Chapter 14 – Seth
When I’m certain Bri’s left my house, and isn’t listening into our conversation, I turn to my oldest brother in the kitchen. “So why are you really here?”
I feel bad she left before she even got to eat the pizza she ordered, but there’s also a quiet relief I don’t want to admit to.
My brother has a way of putting me on edge without even trying, and if Brianna didn’t already think I’m a class-A asshole for avoiding her all week, watching me deal with Levi would probably seal the deal.
Growing up, it was always the same pattern. Levi was the easy one. The funny one. The one people gravitated toward. And I was the grump. That didn’t really change as we got older, either. Life just gave me more reasons to lean into it.
I don’t look at him now. I just move to the pizza box on the counter and tear off a slice, more out of habit than actual hunger.
I should be eating something cleaner, something packed with protein before tomorrow’s game, but I don’t have the energy for any of that.
No prepped meals. No reheating. Grease and carbs will do while I try not to think about how close I was to kissing her in my laundry room.
Yesterday, Brianna slow-cooked a roast for us—smoked veggies, perfectly seasoned, and an angel food cake that was so damn good I haven’t stopped thinking about it once.
Bri slipped out quietly before dinner, she’s never stayed for the meals she makes, but even Sawyer ate every bite which is a win.
I want to pull out the leftovers from the fridge, heat the roast up, and enjoy something that won’t make me feel like shit for my game tomorrow.
But I don’t. Because if Levi sees that spread, he’ll start asking more questions about Bri and the less he knows about our past, the better.
Or worse—he’ll eat the whole meal and cake himself.
It’s been like that for the last few days now that Bri’s been helping me with Sawyer.
She cooks, cleans, helps Sawyer with her homework, then leaves before I can ask her to stay for dinner.
Not that I’ve put any effort into asking.
Because being around Bri is difficult. And it’s getting harder to resist how badly I want to touch her.
I shove a slice of greasy pizza in my mouth and chew, ignoring the ache in my stomach.
I’ll pay for it on the ice tomorrow night, but at least I won’t have to explain why Brianna’s cooking gourmet meals in my kitchen and making my favorite dessert in the world.
Maybe if I keep my mouth full, I won’t have to think about the fact that I’m a raging, conflicted asshole whenever I’m around her.
I can’t stop looking at her. And thinking bad, bad things.
Like how the hell she ended up in nothing but a sports bra and spandex shorts in my house.
Jesus, I need to come home with blinders on.
I’m not trying to objectify her. It’s just that every time I see her, all I can picture is that goddamn Halloween night and how good it felt to be inside her.
Her, in that Daddy’s Little Monster shirt.
Her, with that fiery red hair she had at the time that I miss.
Her, doing a split—spreading her pussy open while I drove my cock so deep inside her I felt like I could get lost there with her.
Yeah. I have a problem. The problem is I can keep trying to avoid her at work, but she’s inside my home. She’s inside my head. She’s working her way into something I haven’t let anyone near in years.
“I got suspended,” Levi says, finally answering my question like it’s no big deal that he’s once again suspended from his team.
“I know. You shouldn’t have hit that guy. It was excessive.”
I barely glance at him as he moves to the pizza box, grabbing a slice and practically inhaling it, snorting as he chews.
“Yeah. It was. But it was fun as hell when it was happening.”
I let out a scoff. “Keep it up and you’ll be asked to retire.”
Boone may have retired from the league as a forward a few months ago, but defensemen typically have longer careers, and Levi’s proof of that.
Thirty-seven years old, still hanging on in Boston, playing for a team that hasn’t won shit in years.
Maybe that’s why they haven’t traded him yet.
Because his name, our name, still draws paying crowds.
“So… I’m here because I didn’t want to wallow in self-pity in Boston.”
“You came down here to make us all miserable instead?”
Levi chuckles, grabbing a second slice and demolishing it just as quickly as the first. “No. I came to see Boone and Rosie, watch your game, and see Sawyer.”
