Chapter 7
SEVEN
EDDIE
“I don’t know when. It’ll all depend on her recovery.”
“It all seems so convenient that it happened while you were in Minnesota so you can cozy on up to Pearce.”
My skin flashed hot, anger thick and fast as it clawed up my throat. “You think my daughter being in agony and needing fucking emergency surgery is convenient?”
“No, of course not.” Wayne’s tone turned placating. “But it’s only appendicitis, right?”
I couldn’t take anymore. Not from this asshole. It would be a shitty thing to do to break things off on the phone, right? But I was oh so tempted. “I have to go. Lottie’s napping and will be waking up soon.”
“I have to go too. I’m due at Lionel’s party in a couple of hours.”
Of course he fucking was. “Uh-huh.” It was all I could manage before ending the call. Pulling my phone away from my ear, I shot daggers at the thing, wishing Wayne and I had been face-to-face so I could do what I should have done a long time ago.
“That sounded like it went well.”
I jumped at Pearce’s voice. Leaning against the doorframe of Lottie’s hospital room, he looked every bit as pissed off as I did.
I’d ventured out into the corridor once Lottie had settled into a nap after another dose of painkillers, to give Wayne a call and let him know what was happening.
We’d been due to go the Lionel’s party together tonight, which clearly wasn’t happening for me.
Not that I wasn’t relieved. Lionel, one of Wayne’s friends who I knew he hooked up with, was a certifiable asshole.
“You young guys,” I started, “you’re all okay with calling things off via phone, right?”
There was a widening of Pearce’s eyes at my question, and he swallowed hard.
“Well, I think a lot of people don’t even bother with a call.
Text messages do the trick.” His gaze lowered to the cell in my hand.
“You need help working out the right text message etiquette to tell Wayne to fuck off? If so, I’m your man. ”
My lips twitched, liking too much that Pearce didn’t hold back his pleasure. “I can’t, right? Do that, I mean? Tell him it’s over by text?” I rubbed a hand over my face, exhaustion creeping in.
“Hey.”
I opened my eyes and dropped my hand, startling at Pearce’s proximity. For a big guy, he moved far too quietly, getting into my space.
“Maybe don’t even worry about this now. It’s been a long twenty-four hours. I know there wasn’t a chance you slept for more than a couple of hours in that tiny bed in Lottie’s room last night. Why don’t you head to my place and get some sleep?”
I shook my head. “But Lottie—”
“Lottie has me. She’ll be fine. She’s healing brilliantly and the nurse said it’s likely the doc will be releasing her tomorrow. They just need to get her temperature under control. We’ll hang out here and talk basketball when she wakes. You come back for dinner. Pick us both something up.”
My heart stumbled in my chest, my shoulders sagging in relief that Pearce was here.
Moira was obviously in Hong Kong. Yesterday when I spoke to her, she’d said she’d be able to jump on a late evening flight, but by that time, and I knew she was going to be fine, so what was the point?
When I’d told my ex to not worry about it and that I’d send regular updates, her gratitude had been immediate.
It wasn’t something I understood myself—her not being desperate to see her daughter—but I was used to single parenting. That didn’t mean it couldn’t be tiring or lonely. It made Pearce’s offer mean so much more, especially as it was genuine. Not only that, but I believed he cared for Lottie.
“You sure?”
He nodded. “Absolutely. It’s only just after one, so you can get a decent nap. I’ll keep my phone on, and if anything changes, I’ll call you immediately. I promise.”
“I know you will.” Unable to resist, I stepped closer and wrapped my arms around him.
Pearce hugged me back, his arms strong and warm, and when he squeezed, I sagged a little into his embrace.
Such simple contact fed my soul, providing me with comfort I didn’t dare dream I’d receive.
Not pulling away, I gave myself the moment, drinking in Pearce’s support.
From the moment it was clear something had been wrong with Lottie, he had stepped up and taken control.
And thank Christ he had. I’d been running on autopilot, everything frozen beyond the rapid beating of my heart and stone-cold panic.
Without Pearce… I relaxed into his touch, not wanting to finish that thought.
“He’s an asshole. Okay.” Pearce squeezed me lightly. “Whatever you decide will be the right thing for you.”
I nodded, my thoughts flicking to my conversation with Wayne.
He hadn’t even asked about Lottie. Not once. Hadn’t asked how I was or if I needed him. It wasn’t even as though the last six months we’d been fucking very often. Was I relieved he’d been getting it elsewhere? That my answer was a resounding yes meant it was finally time to let go.
“You okay?” Pearce whispered the question close to my ear, the warmth caressing my skin and giving me goose bumps.
I nodded against him, sure that was my cue to step out of his arms. But it was comfortable here.
It was rare that we hugged—well, not like this.
We always greeted each other with a handshake and a half hug, but like this—up close, bodies connected, his body heat pressing against my skin—it was enough to remind me why we didn’t.
Pearce was temptation personified, and if we’d done this regularly, I wasn’t sure I could hold back from making a move and possibly screwing up our friendship.
That was the last thing I wanted. And after him stepping up like he did with me and Lottie, there was a whole lot of hero worshipping happening right now.
And holy hell if it didn’t make my heart beat that little bit harder for him.
Reluctantly, I eased out of his hold. Our gazes connected. “Thank you,” I said quietly. “For this, for everything.”
He squeezed my forearms before releasing. “You know I’m always here for you and Lottie. Now get your ass out of here.” A chin uplift followed his words, along with a curve of his lips. “You know how I like my burgers, right?”
I snorted and shook my head. “So, grilled chicken and salad. Got it.”
Pearce groaned and passed me his car keys. “It’s like you’re mirroring Jake, our nutritionist.”
A smile lifted my lips. “Twelve years’ experience in the League will do that. You’ve got training first thing. Then your first big game in four days.”
