Chapter 13 Delaney
DELANEY
I saw an article today that said five parrots in a zoo in England had to be separated after they started cursing at guests, then laughing, and it made me think of my friends and me.
I’m not sure any thought has ever made me happier.
Not sure what that says about me.
—Delaney’s Secret Thoughts
“Oh Lex, the triple chocolate fudge is heavenly.” Ashton sighs as she sucks the tines of her fork.
“That’s what you’ve said about every single slice, preggo.” Dillan rolls her eyes while she bounces Kyrie on her knee. “What do you think, Lane?”
I put down my fork and watch my baby sister fist a piece of cake, then try to feed it to Dillan, maybe a little grateful to not be the one holding her right now. “The chocolate is good.”
“Good?” Lexie mocks with disbelief. “That cake is decadent perfection.”
I feel my shoulders sink. Oh shit. “I’m not really that much of a chocolate girl.”
Lexie, Ashton, Dillan, and Kaleigh’s heads all spin my way like I just said the earth was flat instead of round. I think I should be scared. “Sorry.” I throw my hands up. “Please don’t hurt me.”
“Who doesn’t like chocolate?” Kaleigh asks, dumbfounded, as she drags what’s left of my plate to her side of the table and pushes a different slice my way. “Wait. Don’t answer that. Try this one instead.”
“Share the wealth,” Ashton grumbles and breaks off a piece.
“So . . .” Lexie smoothly transitions, and I can tell from her voice this isn’t going to be good. “What’s going on with you and Ryker?”
I break off a piece of the white cake in front of me and pause as the weight of all four sets of eyes fall to me. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t play stupid, Lane. I’m blonder and better at it than you are,” Lexie snaps and tries to pull the cake away, but I stop her.
“Hey.” I point my fork at her. “I never said I was a blond. And back off the cake. I haven’t tried this one yet.”
“You know what I mean,” she snarks, and Kaleigh snorts. “Then sample the damn cake, Lane.”
“Wait . . . are we still talking about cake or are we talking about Ryker? Cause I’m with Lex if she’s telling you to sample that fiancé of yours. I mean he looks about as delicious as triple chocolate fudge cake.”
“Kaleigh,” Ashton jumps to my defense. “She doesn’t like triple chocolate fudge.” She forks herself another piece. “Maybe you could sample for her.”
“Ashton,” I gasp and push the cake out of her reach.
“You might be taking your life in your hands, Lane. Your sister is pregnant and apparently freakishly able to eat cake without getting sick.” Dillan rolls her lips together, holding back her laughter. “Seriously, Ash, how much have you had?”
Ashton eyes her, grinning. “Give that cake back now, or I’ll tell you exactly what your cousin did to me with that gigantic dick of his last night.”
Dillan gags, and Lexie turns an inhuman shade of green. “Dillan was the twat. I don’t want to hear about Jamie’s dick because Dillan was a twat.”
“Sucks to be you, Lex.” Ashton points at the cake with her fork. “Cake me. Now.”
Lexie pushes the slice back to our side of the table. “When did you get so scary?”
“Maybe when a Murphy baby the size of our full-grown bulldog started bouncing on my ribs all day, every day.”
Kaleigh hides her chuckle behind her hands. “I mean, you married the giant.”
“And got pregnant with his kid before that,” Dillan adds, then leans out of reach of the elbow flying her way. “Just saying.”
“How did we go from wanting all the dirty deets on Ryker and Delaney to my sex life?” Ashton groans, then smiles when she realizes there’s another piece of chocolate that none of us have touched yet.
All eyes are back on me again as I pull the fork from my mouth and point at the cake in front of me. “This one. I want this cake, with that layer of raspberry on top of that icing in the middle. It’s incredible.”
“Lemon chiffon. And perfect. Now we just need to settle on a design.” Lexie makes a note as I groan.
I’m so over making decisions.
