I wasn’t expecting him to come on to me. I wasn’t expecting to sleep with him the next day. He seemed like such a good guy. He wanted to help me grow my clientele. He sent me NFL clients and flowers nearly once a week. I didn’t think twice about his motives or that he didn’t want anybody to know we were messing around. I thought it was because of his fame. I should have noticed the red flags, but he was a professional athlete, and he was interested in me. I thought he had real feelings for me. I didn’t know he would be the type to ghost me when I needed him most.

The doorbell rang again, reminding me I had a date standing outside my door. I took a deep breath, sucking in the tears that threatened to fall from my eyes. I didn’t have time to break down right now. Not wanting to leave Carson waiting, I dropped my phone in my purse and opened the door.

“Hi, you must be Phileigh,” he said, extending his hand. “I’m Carson.”

I took him in. He was a handsome guy—brown skin with a low fade and a nice smile. The way his collared shirt was tucked into his pants made him look a little too square for my taste, and we stood at the exact same height. I was about five foot ten but still. I liked looking up at my men. I smiled at him, feeling bad for already writing him off, but he wasn’t my type. Reggie is your type and look where that got you. My subconscious had jokes. Shaking off my thoughts, I extended my arm and lightly shook his hand.

“In the flesh.” I forced a smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Same… Your Mom couldn’t stop talking about you at bingo.” He looked me up and down. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

We stood there staring at each other awkwardly. I’d never been on a blind date before. I didn’t know what to say.

“You ready? Um... The game starts in about an hour, but we have food in the suite.” Carson broke the silence between us.

A suite? I didn’t know we would be in a suite. Maybe this man was a bigger deal than I thought. I took a deep breath. I was twelve weeks pregnant. I should tell Carson to disappear, but going to the Super Bowl beat sitting in the house trying to track down Reggie and sliding down the wall crying. This could very well be my last date for a while. Who was going to want to date a single mother?

“Sure, let’s go!” I replied, forcing excitement.