Chapter 16
Mom and Sloane walk arm-in-arm out of Patachou, a French bistro in the middle of Beacon Hill.
It’s been a favorite of my parents since it opened about fifteen years ago, and I never turn down an invitation to join them here.
The women stop a few feet from the door, and my mother pulls Sloane into a tight embrace, giving her an extra squeeze before holding her at arm’s length and saying something I can’t hear.
They giggle to themselves, and the sight is one I’ll never forget.
Maybe it’s because this never happened with Harper.
My mom kept her distance, I assume, once she realized my ex-wife wasn’t interested in bonding or getting to know my family.
“I think you found yourself a keeper, Wolf,” Dad says, planting his hand on my shoulder.
He never said that about Harper—or Elizabeth, my high school and college girlfriend, for that matter.
Was I really so blind not to notice how uncomfortable my family was before?
Or maybe I noticed, but was too selfish to care.
It wasn’t until after the divorce that my family—minus Lexi, who never hid her feelings—told me the truth about their dislike of my ex-wife.
And now, watching Sloane and my mother, I wonder how I never noticed what was lacking before.
Glancing over at Dad, I notice some of the newer age lines forming on his face, and gray has slowly taken over his dark brown hair.
Was it that gray over Fourth of July? I can’t remember.
Surely, the color hasn’t faded that much in two weeks.
He gently squeezes my shoulder, meeting my gaze, and smiles.
“Yeah, I think so,” I say, with my own smile. “I’m glad we were able to do this.”
“Me too.” Dad pats me on the back, taking a step to the side. “I know you’re busy, but it’s nice to spend some time with you every once in a while. Time that isn’t just for the holidays or Jubilee.”
“Well, if I don’t get this foot under control, you might be seeing a lot more of me.”
“Now listen to me, Wolf. I know you’re joking, but unless you really want to be out for good, you’d better take care of yourself,” he says, his tone turning serious.
I rip my gaze from his. “You’re still young, you still have some gas left in the tank, and I’d hate to see you benched because you can’t fuckin’ walk down the ramp. ”
“I know, Dad.”
“I hope so. You’ve worked too damn hard to throw it all away because you’re being a stubborn ass.” He clamps his hand down on my shoulder again, pulling me into a side hug, and we share a laugh. “Now, go on. Take your girl and have some fun. You deserve it. You work too hard.”
“Who do you think I learned it from?” I ask.
Dad chuckles again and glances over his shoulder to see Mom and Sloane still talking. His face falls, and his serious tone returns when he says, “Hey, if you talk to Lexi, tell her to call me, will you? I’d like to hear her side of things without the argument.”
Lexi called to break the news to him a few days before we were supposed to be home for the Jubilee.
My sister wanted him to mediate the conversation with Mom about her decision to leave her cushy job as a political lobbyist and open a yoga studio.
Despite what our mother thinks, this isn’t something Lexi pulled out of the blue.
My sister has always wanted to be more involved in the yoga community, whether it meant getting her teaching certification (which she did in college) or opening a studio.
And despite what Lexi thinks, Mom isn’t mad she’s leaving her job.
She’s worried about my sister’s future. Lexi won’t have the same income, and let’s be real, my sister—at the ripe age of twenty-eight—is accustomed to a certain lifestyle that I’m not sure owning a yoga studio can provide.
“She’s in New York with Douchebag. Showed up at the house yesterday and acted like she was going to stick around for a while, but Sloane said she left this morning after he called.”
Dad rolls his eyes. “I wish she’d realize there are plenty of men out there who make just as much money and wouldn’t toss her aside when they get bored. Plenty who would be more than happy to support her and her studio project. Too bad Brody is taken. You could’ve set them up again.”
“Absolutely not, I had enough the first time. I don’t need round two.”
My sister only stood a chance with Brody the first time because Raelynn was dating one of Savannah’s older brothers, Nash.
I’ve never admitted it to anyone, not even Brooks, but I was rooting for them.
Rae and Nash were good together, and maybe that’s because he was more understanding of our schedule than the average person.
He lived it via his sister for at least two years before he and Rae started dating, but ultimately, it was too much for him.
At least, that’s what Rae said, but the hostility between them toward the end makes me think there is more to the story.
On the flip side, Brody and Lexi were…complicated.
They fought a lot. Mostly because my sister was a twenty-something law student working for the state legislature who was completely infatuated with a man ten years her senior who was on the road over two hundred days a year with women throwing themselves at him constantly.
Brody never stepped out on her, but that didn’t stop Lexi from accusing him of it.
How he put up with her for a little over a year was beyond me, but I guess I can’t say much considering who I was dating the whole time.
Dad chuckles. “Well, maybe one of the other guys. I think anyone would be better than Troy, at this point.”
“What about Troy?” Mom asks when she and Sloane join us.
“I was saying it’s too bad things didn’t work out between Brody and Lexi before, but maybe Wolf should introduce her to one of his other wrestler buddies. Anyone would be better than Troy Addison.”
Sloane’s eyes widen. “Addison, as in Addison Investments?”
“Yes,” Mom says. “He’s the grandson of Calvin Addison, the man who started it all.” She turns back to Dad with a questioning look. “But Stewart, really? You think she needs a wrestler? Lexi needs—”
“Lexi needs a strong personality to match her own,” Dad interrupts her, glancing at his watch.
“We’d better go, Esther. I want to get home before dark, and we have a few more stops to make.