“Delaney . . .” Kaleigh pushes, and I know what she’s doing, even if I’m trying to ignore it. “Come on. Spill the tea you like to drink so much.”
“There is no tea to spill. Nothing has happened.” I lift my eyes and glance at the girls, incredibly thankful that Lexie stayed after the shop closed to let us do the tasting.
“Is he sleeping on the couch?” Ashton asks as she breaks off a piece of the cake I just tried, then smiles once she’s tasted it. “Damn. That is really good.”
“Told ya,” I snicker.
“Answer the question.” She takes my plate away, and I wonder how exactly she doesn’t weigh more than she does.
“No,” I finally give in. “He’s not sleeping on the couch. But it’s not like that. He’s too big—”
“I’ll bet he is,” Dillan teases, and I glare. “Sorry. Couldn’t resist. Continue.”
“He’s too big for the couch, and he refused to let me sleep there—”
“Smart man,” Lexie chimes in. “You have cracked ribs. You can’t sleep on the couch.”
“Whatever. We’re sharing a bed.” I look away, not sure how much I want to share, even as they all try to coax more out of me. “It’s a big bed.”
Kaleigh opens her mouth, and I point my fork at her in warning. “Don’t.”
“But—”
“No.” I wave the fork side to side. “Nope. Not a word. Yes, it’s a big bed. Yes, all we’ve done is sleep. No, there has been no touching.” My head swings to Lexie and Dillan. “And before you ask, yes, no touching means no sex either.”
“Why not?” Dillan whines. “Ryker’s hot.”
“And he’s pierced.” Everyone’s head whips to Lexie’s. “What? He and Lucky both got pierced last winter.”
Kaleigh tilts her head to the side and smiles like she’s trying to get a visual.
“Like together?” she asks, then ducks when Lexie tosses a napkin at her face.
“No, you twat. They made a bet, they both lost. So they both got pierced. End of story.” Her smile is smug as she leans in closer to me. “But seriously, it’s a whole lot of fun to play with.”
My face flames.
“Like how much fun?” Dillan smiles sheepishly, curiosity getting the better of her.
“No comparison.” The beautiful blonde baker practically glows with excitement as she turns back my way. “You’ll see.”
“Says who?” I stop her and think about my next words.
Debate them.
Debate opening up myself like this.
But these women have become my home. My safe space.
The only person who personifies it more is . . . Ryker.
And I need advice.
“I might not really have anything to compare it to,” I finally force myself to admit.
It’s Ashton’s turn to tilt her pretty head. “Like . . . anything?”
Pretty sure I just blew her mind.
“Wait . . . did I just blow your mind?” When everyone nods, I smile triumphantly. “Well, that’s the only thing I’ve ever blown.”
Kaleigh’s laugh is more snort than laugh. “Pretty proud of yourself for that one, aren’t you?”
I hold my fingers up and pinch the empty space between my thumb and forefinger. “Little bit.”
“Like . . . ever?” Pretty sure Dillan is having a hard time accepting the truth. “But you’re twenty-four, right?”
I nod.
“Ever?” Lexie must decide this calls for more cake because she takes another three plates from the tray next to us and swaps them out for the empties in the middle of the table. “Ever, ever?”
“Never,” I confirm. “Guys, you’ve got to understand.
There are things about my childhood. Things I don’t want to talk about.
But things that made me not want to do things .
. . like drink. Or date. Or have real friends.
I don’t trust easily. And I have never trusted anyone with my safety, so how was I supposed to trust them with my body? ”
“Oh, honey.” Ashton throws her arms around me, her pregnant belly pressing against my ribs as I try not to wince. “I hate that you grew up like that.”
“Me too. But I’m working on changing that.” I pat her back as she sniffles. I don’t know how she’s going to get through the next few weeks before her due date hits. “Ryker may have offered to help with that.”
Okay. I can’t believe I just told them that.
“He what?” Apparently, neither can they.
“Do you trust him?” Ashton asks, dropping her arms and wiping her face.
