Each time I caught a glimpse of her, I fought the urge to blurt out, “Hey, your husband may be cheating on you. You should get a divorce and come live with me so I can stick my dick in you morning, noon, and night.”

But I thought that might be a bit much.

I finally got a chance to talk to her about a week later, but oddly enough, it wasn’t at football practice. I was walking down the snack aisle of the grocery store near my apartment when I saw a familiar auburn head near the end of the aisle. I did my best to keep my steps unhurried as I strode between the chips and beef jerky so I wouldn’t come across as too stalker-ish.

“Blaire? Is that you?” I asked, trying to put some surprise into my tone. She turned from the popcorn display, and her eyes widened.

“Oh. Ax. Um, hi.” Not exactly the thrilled response I was hoping for, I thought, and that made my gut clench into a tight little ball.

Just then, a little girl with dark, curly hair ran up to her and said, “Mommy, I want these,” holding up a bag of spicy Cheetos. Mommy? This was her baby?

She turned to the girl and said, “Carrie, those will be too hot for you.”

“Nuh-uh! I had ‘em at Uncle Beau’s house, and they are goo-ood. Please, Mama, pleeeeease!”’

“Yeah, Mama. Pleeeeease!” I added on, earning me an eye roll from Blaire, but the little girl turned and gave her new partner in crime a huge smile. Oh. My. This child was stunning with brilliant blue eyes and her mother’s dimples. “Where did you get those pretty blue eyes?” I asked, squatting down beside her.

Without missing a beat, the kid said, “I got ‘em at Target last week. They were on sale.” I busted out laughing. This kid was a riot. She stuck out her pudgy little hand and said, “Mommy says I’m supposed to shake hands when I meet new people.”

I had the strange urge to kiss her chubby hand, but I took it in mine and gave it a firm shake. “Of course. How do you do, lovely lady? My name is Axel Broxton.”

She giggled, and the sound made me inexplicably happy. “I’m Carrie Cavanaugh. You want to hear me spell it?” At my nod, she rattled off, “C-A-R-R-I-E C-A-V-A-N-A-U-G-H. But the G is silent,” she said with a wise nod.

“Thanks for the tip, kiddo. You sure are smart,” I said, touching my finger to the tip of her nose. I could feel Blaire watching me with curious eyes, but all my attention was on this darling little girl. Why the hell can’t I stop looking at this kid?