” He pulls me into a tight embrace, squeezing my shoulder once more before letting go.
I’m surprised when he pulls Sloane into a hug.
My dad is affectionate, but only with our immediate family.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen him hug any of my past girlfriends, except maybe Elizabeth.
But what he says next surprises me even more.
“Sloane, I know you have your own place, but anytime you’re back in the city, you’re welcome to the townhome. ”
“Wolf’ll give you a key when you get back,” Mom adds, hugging her one last time.
There’s a glimpse of something I can’t quite name—surprise, maybe?
—in Sloane’s eyes when Mom whispers in her ear.
Her face falls, but she forces it back up into a smile as they pull away.
What was that? I’m still staring at Sloane, who stares at the ground, when Mom pulls me into a hug.
“I’m so glad we got to do this, sweetheart.
Promise me you’ll get your foot looked at if it’s not better by Monday. ”
“They have me off events until Paradise City. I have to go to Houston on Monday for a promo, but I won’t be fighting until next Sunday.”
“Oh, you should take Sloane to EWE Headquarters while you’re in Houston!
” Mom’s eyes light up, and she’s no doubt remembering the time I gave them a tour a few years after I was called up to the main roster.
While she may not be the biggest wrestling fan, she enjoyed getting to see some of the behind-the-scenes stuff, not to mention we ran into Amos’s kids—Chelsea, the Vice President of Creative, and Theo Rafferty, the Vice President of Talent Development—before we ran into the big man himself.
“I think you’d enjoy it, Sloane. There’s a lot of history there, and you never know who you’re going to see walking around. ”
“Sounds fun,” Sloane says, eyes meeting mine for the first time since we left the restaurant.
“Really?” I ask, surprised for the third time this afternoon. “You want to go spend a day walking around EWE Headquarters? Surrounded by nothing but professional wrestling and—”
“May as well get used to it, considering I’m dating a professional wrestler. It’ll be like immersion therapy.”
That’s one way to look at it. With a soft chuckle, I pull her into my side and plant a kiss on the crown of her head. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Well, kids,” Dad says, taking hold of Mom’s hand. “Have a good night, and Sloane, make sure he does what he’s supposed to do.”
“Yes, sir,” she says, saluting him with two fingers of her free hand. “He’s in good hands.”
“I have no doubt about that.”
The walk back to the townhouse is quiet.
Sloane is tucked into my side, fingers laced through mine over her left shoulder.
Even though she’s physically by my side, her mind is somewhere else entirely.
It isn’t until we make it back inside, in the kitchen, that I finally break the silence. “Is everything okay?”
Sloane looks up from her folded hands on the island countertop but doesn’t say anything. Her blue eyes shine with unshed tears beneath the overhead lights, and my stomach drops. I drop the water bottle in my hands, rounding the island to stand in front of her.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” I push back some of her hair and cradle her face between my hands, bending down to look her in the eye. “Honey, what is it?”
“Y-Your family…They’re amazing, and it makes me miss my parents so much.” Sloane blinks her gaze away from mine, the muscles in her neck contracting with a hard, visible swallow.
“Okay, that’s an easy fix. We can go see them. Tomorrow or next week, before I have to be in New Orleans. Sloane, that’s all you had to say. I would never keep you from your family.”
“We can’t.” She shakes her head, and a single tear rolls down her cheek. I wipe it away with the pad of my thumb. “We…” A soft scoff paired with a teary smile. “Ben, they died a few years ago.”
My heart stops. “Sloane—”
“No, it’s okay. I don’t…It was hard at first, but I’ve gone through the motions and done my grieving, and I’m okay. But sometimes, it hits me, like after today, and—” Her voice cracks, and she pauses, taking a deep breath.
“Hey, what is it?”
Sloane rolls her lips between her teeth and shrugs. “Being with you and your family, the way they’ve welcomed me with open arms when they don’t even know me—”
“Honey, that’s a good thing.”
“I know,” she says, blinking back more tears. “I know it is, but your dad just offered me a key to their house. I live ten minutes down the road! We just started dating.”
I can’t hold back a soft chuckle. “They like you, Sloane. Not to mention, you get along with my sister, and that in and of itself is a feat.” Finally, she cracks a smile.
“It doesn’t matter how long it’s been—a day, a week, a month, or ten years—you make me happy, and they can see that.
But as long as you are happy, that’s all I care about. ”
Sloane swallows again with a sniffle, looking away, but I grasp her chin and bring her gaze back to mine.
“You’re not alone, Sloane,” I say, and see the emotion swell back in her eyes. “I’m right here, you just have to let me in.”
I press chaste kisses against her lips, then move to her jaw, cheeks, and neck, peppering kisses anywhere I can reach. She laughs, and my heart swells at the sound. My lips linger against her neck in a final kiss, and she breathes out in a soft sigh.
“I’m going to stretch and ice my foot upstairs, and then we’re going out,” I say, kissing her forehead.
“And where are we going?” She cocks her brow, gaze following me as I grab an ice pack from the freezer and walk backward toward the dining room. “You’re supposed to be resting.”
“I don’t think a movie in the park will be too strenuous, unless you think this old man can’t handle walking from the car to our spot on the lawn.” I wink, and Sloane rolls her eyes, trying to fight a smile, but doesn’t resist any further. “I’ll be down in about ten minutes.”
“Bennett,” she calls out before I make it out of the kitchen. “So, ten years from now, are we going to be living here or in Tampa?”