Breakfast has long passed and I’ve tried to eat lunch. I manage a few bites, but I’m edgy as hell. I’m sitting when Mom calls.

“Honey, what’s this I hear about an engagement?”

Just when I think my gut’s settling down, bile flares up again.

“It’s not what you think. There is no engagement.”

“But, Chase, your father and I saw Lucia on the news and she said—”

“I know what she said, Mom, but it’s not true. We stopped seeing each other a while ago. She’s not listening to anything I tell her and insists we’re still together. But we were never really close like that to begin with.”

It was even less than that, but I can’t tell my mom she was only an occasional fuck.

She snaps into momma bear mode.

“Good Lord. What are you going to do?”

“Max is handling it.”

“Handling it? How?”

I explain Max’s plan, leaving out the most sordid of details. “Honestly, I think she needs help.”

“Oh, honey, that’s awful. It sounds like she does. You didn’t do anything to warrant that behavior, did you?”

“No, Mom. I swear I didn’t. I told her from the start that there was never a chance of anything permanent with us. When I told her I didn’t want to see her anymore, she sort of went crazy. She just won’t leave me alone.”

“Your brother had trouble like that until he settled down with Cassidy. When are you going to settle down?”

I want to blurt out that I’m in Chicago to do that very thing.

“Mom.”

“Okay, I’ll let it be. Maybe Max can persuade Lucia to seek counseling.”

“I hope so. She needs it.” Personally, I think she needs more than counseling, but I hold my tongue.

“So where are you now, honey?”

Shit. I was hoping she wouldn’t ask me that. “I’m in Chicago.”

“Oh? What are you doing there? Are you planning to visit your aunt and uncle? Or your cousins, Kaycee and Landon, while you’re there?”

“No, I’m just getting away from it all. I needed a breather. I’m not planning on staying long.”

“At least call them. They’ll be so disappointed you didn’t stop by. And, honey, if you need a break, you can always come back home to the mountains. Dad and I would love to have you.”

“I know. And I’ll get there soon. I promise.”

“Okay. I love you, Chase. Keep us posted on how things go. And call your brother and Cassie. They’re worried about you. They heard this news too and were wondering about it.”

“I will, Mom. Tell Dad I said hi and I love you both.”

My parents are the greatest. They’ve always been supportive of both my brother and me. If I ever needed them for anything, they would drop whatever it was they were doing and catch the next flight out to be by my side. I sit and think about what she said. Getting Lucia into counseling is a joke. She doesn’t think anything’s wrong with her.

It’s a relief that after another round of messages to my agent after Mom’s urging, Max finally calls and tells me he has Lucia under control. I can finally breathe easier. I won’t be fully satisfied until she makes her statement and I witness it myself.

Though I’ve made it to town, I find myself sitting in a local bar, not too far from Andi’s, imagining what she’s doing today. Is she alone, or with someone? God, the thought of that makes me fucking insane. If she’s with someone, I have no damn idea how I’ll handle that. Probably get on the first plane out of here. Where the hell would I go? Back to Italy? And face the paparazzi and Lucia? No, back to the mountains in North Carolina is where I’d head. Mom and Dad would be the perfect antidote for me. Grabbing the bartender’s attention, I order a beer. Maybe this will calm me the fuck down.

Then I think back to all the time … all the wasted time I’ve spent doing nothing but this. Thinking. And look where it’s gotten me. Sitting alone, in a bar, practically stalking the girl I’ve loved for as long as I can remember. What the hell is wrong with me? Why didn’t I just pick up the goddamn phone, call her, and spill my guts? Even if she had told me to kiss her ass, what difference would it have made? At least I could’ve moved on and not been this miserable fuck all this time.

When I go to toss back my beer, I notice the bottle is empty. Motioning to the bartender, I have him bring me another. This is my last one, and then I’ll steel my balls to make my move. I didn’t come all this way to sit in a bar and get plastered. If I’m honest, this isn’t making me feel better either. It’s only bringing me down. After I settle my tab, I head out the door into the cold January air.

