Chapter 13 #2
Covey: I know you’re angry at me, but I really am sorry.
I wanted to explain everything in person, but I guess I don’t deserve that.
There was a massive leak in my house. I'm going to have to gut the entire house. I’ve had the water and electricity turned off since yesterday evening.
Wyatt and Charlie’s dads are going to fix everything.
They actually have a team at my house right now ripping out my new floors and kitchen.
Covey: I was going home to get ready for our date.
When I opened the door, there were a few inches of water in my foyer.
Every thought of our date vanished from my head because I was trying to find the leak.
I couldn’t. I ended up having to call Wyatt.
Then I dropped my phone in two feet of water in the basement and broke it.
I didn’t get a new phone until late last night.
I had no way of contacting you. I'm sorry, Cici.
I was really looking forward to our date.
I swallow hard and pinch my lips together to keep the tears at bay. Maybe I was being too harsh on Covey. If he really was going through all of this, it’s understandable for him to not show up for dinner. I probably would’ve forgotten to text him if I came home to that sort of disaster.
“Are you ok?” Adam comes up behind me and places his hand on my lower back. “You seem upset.”
“No, nothing like that. I'm fine.” I fake a smile, trying to get him to ignore the emotions welling up inside of me.
The door to the suite opens and Cord strolls in. He wraps me in a tight hug and presses a gentle kiss to my forehead.
“How’s my favorite sister?”
“Well, I'm your only sister.” I roll my eyes. “I'm good though. This is Adam.” I nod towards the man I wish I never invited today.
“Hey, man. I'm Cord. It’s nice to meet you.” He holds out his hand.
“You too. This place is amazing. It must be awesome to live a life of luxury.” He motions to the room as he shakes Cord’s hand.
“Yeah, I mean we don’t really care about stuff like that.” Cord frowns at me, silently asking me what is up with this guy.
I shake my head. I’ll happily talk to him about it later, but right now, I just want this game to be finished so I can leave.
“Did you need me for something?” I blink up at Cord, begging him to ignore Adam. I feel like an idiot for even inviting him.
“Oh, yeah. I finally got your birthday present. The jeweler was mortified it took so long. He said to stop by and see him this week. He got some new things in stock that he thinks you’ll like.”
Cord pulls a leather box out of his pocket and hands it over to me. I carefully lift the lid and gasp at the gorgeous bracelet sitting inside.
“Cord, this is beautiful! Thank you so much!” I wrap him in another hug. Our birthdays were almost a month ago and he was so disappointed when my gift didn’t come in time.
As soon as I release my brother, he takes the box and carefully removes the tennis bracelet and quickly secures it around my wrist. There are London blue topaz stones between the diamonds, making it look stunning.
“I love London blue topaz. Did Macy pick this out?” I tease him.
“Nah, she wanted to get you a normal tennis bracelet and I told her that’s boring and you probably have five of them.” Cord rolls his eyes.
“Jeez, how much did this cost you?” Adam takes my wrist and turns it one way and then the other.
Cord scowls at him, but Adam’s too busy staring at my bracelet to notice.
“It doesn’t matter what it costs. My sister deserves it,” Cord growls.
I open my mouth to say something, but the door to the suite opens and Mom and Dad enter. They’re laughing about something, but their smiles fall when they take in the scene in front of them.
“I have to get to work.” Cord pulls me into another hug and whispers in my ear, “This guy doesn’t deserve you. Cut him loose.”
“I'm planning on it,” I murmur.
Cord says goodbye and leaves the suite after giving Mom a kiss on the cheek.
“Hey, kids,” Mom says slowly. She’s trying to figure out why there’s so much tension lingering in the air.
“Hey!” I pull my wrist away from Adam and wrap Mom in a hug.
“I think you have a story to tell me,” she whispers. “I’d love to know why Cord looks like he’s seconds away from punching this guy.”
“I’ll explain later.”
She nods her head and steps back while I move over to Dad. He wraps me in his massive arms and holds me tightly. I swear I’ll never feel more loved than I do in Dad’s arms.
“Do I need to kick his butt?” He murmurs.
“Not yet, but maybe?”
“Cici,” he growls my name. He’s always done that when he doesn’t like my answer to something.
“I won't be seeing him again. Just stay calm and count down the minutes until the game is over like I’ll be doing.”
Dad releases me from his arms, but he wraps his arm around my waist and keeps me at his side. It’s his way of showing Adam he has no claim on me.
“I'm Owen Powell, Cici’s dad.” Dad holds out a hand to Adam and when he shakes it, his grip tightens. Adam’s features pinch, but he does his best to not look weak in front of Dad.
“I’m Adam.”
“How do you know my daughter?” He quirks a brow.
“Daddy,” I whisper, wishing he’d just keep his mouth shut. I already said Adam and I won't be seeing each other after tonight so I see no reason for Dad to get to know him.