“I heard you the first time,” I grumble.
“Well, it sure as shit seems like you didn’t.”
And just like that—like she’s got some kind of radar for her uncle—Sawyer barrels down the stairs like a tiny tornado, her footsteps thundering through the house as she tears into the kitchen.
“Uncle Levi!” she squeals, launching herself at him. Levi barely has time to catch her before she’s in his arms, clinging to him like a koala and then letting go just as fast as if she’s embarrassed that she wanted a hug. When did hugs become embarrassing? She’s growing up too fast.
“How’s my favorite, little niece?” My brother’s tone softens.
She beams up at him, pure joy radiating from her face. “You can’t call me that anymore. I’m not a baby.”
He grins. “I know. Heard you grew another inch.”
She straightens up like she’s showing off. She’s gotten taller too. Another thing I’ve been too busy to take the time to notice properly. Her smile falters when her eyes scan the mostly empty kitchen. “Hey, where’s Bri?”
“Your dad kicked her out,” Levi says, grinning like the asshole he is.
I roll my eyes. “I didn’t kick her out. She had to go home. She has a life that doesn’t include us, Sawyer.”
“I thought we were her life,” Sawyer jokes, her grin returning as Levi pats her affectionately on the head.
“She’s getting funny. I know she got that from hanging around the new nanny and not you,” Levi quips, his grin widening as he throws me a knowing look.
“Sit down and eat,” I mutter, ignoring him because if he thinks he’s going to blow into town and hit on Bri, he’s wrong. “Then go finish your homework and get to bed. Your flight leaves at nine tomorrow, right?”
Sawyer nods, her smile dimming a little, but she doesn’t argue. She slips out of Levi’s arms and rounds the counter, her small arms wrapping around my waist before I even register what’s happening. I freeze as soon as she squeezes me. Because this hug is completely unexpected.
When she was younger, I used to love hugging her, holding her close, soaking up every moment I could before she grew up and it felt like she outgrew me one day.
Something’s shifted over the last two years.
She’s started pulling away. Stopped liking affection as much.
Started getting embarrassed when I use baby talk or hug her for a little too long in public.
So, I’ve backed off. I’ve given her space, respected her boundaries even though it kills me a little every time she shrugs me off.
But right now, she’s hugging me. And I’m not going to ask questions about it.
My arms finally move, wrapping around her gently, pulling her close as I breathe her in. She smells like shampoo and bubblegum lip gloss, and for a moment, I let myself just be in this moment, soaking up the love of my daughter.
“Love you, Spirit,” I murmur softly, my lips brushing over the top of her head as I use the nickname her mom and I gave her.
From the moment she was born, she was so full of life, joy and spirit.
We called her spirit because she felt like a part of ours.
And when her mom passed away, Sawyer became the only piece of her spirit that lived on. The only piece left of mine, too.
“Love you too, Daddy.”
And just like that, the ache in my chest loosens.
A part of me wonders if this display of affection has anything to do with Brianna.
The woman who clearly has no problem showing physical affection to the people in her life.
Because ever since she entered our world, something’s shifted in this family.
“Thanks for the pizza, Dad.”
I glance up and catch Levi watching us, his mouth twitches.
“I’m sorry I won’t be at your game tomorrow. You know I would be if I could,” I tell her.
“It’s okay. I’m not starting anyway.” She squeezes me tighter, but I can hear the disappointment laced through her voice.
It guts me because I understand that feeling well.
“But Bri and I practiced my digs in the backyard when we got home, and she said I’m getting better. She fixed my form with my serves too and said she’s confident that even if I don’t get playing time tomorrow, I’ll start at some point this season.”
She pulls back, and I meet her gaze—eyes that look like mine but lips that belong to her late mother.
“That’s the right attitude. Keep that up, and you’ll be good. First home game you have, I’ll be there in the front row.”
