43. Riley
43
RILEY
“ O h my god! ” I clap a hand over my mouth to hide the hysterical laugh threatening to burst free as I close the front door behind me after spending the afternoon studying in the library. “What did you let her do to you?”
“We’re playing dress up, Mommy.” My daughter stares at me with the sweetest smile, wearing a princess dress Logan undoubtedly bought for her. She looks cute, but that’s not what has me frozen in the doorway to the living room.
It’s the six-foot-three dark-haired behemoth with cherry red lips, matching rosy cheeks, and bright blue glittery eyeshadow that sweeps from his lashes all the way to his eyebrows. On the plus side, at least the color matches his eyes. However, he also looks completely and utterly ridiculous.
Perhaps it’s the tattoos.
The best part is the scowl on his lips and his crossed arms. Sitting in a child-sized chair for my daughter, Royce was voluntarily allowing her to brutalize his face even though he clearly hated every second of it.
“Blame Logan! He’s been telling her all week she can have a princess tea party.”
“And you were the idiot who caved and threw one for her?” I’m teasing and laughing, but I can’t get over how incredibly sweet it is of him.
This past week has been heaven—going to class, collecting Aurora from daycare, cooking dinner with Logan, and cuddling on the sofa before crawling into bed with the guys. Without the threat of Lydia or Bertram hanging over my head, I’ve gotten so much studying done. I still have a ways to go, but if the rest of the semester is like this, I should be able to pull my grades back up.
“Well, you’ve never looked better.” It takes every ounce of my self-control to maintain a straight face, but the second Royce’s gaze cuts to mine, those astute blue eyes narrowing, I howl with laughter. “Please let me take a picture.” I’m already pulling the phone from my pocket.
I mean, if this isn’t a prime example of what a sucker Royce is for my little girl, I don’t know what is. I swear, all she has to do is give him those puppy dog eyes of hers and pout, and he does whatever she wants. Aurora isn’t the slightest bit intimidated by his large size or tats.
“Don’t even think about it, James,” Royce growls, a thread of promise behind his words that sends shivers skating along my spine.
“Just one.” As soon as the sound of the photo being taken penetrates, he shoots out of his chair and lunges for me.
I squeal, dropping the phone as he grabs me around the waist. We crash to the couch, him twisting at the last minute so he’s beneath me.
“No!” I squeal, writhing as his fingers tickle my ribs.
“Tickle party!” Aurora yells before diving on top of me, adding her fingers to the mix.
“That’s it, Aurora. Tickle Mommy.”
“No! No! Please.” Tears stream down my face, and I can barely get the words out between heaving breaths and bursts of laughter.
“Aurora,” I attempt to chastise between gasping breaths. “There will be no dessert after dinner if you don’t stop.”
“Don’t worry, sweetheart.” Royce winks conspiratorially at my daughter. “I’ll make sure you get dessert.”
“Royce!” I squeal, twisting against him. The two of them attack me until I wheeze out, “Stop. Please. I surrender. I surrender!”
Royce falls still, Aurora following. “I dunno, Aurora, what do you think? Do we accept Mommy’s surrender?”
“You can go get a bar of chocolate from the sweetie tin if you do.”
“Bribing your daughter?” Royce tuts in my ear, causing me to shiver for an entirely different reason.
“Okay. We accept your surrender, Mommy,” Aurora says brightly. “Can I have my chocolate now?”
I huff out a laugh, shaking my head. “Yeah, okay. You know where it is; go get it.”
She’s racing from the room before I’ve even finished speaking.
“That was mean.” I smack Royce on the arm, but he just laughs.
“And you taking photos of me in pain, wasn’t?”
I twist so we’re chest to chest. “You look like you fought with a clown, and he won.”
Royce groans, his head falling back against the armrest. “That bad?”
“Have you looked in a mirror?”
“God, no. I planned to jump straight into the shower as soon as she finished. I didn’t realize what time it was.”
“Thank you for playing dress up with her.”
Lifting his head, there’s a softness in his gaze now. “You need to stop thanking us for spending time with her. We all love her; we love spending time with her. She’s exactly what each of us needed.” His fingers trail down my temple, brushing a strand of hair from my face as he stares at me with so much openness that it’s hard to believe this is the same closed-off, sharp-edged man I accidentally crashed into on campus that first day. “This house had gotten so quiet and bogged down with all our issues. Logan’s been the light that keeps Gray and I from drowning ourselves in misery, but I know carrying that task sometimes weighs on him. It’s an unfair burden for us to place on his shoulders. But Aurora emits that light so effortlessly. Having her here puts everything into perspective.” He squeezes my waist. “Having you both here feels right .”
Leaning in, I press my lips to his, his sweet words making it easy to ignore the fact his face practically shimmers from so much blusher. One of his large, calloused palms slides to the back of my head, holding me firm as his tongue slides along the seam of my lips before dipping inside.
