Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
MADDY
“And this one?” I ask, pointing to a triple spiral tattoo on the very impressive right bicep of Drew Ellicott, the Renegades star wide receiver. A triple spiral I’ve seen before right on Cam’s ribs.
While he was naked.
Because I’ve seen Cam naked.
That is a thing that happened, and it’s been even harder to forget since he opened up to me on the rooftop in Tampa last week.
Since our almost kiss. The kiss that in my most introspective moments I wish hadn’t been interrupted the way it was by weather apps and kids and Cam’s second brush with a panic attack in as many hours.
Seriously though, fuck introspection.
Introspection is what made me dream that not only did we kiss on that roof, we did a lot more. Introspection had me reaching for my favorite purple vibrator in the middle of the night when I woke up all hot and bothered.
We hate introspection.
“It’s a triskelion, one of the ancient Celtic signs of brotherhood.
Cam and I got them the day before we reported to rookie mini-camp after we were drafted.
It was really stupid since it hurt so badly I could barely catch a ball, and no way could Cam do any kind of blocking.
” Drew chuckles. “Our coach at the time was so pissed I seriously thought he was going to release us both on the spot.”
Drew is sitting on my couch for his weekly mental health check-in, but when I caught sight of the tattoo I recognized on his arm, under the guise of getting to know him better, I started asking about all his tattoos so it wouldn’t be suspicious when I asked about that particular one.
And now that I know he and Cam match, it’s not weird for me to bring Cam up.
At this point, I’m basically a middle schooler passing notes to my friend to get her to ask the guy I like if he likes me too.
So professional. Much psychology.
I roll my eyes internally.
I reach over and grab the to-go cup on my desk, soothing myself with the sugary goodness of my orange soda.
“So, you guys have been friends for a long time?”
“Since college,” Drew says. “We played together at Georgia and were both drafted here, so we’ve been teammates and best friends for almost twenty years.
I was there when both of his kids were born and when Lainey died.
His late wife.” A shadow of sadness crossing Drew’s face.
“Anyway, we’ve been through some shit, and he’s the closest thing I’ve ever had to a brother.
To a real family that sticks.” That shadow deepens and makes me wonder who else Drew has in his life, but before I can ask, he makes a face and rolls his eyes. “Fuck, that all makes me sound old.”
“Do you feel old?” I ask.
“You trying to shrink me, Dr. Wright?”
I laugh, setting my cup back on the desk. “Always. You’ve been playing for a long time. That has to take a toll on your body and mind.”
He flashes me a cocky grin that seems a little forced around the edges. “Good thing I have you to keep my mind healthy and the best trainers in the game to make sure I can play for years and years to come.”
Not that many years, I think, filing that knowledge away for later because it looks like eventually, Drew Ellicott is going to be spending some time talking to me about what his post-football life is going to look like.
Before I can start to devise a strategy for that in my head, the door to my office flies open.
“Tyler said it’s been fifty minutes, and you should be done now!
” Zoe announces from my doorway, hands on her hips as she sweeps an accusing gaze around the room.
Dressed in a short black skirt and a black T-shirt, black combat boots on her feet, and her brown hair in two braids, I know she’s going for tough, but she’s giving Wednesday Adams, and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. I love her so damn much.
“Sorry!” Tyler says, coming up behind Zoe, looking not at all sorry. “I told her not to interrupt you, but none of them are listening to me.” His voice is aggrieved but his eyes are amused.
“Who is them?” I ask.
“There you are, Zo!” Riley Lowry appears next to Zoe, and with her black leggings and red tank top, blonde hair in a bouncy ponytail and feet clad in stylish high-tops, she is the yin to Zoe’s yang.
“I got to touch the Super Bowl trophies!” A breathless Ethan Lowry bursts into the room.
With his flushed face, disheveled hair, and a dimple in his cheek, he looks so much like a mini-Cam that my heart squeezes in my chest. “Drew!” he exclaims, bounding across the room and hurling himself onto the couch next to Drew, who grins and tosses an arm around the ten-year-old.
“Hey, dude, I didn’t know you were coming here today.”
“No school.” Riley glances around my office, taking in the abstract art on the walls I love for the chaos factor, and the bookshelves filled with odds and ends I’ve collected over the years set up in a haphazard order before focusing back on me.
