RYAN
Harper should be hereany second, so I wait by the garage door to make sure I can hear her car. Maybe I’m overdoing things, but I thought it might be better for both of us if she could get in undetected. At least I really hope Harper feels the same about this and I didn’t overstep.
The engine noise announces her arrival, and I poke my head out the door, ready to shut the garage door the second she’s parked inside. It does with a satisfying thump,andI step out of the doorway to welcome my guest.
Harper gets out of the car, smiling when she sees me. “Hey.”
“Hey, yourself.” I walk up to her, holding out my arms.
Thankfully, she knows what I want and steps into my embrace for a quick hug. With my face close to hers, I inhale deeply. Man, she smells good.
Harper chuckles. “Did you just smell me?”
I grimace and give her some space. “Sorry if that sounds creepy, but you smell amazing.”
She shakes her head, her eyes beaming. “My stepmom pampered me today, so I’d be offended if I didn’t smell good after all the treatments I got at the spa.”
This woman is amusing without even trying. “Did you guys have fun?”
“We did.”
“Good.” I raise my head toward the door that leads to the kitchen, and we walk inside side by side.
“How was your day?
My day. How was my day? Not the same since she came back into my life? I can’t tell her that. It’s not her fault. It’s my problem that my focus has gone to shit since she told me I’m going to be a dad later this year. This year. Fuck. Even though I’m totally on board, and even a little excited about it, I can’t seem to slip back into my previous mindset. Part of the focus is just gone.
Since Harper already worries enough about everything, I don’t want to add to that, so I’m going with my standard answer. “Same old.”
“I don’t know how you do it. How do you keep it from boring you to death?”
I lean on the kitchen island and look at her. It’s a pretty standard question for us swimmers, albeit not in those words. That’s a Harper bonus. “It’s always the goal that fuels us, that keeps us going. The reason we do this, the people we do it for.”
She thinks about that for a moment and then nods. “That makes sense. Did you miss it when you stopped?”
“I did. The guys also kept teasing me about my retirement and my old ass, so I wanted to prove them wrong.”
Harper laughs. “Only guys would do something like that.”
With my hands in my pockets, I shrug. “Maybe. But I have to admit I was getting a little bored. I retired after the last Olympic Games, which was almost three years ago. At first it was nice to have more time to myself, and I also had Zane to take care of, who didn’t need me as much as I expected him to. Then he started college last year, and I was suddenly all by myself again.”
“That makes sense. I’m not sure I’d even know what to do with a teenager.”
“Believe me, I didn’t really know either. Still don’t know half the time. They’re like a whole different species sometimes.”
We both chuckle at my admission.
Harper takes her purse off her shoulder and places it on the counter behind her. “So let me get that straight. You’re training for another Olympic Games because you’re bored and your friends were teasing you?”
I pretend to contemplate on that for a moment before I nod. “Pretty much, yes.”
More laughter fills the kitchen. I like it.
“But,” I hold up my finger, “now it’s also about my legacy. Knowing I have a son or daughter soon makes me want to do it for him or her too. If I can get my head out of my ass sometime soon, that is.”
“I’m sorry it’s been difficult for you. It’s been messing like crazy with my head, so I can’t even imagine what it must have done to your training. Even getting out of bed has been a struggle some days.” Her lips tilt to a beautiful smile. “But I think it’s really sweet you also want to do well for the baby. They’ll be proud, no matter what.”
“Thanks for saying that.” I rub my hands together in front of me, almost as if to get rid of this strange energy buzzing through my body. “Well, albeit slightly depressing, this somehow also felt good to say out loud.”