29. Chapter 29
Chapter 29
LANE
He’s late.
He’s late, and I’m standing here waiting on him, when for all I know he may not even be coming.
I pace back and forth beside the door as I bite my thumbnail, trying to keep the intrusive thoughts at bay. But it’s hard. I live on doubt and thrive on speculation the longer I wait.
Anything could’ve happened. A car crash, late practice, or a dead car battery. There are plenty of reasons he could have for not being here, yet my mind goes straight to the worst of them because the past has told me to expect it.
When you’re a parent, you show up. You don’t have a choice, and I can’t help but think he chose something other than us.
Not that I blame him. It’s not like I’ve been forthcoming, or he owes me anything.
“I thought you said Teagan was coming?” Sophie says, glancing up at me, her mouth turned in a pout.
“He is. Or, he was.” I grimace, then huff out a breath and glance at the time on my phone. “We’ll give it a few more minutes, then we’ll go.”
My mother returns from refilling the candy bowl in the kitchen, and her eyes soften as she asks, “He still hasn’t shown?”
I shake my head, my throat tight.
“I’m sure he has a good reason.”
“Yeah, sure.”
But then why didn’t he call?
Teagan’s a grown man, perfectly capable of sending a text, and if he wants to be involved in my life—in Sophie’s life—he needs to learn to be accountable.
I pass the mirror in the foyer and catch a glimpse of my reflection, suddenly self-conscious in my face paint and bunny ears.
I want to rip them off, to yell and scream because I did the one thing I promised myself I’d never do. I relied on him to show up, and now I’m allowing my faith in him to ruin a special moment with my daughter when I should be enjoying it. The last thing I want is for her to be disappointed because a man I brought into our lives—a friend—didn’t do what he promised, not when I can be enough for us both.
I shove aside the sinking anvil of disappointment and reason with myself. Maybe he is genuinely running late. Maybe he has a good reason. Or maybe he doesn’t. Either way, it’s time to stop waiting around for him.
The doorbell rings and Sophie joins my mother, grabbing a couple pieces of candy for the trick or treaters. “We’ll go after this one, Soph” I say, but when my mother swings the door open, I freeze.
While my mother’s face splits into a smile, mine fades. “Oh, Chance, honey, Ed isn’t here yet. Do you want to come in and wait?”
I cross my arms over my chest, annoyed he chose this moment to show up.
My mother moves aside as he steps in beside her. “Do you want candy?” Sophie asks, and I stiffen, waiting for Chance to acknowledge her.
He hesitates for a beat, as if he has no clue how to interact with a little human, before he nods. “Uh, sure. Thanks,” he says, and when she hands him a candy bar, he smiles.
I hate it.
“Come on, Soph. Time to go.” I motion toward her pumpkin bucket, suddenly in a hurry to get the hell out of here. Chance knows my father always stays at his office for more than an hour after practice. He’s never back this early, which makes me wonder why he’s really here.
I’m not sure I want to stick around to find out.
Sophie hurries toward her basket and scoops it up while I ignore the way Chance is staring at me. I remember a time when his attention was all I wanted. When it made me feel special.
My stomach twists at the memory.
“I figured you’d already be out,” he says.
I hum a noncommittal response, then say, “We got delayed.”
With her pumpkin bucket in hand, Sophie skips to my side and beams up at me. “We finally get to go now?” she asks, bubbling with so much excitement it ties my stomach in knots. I never should have made her wait.
“Yep. Let’s go, honey.” I reach down and clasp her hand, brushing right by Chance without a second glance as my mother stops us at the door.
“Wait, Lane—” She grips my arm, while I try to stanch my frustration. All I want to do is get the hell out of here and away from Chance, but her bright-eyed expression tells me I’m not going to like what she’s about to say. “Why don’t you take Chance with you? That way you have company while you walk house to house.”
Yup, absolutely loathe it.
