Chapter 2
Cooper
Lizzy’s runoff with a group of other teens to walk the stadium and check out the setup while I’ve been rounded up by a bunch of the guys to talk about their latest off season fishing trip. I’m half listening to them regale us with a story about their big catch, but my mind is still spinning from the fact that Trixie’s here in Cincinnati. I thought after she and my brother, Rob, broke up, it would be the last I’d ever see her. Never in a million years did I think she’d be here working PR alongside Easton Westfield’s sister.
My brother’s ex has accomplished things no other woman in my life has managed—like a recurring nightly spot on my mental roster. Because she’s starred in nearly every fantasy I’ve had since I met her. I haven’t told a fucking soul about them because I don’t even understand it. I’m sure if I saw a shrink, they’d tell me it was some sort of Freudian complex about competing with my brother on and off the field for attention. Or for someone like me, she represents the idea of a relationship—the one thing I can’t seem to make happen.
As far as I can tell, it’s just her. All the little things about her—from the way she smiles like you’re the only person to ever really amuse her, to how she always loved my family like her own, down to silly little things like the way she always divided her candy into colors and ate them one by one while we watched movies. Or the way she couldn’t bait a hook to save her life, but was still willing to spend an entire afternoon letting me teach her.
My brother’s ex is also one of my teen daughter’s idols. She’s obsessed with the fact that Trix can keep pace with video game knowledge and knows some of the lore behind her favorite worlds. They’ve stayed up more than one night together having slumber parties at our family lake house over the years. And despite the fact my daughter is more punk rock and Trixie is quiet luxury, the two of them have spent hours shopping with one another and comparing their favorite playlists and Roman Empire books. The fact that Trixie is the younger sister of Alexander Xavier, the league’s best defensive end and my daughter’s way-too-old-for-her crush—one that makes me worry about what I’m in for when she hits high school this fall—gave Trix even more bonus points in Lizzy’s eyes. I’m half-certain Lizzy would run away to live with Trix if she could. Apparently, it’s a family trait that we’re all a little fascinated with her.
When Rob and Trixie broke up, I hoped Lizzy and I could both let her go for good. But Lizzy still found ways to mention her, especially whenever we had to spend any time around Rob’s new girlfriend. And for my part, she still haunts my dreams despite trying to write her off as a figment of my imagination or some ideal I’d conjured up. A reason to explain why I couldn’t date because I hadn’t found the perfect woman the way my brother had.
I’ve been doing better in recent months though. I’ve even gotten to the point where I’m trying to move on from one-night stands and situationships to a place where I can consider actually finding someone I want to date. Trying to be better for Lizzy’s sake, if not my own.
But now Trix is here, blown in like a tornado, and destroyed all my progress within a matter of minutes. Because now all I want to know is how long she’s here and if I have a shot in hell.
“Rawlings!” Wyatt Northmore, our kicker, and one of the only guys on the team besides Ramsey willing to call me on my shit, shouts my name.
“What?” I blink, coming back to a reality where Beatrix Xavier isn’t sprawled out in front of me in one of the sundresses she used to wear, eating strawberries curled up in an Adirondack chair or playing volleyball in one of her sheer swimsuit coverups.
“You’re not even listening, are you?”
“I was listening, I just… ran into someone I used to know. Didn’t expect to see them here.”
“Don’t tell me, one of your hookups is someone’s sister.” Northmore raises a brow, amusement dancing over his face.
“Or wife?” Ramsey, my closest friend in the world and on this team, adds.
“Oh fuck. If it’s the wife, I don’t want to know.” Garner shakes his head, gritting his teeth as he flashes me a look.
“But if it’s the sister, you do?” Northmore looks at him.
“I mean… is she single?” Garner grins. “I don’t mind sharing.”
“Fucking hell. Let the man speak,” Ramsey grouches.
“So?” Northmore asks.
“Neither. My brother’s ex.” I shrug but I feel like every thought I’ve ever had about her is showing on my face given the way they react.
“That’s not better. That’s…” Ramsey raises his eyebrows with a look of admonishment.