“Shit, these days go fast.”
I winced in sympathy, remembering all too well that five days between games initially sounded awesome, but between training and life, they passed by in a blink. “Just think, a few more weeks and it’s the off-season. That’s your time to kick back.”
The narrowing of his brows took me by surprise. “That’s if we get that far. It could just be a couple of weeks.”
“Hey,” I said, surprised. Easygoing was Pearce’s middle name, and I was sure his teammates would have added several more choice descriptors alongside that.
Prankster being just one of them. He wasn’t known for taking life too seriously.
Between this unusual negativity and him being completely in control with Lottie, I was seeing unexpected sides of the man.
“That defeatist attitude stops now. Screw that. You’re in the playoffs. The aim is to make it all the way.”
A slow smile formed on his mouth. “It’s like having my own personal cheerleader. The guys are gonna be so jealous when I tell them Eddie Phelps waves his pom-poms for me.”
An amused snort tore out of me. And there he was. The Pearce who’d managed to claim a section of my heart just for himself. “You go ahead and see how well that works out for you.”
Pearce arched a brow at me, looking far too delectable when he did so. “That right? What possible threats could you bring to the table?”
My stomach somersaulted thinking about all the possibilities and the direction of this conversation. More than that, the tone of the damn thing. There was no doubt this teasing ventured into flirting territory, and hell if it didn’t feel good.
“You do remember I’m staying at your house for the foreseeable future, right?
” I quirked my brow and didn’t know how far to push this.
Between my worry for Lottie, my frustration at Wayne—and certainty in ending it—and how good spending time with Pearce made me feel, I needed something positive, something potentially amazing to cling to.
Ignoring all previous concerns I had, I leaned forward a fraction, rightness settling in my chest when I settled on, “By the time I get back to your place, I’m going to be single.
” Despite the widening of Pearce’s eyes, I pushed on.
“So if you don’t want to see how exactly that works out, by all means, have at it. ”
I swept on by him, skin flushed, ears ringing.
I quickly checked on Lottie before hightailing it out of the hospital.
That I’d left Pearce looking stunned and red-faced didn’t escape my notice.
That I’d flirted so outrageously, despite my hesitancy in trying to pursue anything with the man, filled me with…
Fuck, there was no dread, simply excitement.
Pure, stomach-fizzing excitement. Something I hadn’t felt since I was nineteen.
I didn’t even know if he was interested anymore. Well, not for sure. Was I being a presumptuous asshole?
I stepped out into the early afternoon sun and exhaled heavily.
What if Pearce wasn’t keen for anything beyond friendship?
If he wasn’t, I’d truly screwed up the best friendship I’d ever had.
I angled my neck from side to side until a satisfying pop filled my ears.
It would be fine. I had to believe that.
I hadn’t outright propositioned the man, and if things were awkward, I’d apologize and work my ass off at making it right.
Since that’s what had happened when Pearce indicated he’d like to be more than friends and we’d survived that, I figured we’d be able to again if need be.
I sighed and tugged out my phone, knowing I had a call to make. Since my parents had never met Wayne, they’d never need to know I was breaking the gentleman’s code they’d drilled into me. And fuck it. Wayne didn’t deserve my energy or a face-to-face, not when he was such a cockhead.
Wayne answered on the fifth ring. “Yeah?”
I rolled my eyes, pissed that I’d wasted time and energy on this man. “I know you’re getting ready to head out to your friend’s, so I’ll keep this brief.”
“If you could, I’m kinda busy at the moment.” The sound of a deep chuckle filtered down the line. It wasn’t Wayne’s.
“Right. When I get back, we won’t be seeing each other again. It’s time for a clean break.” The words flew from me with ease—smooth and controlled.
“So I was right about Pearce.” He scoffed. “It’ll never work.”
Clenching my jaw, I ground my back molars, trying my hardest to keep this civilized and not call him out on all his shit. “That’s nothing you need to worry about.”
“If there’s nothing else…?”
I hated the curl of disgust settling in my chest. Hated I’d put up with his shit simply to distract me from my growing feelings for my best friend—and wasn’t that a nugget of realization that slammed into me. Fuck, it was enough to take my breath away.
But Pearce had it so right calling him Wankface Wayne. The thought made me chuckle. There was no way I could keep it in. “Nope,” I managed to say, my amusement loud and clear. “That’s i—” He cut me off. The action dragged even more laughter out of me.
Fuck, it felt good to be free. Free from Wayne making me think he was doing me a favor. Free from denying my feelings for Pearce.
Grinning, I opened Pearce’s car door, relieved he’d had the sense to move it yesterday so he wasn’t towed.
Once settled, I opened the built-in SatNav, pressing Home.
A tug in my chest surprised me when I did so.
Creating a home with Pearce, for the three of us, was a future that was exhilarating and terrifying. And… I was getting way ahead of myself.
Just because I’d finally admitted that my affection for Pearce went way beyond that of friendship, it didn’t mean that something would happen. I was a dad with a shit ton of responsibilities. Pearce still had an amazing future laid out before him.
Fuck. Adulting was hard. It meant I had to be stupidly sensible and talk this shit out at some point… if he was interested.
But it wasn’t like I could just say, “Hey, you wanna go steady? Well, yeah, we haven’t even kissed, but how do you really feel about being a stepdad?” There was pressure, then there was pressure.
As I pulled out of the parking lot, I focused on breathing and calming my thoughts.
There was little point in being fifteen steps ahead of myself.
I needed to take each day as it came. Plus, Lottie was the most important person I had to focus on.
It was difficult when my dick spent so much time responding to Pearce.
There was only so much my body and brain could handle.
But still, focus was necessary.
I had a feeling that was going to be difficult until Pearce and I talked this thing out.