Chapter Six
ABBIE
Once the game ends, I’m determined to avoid Jake for the rest of the evening.
We all head back to the hotel with the team to have pizza and hang out in one of the larger conference rooms. Round tables are set up throughout the space and several of the team’s moms have set out pizza, sides, and drinks buffet-style so we can go through and grab what we want.
“You go sit, Angel,” Carter tells Sophie, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll grab you a plate.”
“Okay.” She smiles up at him, her eyes shining with adoration. I don’t think she even realizes how often she looks at him like that. They really are so great together.
“I can get you a plate too,” Jake offers, sidling up next to me. “You go relax…”
“I can get my own, thanks,” I snap, more startled than offended by his offer. I’m not falling for that easy charm again. I have to keep my guard up.
He looks taken aback, and then frustrated. “Suit yourself.”
Turning, he stomps away and I release a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
It’s going to be a long, long night. I jump into line behind the team to grab food then hurry to join Sophie again.
We move to one of the empty tables in the corner of the room to wait for Carter to bring her food too.
“You okay?” she whispers.
I blink, then quickly slap on a smile and laugh. “Okay, take it easy Mom. That’s about the billionth time you’ve asked me that. Yeah, I’m good, don’t worry about me.”
She doesn’t look convinced, especially when I can’t seem to keep my eyes from tracking Jake throughout the room.
I catch sight of him talking with Jordan, Bodhi, and Theo over by the room’s door.
No doubt, the boys are grilling him about the NHL.
Damn, why does he have to look so good? He looks relaxed, and he's smiling as the boys excitedly talk at him, which warms up his face and makes my insides tingle a bit.
“If you keep staring at him like that, you’re going to burn a hole in the side of his face,” Sophie warns me with a chuckle.
Tearing my eyes from Jake, I turn to her with a frown. She’s smoothing the jersey she’s wearing, an old one of Carter’s, as she leans back in her chair.
“I’m not staring,” I insist.
She arches her brow and smirks. “Keep telling yourself that.”
“Shush,” I grumble, annoyed at how easily she can see right through me. It’s impossible to keep anything from her though. She’s known how I felt about Jake since we were all in high school, and how I can’t seem to think straight whenever I’m around him.
She leans in closer to me and murmurs, “Really, are you okay? I know I’m a broken record, but I’m going to keep asking until you talk to me. You can tell me the truth, you know.”
There’s so much I wish I could tell her, but I can’t bring myself to admit just how much being around Jake again is affecting me.
It’s not just that he’s as gorgeous as ever and my body reacts to him in a way it never has anyone else, growing soft and warm and wet, but also because when I look at him now, I see Lilah. Especially in his dark blue eyes.
It makes guilt twist through me. Doesn’t he have a right to know about her? Shouldn’t I give them a chance to form a relationship?
He never wanted a kid, though, and bringing him into Lilah’s life could just set her up for heartbreak if he rejects her, and I can’t stand that thought.
Looking at Sophie, I consider telling her all this for a moment, but then I think better of it. She has enough on her plate - she doesn’t need to be worrying about my problems, too. I sigh and mutter, “I really am fine… it’s just a strange situation, that’s all.”
She gives me a long look, as if trying to see past my cool and calm demeanor to the real chaos beneath. At length, she appears to give up the effort.
“I know. Again, if you want to bunk with me…”
“No, no, no.” I shake my head. “Sophie, I promise. I’ll be okay. I’ll just clench my teeth and bear it. We’re both adults. We can make this work. I’m not going to be the reason you and Carter can’t enjoy his birthday and your babymoon.”
This whole situation sucks. It’s awkward and weird, and everyone seems to know that.
I tell myself it’ll be okay. It’s just one night. Jake and I will sleep and not have to interact much, and in the morning, we’ll go our separate ways like it never happened.
It’ll be fine.
I’ll be fine.
Except I can’t stop my mind from wandering to the last time we shared a hotel room together. The night of Sophie and Carter’s wedding…the way he’d kissed me…touched me…
Made me fall apart from pleasure.
I give my head a sharp shake, shoving those thoughts away. It’s not going to help my self-control by remembering how good in bed he is. I need to remember what came after that night.
Radio silence.
Tom suddenly claps his hands, snapping me out of my thoughts and bringing everyone’s attention to him.
“Hey, everyone!” he exclaims with a grin. “I want to take a moment to celebrate Coach Carter’s birthday. Let’s all sing ‘Happy Birthday,’ yeah?”
“Yeah!” Jake shouts, pumping a fist into the air.
