I was saved from the intense look and the heat radiating through that thin towel by my nurse who poked her head into the locker room. “Dr. Cavanaugh,” she called, and I turned to her as she read from a note in her hand. “Your brother called and said he’s picking up baby girl from day care and taking her to his house. The boys are there and want to see her. He said to call him back.”

“Thanks, Andi,” I said, pulling my cell out of my pocket to call Beau and risking a glance at Axel, who had one hand pressed tightly to his flat stomach. It was hard to decipher the look on his face. It was somewhere between confusion and hurt, his brow furrowed, and the sides of his mouth stretched downward.

Is he thinking about his daughter? Is he wondering if she has his eyes or if she inherited his love of pizza? Does he want to know anything at all about her?

I swiveled my eyes away from him as Beau’s voicemail picked up. “Hey, bro. I got your message from the nurse, and that’s all good. Also, Evan’s working late, so y’all are cooking dinner for me tonight. ‘Kay, bye.”

I turned back to Axel, who was leaning against the wall, still with that weird look on his face, but he quickly shook it off. Was he even going to ask about his child?

“Hey, come to my locker with me,” he said, pushing off the wall and grabbing my hand. “I got you a jersey.”

“Axel, you didn’t have to do that,” I complained as he dragged me past the dark wood lockers lining both sides of the room, fighting the thought that I loved how his big, rough hand felt wrapped around my own.

“No, I promised,” he said, letting go of my hand as he pulled two jerseys from his locker. “I actually got you a white one and a red one so you would have the home and away jerseys.” I unfolded them to see that he had already signed them, but not with his full name like he usually did when signing memorabilia. Yes, I looked at his memorabilia online. Don’t judge me. He had simply written, “Ax” with a heart underneath.

It was just so sweet and… personal. I looked back up at him, and he had that vulnerable look again, and my heart melted a little bit. I hugged him and said, “Thank you, Axel. That means a lot.” His big hands held onto my waist for a few seconds longer than necessary before finally releasing me.

“Now, those are for you, so don’t go selling them on eBay,” he teased.