Monty’s daughter. Monty’s stunning-as-fuck daughter.
With that, I duck under the water and swim the length of the pool again, stretching out my shoulder and hoping the distance between us will help me forget how beautiful that woman is.
But with my eyes closed, she’s all I can see, and when I come back up for air on the shallow side and find her sitting there, leaning back on her palms, I know the image won’t be leaving my mind for far too long.
“You should know by now that ignoring me isn’t going to make me forget, Kai.” Her tone is even, confident. “You’re a fantastic dad. And if someone needs to tell you, I’ll be the one to do it.”
I don’t believe her, but there’s no point in arguing. “Thank you.”
“Who’s watching him right now?”
“Isaiah.”
“Where’s his mom?”
A startled laugh escapes me and I slip under the water for a moment to gain my bearings. “It’s a little late for that talk, don’t you think?” is what I say when I come back up.
“Nope. I think it’s the perfect time.”
I turn away from her, pacing and pushing my way through the water. The view is stunning from up here, the entirety of the city below us. The night is warm, the water is calming, and this almost naked woman has my lips feeling real loose.
“Seattle, I’d imagine. But I’m not sure.”
Before I know it, I hear a small splash as Miller enters the water behind me. She swims to where I stand before she pulls herself out and takes a seat on the ledge, forcing me to look at her.
Forced. I laugh to myself. Sort of feels like a privilege to watch Miller Montgomery dripping wet in a bathing suit.
Her voice is softer than it typically is. “What happened?”
Water drips down her body, some of it falling between her tits and my attention is glued. She knows it too and like some kind of sex hypnotist, she scoots slightly closer and asks again, “What happened with Max’s mom?”
“Are you using your body to distract me?”
“Is it working?”
I scrub a palm over my face because, yes, it’s working. A little too fucking well. “She was um . . . someone I was casually seeing when I played in Seattle. I met her at a local restaurant the team frequented. Ashley was our server. It was never anything serious, and it was over as soon as I signed with Chicago. Just a fling, or so I thought. I moved to the Midwest in the fall, and just about a year later, she showed up at my apartment with my six-month-old son in her arms.”
“She never told you she was pregnant?” Miller’s brows are pinched, anger evident.
“She didn’t know until after I had already left. But, no, I don’t think she had planned to ever tell me.”
“I hate her.”
I chuckle. “I don’t.”
“How could you not?”
“Because she genuinely believed she was doing the right thing, however misguided it was. She didn’t want me to think she was trying to trap me or take my money, so she had planned to do it on her own, but six months in, she realized she didn’t want to be a mother. That’s when she showed up.”
Miller scoffs. “I’ll hold a grudge for you then since you’re being sane and reasonable. That’s fucked, Kai. You missed out on six whole months.”
“I know I did, and I think about those six months every day of my life. What I missed, what Max learned without me around. I don’t hate her, but I am angry with her for not telling me about him sooner. When she showed up in Chicago, there was no question in my mind that I would be the one to raise him.”
“And you were sure he was yours? Just like that?”
Lifting my brows, I wait for her to connect the dots. Max has my steel-blue eyes, my dark hair. There’s no mistaking that he’s mine.
“Okay,” she laughs, holding up her hands. “Stupid question.”
“I’ve already missed so much, I’m afraid to miss any more.”
The space goes eerily quiet, the silence screaming.
“Sorry,” I apologize. “It’s too late to be getting deep on you.”
“It’s never too late to go deep in me, Baseball Daddy.”
A startled laugh bursts from my lips, breaking the tension. “You’re ridiculous.”
She smiles and I like it far too much. I want to stare at her, tell her too many things when she’s looking at me like that. So instead, I dip under the water and swim away until I feel her on my heels, taking my same path in the pool.