“We met at the bar last night.” Adam grins, making our meeting sound so much worse than it actually is.
“I was meeting someone at that Mexican place near the office. They didn’t show and I had one drink at the bar. Adam was the bartender.” I pinch the bridge of my nose, wishing I could make this all stop.
“Who were you meeting?” Dad turns his full attention on me and I want to shrink down to the size of a mouse and scurry away.
Though I guess if I had the abilities to turn into a mouse, I wouldn’t have to scurry away because Dad would be running away like his life depended on it.
To say the man hates rodents would be a gross understatement.
“Why does it matter?” I sigh.
“Weren’t you meeting Covey?” Adam tilts his head to the side like an idiot. He’s trying to stir up trouble and I know it.
“Really? Covey?” Dad takes a step back and folds his arms over his chest as he stares at me.
“Owen, stay out of it,” Mom singsongs like the angel she is.
“But, Sunshine!”
“Nope. Don’t even start with me. Do you remember when we started dating and Logan kept putting her nose in our business and you got really mad? Don’t do it to your daughter.” Mom holds out her hand and when Dad takes it, she leads him down to the seats overlooking the field.
I’ll have to thank Mom later for stepping in and making Dad calm down. He would’ve gotten more and more riled up, until he’d eventually stomp down to the locker room and confronted Covey. That’s the last thing in the world I need right now.
I turn to face Adam, more than ready to give him a piece of my mind when the suite door opens again and the girls walk in.
A very pregnant Macy is groaning about how tired she is.
Charlie has Carter in the carrier strapped to her chest. Liliana is holding Tali’s hand and they’re talking a mile a minute while Winnie rubs her tiny baby bump and follows behind them.
I'm sure she’s happy for the break Liliana is providing her.
“Oh! Cord said he was going to get your bracelet before the game but he didn’t show it to me! That’s gorgeous!” Macy grabs my wrist and examines my gift.
“I love it. Thanks, Mace.” I pull my sister-in-law into a hug and don’t let go. I love having one of my best friends be part of my family now.
“You’re welcome. I swear your brother loves jewelry more than any woman I know.
And! He has the best taste. I don’t even bother going to pick anything out for myself, I just send him.
” She grins like she’s the luckiest woman in the world.
Honestly, she is. Cord is obsessed with her and treats her like a queen.
“I'm fairly certain that bracelet costs more than my rent,” Adam grumbles.
“Aw, honey, I'm positive that bracelet costs more than your car. What confuses me is why it matters?” Macy plants her hands on her hips and glares at Adam. “It’s not your money and our finances aren’t a concern to you.”
“Stop it, Owen! You don’t need to get involved,” Mom hisses.
I glance over my shoulder to see Dad trying to storm his way over here. He’s a protective man in general, but since Macy got pregnant, he’s gotten worse.
“I'm sorry, who are you anyway?” Macy narrows her gaze on Adam.
“I'm Adam. Cici invited me to the game with her,” he growls.
“You’re here with Cici and you’re offended by money? How does that even make sense?” Macy stares at him like he’s crazy.
“I just don’t see why you need to waste money on such ridiculous things.” Adam rolls his eyes. A bad move when Macy has her eyes on you.
“It doesn’t matter what we spend our money on. We earned it and we get to use it however we see fit.”
“Let’s just sit down, Mace. You don’t want your blood pressure getting high.
It will affect the baby.” Charlie grabs Macy’s arm and leads her over to the seats.
It takes her some glares and a few stern words to get Macy to listen, but they finally sit down and stare out the large window at the field.
“You know, you could do something good like donate money to help people in need.” Adam narrows his gaze on me.
“I donate a lot of money, Adam. I just don’t see a reason to flaunt the fact. I do it to help others, not to make myself look better.” I sigh and shake my head. “I think it was a mistake bringing you here. If you’re going to be obnoxious to my family and friends, you should just leave.”
I don’t bother waiting for him to answer, I take a seat in the row behind the girls and fold my arms over my chest. I was so excited when Adam agreed to come with me today. I thought we’d have a great time and get to know each other. I thought I’d be able to see if there was a future for us.
I just don’t get it. He knew exactly who I was last night when he texted me.
If he was so disgusted by me, why did he even bother contacting me or coming with me today?
He could’ve walked away without another word or texted me how much he didn’t like me.
To actually seek me out and come here today seems a bit much.
A few minutes later, Adam lowers himself into the seat next to me. I don’t bother looking at him or reacting at all. I have nothing left to say to him.
My phone pings and I quickly pull it out. I find another text from Covey, but this time I don’t feel nearly as much anger towards him when I see his name.
Covey: Can we talk after the game? Give me five minutes, please?
Cici: Yes. You can have more than five minutes, Covey.
I smile as I hit send. He’s a good guy and he gets along with all of my family and friends. I'm realizing just how important that is.