My stomach twists like a towel being wrung dry. “No, Mom, it’s fine. I don’t think—”
“I’d love to,” he interrupts.
My head jerks toward him and the blood drains from my face. “That’s really not necessary.”
“Nonsense. Your father won’t be back for at least another thirty minutes. Chance might as well go and kill the time,” my mother insists. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”
Fun.
I want to laugh because nothing about Chance accompanying me while trick or treating with our daughter—the one he made very clear he never wanted—sounds fun.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” I shake my head, afraid of showing my hand but also not in the headspace to give a damn.
Mom’s smile falters, a hint of uncertainty as she says, “Don’t be like that. I know this evening isn’t turning out how you wanted, but it’s still salvageable.” She shrugs. “If Teagan shows up, I’ll tell him it was getting late and you couldn’t wait.”
I clench my jaw and glance away from her.
If she knew the truth, she wouldn’t be so quick to pair me up with Chance. But I say nothing of the sort. Instead, I leave the house in a hurry, all while squeezing Sophie’s hand a little tighter than necessary.
Maybe if I walk fast enough, he’ll take the hint and get lost.
Our feet hit the paved sidewalk, and Chance jogs to catch up.
No such luck.
I say nothing as we walk to the neighboring house for candy while I mash my lips together, refusing to be the first to speak.
“So, Nichols, huh?” he says, after a moment.
My gaze darts to his and my eyes narrow as Sophie takes the stairs of our neighbor’s porch, then rings the doorbell. I had hoped in vain he missed what my mother said. The last thing I want is for him to know I was stood up by one of his teammates, even if it wasn’t a date.
“Don’t look at me like that.” He scoffs. “I knew the second I saw you guys at Slice he wanted to be more than just friends.”
“Why would you think that?” I hate that I even want to know, but I can’t deny how much I do. Maybe there’s some truth I can glean from his words which will explain why Teagan’s not here.
“Besides the way he looked at you?” He shrugs. “Guys are never just friends with girls.”
I stare at him for a long moment, absolutely hating that I’m reading into what he said.
Were Chance and I never friends? Had he always wanted more from me before we got together?
I shake off the thought. It doesn’t matter. That ship has sailed and I don’t want a repeat ride.
I cross my arms over my chest, keeping one eye on Sophie as she thanks the Smiths for the candy, then skips her way toward me.
“Listen, Lane.” Chance angles himself closer, but I refuse to look at him. “I know you think you know him, but he’s not right for you.”
I laugh. Full-on tip-my-head-back and belly-roll laugh.
“Are you really telling me he’s not good for me?” I say, ignoring the fact that we’re not even together, not like that. “Seriously, Chance?”
“I’m telling you he’s bad news.”
I grind my teeth so hard my molars ache, cursing him even more when I have to force a smile at Sophie as she returns and places her hand in mine.
I guide her to the next house and down the long walkway, then wait as she knocks before I whirl on him. “What the hell are you doing here?” I hiss.
“I told you—”
“You lied.” I roll my eyes. “So what’s the real reason?”
The muscle in his jaw twitches, giving him away. Not that I didn’t already know he was a liar.
“Okay, so maybe I didn’t come to see your father. Maybe I wanted to see you. Is that so hard to believe?”
Anger rolls through me like a giant boulder rolling downhill, gaining momentum as it goes. “Yeah, actually, it is a little hard to believe, Chance.”
I’ve been here the whole fucking time. I had his child, and there was a time in the beginning when I would’ve forgiven him. When I dreamed of those words—that he’d want me enough to make a sacrifice. But that time has long since passed and I don’t genuinely believe him for a minute. If I’ve learned one thing about Chandler “the Chancelor” Lockhart over the years, it’s that he never does anything unless it’s for personal gain.
Sophie turns toward me, a triumphant smile lighting up her face, and I flash her a thumbs up and wait as she hurries back. She’s so stinking cute in her fuzzy T. rex costume, her light brown curls tumbling out from underneath the hood, and Chance is like a fucking thundercloud looming over me, ruining it.