“Eww!” A voice interrupts, and Royce and I jolt apart, heads turning to where Aurora is standing in the doorway, nose adorably scrunched as she stares at us. Damn, I’d completely forgotten she was here. That’s what happens when I get sucked into one of these guys’ orbit. The entire world ceases to exist. “That’s gross.”
I huff out a breath of laughter as I move to sit upright, Royce following. “You won’t think so one day.”
“No, Mommy,” my three-year-old daughter says with all the seriousness in the world. “I’m always going to think that.”
Royce points a stern finger at her, which does not have the impact he thinks it does, considering he looks like a drag queen. “Even if you change your mind, you’re not allowed to kiss any boys until you’re forty.”
With more attitude than such a small body should be able to contain, Aurora crosses her arms over her chest and cocks her hips. Where the hell did she even learn that move? “I’m never changing my mind. Boys are icky.”
Swallowing my laughter, I climb to my feet. “You ready to watch Logan on the TV tonight? Then Mommy’s gotta go to work, but Grayson will tuck you into bed later.”
Yup, I’m going back to Lux tonight. I was there earlier in the week for rehearsals, but tonight is my first official shift back—much to Grayson’s disapproval. I need this, though. As much as I appreciate everything the guys have done, I still need to maintain my independence. More than that, I enjoy working at Lux. Especially now that my bestie is in charge and sleazy Ben hasn’t been heard from since Royce ran him out of town.
Aurora nods enthusiastically, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she claps her hands. “Yes! But why can’t we go see him play?” She pouts, and it’s so freaking adorable. Royce must think so, too, as his hand comes up to cover his mouth as he coughs to disguise his smirk.
A smirk that quickly turns into a scowl of disgust when he notices his fingers are stained red from all the gunk on his face.
Lifting Aurora and placing her on my hip, I explain, “Because he’s not playing his game here, baby.” Even though he’s only playing at a stadium an hour away, none of us is ready to attend a live game just yet. While I wish we could be there to cheer him on in person, I believe he’ll be able to better focus on the game if he knows we’re at home and safe. If we were in the stands, he’d constantly worry that we’ve disappeared again. I hate that that fear has been instilled in him. “He’ll be home by the time you wake up tomorrow, and when the team makes it to the Frozen Four, we’ll go see him play.”
While it might not be the championship game, tonight’s game is still important. A conference tournament that Logan explained, if they win, guarantees them a spot at regionals and potentially competing for a national championship. Although, from what I gather, they are at the top of their group. So, even if they lose tonight, they will likely be selected to play at the regional level. It’s all too complicated for me; I just want him to win.
My precocious daughter purses her lips as she chews over my words before definitively nodding in acquiescence. “Okay. But can we call him now?”
“We did promise him we’d call. Do you wanna put your jersey on so we can show him?”
Her eyes blaze with excitement as she squirms for me to put her down before racing from the room.
“No running up the stairs!” I call after her. The rapid thump of her feet barely slows, and Royce and I chuckle as we share a look.
“You’re still sure about returning to work tonight?” he asks, watching me closely.
“I am. I’m excited to get back on the stage. I’ve missed dancing.”
Crossing the room to me, his hand slides up my arm and across my shoulder before cupping my neck. “You know you can dance any time you want? One of us will take you to the dance studio.” Despite Bertram still being unconscious in a hospital bed, they’ve all shown an inability to let me go anywhere alone, and poor Ms. Everly gets hounded by all of them, demanding updates every day.
“I know. Th?—”
A growl cuts me off. “Do not thank me. In fact, I’m banning those words from this house.” I chuckle. “Instead of a swear jar, perhaps we should make you put a dollar in a jar every time you say thank you for something you shouldn’t be thanking us for.”
“In that case, I definitely need to go back to work,” I tease, patting one of his rigid pecs.
The thundering of what sounds like a herd of elephants trampling down the stairs precedes my daughter skidding back into the room. “Ready!” she declares. She has thrown the black and gold Huskies jersey over the princess dress she was wearing before. I press my lips together to smother my laugh. My daughter has a very interesting fashion sense; however, I can’t deny that she makes the whole ensemble work for her.
“Alright, let’s go into the kitchen to call him.” Using my hands, I usher her from the room. “Meanwhile, Princess Royce can grab a shower.”
“I heard that!”
I glance back at him over my shoulder, smirking. “You were supposed to, Princess. ”
Eyes flaring, his words chase me out of the room. “You’re going to pay for that one later, Babydoll.”
God, I fucking hope so.
“I don’t want you going back to that club,” Grayson grumbles in his irritating, frustrated tone.
“Oh, you don’t? Huh, why didn’t you say something earlier?” My voice is thick with sarcasm, which he doesn’t appreciate as he glowers at me. He’s only made his opinion clear every day since I announced I was going back.
Rolling my eyes at his infuriating alphaness, I drawl, “Ben hasn’t been seen since Royce ran him off, and I’m excited to work with Tara and see the other girls. I’ve missed them.” I pin him with a look. “I want to go back.”
That doesn’t appease him, so I merely move on. It’s a point of contention that neither of us will yield on. Whatever. He’ll get over it—he has no other choice because I am not quitting my job. Not when I’m finally rid of Ben, and I can actually enjoy it without stressing.