“And no play practice. My dad forgot to give my grandma Lola the school calendar, so she booked herself a spa day today, and when she offered to cancel it, my dad said absolutely not and we could just come to work with him because all he’s doing today is weights and Zoe was coming too. ”
Riley is trying to sound casual, but I can hear the affection in her voice for her friend, and for the extra time she gets to spend with her dad. That little bit of sweetness has my heart expanding, Riley burrowing right in.
“My mom and dad got their schedules mixed up and she has a client. I’ve told my parents a million times I can just stay home alone, but they won’t let me.
” Zoe rolls her eyes dramatically, and this time I do laugh because I’ve witnessed Zoe’s negotiations for more independence, and they are not for the faint of heart.
“They probably don’t want you to be alone for the whole day, Zo.” I stand up and give her a hug. “Besides, if you didn’t come here, I wouldn’t get to see you.”
“You know each other?” Riley asks, looking between Zoe and me.
I nod. “Yep. Zoe’s dad and my dad are brothers, and her mom used to be my babysitter when I was Ethan’s age and is now one of my best friends. I’ve known Zoe since she was born.”
Riley scrunches up her nose in thought. “Her mom’s old enough to have been your babysitter? I mean, her dad is, like, old and stuff, but Liv is pretty young.”
Tyler snorts out a laugh. “I dare you to tell Brian he’s old, kid.
Please let me be there for that.” Then he looks up at me.
“Seriously, sorry for the interruption, Mads. Brian had a meeting, and Cam had PT, and I said I could keep an eye on all the kids, but I think I overestimated my child wrangling abilities.”
This time it’s Riley who rolls her eyes, and I bite back another laugh at the dramatic display of thirteen-year-old exasperation. God, I really do love teenagers. “It’s not like we’re babies. We can take care of ourselves.”
Tyler tugs on her ponytail, and when she scowls at him, he just grins wider. “The dads told me to watch you, and I’ve been around long enough to know that you don’t argue with a dad. Especially a dad who’s also my boss.”
“Except it’s taking my dad forever,” Ethan says, throwing himself back against the cushions. “He already has a zillion muscles. You would think he could skip a leg day or something.”
“Never skip a leg day,” Drew says seriously, humor dancing in his eyes.
“You didn’t break the trophies, did you?
” Tyler asks Ethan. “You dad will never forgive me.” He looks at Ethan before turning to Zoe.
“And your dad will probably trade me, and I’ll end up playing in Florida or some shit.
” He shivers dramatically. “Can you imagine living in a place where the seasons never change? Gross.”
“No one is getting traded. Yet.” Brian smirks as he strolls into my office, ruffling Tyler’s hair like he’s a little kid, dropping a kiss on Zoe’s head, and striding over to pull me up from the couch and wrap me in a hug.
“How’s it going, Mads? My guys treating you well?
” He shoots a glance at Drew, who grins.
“She’s one of the team, Bry.”
Warmth and satisfaction tangle in my chest at Drew’s words because that’s the way I want these guys to see me.
As someone who’s on their side. Who wants the best for them.
Who wants to help them achieve all their goals.
And in the last month, I think I’ve started to build exactly that.
One more in a long list of reasons Cam and I can’t happen.
These guys would never see me as part of the team if I was dating one of the team.
“I mean, I’m not throwing any footballs or anything, but I do what I can. ”
“I bet you would throw a killer spiral.” The deep rumbly voice has chills racing down my spine, and I turn to the doorway to see Cam, clad in gym shorts, a gray T-shirt, and a backwards Renegades hat that does absolutely insane things to my insides, leaning on the doorframe.
His eyes dance with humor and his lips tug up in a grin, and is it just me or has the temperature in this room suddenly gone from comfortable to standing under the sun in the middle of the desert for hours with no water in sight?
So much for that list of reasons.
An office full of children, my sort of cousin and very good friend, the star wide receiver, and my boss who also happens to be my uncle is absolutely not the place for a lust attack over the Renegades’ fuck hot center. And father to two of these children.
Be cool, Maddy. Be very, very cool.
Easier to do when anxiety sweat isn’t dripping between my boobs.
Tyler chuckles. “Maddy can sink a slapshot from halfway across a hockey rink, but her football skills need some serious work.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Am I remembering wrong or did you choke in absolutely spectacular fashion the last time we went head-to-head on skates?”