I spare him a look. “You need to leave.”
He opens his mouth to argue, but I stare him dead in the eyes, my tone glacial as I say, “Now. I’m not even kidding. And stay away from us here on out.”
He scoffs, placing his hands on his hips like this is a big joke—like I’m a joke.
“I mean it, Chance. If you don’t, I’ll tell them everything.”
“Who?”
“You know who.”
He flinches. “You can’t be serious. Lane, we’ve known each other for years.”
“Not one part of me cares.” Most of those years were miserable; the others soured long ago. “I understand that as one of my father’s players you’ll be around sometimes. But no extra trips to the house. Nothing more than necessary. And don’t ever try to seek me out again. Whatever this is—” I say, waving a hand between us and stepping forward to grab Sophie’s hand. “—won’t happen, so let’s stop pretending it will. Are we clear?”
#
With Chance gone, my spirits lift as I walk Sophie to the next house. I can finally breathe again, hold my head high without him dampening my mood.
We climb the front porch of the large Cape Cod where Sophie receives a giant 3 Musketeers, her favorite. I help her down the steps and over a giant crack in the walkway, followed by a large tree root. Her little feet shuffle through the fallen leaves, kicking them like confetti, when I hear someone yell our names.
I pause, recognizing the deep timbre, but am afraid to look for fear that I’m wrong when he calls out again.
“Lane! Sophie!”
I suck in a breath, then turn, and my gaze instantly finds him. Teagan is leaning out the window of his black Honda with one hand on the wheel while he slows to a crawl on the opposite side of the road.
Our eyes lock, and an elephant sits heavy on my chest. He gives me a flash of a smile before it’s gone again and he’s slowly pulling over.
He cuts the engine and hops out, racing across the street toward us at the same time Sophie tugs her hand from mine and runs for him.
“Sophie!” I yelp, afraid she’ll cross the road, but Teagan’s there before she even has the chance.
He sweeps her up and into his arms like it’s nothing, grinning from ear to ear while she squeals. “Why, is this a T. rex I’m holding in my arms?” he asks, peering at Sophie’s little face and pretending he doesn’t recognize her.
“Teagan.” She giggles the same way she did with my mother. “It’s me, Sophie!”
“Sophie,” he gasps. “Is that really you?”
“Yes.” She laughs some more while he feigns shock, and the elephant in my chest becomes a fucking stampede.
With a shake of his head, he sets her back on her feet and runs a hand over his chin in appraisal. “Yep. You’re the most terrifying dinosaur I’ve ever seen. I still can’t believe you’re actually my Sweet Sophie.”
“I am, I swear,” Sophie insists, then turns and skips over to me. With a tug on my arm, she says, “Mom, did you see that? I tricked him. Teagan didn’t know it was me,” she says like I didn’t witness their entire interaction firsthand.
“That’s awesome.” I cup her face, trying to contain the swooping, swirling feeling gathering inside of me that I can’t name.
In my periphery, I see Teagan draw closer, and I inhale a steadying breath, preparing myself for what I know those warm, cobalt eyes will do to me when they lock with mine this close.
I lift my gaze and blood buzzes in my veins. “You came.”
“Of course, I came.” His gaze softens. “Did you really think I wouldn’t?”
Before I can answer that question, he glances down at Soph and pats her fuzzy hood. “Did you really think T. rex could trick or treat without her caveman?”
It’s then I notice his costume. I’d been too preoccupied with the range of feelings seeing him evoked to notice, but he is, in fact, wearing some kind of faux leather dress-like ensemble with a ragged hem, fake wooden club in one hand, and a thick white bandage on the other, which appears to be speckled with blood.
I press my lips together to keep from laughing. All my fears from earlier, and all my anger from my encounter with Chance, vanish in an instant. “That’s”?I shake my head?“some costume.”
