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I shrug my shoulders, and kick at an imaginary rock on the floor. “Well yeah, but he was messing with a girl who didn’t want to be messed with, so what was I supposed to do?”
“Oh, so you were defending some girl’s honor, were you?” she says, her lips twitching as she holds back a smile.
“Darn right, I was,” I say, watching my language in front of Gavin.
Gavin grabs his mom’s dress again. “Mommy, can Liam be my big brother?”
She opens her purse—which could double as a suitcase—checks the time on her phone, and says, “Gavin, why don’t you go play for a quick second?”
Gavin scrunches up his nose, and skips away to the play area. “I didn’t get your name,” I say.
“It’s Harper,” she says in a low voice, and then adds, “Liam, I don’t know how to say this. I don’t really know you and I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but I don’t think you’d be a good match for my son.”
I shove my hands into my jeans. “Yeah, it’s okay. No worries.” I’m not sure why, but my stomach is tight, like I’d just taken a stick to the gut. With my reputation, did I really expect this woman to trust that I’d be a good role model for her son? But there’s something else. Something I can’t quite put my finger on, something that makes me want to tuck her under my arm and protect her from a world that might have been cruel to her and her son.
She checks the time again. “I do have to go.”
I back up a bit. “Okay.”
“Gavin, come on. We need to get home.”
Gavin’s eyes are hopeful as he comes racing over. “Is Liam going to be my big brother?” he asks. Harper opens her mouth, and then closes it again. She doesn’t want to disappoint Gavin, that much is certain.
“No, I don’t think…I just…chances of you guys matching…”
Gavin’s smile falls, and my heart sits heavy for the kid. “Gavin,” I begin, coming to her rescue. “I think they might have already matched you, and you know what, I bet your big brother is going to be the best big brother in the world.” I glance at Harper. “Can I have your phone?” She eyes me with uncertainty, and I laugh. “Don’t worry, I’m not putting my digits in your contacts. I’m a lot of things, but I’m not a creep. I just want to get a picture with Gavin.”
“Right.” She hands me the phone, and I drop down next to Gavin. He puts his arm around my shoulder as I take a bunch of pictures. “Now you can show Holden.”
“Mommy, Holden won’t believe this!”
“Pics or it didn’t happen,” I say, and when he stands there staring at me, I laugh. Of course, he doesn’t know what I mean. He’s a kid with no social media presence. “Am I Holden’s favorite?” I ask.
“No, he likes Alec. He wants to be a goalie like him.”
“Am I anyone’s favorite?” I ask with a laugh as I stand back up. Gavin looks through the pictures as I nod to his mom. “Nice meeting you, Harper.”
She stands there staring at me, and I can almost hear the wheels spinning. What is going through that pretty head of hers?
A big strand of blonde hair falls from the clip, and I resist the urge to brush it from her face. She blows it away and says, “You’re really good with him. Do you…have kid
s?”
“No, but I like kids,” I say quietly, thinking of my nieces and nephews. “That’s why I’m here.” It’s not a lie, I do like kids, and when I was told to clean up my image and do volunteer work, I was the one who chose this organization.
“I’ve seen pictures of you and other teammates at the children’s hospital. That’s a really nice thing that you guys do.”
“Mommy, look at this one,” Gavin says, and holds the phone up. She smiles as she takes a look.
“That’s a great picture,” she says, and puts her hand on his hat. Her gaze lifts, focuses back on me. “I mean, I’m sorry…I just…”
I hold my hands up, palms out. “It’s okay,” I say. “I’m sure he’ll be matched with someone great.” The front door opens, and in walks a woman and a little girl. The girl heads straight for the play area, and I glance at Jeremy as he scrolls through his phone. “I’d better get those forms filled out.”
“Okay,” she says, and takes Gavin’s hand. “It was nice meeting you, Liam.” I go back to my chair, disappointment sitting heavy and I’m not sure I really understand it. Then again, maybe it’s because I always get what I want, and this woman shut me down at hello. I smile, liking her all the more.
Harper steps up to the reception desk and speaks quietly. A moment later, she disappears through the door, and something in my gut tells me to get my ass in gear and go after her. Not just because she’s the sweet kind of girl that I should be photographed with, or that she doesn’t like hockey and clearly doesn’t like me—something I’d like to change—but because, like her son, she needs someone rock-solid in her life. But thanks to my reputation, that guy will never be me.
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