17. Chapter 14
Chance
H ow I ended up in this house, washing dishes alongside the only woman able to simultaneously make me both hot and bothered, was beyond me. How we’d managed to get through nearly the entire stack of dishes without saying a word to each other was the less surprising of the two.
“Is there a reason why you’re here, Riordan?” she asked, breaking the long stretch of silence. The tightness in her voice showed how she was forcing the claws away to ask.
“Well, I was invited. And usually when someone invites you somewhere, you go—”
“Not in my house. I’m well aware of why you’re here. My grandmother has a thing for stray puppies. I meant why are you here, in Soggla?” She eyed me suspiciously as she wiped the tea towel over the last bowl I’d handed her.
I released the water in the drain and started on wiping away the excess. “I was given an opportunity that was too good to pass up,” I replied with a shrug.
Technically, it wasn’t a lie.
She scoffed. “That’s what they all say.”
“Who?”
“Anyone who has even attempted to fill Al’s shoes, or any other coach’s for that matter,” she replied, rolling those honey brown eyes.
“Ah, so that’s why you’ve been avoiding me like the plague.” I threw her a smirk I just knew drove her crazy. “You think I won’t last.”
She shrugged but immediately dropped her gaze from mine.
Interesting .
“Something like that,” she replied. Her eyebrows pinched gently as she pushed the towel into the edges of the bowl.
“Why are you here?” I dared ask.
Rosey lips tightened to the point where I was sure she wouldn’t answer. Irritation took over her face, creases forming at the edges of her mouth and in between her arched eyebrows.
“Where else would I be?” she asked quietly.
Looking down to her, her eyes were already waiting. Pools of swirling honey met a delicate core of cocoa.
I shrugged, tossing the washcloth over the tap. “I don’t know, somewhere outside of a small town I’m assuming you’ve spent your entire life in,” I replied smoothly.
“Like I said, where else would I be? I’ve been here forever; my life, my family, my identity—is here.” She folded up the towel before placing it on the counter beside her. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
A soft, small smile picked up on her face.
Her lips, blooming and pink and shapely, started a domino effect across her face.
I have no fucking idea how, but her freckles sparkled.
The dusting across her nose and cheekbones shone.
Her eyes shone too, glistening with some sort of contentment, peace, and love in Soggla that clearly ran deep for her.
It was like the small smile she showed me had been the start of all other things shining.
“Have to admit, Sunny”—she shot me a look to tread carefully—“That’s pretty fuckin’ cool.”
“You reckon?”
“I’ve never had a place like that.”
“Like what?”
“Home.”