Thank God for his muscles because it’s the only thing keeping him from looking completely ridiculous.
I bite back a laugh when he grabs Sophie’s furry hand and approaches, his dimples deepening with every step while I take him in.
My gaze drops to his mouth, and I’m suddenly hungry.
“You’re not laughing at me, are you, Lane Turner?” He reaches out and flicks one of my furry bunny ears.
“No, of course not. I would never,” I say, my tone solemn. With him this close, I can smell him—all citrus and cinnamon and a hint of sweat that is utterly enticing. My gaze travels to his biceps, forearms roped with muscle, and his firm chest. “Actually, you really should put on some clothes.” I reach out and pluck at his caveman toga. “This is borderline indecent out here with all these children.”
He dips his head to whisper in my ear, and his breath tickles the side of my face. “Wanna hear a secret?”
I nod, biting my lip in anticipation.
“I’m actually fucking freezing.”
I bark out a laugh at the same time goose bumps cover my arms.
“Come on, Mom,” Sophie whines.
“Okay, okay,” I say, pulling away. “Let’s get a move on. We have candy to get!”
“Yes!” Sophie’s furry paw shoots in the air.
We walk to the next house with Sophie in-between us while she shows him the candy she’s collected so far, babbling a mile a minute. Every so often, Teagan reaches behind her to touch me as a reminder he’s here, as if I could forget.
A soft brush over the small of my back, fingertips whispering over my arms, a tug of my hair, brush of my neck, all while listening intently to Sophie.
A block later, Sophie starts for the door of another house, while Teagan and I hover behind her on the sidewalk, allowing the other children to pass.
“Sorry I’m late.” He reaches his hand to mine, lightly brushing my fingers with his before intertwining them. Then he releases them just as quickly, leaving my stomach tangled in knots.
“I thought you weren’t coming.” I swallow, remembering how utterly disappointed I’d felt when I left the house with Sophie. How pissed I was at Chance for being there and stepping in. “What happened?”
I glance up at him as Sophie returns to our side and we start toward the next house.
“This happened.” He lifts his bandaged hand out in front of himself with a grimace.
My gaze focuses on the blood-stained gauze, and I gasp as realization hits. It’s real, not a part of the costume like I’d originally assumed.
I stop in my tracks, and a trick or treater behind me nearly plows into my back.
I mutter an apology as I grab Sophie’s hand and keep moving, eyeing the white gauze. “Teagan, what the heck happened? That has to be a lot of blood for it to seep through the bandage like that.”
We turn into the driveway, and I guide Sophie to a woman dressed like a princess, sitting with a bowl of candy propped on her lap.
“I cut it on a chunk of glass right after practice.” Teagan shrugs it off. “I had Mark put some butterfly bandages on it for now.”
“You need stitches.” I frown.
“Probably.” Teagan purses his lips as he avoids my gaze, but he has the sense to at least look sheepish. “But I wasn’t about to leave you high and dry or—”
“Teagan, all you had to do was call. I would’ve understood.”
I glance down to see Sophie receiving a bag of potato chips before we turn and continue walking.
Teagan reaches his good hand into the pocket of the athletic shorts he’s wearing under his costume and pulls out his phone. The screen is cracked; a massive spiderweb over a black screen with a giant chunk missing, revealing the electronics beneath. To say it’s destroyed is an understatement.
My mouth drops open, and I pause at another door while Sophie takes a step forward to get her candy. “What did you—”
“That’s what a cleat does to a phone screen when you step on it. It fell out of my locker and I hadn’t noticed. Saved it and brought it with me just in case you didn’t believe me.”
I exhale at the stab of guilt. “You didn’t need to do that,” I mumble, though deep down I’m not sure it’s true.
Would I have believed him if he came here with an injured hand and nothing else? I’d like to think so, but my trust issues say otherwise.
Would I have believed him if it was something as simple as traffic or a road closure? I’m honestly not sure.