She snags two slices of pizza with a smile. “I know you will be.” She grabs some napkins then pauses. “And Uncle Levi, you were right. Bri’s totally the reason for my sense of humor. She’s hilarious. You should spend more time around her, dad. She may rub off on you.”
She has no idea how much I’d like Bri to rub off on me.
Sawyer heads to the dining room, leaving me alone with my brother again. Levi grabs another slice, his third by my count, which means there’s only two left in the box.
“The nanny’s funny?” he raises a brow.
“Wouldn’t know. And her name’s Brianna.”
Levi snorts. “Sawyer seems like she’s adjusted well to living on the East Coast.”
“Yeah.”
“You heard from your ex?”
“No,” I respond instantly annoyed. Why would he ask me that?
Neither of my brothers liked my ex-wife and the more time and distance I put between that marriage the more I realize she was the wrong fit for me.
I fucked up by getting remarried. I know that.
I thought I was helping Sawyer by giving her another mother-figure and at the end of the day, all I gave her was more baggage and a woman who didn’t even last a year in our life.
He nods, chewing thoughtfully. “So why were you acting like a douche canoe to Bri?”
I tense. My jaw works, but I don’t say anything. Instead, I pivot to the fridge because—fuck it—I need that angel food cake right now. I take out the last slice from the half she left us, grab a fork, and take one glorious bite.
Holy angels above.
It’s perfect, light, airy, melting in my mouth the way real angel food cake should.
I close my eyes, letting it settle on my tongue, and some part of me wonders what Brianna looked like while she made it.
If she hummed to herself in my kitchen a sappy love song, if she moved with those same soft movements she always has.
If she was thinking of the way it’d make me feel to taste it.
I didn’t even know I had a cake pan for angel food cake.
Wait—I don’t. Which means she brought one from her own house to mine just so she could make this.
I sigh. I’m so fucking gone for this girl, and yet we haven’t had a proper conversation since that night in the gym.
“Because she’s the Mayhem owner’s daughter.”
Levi chokes on his pizza, coughing hard as he pounds a fist against his chest.
“What?”
“Yeah.”
“Caleb King’s? The rich guy who sits up in his box? The one with the expensive suits who looks like he fucks for a living? The former professional basketball player?”
“That’s the one.”
Levi blinks. “And she’s nannying for you? And working for the Mayhem as a physical therapist?” His brows furrow like he can’t compute it. I get it. I can’t either other than the fact that Bri said they don’t have a relationship.
“No idea why she’s doing it other than she’s got the free time, her roommate bailed at the last minute, and Sawyer and she seem to get along well.”
“Maybe he doesn’t give her money.”
I shrug. “That’s what she said. She said they don’t know each other at all.”
Levi’s expression turns from confused to knowing. “Damn dude. And you just basically told her she shouldn’t be needing your money. You’re a real dick, you know?”
Yeah. I know that. But hearing my older brother say it out loud only makes me feel like a bigger asshole for the way I questioned her about the money.
The thing is, I don’t even care about money.
I’ve got enough to last me a lifetime if I never wanted to work another day again. That was never the point.
I’m being a dick because I know I can’t have her, and somewhere in my head I’ve convinced myself that keeping her at a distance will make this easier.
Like if I push hard enough, eventually the wanting will stop too.
But the truth is, I’m not punishing her.
I’m punishing myself for wanting her this badly. And I know it.
“Alright, well I’m heading to bed,” Levi says, moving upstairs to find a spare bedroom where I’m sure he can stretch out and find another way to invade my space.
“Sure, make yourself at home.”
He grins over his shoulder. “Don’t worry. I will.”
“Don’t embarrass me at my game tomorrow!” I shout at him, finishing off the last bite of cake and already missing it. And Bri.
He chuckles. “Wouldn’t dream of it. Maybe Bri will let me hang with her. I think we’ll get along well.”
I fucking hate the way that sounds.