Instead, I direct the focus back to Aurora, who Grayson is looking after tonight. “She’ll probably pass out as soon as we leave,” I tell him. “She’s already in her jammies and brushed her teeth, so you just need to put her in bed. She’ll demand that you read her at least three bedtime stories, but just read her the one. It’s already past her bedtime.” I worry my bottom lip. I don’t know why I’m feeling so anxious. “She fell asleep during the game, but don’t let her fool you into thinking that means she can stay up. It’s already way past her bedtime.”
“You’re talking like I haven’t put her to bed before or like I wasn’t sitting beside you on the couch all evening. It was my lap she fell asleep in,” Grayson grumbles. He’s looking at me like I’ve grown a third eye on my forehead. Hell, maybe I have.
“Right.” I chew on my bottom lip, trying to think if I’ve forgotten anything, until a gentle squeeze of my shoulder snaps me back into the room.
“We’ll be fine,” he rumbles, seemingly irritated at my overbearingness. However, his shoulders marginally relax when his eyes meet mine, and a gentleness softens his gaze. “I promise she’s safe with me.”
I blow out a breath, holding his piercing stare. “I know. I’m just nervous. It was last Friday…”
“I know,” he says, giving me another squeeze. “My dad is still in hospital. Everything is fine. Go shake that ass.” His nose scrunches. “On second thought…”
He begins to drag me in against him, the jesting breaking the tension as I wriggle free.
“We’re going to be late,” Royce informs us as he helps me into my coat before ushering me out the door. “She’ll probably sleep the entire time we’re gone,” Royce says reassuringly as we make the short trip to Lux. “She’s safe with Grayson.”
“I know. I know she is.” I blow out a breath. “I’m sure it will get easier with time.” Somehow, it never feels so challenging to drop her off at daycare or to leave her with one of the guys during the day. It was dark out when my mother abandoned her in a parking lot, selling her just to get back at me and her husband. It was dark when Bertram frog-marched us out of the hockey stadium. It was dark when I pushed her through a broken window to avoid the flames licking up the walls.
Bad things happen in the dark.
I don’t even realize I’m biting my nails until Royce reaches across and encapsulates my hand in his, holding it hostage for the remainder of the journey.
“You’re back!” Tara squeals when I walk into Lux. I don’t have a chance to respond before she’s strangling me to death in a fierce hug. “It’s so good to see you, mama.” My arms come up, returning her hug. It’s damn good to see her too. What with being the manager and all now, she wasn’t at rehearsals on Tuesday, and with everything going on with Aurora these last few weeks, we haven’t done more than exchange a few texts. We did, however, catch up for a quick coffee earlier in the week when I filled her in on everything that happened last weekend and confirmed I was still good to start back tonight.
“How’s the little one?”
“She’s great. Absolutely loves all the attention from these guys.” I thumb Royce, making Tara smirk.
Wagging her eyebrows, she teases, “She’s got good taste.” I snort while Royce shakes his head. Turning so she can link her arm through mine, Tara points toward an unoccupied table. “I have a table reserved for your Rottweiler with a perfect view of the stage because I’m nice like that. Does he need a treat or anything before we leave him?”
“Har har.” Royce narrows his eyes on her in fake warning before he stalks off to take his seat.
“Remember not to pee on the furniture,” she calls after him before dissolving into a fit of giggles.
“Having fun there?” I tease, but I’m grinning at her antics. Damn, I’ve missed her .
“Soooo much fun, you have no idea.”
We walk arm in arm across the club floor and into the back hallway. “How have things been here? Not regretting accepting the manager position yet?”
She shakes her head. “It’s been great so far. I still haven’t met the new owner, but he seems happy enough for me to do whatever I think is best.”
“Well, that’s handy.” I glance her way out of the corner of my eye before daring to broach the subject. “What about Dax? Have you seen him recently?”
I hadn’t bothered to leave out his role in getting Aurora back when we’d talked earlier in the week. I’m not sure how exactly she feels toward him, but I thought she should know that despite his reputation and whatever he’d done to her in the past, he had been instrumental in rescuing Aurora.
Royce mentioned that he’d left town shortly after the night of the fire, and I have no idea how long he’ll be gone or if he’ll be coming back. I know he’s got his club in Springview, but other than the occasional drop-in to The Depot, I don’t know if he’ll be back in Halston any time soon.
Growing somber, she shakes her head. “Nope. He left town as quickly as he arrived, unsurprisingly without saying a word to me.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, nudging her shoulder in support.
She shrugs. “Whatever. I’m used to it by now. It just sucks when he stops by. It’s like, I manage to convince myself I’ve moved on, and I’m over him, and then bam , he shows up. It all becomes a harsh reminder that I’m nowhere close to being over him.” Her sigh is heavy. “I don’t know if I ever will be.”
I wrap her in a brief hug. “Good thing there’s plenty of eye candy to drool over at The Depot in the meantime.”
Smiling now, she agrees, “True dat.”