“Well, I’m glad you’re okay,” I say, meaning it. “But the second we’re done here, you’re getting that hand checked out.”
Teagan reaches out and grabs my hand with his good one, lifting it to his lips and placing a quick kiss on my palm before Sophie turns around. Heat swells in my chest, and though he drops my hand a split second later, my heart swells.
#
Forty-five minutes of trick or treating and Sophie is ready to head home. We’re a block from my house when I glance up at Teagan. “Thanks for coming, injured hand and all.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.” He looks down at me and my heart flutters.
I swallow and glance at Sophie, a warning in my tone when I say, “Once we’re home, you have thirty minutes to unwind, and then grandma’s going to put you to bed, so I can go help Teagan with his hand. Okay?”
“Thirty minutes is a long time,” Sophie says, and I laugh. Knowing her, thirty minutes will turn into an hour or more if my mother has anything to do with it.
When we reach our house, I pause on the sidewalk. “Do you want to come in while I get Soph settled? I won’t be long.”
“You know you don’t have to come with me,” he says. “Not that I don’t want company, but I won’t be offended if you don’t want to spend your evening in the ER.”
“I’m going,” I say, leaving no room for argument. I almost never ask my mother for help, but I don’t want him to go alone, and selfishly, I don’t want our night to end just yet, so I’m making an exception.
Maybe my mother’s right. Maybe I need to live a little.
His brow creases, and I realize there’s something else. Something he’s not saying. “Okay, but I should probably wait outside.” He grimaces. “Somehow I don’t think your father would be too pleased to see me with you tonight.”
“What?” I ask, surprised. “Why?”
Teagan exhales and kicks at a rock on the ground.
“Teagan, what happened?”
Sophie tugs on my arm. “Mom, we’re running out of time.”
I sigh, torn between wanting an answer now and taking Sophie inside so I can get him alone. “Okay, we’re going,” I say to her, then turn back to Teagan. “Tell you what, she’s exhausted and we’re pressed for time. It’s kind of a ritual for me to check her candy and see what all she got, but once I’m done, I’ll get her settled with my mother, then meet you there and you can tell me everything.”
“I hate to ruin your night, Lane. You don’t have to—”
“I want to.”
He nods, eyes locked with mine. “All right.” He glances down at Soph, then ruffles the curls beneath her hood and smiles. “Thanks for letting me crash trick or treating. I had fun.”
“Me too.” Sophie beams, and though the affection I see in her eyes and hear in her voice should scare me, it doesn’t.
“Catch ya later? Maybe at the lake house or our weekly Slice date?”
Sophie nods emphatically.
“Cool.” He offers her a fist bump with his good hand before she lunges at him and wraps him up in one of her signature hugs. “G’night, Sweet Sophie,” he says, and my heart clenches.
#
A little more than thirty minutes later, as promised, I walk into the ER only to find Teagan sitting in one of the waiting room chairs in the corner, his hand still wrapped in the same bandages he came in with.
My heart stalls at the sight of him, and I feel something shift inside my chest like tectonic plates.
He hurt himself, yet he came straight to me and Soph instead of taking care of himself first.
This knowledge sinks inside me as I start toward him, and the smile he offers lights me up from within. “I was hoping you’d be back there already,” I say with a grimace as I glance at the blood-stained gauze.
“If this waiting room is any indication,” Teagan says, nodding toward the people scattered about, “it’s going to be a while. It’s like a revolving door around here.”
“Halloween.” I groan. “People do careless things on holidays, get hurt, and wind up in the ER.”
“Apparently. If I thought I’d be fine at practice tomorrow I’d leave and worry about it later. As it is, though, the impact of catching the ball in my hands and lifting weights will most definitely reopen the wound, and the last thing I want is to bleed all over the place and give your dad one more reason to bench my ass.”
I frown, and I’m about to ask him again what happened when his stomach growls so loudly, the woman across from us stares.