“Oh, no, that’s not necessary,” Carter jumps up and insists with an embarrassed chuckle. Jake stops him in the center of the group with a mischievous smirk, dropping his hands onto Carter’s shoulders and giving him a little shake.
Tom’s smile widens and he raises his hands like a conductor. “It’s happening, buddy! Here we go. Happy birthday to you… ”
The entire room erupts into song as Carter stands in the middle of the room, his face beat red. Sophie’s voice is the loudest of all.
When we finish singing, everyone erupts into applause and the kids start chanting, “Coach C! Coach C! Coach C!”
“All right, all right, all right,” Carter groans, but he’s beaming in obvious delight. “Thanks, everyone. I appreciated it.”
Sophie and I lean back in our seats, giggling as the kids swarm him for high-fives and fist bumps.
As the evening progresses and the food is devoured, the kids start to leave to go to their rooms to hang out or sleep. It’s just the adults left in the conference room, but soon enough, they start to filter out as well.
Sophie and I stay at our table in the corner, talking and laughing while I do my best to ignore Jake’s presence.
He and Carter mingle with the team and other parents, though Carter frequently checks in with Sophie to make sure she’s good.
Ignoring Jake is not the easiest thing to do, unfortunately, as my eyes keep straying to him before I realize what I’m doing.
When there’s only a handful of people left in the conference room, Carter makes his way over to our table.
“Hey, angel,” he says, dropping a kiss on top of Sophie’s head. “Ready to head up?”
Sophie hesitates, looking at me with a concerned frown.
“Umm…” she begins, but I quickly cut her off.
“Go on,” I insist, putting on a big smile for her benefit. “You two go have a good night. I’ll see you in the morning.”
I see a flash of eagerness in her eyes that she quickly masks, but I can tell all she wants to do is run upstairs with her husband and spend the rest of the night ravaging each other. She’s such a good friend that she’s struggling with the idea of leaving me alone.
“Are you sure?—”
“Sophie,” I laugh and grab her hand, squeezing it. “Yes! Go, please. I’m just going to head up to bed soon myself.”
She hesitates a moment more before nodding. “Okay. We’ll see you in the morning.”
“Have fun, you two.” I grin and wave my fingers as Sophie finally stands up and lets Carter lead her out of the room.
Once they’re gone, I slump down in my chair and release a long breath.
Scanning the room, Jake’s talking with Tom in the far corner.
Since he’s distracted, it seems like as good a time as any for me to make my own exit.
If I go up to the room now, I might be able to get ready for bed and fall asleep before he ever gets there.
Standing, I slip through the room, weaving my way around the tables and remaining people to get to the door.
I try not to look over at Jake, but I can’t help stealing a final glance at him just before I step through the door.
He’s not paying any attention to me and appears entirely focused on whatever Tom is saying to him.
Once I’m out in the hall, I sigh and shake my head. God, I hate this. I hate that I’m working so hard to avoid a man who I once had so much fun with and who was able to make me feel so damn good.
Reaching the elevators, I ride up to my floor and make my way down to the room.
I go inside, shut the door behind me, and sigh with relief.
Thank god for being alone. I just hope Jake takes his sweet time before coming up here.
The room is so nice—white sheets, gray walls, fresh amenities—and it sucks that I can’t enjoy it because of the guy who I’m stuck sharing it with.
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I bring up my dad’s number and give him a call.
It feels more than a little frustrating that my “me-time” is currently so much less enjoyable than it would’ve been just staying home and hanging out with my daughter, but it’s not Sophie’s fault that it went this way.
“Hey, sweetie!” he answers after a couple rings. “How’s it going? How was the game?”
“Great!” Reaching the room, I swipe the keycard and go inside. “It was a pretty solid win. I wanted to check in on Lilah before I went to bed. Is she okay?”
“Lovebug is just fine,” he assures me. “She ate her dinner like a good girl, we watched Moana, and she’s tucked in bed fast asleep.”
I smile softly, picturing my little girl snuggled up in her princess room.
“Oh, that’s good to hear. I was hoping to call earlier, but we’ve been busy with the team.”
“Don’t worry about it. There haven’t been any issues on this end.”
I let out a breath of relief. “I’m glad to hear that. Well, I should get to bed. Long drive tomorrow. Thanks for holding down the fort, Dad.”
“Any time, sweetheart. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Good night.” I hang up and gaze down at my phone for a few moments, my chest aching. Fuck, I miss Lilah. I can’t wait to get back to her tomorrow.
Dropping my phone on the bed, I move to grab my suitcase. Gathering my pajamas—an oversized t-shirt and sleep shorts—and toiletries, I head into the bathroom and shut the door behind me, locking it just in case Jake shows back sooner than I hope he does.