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“He said to ask you about Ash—” she begins, but I shake my head a little and cut her off.
“He’s the father,” I say quietly.
Her jaw drops. “The…”
“Father,” I finish, resting a protective hand over my stomach that’s starting to feel bloated but not quite showing yet. “And I have no idea how or why dad found out, but it seems as though he did.”
“Oh, Desi,” she says, and she pulls me into a hug as I start to cry.
“I wanted to wait until the end of the season,” I blubber. “I didn’t want to distract Dad with this news, and I don’t want him to be hard on Asher because of it.”
“He won’t be. He’s fair and impartial,” she assures me, and yes, while I would typically agree with that, he’s also never been in a situation like this before.
I can’t imagine he’s going to remain that way knowing a man he trusted was the one who was sneaking around banging his daughter.
I don’t say that to my mom, obviously.
“What is this with him?” she asks. “If you want to talk about it.”
I wander over to the kitchen table and pull out one of the chairs as I blow out a breath and sit. “I hated keeping it from you, but I hope you can see now why I had to.”
“Of course I do. You could’ve told me. I wouldn’t have said anything to Dad,” she gently scolds as she slides into the chair next to me and sets her hand over mine.
“I know, but I didn’t want to put you in that position.” I sigh. “I think I’m in love with him, Mom.”
Her lips tip up as her eyes soften. “And Asher?”
“He’s said the words to me. I was too scared to say them back. It’s…well, it’s a long story.”
“Start at the beginning,” she suggests.
And so I do.
I tell her about the charity ball and how I ended up in the seat that was supposed to be for his date, and how we didn’t see each other for months after that. I leave out the hot sex, but I tell her about how he tried to stay away out of respect for my dad, but we couldn’t fight against our connection. I tell her about how we got closer and closer until one day he walked away and left me devastated, but then he came back the same day I found out I was having his baby, and he vowed to be here for both of us. “And that’s when he told me he loves me. We agreed we’d see each other in secret until the end of the season.”
“I can see why you’d be scared, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned in this life, it’s that you shouldn’t let the moment pass you by.” Her voice is soft.
“What made you learn that?” I ask more out of curiosity than out of nosiness. I lean my elbows on the table despite the manners ingrained in me since birth.
She sighs softly. “It wasn’t always easy with your dad. He asked for my number when I was in the stands. You know that part of the story. But he wasn’t a commitment kind of guy, and I think that’s why he was scared for you to be with a football player. He thinks they’re all like him, but evenhechanged his life around when he found the woman he was meant to be with.” She reaches over and squeezes my hand. “And I have no doubtthat Asher will do the same for you. Asher came back to you all on his own. Your dad…” She shakes her head a little as she trails off. “Well, let’s say he wasn’t as smart back then as he is now.” She winks at me. “And I take all the credit for being the one to fix that.”
I laugh. “What happened?”
“Oh, he ran scared, and I had to exercise extreme patience with him. I very nearly gave up and walked away. But it all worked out in the end.”
“What fixed it?”
She clears her throat. “Another man proposed to me.”
My jaw drops. “Who?”
She laughs. “Jerry O’Callahan.”
“Jerry O’Callahan?” I breathe as I repeat the name of the Director of Operations for Berkshire.
“My parentslovedhim. They wanted me to end up with him. He came from old money, and he was a businessman. But he didn’t give me butterflies the way your dad did. I wasn’t in love with him, and I very nearly accepted his proposal. But eventually your dad got off his butt and figured out he was about to lose me to another man.”
“And that’s how you learned not to let the moment pass you by?”