“Hungry?” I laugh.
Teagan grunts. “Freaking starved. I haven’t had anything since the protein bar I downed before practice this afternoon.”
My eyes widen. “You didn’t grab something before you came trick or treating?”
He shakes his head. “I was already late. I didn’t want to be even later.”
“Teagan . . .” I admonish, though I can’t really blame him. He was probably worried I’d think he stood me up and he wouldn’t have been wrong. “Why don’t I go out and get you something?”
He shakes his head, quickly grasping my hand and holding me in place. “Don’t leave.”
“Fine.” I sigh. “But at least let me go see what I can find. There’s gotta be some kind of food around here.” I hate the thought of him being hungry when we could be here for hours yet.
Teagan hesitates only a fraction of a second before his stomach growls again, and he laughs. “Okay, go. If you don’t, we might get a noise complaint.”
I press my hand to the side of his face, cupping his jaw. I hate how I doubted him earlier today for even a moment when he’s been nothing short of amazing.
“I’ll be back in a flash,” I say, then ever so gently, I lean forward and press a kiss to his cheek.
With a sheepish grin, I stand and hurry from the room in search of food.
Ten minutes later, I’m cursing myself for crossing the line with Teagan.
Why did I kiss him on the cheek?
I just had to go there.
It was innocent, but still . . .
I return to the emergency waiting room with a questionable turkey sandwich, chips, a granola bar, and some chocolate.
“This is all they had,” I say with a grimace as I drop everything down on the small side table next to his chair. “The cafeteria was closed.”
Teagan lifts the sandwich up for inspection and arches a dubious brow at the grayish color of the turkey.
“I know.” I motion toward it. “Eat that one at your own risk.”
He laughs and goes for the granola bar. “This will do. Thanks.”
“Of course.”
He takes a couple of bites, then grins. “You know, this wasn’t really what I had in mind when I hoped I’d get you alone tonight.”
My cheeks pinken. “Really? Sitting in the waiting room of the ER wasn’t what you had in mind?”
His lips twitch. “Not quite.”
I lean into him with a smile. “Well, I’m happy just being anywhere you are, so . . .”
“Yeah?” his voice softens, his hand in my hair.
I nod and bite my lip, lost in the simplicity of the moment together as I turn shyly away.
He eats the rest of his granola bar, then crumples the wrapper and shoves it in his pocket with his good hand before he turns to face me, his expression serious as he asks, “What were you like in high school?”
I think I know what he’s asking. What was I like before Sophie?
I stare off into the distance, thinking about it. That time in my life feels so distant, it’s like I can barely remember it. “I was carefree, but kind of quiet. Definitely a rule follower. I didn’t go to parties or drink or stay out late. I never did anything rebellious.” I glance down at my hands, trying to fight the stab of self-consciousness; I’m not exactly making myself sound cool. “I had a group of friends I hung out with on the weekends. I studied and got good grades. Kind of the opposite of what you’d expect from a girl who got herself knocked up at seventeen.”
He narrows his eyes in disapproval of the latter, but it’s the truth, so I don’t apologize for it. Instead, I meet his gaze head-on, losing myself in his sky-colored irises. “What about you?” My gaze drops to his lips for a moment, and I find myself wishing we were somewhere more private. Somewhere I could possibly kiss him again, this time on the mouth.
I grunt and roll my eyes at myself.
Not gonna happen, Lane.
“What were you like?” I ask, steering my thoughts away from his lips.
I can only imagine Teagan in high school. He was probably the kind of guy who charmed all the girls in his grade, never had trouble finding a date, and ran with the “cool kids.” Football on Friday nights. Parties on the weekend. Teagan Nichols strikes me as the boy everyone wants to be around, including me.
“I was a little different than you, not gonna lie.”
I smile at this; it’s what I expected.