The sky is dark gray and I briefly wonder if it’s going to snow. There are a couple of inches on the ground already, and the sidewalks are slick with patches of ice. I’m not much of a fan of this kind of weather, which is why I love living in Rome. Right as I think this, my feet go flying and I nearly land on my ass. Luckily, my quick action saves me and I skip over the ice to safety, almost as if I’m dribbling the ball downfield.

As I round the corner on the block where her apartment is, I check my phone to look up the address. There’s a park across the street where several people are playing with their kids. That’s when I notice her. She’s just as I remember her from the last time I saw her, or maybe more beautiful. I also observe she’s not alone. She’s there with a man and two children. My feet momentarily freeze to the sidewalk as I watch them make a snowman, or try to, with the little amount of the white stuff that remains on the ground. I’m close enough to overhear.

“We need some sticks for his arms,” one of the kids says.

“He doesn’t have much of a body to put the sticks on,” the dad says. In truth, the thing is lopsided and really only one giant blob of snow.

“Yes, he does, Daddy,” the same kid says. “We can make him a head now.”

Andi laughs as she plasters more snow on the thing. The smaller child doesn’t speak a word, except runs around and around in circles. I almost get dizzy watching her, but can’t help it when the corners of my mouth turn up. They can’t be Andi’s kids. Mark would’ve mentioned them to me. She must be dating that guy and those are his. Realizing I’m still rooted to the concrete, I propel myself into action.

First small, then larger steps land me almost right next to them. There’s something surreal about this, almost as though it should be me in the middle of it and not that dude. How would it feel? Would I want to be him? A father? This is uncharted territory for me. I’ve never put a lot of thought into it. Hell, my brother’s kid seems like an alien. Besides, my schedule is so booked up with practice, games, and appearances, not to mention endorsements, how would I ever work being a father in? But seeing Andi with these kids opens a door I never imagined existed.

Even though it can’t be more than twenty degrees, I’m not cold. In fact, I’m the opposite. My bones are filled with heat and it dives all the way down to my soul. Just seeing her infuses my heart with joy and makes me want to do things … crazy things, like tell her I love her. Only I know that’s not possible yet. Considering the scene in front of me, she may never be mine to have.

Focusing my gaze on her, it’s hard not to see how much enjoyment she’s getting out of this snowman thing. Perhaps I should turn around and leave. Go away and leave her to the life she’s built. However, fate has different plans—plans that need to be settled. Right then, she looks up and our eyes connect. The hand that was smashing more snow on the blobby snowman stills and she drops the little pile.

“Andi? Are you okay?” the lucky bastard with her says.

She doesn’t answer him. She stands and walks toward me. Slowly at first, but then faster until there’s less than a foot of space that separates us.

“Chase? What are you doing here?”

I blink a few times because my fantasy of seeing her again has come true.

“I … I came to see you.”

“Me? You came to see me? Why?”

It takes everything I have, every ounce of control in all my muscle fibers, not to pull her into my arms and kiss her perfect lips.

“Why wouldn’t I have?”

“It’s been so long. Why now?” she asks.

And when I go to answer her, the little girl, the one who was running around in circles, comes teetering up to us, yelling, “Mama, Mama, poopie, poopie. Nowwwww.”

Andi gives me a look that’s somewhere between desperation and apologetic. My thoughts are the scrambled eggs I couldn’t stomach this morning.

“I’m sorry, Chase.”

I watch as she grabs the child, picks her up, and carries her across the street at a run. Next thing I know, the dude comes over to me and says, “Kids, you never know when they gotta go.” He follows with the other child, leaving me to stare after them.

The scene nails me in the heart. Andi’s a mother, and clearly that guy is the dad. The two add up to a family and that seals my decision. With hands stuffed in my pockets, I head back to the little rental. I need to get the fuck out of Chicago. All the plans I hoped for are lost. She’s got her own life and there’s not a chance in hell I’m going to screw anything up for her.