Don't Hate the Player...Hate the Game(82)

It was hard imaging Jake with a baby period, but the thoughts of him with a daughter was too surreal. Deep down, I knew he would have been fiercely protective of Evie and would have loved her with all his heart and soul. I would have given anything if he had been able to be there to hold her and rock her to sleep—especially to change her dirty diapers, which he would have loathed.

“Hi Mrs. Nelson,” I said.

She whirled around and gave me a genuine smile—one I hadn’t seen on her face for such a long time. “Well hello.” She reached over to give me a hug. As I pulled away, I stared down at Evie. Her blue eyes—Jake’s deep shade of blue—peered up at me.

“How’s my goddaughter doing?” I asked, tenderly touching Evie’s dark head. Like Emma Grace, she was outfitted in a fluffy and frilly dress along with a hairbow.

Mrs. Nelson beamed. “Absolutely wonderful. Wanna hold her?”

I smiled. “Sure.” As Evie was passed over to me, I kissed her cheek. If anyone had doubts about her being Jake’s baby, all they had to do was look at her. It wasn’t just her eyes—she was an exact replica of Jake from her nose to the shape of her mouth. It was like Presley hadn’t even had a part in the baby—Evie and Jake’s baby pictures were identical as well. It was bittersweet looking into her tiny face and seeing him staring out at you.

“Where’s Presley?” I asked.

“She and Jonathan went to get some ice.” A knowing smile played on her lips before she turned back to stir the green beans.

“They’ve been spending a lot of time together lately,” I mused. Jonathan and I had ended up rooming together at Tech, rather than Jake. It hadn’t escaped me that he was often talking to Presley on the phone or going places with her. He tried to play it off that he enjoyed spending time with Evie, but I knew better. They were falling for each other, but neither one of them knew how to do it because of Jake. And I knew all too well what having the specter of Jake hanging over you felt like.

Maddie entered the kitchen then. At the sight of Evie in my arms, she grinned. “How’s Miss Mini-Me?” she asked.

I laughed at her reference to Evie being a perfect Jake replica. “She’s good.” Glancing past her, I saw Jason holding Emma Grace while Mom and the Asshole talked.

Presley and Jonathan breezed in the backdoor then, loaded down with shopping bags. At the sight of me, Presley gave a beaming smile. “Hey Noah. Glad you could make it.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

When Presley opened her mouth to say something else, Evie gave a loud cry and began squirming in my arms. With her hands full, Jonathan quickly deposited his bags on the counter and took Evie from me. She immediately stopped crying.

I quirked my brows at him. “I never knew you were such a natural with babies,” I teased.

An amusing flush entered his cheeks. “It’s not that. She just knows me better than you,” he replied, cradling Evie to his chest.

“Okay everyone, let’s sit down to eat,” Mrs. Nelson instructed.

As we crowded around the dining room table, I still couldn’t help but feel Jake’s absence. I wanted to hear his laughter and his voice echoing through the room. With a resigned sigh, I eased down in my chair next to Maddie. Sensing my emotions, she reached over and squeezed my hand.

Before we started eating, the Asshole stood up in his chair. “I just wanted to thank you all for coming out today to honor the one year anniversary of Jake’s death.” Surprisingly his voice wavered for a moment. “It means so much that Jake’s memory is still being kept alive by those who loved him, and that he will live on not just in his beautiful daughter, but through all of his family and friends.”

I tried not to let my mouth fall open in shock at the Asshole’s sincere comments. “So raise your glass, even though it’s only tea and coke, to Jake.”

I grabbed my glass and hoisted it in the air. “To Jake,” Mr. Nelson said.

“To Jake,” we all replied in unison.

***

Later Maddie and I lay tangled in each other’s arms on the couch watching a movie. Mom and Greg were at work, and Emma Grace was fast asleep. “You know our one year anniversary is coming up soon,” I mused.

“It is.” She kissed my cheek. “I’m so proud you remembered without me having to remind you,” she said with a teasing grin.

I laughed. “How could I ever forget?” Playing with a strand of her long, dark hair, I said, “I was just wondering what you wanted to do to celebrate. Go to a fancy dinner or stay in? I’m down for whatever you want to do.”

Maddie’s fingers drew circles over my hand. “Well, I was thinking I wanted to do something big.”

“Like what?”

She glanced up to give me a smile that lit me on fire from head to toe. “Make love for the first time.”

I shot up on the couch and stared at her in shock. “Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“But I thought—”

Maddie brought her finger to my lips. “If I’ve learned anything in the last year, it’s to say what you feel and experience as much life as you can. You’ve held up to your end of the bargain, Noah. You show me each and every day how much you love me, and you’ve been so very patient and understand with me. I know I should wait until I get married, but I know that I love you.”