Max’s laughter is the first thing I consciously hear.

It’s the best thing I’ve heard all day, and the second best follows closely behind.

“Do you think that’s funny, Bug?” Kennedy asks my nephew, her tone pitched high for him.

Listening harder, I search for her voice again, not convinced she’s actually here right now, with all my friends and family, when she’s always been adamant about keeping her work and social life separate.

Max giggles again and I finally follow the sound to find the two of them on the floor in the living room, Kennedy with her back to the wall with my nephew standing between her outstret-ched legs. He’s pressing her cheeks together, trying to see what kind of faces he can make her do, and man, is it fucking cute.

A few of my teammates are on the couch, even more sitting on the floor with their eyes glued to the television screen where another baseball game is playing.

But they’re not who I’m looking at. I’m watching Max with my wife.

Whatever I’m feeling for Kennedy is far more serious than the once superficial crush I had on the girl. I didn’t know her then, but now that I’m learning exactly who she is, I more than like what I see.

She slept on the goddamn floor with me, listened and understood parts of me that even my closest friends don’t see. And don’t get me started on that night in my apartment, making her come, seeing her fall apart . . . Fuck, I feel ruined. Entirely destroyed for anyone else.

I can’t begin to fathom the idea of wanting someone else, so how does she? How the hell does she expect for me to let her go soon? Just sign some divorce papers and call it a day.

In what fucking world?

Sitting on the floor in my brother’s packed house, she’s got this casual T-shirt on and loose-fitting jeans, cuffed once around the ankle to make them the correct length for her. Her auburn hair is split into two braids, falling over her shoulders with pieces pulled out and framing her pretty face with those freckles on full display. They trail down her bare arms and feet, where her toes are painted—I’m just not entirely sure of the color.

I move into the kitchen, hoping to catch either her or my nephew’s attention, but they don’t pay me any mind as I set the bags of groceries on the counter where Kai and Miller are busy prepping her baking equipment.