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Matt and Jay looked from Adam to Amy, both terribly confused.
"Okay, let me get this straight," the elder Hardy brother said, doing the honors to speak first. "You two know each other?"
"Yeah," the blond man said, nodding, his gaze never leaving the redhead. "Yeah, you can say that."
Amy blinked, her heart hammering like a kettle drum as she somehow managed to tear her eyes from Adam and direct them toward Matt.
"Yeah... Adam and I were friends once upon a time ago."
The tall Canadian blinked as he absorbed her words. Somehow, he managed not to outwardly wince. Her words, however, stung like a knife to his heart. Although it was true that they had indeed been friends and never really anything more, in his mind he liked to think they'd meant a whole hell lot more to each other than that. Also, obviously, in her quick response to Matt's question, Amy didn't want anyone to know about their one and only night of passion. Well, if that was what she wanted, he would grant her her wish. He wouldn't open his mouth about it.
"Right, Adam?"
The blond man simply stared into the young woman's hazel eyes silently for a beat. The pleading in those orbs was not lost on him. Slowly, he nodded.
"Yeah... We were friends."
Adam swallowed hard and looked down at the floor for a moment before raising his head again. He caught the blue eyes of Jay, a slightly quizzical expression on his best friend's face. Uh oh... The short-haired blond man was damn perceptive, at least where *he* was concerned. They'd been best friends for so damn long - for twenty-one of their thirty years, to be exact. Just by that look on Jay's face, Adam knew without a doubt he'd have some questions to answer later on.
Before anyone could say anything more on the subject, the locker room door was pushed open, and to Adam's surprise, the person who rain in to join them was not a fellow wrestler. Likewise, it was not a stagehand, or a suit, either. Instead, it was a little girl. Said little girl sidled up shyly to Amy and tugged on the redhead's hand.
"Mommy, I can't find Uncle Jeff! Help me!"
Amy seemed almost startled as the child, obviously her daughter, held onto her left hand.
The tall blond man was so dumbstruck as his gaze remained fixed on the little girl. A beautiful child, Amy's daughter had long honey-blonde hair and bright eyes that seemed to be carbon copies of those of her mother's. But he was in shock... He never would have guessed she would have any children. He wondered if she had any more.
"Mandy, you know Jeff is good at hide and seek," the redhead said as she stooped over to meet the little girl at eye-level. "But honey, I can't help you find him right now. Mommy's busy." Amy's eyes darted around nervously, and they briefly met with Adam's green but she quickly averted her gaze. Then, recovering herself, she said, "Adam, Jay - this is Amanda... my daughter." She swallowed hard and avoided the taller man's gaze again.
"Well, hello, Amanda," the shorter Canadian said as he knelt down to the girl's level. He put out his hand to shake the child's much smaller one. "My name is Jay. How old are you?"
Mandy appeared shy as she shuffled her little feet and looked up at her mother for a moment. Then, offering Jay a shy smile, she spoke.
"Six."
Adam blinked rapidly as he eyed little Mandy and Amy. They definitely looked like mother and daughter, but he was still taken aback that the young woman had a child. He too knelt down before Amanda.
"Hi there... My name is Adam."
"My name is Amanda - I'm six," the little girl said. She offered him a sweet smile, and the tall blond man felt as though this child had just captured his heart. She was too adorable.
While he was interacting with Mandy, Adam failed to note the mixed anxiety and
emotion on Amy Dumas' face.