Dating the Defensive Back (The Nash Brothers Book 1)

Gray Brought a Date

A stuffed fucking bunny.

Nothing felt more right when this should all feel so wrong. I got it for her, but I’m giving it to my niece, which is probably extra stupid on my part since every goddamn time I look at the dumb thing, I’ll be reminded of Ava and how I royally fuck up all that’s good since I’m never going to be able to actually make the move I want to make.

I’m trying to remember why I thought it was a good idea to invite her along with me today.

The conclusion I keep drawing is that I’m an idiot.

I did it to be seen with her, and we were seen as we walked in together. Someone somewhere snapped a photo of us, and it’ll be posted online soon. It’ll erase the rumors about who the woman last night was, and I won’t ever need to address it.

I shouldn’t have to.

It’s my fucking life, and just because I play a sport people tune into every Sunday, they think they deserve the inside track to what I do in my spare time.

They don’t.

Nobody does.

I pay for the bunny and the balloon, and we head toward the elevator. We’re buzzed into a waiting room, and my brother comes down to collect us.

“Congratulations, bro,” I say to Lincoln when he walks in the room.

He looks…exhausted. Like he hasn’t slept in a week. And maybe he hasn’t, though I don’t comment on that. I grab him in a hug and slap him on the back.

“You remember Ava Maxwell, don’t you?” I nod toward the woman beside me.

“Beckett Maxwell’s sister, right?” Lincoln says, eyeing her.

She nods and steps in to give him a hug. “That’s right. Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” he says with a smile. “I’m so glad you’re both here. I can’t wait for you to meet them, but Jolene and the baby are both sleeping. Do you mind waiting here until they wake up and she has a chance to try feeding her again?”

“Not at all,” I say, sliding onto a chair. Ava takes the seat beside me, and Lincoln sits across from us. “So…how is she?”

His smile widens. “Jolene? Great. And the baby? Amazing. Six pounds, seven ounces of literal perfection.”

“What name did you decide on?” I ask.

“I’ll let Jo tell you that.” He yawns.

“Go get some rest,” I suggest. “We’ll be fine here.”

“Seriously, this kid wakes up every hour, so you can come meet her soon.” Lincoln pushes to a stand, and the door to the waiting room opens.

“Two of my boys in the same room? How’d a mom get so lucky?” Mom says as she rushes to hug Lincoln first, and she says something into his ear. She squeezes me next, and she’s beaming when her eyes land on the woman beside me. “And Gray brought a date?”

“You remember Ava Maxwell, don’t you, Mom?” I ask.

“Oh, of course! How’s your mom doing, sweetheart?” she asks as she pulls Ava into a warm hug.

“She’s okay,” Ava says, and for the first time, I wonder how she’s really doing. It’s not something Beckett and I talk about, and I don’t think Ava is very close with her. In fact, she rarely mentions her family at all.

I wonder about how long it’s been since the last time Ava and Beckett spoke. Or Ava and her brother Alexander, or Ava and her brother Oliver.

I touch base with all my brothers fairly frequently. My mom texts me once a day at a minimum. I can’t imagine not feeling that connection with them, and I can’t imagine how the beautiful woman standing beside me hugging my mother feels about not having a mother figure in her own life. I wonder if she chose Vegas on purpose to escape her family and create her own life somewhere far away from them.

It pulses more feelings in me about how I don’t know her as well as I want to.

And as if the thought comes out of absolutely nowhere, I wonder if I could give her the type of family she deserves.

“When can I meet my first grandbaby?” Mom asks Linc.

“Let me go see if Jo and the baby are awake,” Lincoln says, and he heads down the hallway, leaving the three of us in the empty waiting room.

She glances between Ava and me, and I get the feeling she wants to ask what’s going on between us. Thankfully, she doesn’t—but I get the feeling she will when she corners me later.

“So what is Ava Maxwell up to these days?” she asks Ava.

“I’m a pastry chef at a bakery just off the Strip with aspirations of owning my own place someday.” She has this glow about her as she answers the question.

“Oh, I love the ambition,” Mom says. “Isn’t running your own bakery a lot of work and long hours?”

Ava nods. “It is, but when you’re doing what you love…”

“It doesn’t feel like work,” Mom finishes for her.

“That’s right,” Ava says.

“Tell her about your cookies,” I say, nudging her.

Her cheeks turn a little pink as she says, “Our bakery is known for the kitchen sink cookie recipe I created. I have the recipe copyrighted, so if I leave, I can take it with me. Still, I tend to do some of the prep work at home so nobody learns what my secret ingredient is.”

“That’s so neat! When can I try one?” Mom asks, and I realize I haven’t tried one yet, either. I held one in my hand and handed it back over the counter, but the sweet delight her bakery is known for hasn’t crossed my tongue yet.

Her cunt has, but her cookie hasn’t.

Wrong time to be thinking about that, and an even worse time to pop a boner.

Fuck.

“Maybe we can swing by later and grab some for everyone to try,” I suggest.

We talk more about what it takes to run a bakery, and it sounds like the startup for it requires a lot of cash that Ava doesn’t have right now.

Lincoln shows back up a short while later, interrupting the easy conversation with, “My girls are ready for you.”

“My girls,” Mom says, holding a hand to her heart. “I’m just so happy for you, Linc.”

He grins and tosses his arm around her shoulders. “Thanks, Mom.” He kisses her on top of the head, and then the four of us head down toward his room.

“Grandma’s here,” he says softly, and he leads Mom in first. Ava and I walk a few paces behind her, and I’m a whole head taller than my mom, so I spot Jolene holding the baby with a soft smile playing at her lips as she gazes down at the little bundle wrapped in pink.

She doesn’t look like she just put in the hard work of labor even though she did, and the little baby she’s cradling to her chest is just like Lincoln described. Perfection.

I’m not a baby guy, but damn, she’s adorable.

I’m not sure why, but I can’t help a quick glance over at Ava.

Her eyes are a little misty as they fall onto the new mom and baby. I think she might be feeling the same strange pulse of emotion I am.

It’s not what I was expecting to feel today.

I thought I’d put in my time with my family, show off my new “girlfriend,” and we’d call it a day.

Instead, I can’t help but wonder about a future with said “girlfriend” and maybe one or two of these little perfect creatures born from the intimate connection we share.

Is it a possibility for my future?

I have no idea.

But I think it’s more of a possibility now than it ever was before, and that alone is really fucking terrifying.