Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Twenty-second encounter
“You smell like me.”
“No, Lucas. My whole bed smells like you. And sometimes, I wake up in the middle of the night and get wet just from your scent.”
“Shit.”
“What?”
“You can’t say something like that right before I’m about to leave!” he growled, dropping his bag and shoving her back onto her bed.
He should never have stopped sleeping with Anna.
It had been a stupid idea.
Spending the night with Anna was therapeutic.
He felt more balanced and relaxed. Ironically, he got more sleep because he didn’t lie awake at night, tormented by guilt over not being able to give Melody what she deserved.
He’d never seen Melody happier than when she put his leg in a cast and then watched Anna saw it free.
It might not have been what other parents did to amuse their five-year-olds, but hey, as long as it made Melody look at him like he was her damn hero, he was okay with it.
Even his knee was better. That might have been because Anna said she wouldn’t sleep with him if he didn’t take his pills.
The bottom line was, he was...happy?
His friends were concerned.
“Why are you smiling so much?” Hazel looked at him, irritated, as she tapped the line where he had to sign to extend his contract with the Hawks. “If you’re not careful, you’ll lose your title as killer.”
“That would be terrible,” he replied dryly, initialing each page and finally signing at the bottom.
“It's just because everyone’s so afraid of you. I rarely have to renegotiate your contracts unless they come from Gareth that-fucking-idiot Clark.”
Lucas ignored the last comment. Everything Hazel said about the second owner of the Hawks was expressed with words that would have made Melody’s kindergarten teacher faint.
“Honestly, Moreau, you have a crucial game tomorrow to advance to the second round of the playoffs. Fox is a nervous wreck. You usually are too.”
“Guess I’m just more relaxed than him.”
Hazel snorted in amusement and packed up the paperwork. “Everyone’s more relaxed than Fox. And they’ll be taking pictures of all of you on Monday when you’re at Mel’s kindergarten, you know that, right? Doesn’t that worry you?”
“Nope. I’ll tell them I’m Mel’s uncle. That’s the truth. It’s not scandalous, so it’s not a problem.”
“Mhm,” Hazel said, looking at him piercingly. “Okay. If that’s what you want.”
He sighed. “Hazel, it’s better for her.”
“Okay,” his agent said, squeezing his shoulder. “I’m glad you’re so relaxed. You’ve got to give me the recipe for that relaxing concoction you’re obviously drinking these days. I could use it before I go into battle for Fox’s contract...”
“Lu, is Anna coming tonight?” Melody called out, running into the living room. Oh, fuck. Hazel’s eyebrows shot up. “Anna?” she asked, drawing out the syllables. “The woman who is nobody?”
“She’s not nobody.” Melody rolled her eyes. “She’s a doctor. The coolest doctor.”
“Ah.” Hazel turned to him, interested. “Would you agree? Is she the coolest doctor?”
Well, she’d explained boisterously to Charkov in front of everyone yesterday why he really should know what a clitoris was. He’d never seen so many grown men with such bright red faces. That had been pretty cool.
“Sure,” he said casually.
“I drew a picture for her.” Melody’s eyes lit up. “It’s at kindergarten. But I’ll bring it home on Monday.”
“Cool. She’ll be happy,” he said, even though he could still feel Hazel’s gaze on his face.
“Do you think she’ll bring her hammer this time?” Mel asked. “To test my reperplexes?”
“Your reflexes,” he corrected her. “And I’ll ask her.”
“Melody, how often is Anna here?” Hazel asked innocently.
“A lot!” she answered happily with a grin before storming out of the room.
Okay, that wasn’t fair.
“A lot,” Hazel repeated. “Hmm. So it's not chamomile that's relaxing you, Moreau? Do you have a girlfriend?”
His stomach lurched at the word — and he couldn’t tell whether it was in a good way or a disastrous way.
“She... Nope,” he said anyway, standing. Because she wasn’t... They weren’t, were they?
“You don’t sound confident,” Hazel stated, shocked. “Shit, Moreau, I was joking!”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” he replied stormily, pulling Hazel up from her seat.
“Why are you getting so defensive?” she asked, confused. “It would be perfectly fine if you had a girlfriend! Nobody would care, everyone would be happy.”
No. Not everyone. “Get lost, Hazel, before I lose my cool,” he muttered in warning.
His agent laughed loudly, but slung her purse over her shoulder. “It’s okay. But the next time I babysit – which is tomorrow, when you have your game – I’ll find out everything anyway.” She waggled her eyebrows. “Good luck. Squash the Whales, okay?”
She disappeared from the room and a second later, the front door slammed shut.
Shit. Why was he suddenly more nervous about Hazel and Melody being alone tomorrow than the game?
Do you have a girlfriend?
He rubbed his face and pulled his phone out of his pocket, which vibrated with a message.
Took your pills yet? I went shopping, by the way...
He smiled.
Anything other than ice cream?
he typed back.
Yes. Granola bars. I heard some men need them now and then.
He chuckled softly as a new message arrived.
And I hope you destroy the Edmonton Whales tomorrow. Jack is such a sore loser, he’ll be unbearable if you get knocked out of the running.
Oh, he wouldn’t let them down. Not because of West, but because he owed it to the whole team and himself. They’d damn well win tomorrow!