Chapter Twenty-Four
Beau
Ididn’t want to be here in this interview.
My mind kept wondering to the beautiful green-haired man waiting for me back at my apartment.
The one who liked to steal my shirts while I pretended not to notice.
The guy who looked perfect in my bed. Who had a gorgeous smile and a sexy laugh.
The one who had me breaking all my rules and thinking about things I hadn’t thought of in years.
Things like wedding bells, houses, and forever.
I really should put a stop to this before it got out of hand.
But would coming out be such a bad thing?
“Beau?”
I blinked in surprise. I guess I should be paying more attention. “I’m sorry, I missed that. Can you repeat the question?”
Jackson snickered next to me, while Asher and Wyatt stared at me from across the table. It wasn’t like me to get so distracted. I was usually the one riding their asses. Telling them to grow up and stop acting like kids. Dean really had turned my world upside down. And I didn’t exactly hate it.
Jordan White, the one doing the interview, smiled at me. “Of course.” His dark eyes flashed with curiosity. “I asked if you had any plans for retirement. You’re thirty-eight now. Not that all the Boston fans want to see that happen, but I’m sure it’s something you have thought about.”
“I have.” Even more so now that Dean had come into my life. “Maybe once my son graduates high school. If he ends up going to college somewhere other than Boston, I might want to be closer to him.”
Jordan nodded. “And does Cole have NHL dreams like you?”
“That’s something you know I don’t talk about.
He plays high school hockey right now and is concentrating on being a normal teenager.
” These asshole interviewers always liked to push the boundaries to see how far they could go.
And he knew better than to ask anything about my son, even if I brought him up.
Jordan flashed a fake smile. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. Jackson, you’re recently engaged. Have you and Maverick set a wedding date yet?”
And just like that, the conversation moved away from me.
I watched Asher and Wyatt as Jackson spoke freely about his fiancé.
Listened to him talk about how they weren’t going to let anyone know when they were going to get married so they could keep it private.
Wyatt and Asher were too close together.
Their shoulders pushed together. I tilted my head and raised my brows when Asher caught me watching.
“Knock it off,” I mouthed at him. Because if I could see it, so could Jordan.
“Wyatt.” Jordan suddenly turned the conversation to them, and Asher shoved his chair away. “You’re having a great season.”
Jackson scowled. “He’s a fucking snake. I hate him.”
“We’re not doing this again. I’ll make sure of it. My agent is going to hear about this.” I couldn’t wait to tell Max all about Jordan. Personal questions were supposed to be run by us first, and none of these had been.
Jackson held his phone out. “Look at this.”
I glanced down to find a picture of Maverick and Dean on a bench by the water, their arms around one another. The wind was blowing Dean’s hair, but both of them were smiling happily, their cheeks pink from the breeze. Heat curled in my belly at the sight of him. I had it bad.
“They look happy.”
“Being with his brother again means so much to Mav,” Jackson told me. “He was worried Dean wouldn’t want that. I think he’s hoping Dean will move closer so they can spend more time together. They were very close growing up.”
That would make two of us, but I wouldn’t admit that. I just smiled and nodded instead, because Dean and I weren’t official. And I wasn’t sure we ever would be. Would Dean want to be closer to me? Could I ask him? I needed to slow down before things got out of hand. We had just met.
“Thank you all for coming today,” Jordan announced. “This is going to be a great podcast. I’ll let your agents know when it’s going to air. Hopefully, we can do this again.”
Over my dead body. We shook his hand as I tried not to glare at him. Once we had left and were in the elevator, I turned toward Wyatt and Asher.
“What the hell were you two doing back there?” I snapped angrily.
“Wh—What?” Wyatt blinked at me in surprise. He was clueless.
Jackson snorted. “The gig is up, bud. You’re not exactly hiding it very well. You’re together, right?”
“Are you two fucking?” I looked between them. Caught the glances, the way they both were blushing, and I looked up at the ceiling, shaking my head. “Is it serious? Because if it is, you need to either come out or be more careful. Jordan isn’t stupid.”
“Yes,” Wyatt answered.
Followed by Asher’s, “No.”
“What do you mean, no?” Wyatt balked. Hurt flashed in his blue eyes. “I thought we were together? You know how I feel about you, Ash.”
Asher grimaced as the elevator came to a stop. “Baby, you know I don’t date.”
Wyatt rushed out as the doors opened, and Asher tried to grab him. He swatted Asher’s hands away when he tried to stop him.
“Wy, don’t be like this. I do care about you!” he called out to him.
“That is going to end very, very badly,” Jackson commented.
We watched as they walked out of the building, Wyatt practically running away from Asher and down the street.
“Terribly, if I had to guess. Wyatt has been crushing on Asher since he was drafted. I’m honestly not surprised this didn’t happen sooner. I’m just not sure Asher is ready for whatever they’re doing.”
And then what? They would end up hating one another, fighting, and having to spend time together because they were teammates. “I’m going to have to talk to Coach about this. It’s going to turn into a disaster. Asher can’t even admit they’re together.”
“Do you want me to come with you? Maybe we should include Wyatt and Asher, too. It’s their relationship or non-relationship,” Jax asked. He tilted his head. “We shouldn’t talk about them behind their back. It doesn’t feel right.”
I shook my head. “Nah, go home to your fiancé. I know he’s waiting for you. You have to make up for lost time.”
“I’m sure Dean is waiting for you, too. You could always talk to Coach tomorrow. The Asher and Wyatt thing can wait, right? We’re going away for another week on Friday. Don’t you want to spend time with Dean before that?”
Jackson had a point. I did, and that scared the hell out of me.
It was more about needing to spend as much time with Dean before that roadie.
“Tomorrow, then. You and I can go talk to Coach.”
I didn’t care how pissed off Asher was going to be if we went behind his back.
This thing was between him and Wyatt was a rock sliding down a mountain, spiraling into an avalanche.
They were my teammates, my friends, but I had to look out for the team as a whole.
If they broke up, it might ruin everyone in the end.
“Sounds like a plan,” Jackson agreed and then stopped to look at me. “I was going to stop at the florist before I went home. To get something nice for Mav. Did you want to go with me to grab a little something for Dean? No pressure.”
No. Yes. Maybe. “Okay.” Damnit.
“You look like I just asked you if you wanted to go rob a bank, man. It’s just flowers.” Jackson chuckled and clapped me on the back. “Haven’t you ever bought flowers before? Maybe for Trish?”
I let out a slow breath. “Of course, I’m not an idiot.
On our first date, I gave her a bouquet of carnations mixed with roses.
For our wedding day, I sent her two dozen red roses.
She told me it made her cry. And the morning after she gave birth to Cole, I had some delivered to the hospital.
I made sure she had them for our anniversary, her birthday, Mother’s Day.
I loved her. She deserved them every single day of the week. ”
“But no one else?” Jackson asked as we started walking again.
I shook my head. “No, no one else unless you count my prom dates, but that sort of thing was just expected.”
“You’re shitting me.” Jackson’s mouth dropped. “No one?”
I shrugged. “I haven’t dated since Trish. It’s been nothing but hookups. Dean is the first one I’ve even been slightly interested in. This whole thing is scary.”
“And you want to date him? This isn’t a hookup for you?” Jackson asked as we slowed down in front of the florist.
I chewed on my bottom lip. “It’s not. I’m scared out of my mind, but I can assure you that I like Dean more than just a friend. More than a hookup.”
“Okay.” Jackson grinned and opened the door. “Then let’s get your man something nice.” He waved me inside the store and followed me inside.