“I didn’t fuck her. I just said I ran into her. Damn.” I give them all a shut-the-fuck-up look.
“We’re just fucking with you.” Northmore gives me his own what-the-fuck look and returns to his story about the fish they caught until we’re surrounded by the married men on our team, living vicariously through Northmore’s very obviously exaggerated tale of the rest of his evening at sea.
“Less of the fucking, maybe? We got kids here.” One of the other guys who’s just joined says, and I decide to wander off on my own and let the guys do their off-season humble bragging without me.
I check on Lizzy, who’s still outside half playing something on her phone and half invested in a conversation happening with some other kids her age. It’s really not fair to call her a kid anymore. She’s getting so grown up, and by the end of the summer, I wonder if I’ll recognize her anymore. Her mom’s already told me she’s planning some sort of pre-high school makeover with her friends, which is a lot to stomach on its own because my girl has always been a tomboy at heart—all messy hair, stomping through creeks, playing video games in oversized T-shirts and baggy jeans. But recently, she’s mentioned boys names she knows and talked about them in hushed tones in the back seat of my car with her friends in a way that says she sees them as more than video game buddies, and I am one hundred percent not ready for that.
When I turn the corner, our tight end, Easton Westfield’s standing there looking disgruntled as he sips a drink and glances back out across the room. I raise a brow at him in question.
“The Undergroves continue to annoy me,” he gripes, referring to our new coach and his nephew, our new quarterback, Quentin Undergrove.
“Sorry?” I shrug, only partially committed to the apology. “I don’t think Quentin’s half bad now that I’ve had more of a chance to know him.”
I already struck up a friendship with him, and I honestly like the guy. He seems like a straight shooter and, for all the talk about him being a grumpy asshole with a chip on his shoulder, he’s been laid-back and friendly enough when we’ve gone out for dinner after practice. Plus, he played with my brother back in Pittsburgh. If Quentin could get along with Rob, I imagine he could get along with most of the guys here. Because my brother is a self-assured, self-centered prick when he wants to be, especially when he’s in a locker room after a win. Easton’s easygoing as fuck in comparison, so the two of them not getting along is a little surprising, even with the bitter family history between the Undergroves and Westfields.
“Not trying to fuck your sister, is he?” Easton grumbles.
“No. But your sister’s grown. I think she can make those decisions for herself, can’t she?”
“Course she fuckin’ can, but doesn’t mean I don’t worry about her. She takes on a lot, and her trying to make him the city’s darling lover boy is asking too much. Even with her PR skills.”
I imagine that’s why Trix is here. Easton’s sister, Madison, has called in reinforcements, and Trix has her own sent of PR skills that saved my brother more than once.
“From what I’ve heard, they’re already making some progress.” Quentin couldn’t say enough good things about Madison, and for her part, she was working hard to make him a household name here.
East shoots me a look, and I give him another shrug in return.
“The two of you would get along,” he says sarcastically. I know the Undergrove presence here has him on edge and that the history between those families is long and bitter, but I also know Easton can roll with the punches when he has to.
“Like I said, set your family shit aside… You might like him.”
“We’ll see. We’re stuck with him one way or the other, so he better at least be able to throw a decent ball.”
“You know he can.”
“He’s not a top three,” Easton argues.
“No. But that doesn’t mean shit if we’ve got the right guys playing and moving the ball.”
East’s mouth flatlines, and he chugs the rest of his drink, tossing the container into the recycling bin.
“Like I said. We’ll see,” he repeats. “Gonna look for Wren. See if she needs anything or if she’ll at least get off her feet for a minute. I’ll catch up with you later.” He gives me a half smile and a nod, and then he’s off to find his pregnant wife.
A short while later,I find myself in the buffet line with Lizzy while she grabs the food she wants, and I help hold a plate of desserts for her. The girl has a mean sweet tooth just like I do, and I love her for it because it’s meant she’s always been game for late-night trips to get ice cream or eating donuts for breakfast all weekend. Things her mother overlooks in the name of positive coparenting.