“I certainly wasn’t shy, though I can be quiet when I want to be. Hell, I’m definitely more reserved than some of my friends. But I wasn’t an angel, either. In the summer, and often during the year, my friends and I were known for the parties we had at my best friend’s cabin in the woods. If I had to put a label on it, I would call myself a cautious rule breaker.”
“A cautious rule breaker?” I arch a brow.
“Sure. As in, I only broke the rules when I knew I wouldn’t get caught.”
I tip my head back and laugh, and Teagan’s eyes flare at the sound.
Reaching out, he lifts my legs and places them on his lap, so I’m sitting half on the chair, half on him, and my breath catches.
“You probably had a lot of girlfriends,” I murmur while his thumb strokes circles on my leg.
One muscular shoulder lifts, then drops. “Some.”
I roll my eyes. “A lot.”
“Maybe, but none of them were you.” He reaches out and brushes the pad of his thumb over my lower lip and my stomach free-falls.
God, why does he have to be so damn perfect?
“You never would have gone for me in high school,” I say, completely serious. “I was too quiet, too reserved. You probably went for the outgoing cheerleader types.”
“Wrong,” he says, his tone firm. “I would’ve fallen all over my feet to take you out.”
I narrow my eyes and call his bluff. “I don’t believe you.”
“Why not?”
“Because . . . I’m different now, not the same woman I used to be. So, if you like me, the woman, you likely wouldn’t have liked me, the girl.”
Am I looking for reasons he’s not perfect for me?
Teagan shakes his head, undeterred. “You’re so much more than the person you give yourself credit for, and I have no doubt the Lane Turner you were then was every bit as amazing as the Lane Turner you are now. I like that you didn’t date every guy that looked your way. I like that you’re reserved, and I think it’s fucking adorable you follow the rules. I also love that you’re so close with your family, because I’m close with mine. They mean the world to me. And, yeah, parts of you changed with Sophie. That’s to be expected.” He reaches out and threads the fingers of his unbandaged hand through mine. “But that seventeen-year-old girl that faced adversity with fire in her eyes, that’s the same woman sitting here with me right now. Your tenacity and strength are your most desirable traits.”
One corner of his mouth hitches. “And I kind of love that you gave me a hard time at first. That you didn’t just fall over your feet for me.”
I swallow. “So, it’s the chase you like?” I ask, deflecting from this growing, aching, need in my chest that’s been with me all night.
“Of course not,” he says, his tone soft as his thumb continues tracing over my skin. “I just found it fucking adorable that you’ve been trying to resist me. As if you ever had a chance. As if we wouldn’t end up right here, regardless.”
“We’re not together, Teagan.”
“Yet.” His jaw flexes. “Not together yet.”
I swallow. “How are you so perfect?”
“I’m not. But maybe I’m just perfect for you.”
I inhale a shuddering breath, because what if he’s right? What if he is perfect for me? Maybe he and I were meant to be together all along, and my path, everything I’ve been through up until this point, was merely a journey to lead me to him.
What if fate exists? And what if I could actually have my happily ever after?
Look at me, believing in fairy tales.
I squeeze his hand in mine. “Come to Sunday brunch with me this weekend,” I say, surprising even myself.
I promised my parents I’d be there this weekend, and it’s the perfect opportunity to both see him again and have them get to know him better. My father can see he’s so much more than one of his players. He can see for himself I’m safe with him. After threatening Chance tonight, he shouldn’t be there, but if he does have the balls to show up, at least I’ll have Teagan as a buffer.
“He knows we’re friends,” I say, so it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. Though I’m pretty sure my parents will see right through me and sense there’s something more. Hell, my mother already does.
Teagan swallows, sorrow honing his features like rough-hewn granite. “This week might not be the best time. Somehow, I don’t think your father would be too thrilled to have me there, friend or not.”
I frown because I’d completely forgotten something happened tonight which he’s yet to tell me about—the reason he didn’t want to come inside and wait for me.
“Tell me. What happened?”