One Baby Daddy (Dating by Numbers #3)(61)

Pulling myself together, I wipe the tears from my face and put the car in reverse. All the while, Hayden keeps his eyes trained on me, never detaching, never letting go.

That was without a doubt the hardest thing I’ll ever have to do.

To walk away from the man who stole my heart.

To say goodbye when all I want to do is stay.

When all I want to do is love.

Chapter Sixteen

HAYDEN

This is the last fucking place I want to be right now.

In Philadelphia.

At a child’s birthday party, holding some fucking princess tea set under my arm.

I’ve been home for a fucking day. One day and I’m already itching to drive right back to Binghamton, to the hospital and shake some sense into Adalyn.

How the fuck could she just leave like that?

I know I meant more to her. I could see it in her eyes. I could tell from the way she broke down in her car, so why is she turning away from me?

Why is she ignoring my calls and texts?

Because of distance? We can work that out. It’s a minor detail. But the connection we had, that doesn’t come along very often. Hell, I’ve never felt the way I feel about Adalyn for any other woman.

It might have happened fast, I might have attached quickly, but fuck, how could I not? She was so kindhearted, strong, feisty, and so incredibly genuine. She was nothing like the women I’ve met throughout the last year. I love her brain, her crazy wit, her vulnerable looks she’d give me when she was unsure. She seemed interested in me as a person. She could trash talk my brothers. She talked to my mom on the phone, for fuck’s sake. And seemed to enjoy it once she was off the call. And her body? Her fire? She’s a goddess. She was the whole package. She made me feel like myself with no pretense. She showed me I’m more to her than a famous hockey player. At least she did leading up to our last conversation. I still can’t understand how someone can switch from mellow and content, wanting more of me, to agitated and indifferent, desperate to leave. To leave me.

Christ. I rub the outer parts of my eyes with my hand when the door opens. Someone I don’t know greets me with a smile, letting me know the party is in the back. I could have guessed that from the noise spreading to the street when I pulled up.

Handing over the gift, I make my way to the back of the house where I find Calder standing at the grill, looking like a master in command.

A flash of pink catches my eye, shooting across the pavement of the pool area. Shea, Calder’s daughter, is bouncing on her feet asking her dad when Uncle Hayden is going to arrive. I should be touched, warmed to the core, but I feel nothing.

But because I have to, I put on a happy face and grab Shea by the waist.

“Right now.” Shea squeals loudly. “Were you worried I wasn’t going to come?” I spin her around for a few turns.

“You’re late.”

“I know, please forgive me.”

Shea ridiculously sighs. “Fine, only this time, though.”

“Thank God.” I smile devilishly at the little girl, one thing on my mind. I start walking toward the pool, and Shea understands her fate in seconds.

“No, no, no.” She laughs, squirming in my arms.

“Oh, it’s going to happen, little girl. Get ready, you’re about to get wet.” Like the “uncle” I am, I count to three then toss a bathing-suit-wearing Shea into the pool, who luckily, knows how to swim.

Dusting my hands off, I come face to face with Calder’s grilling spatula. “You realize you started a war, right? And Rachel is ALWAYS on Shea’s side. It’s hell, man.”

I grab a beer from the cooler next to the grill and say, “Oh please, you fucking love it.”

“I do.”

Speaking of Rachel, she walks up to Calder, a plate of patties in her hand, a glittering ring on her finger. I wasn’t surprised when Calder told me he proposed in New York City. I’m seriously happy for them.

“Hayden, I’m so glad you could make it. Where’s Adalyn? Did she have to work?”

Taking a giant gulp of my beer, I nod. “Yeah. Work.”

“Ugh, that stinks. I really wanted her to meet Shea. I think they would get along so well.”

There’s one vital thing you need to know about Calder. When it’s off-season, Calder shuts himself off from the world and he spends every waking moment with his family. He turns off his phone, leaving his landline open for emergencies, and steps away from social media and everything that has to do with hockey. The only routine he keeps is his workouts, because that’s a requirement as a professional athlete.

So I’m not surprised when Calder doesn’t mention my trade, or that Rachel is talking about Adalyn as if our world wasn’t flipped upside down with the news of my relocation.

This is going to be hard. I thought telling Adalyn I got traded was going to be difficult, but having to let my best friend know I won’t be sharing the same logo on my jersey as him . . . Fuck, I’m going to hate every second of this.

And then there was my family. My parents immediately called me, understandably upset about the news and me having to move so far away. My mom cried for far too long on the phone.

Will Calder cry? Nah, he’ll be upset though.

No one expected it, a rookie with a stellar first year to be traded. It’s almost unheard of, but it fucking happened. And all I can do is bend over and take it up the ass.