“Oh, and they have s’mores outside!” She whirls around with her plate and grins at me. “Do you think Trix is around here? I want her to sit with us. I can’t believe she’s seriously here.” Lizzy’s eyes dart around the room, and they must catch on her because she grins even brighter.
“Trix is working, Lizzy. Let’s give her a chance to do her job.” But I follow her line of sight, wanting another glimpse of her to torture myself with.
Lizzy’s eyes flash to mine, and she studies my face for a minute.
“You’re not gonna take Uncle Rob’s side, are you? I know he has a new girlfriend, and we’re supposed to just be excited for him, but I miss Trix. Do you think they could get back together when he comes to his senses?”
I hope the fuck not.
“I doubt it. Your uncle’s pretty set on the new girlfriend.” I didn’t like her nearly as much. My parents aren’t exactly fans either, and Lizzy has made her opinions well known to everyone but Rob and his girlfriend. But I’m also not rooting for Trix’s return to that particular title either.
“Well, he’s an idiot. She’s not half as smart or as pretty as Trix.”
That’s true, but she’s also half as independent, half as ambitious, and half as well-connected, which means that she doesn’t outshine Rob. Or at least that’s my guess as to why he’s been so enthusiastic about this new relationship. I personally don’t give a shit who he dates. As long as she’s tolerable and doesn’t influence Lizzy, it isn’t my business. If it means that Trix is free and clear, well… that doesn’t hurt either.
Lizzy leads the way to a table on the other side of the room near where the Paines and Westfields are sitting, and I follow her, setting up her food and then letting her know I’m running to get us drinks. My timing is damn near perfect because just as I pull up to the drink station, Trix is en route to the same place. She doesn’t notice me until it’s too late, and then her steps stutter. I can see her glance around like she wants an out, and I’m hoping I can reassure her I’m not here to be Rob’s spy.
“You’re not going to make a run for it, are you?” I ask playfully.
“What?” The guilt is written all over her face. “I just forgot something is all.”
“Not just avoiding anyone with the last name Rawlings then?” I raise a brow.
“No, I just—”
“What are you drinking?” I ask when the bartender nods to me.
“Um, just a wheat beer if they have it.”
I’m surprised it’s not wine since that’s what she always drank before, but I ask the bartender for it and order a second for me and a pop for Lizzy before I turn back to study Trix. The closer I look, the more little changes I see. Something about her hair is different and her makeup too, but I don’t want to be caught staring.
“We can pretend he doesn’t exist if you want. Well, I can’t promise Lizzy won’t mention him. She has big opinions on what an idiot he is, and honestly, I agree with her. But otherwise, we can just be random people on the team you’re getting to know while having a drink and some dessert if you want to come sit with us? Lizzy is dying to talk to you, so I feel like I gotta put in a good word for her.”
The uncertainty leaves her face, and she smiles at me, a genuine one that lights up her chocolate-brown eyes.
“We don’t have to pretend. You and Lizzy were always kind to me. And I’d love to hear about what she’s been up to, if you don’t mind.”
“Nah. She’d love that, and you can catch us up on what you’ve been up to.”
Things like whether she’s over my brother and if she has a new boyfriend.
“Of course. I’d ask the same for you, but I assume most of it wouldn’t be safe for Lizzy’s virgin ears,” she teases me, and the flash of a smirk that crosses her face as I hand over her beer does things for me.
So yeah, whatever recovery I thought I’d done on the whole “not coveting my brother’s girl” front? It’s forgotten the second I watch her walking in front of me, and lost for good the second I see my kid fall into love with her all over again as they discuss her favorite things, her high school and summer camp ambitions, and swipe through the artwork on her phone that she’s been working on while Trixie fawns over them all.
I’m a fucking goner all over again, remembering every single reason I had a crush on this woman in the first place and inventing new ones while I listen to the two of them catch up on life since my brother fucked up. But the beautiful thing about all of this is she’s not my brother’s girl anymore, and I have all the cheat codes to win her over.