Do I trust Ryker Beneventi?
I do.
Does that scare me to death?
It really does.
Ryker
“Hey, big guy. You want a milkshake?”
Bodhi shakes his head with a silly smile, his mop of blond hair falling in his eyes. This kid looks so much like his mom, it hurts. “Chocolate.”
He might only be two, but the kid knows what he wants.
His dad, on the other hand, is glaring daggers my way. “What? He’s my godson. I’m allowed to spoil him.”
“I said no milkshake, asshole,” Hendrix groans under his breath as he runs a hand over Bodhi’s hair. “They throw his stomach off.”
“Sucks to be you, doesn’t it?” I joke, knowing he’s basically telling me they make his toddler shit his brains out. “Right, big guy?”
I lift my hand for a high-five, and Bodhi stares at it until I lift his and force it.
His smile makes my whole day.
Hendrix may not have wanted to be traded home, but I love having them here. “Seriously, man, how are things going?”
“I need to find a damn nanny. Gracie’s great, but I can’t keep leaving Bodhi with her, now that the season started.
It’s too much.” He drags a hand down his face, frustration tightening the lines.
“It is what it is. I’m not changing any of it today.
Tell me what’s going on with you. Still nothing from the league or the police? ”
I drag a fry through the gravy on my plate and shake my head.
“Not a peep out of the league yet. And Dennings still hasn’t woken up.
They’ve lowered whatever they needed to lower to try pulling him out of the medically induced coma, but he didn’t respond how they wanted, so they had to put him back under.
Not sure if I’m going to hear from the police until he wakes up. ” What I don’t add is or if he doesn’t.
Hendrix nods and rips Bodhi’s grilled cheese into smaller pieces. “What about that hot wife of yours?”
“Choose your next words wisely, Hen.” I’m not sure why I feel like I need to warn him, but I don’t fight it.
The asshole smiles. “So it’s like that then, already?”
“Like what?” I don’t know why I don’t just agree. It is like that. It’s been like that.
Delaney walking in on me showering only made that worse.
And the conversation that followed . . . Holy fucking shit.
She’s a virgin. I should’ve realized it. But I hadn’t. Not until then.
And that little fact made me want to protect her even more than I already did.
Not sure who’s going to protect her from me when I inevitably fuck this up.
But we’ll deal with that when it happens.
“This is me you’re talking to, Beneventi. Don’t bullshit a bullshitter.” He looks at Bodhi and shakes his head. “Slow down, dude. There’s no rush.”
Okay. So maybe the kid’s double-fisting grilled cheese. But seriously, who wouldn’t?
“I’m marrying her in a week,” I tell him and leave it at that.
“Yeah, you are. You doing okay with that?”
“Yeah. I think I am.” I’m not sure when the idea of Delaney marrying me stopped bothering me.
But somewhere over the course of the past two weeks, I stopped feeling like I was ruining her life and started thinking maybe we could make it work.
Then the whole shower thing happened . .
. And well, now that I know she wants me as much as I want her, I guess the game just changed.
“Well, all right then. When do you leave for the game?”
The waitress plants a pint-sized milkshake in front of Bodhi, and I swear Hendrix looks like he wants to kill me.
“We fly out to New Orleans tomorrow. Game’s the day after. How about you?”
It’s early in the hockey season, but that doesn’t make their schedule suck any less.
“We’re home for another week. You want me to check in on your girl while you’re gone?”
“Nah. I think that would freak her out. Pretty sure the girls are all coming over for the game. And I had an alarm system installed last week.”
“The paparazzi leaving you alone yet?” Hendrix knows what it’s like to constantly be stalked by the media. He went through his own hell last year, and they never gave him a break.
“It hasn’t been too bad so far. But I’ll let her know she can call you if something happens. Thanks for that.” I give Bodhi a fry and smile when he throws it at his grumpy-ass dad.
Yeah . . . it’s good to have them home.