I stand there in shock, not at Paige’s response—the woman knows how to hold her own and she reeks of sincerity—but at my mom’s. I don’t remember her hugging any of the girls I dated, even before I made it big and the Drake Dolls became a thing.
“Catherine, why don’t we go inside with Paige and whip up some potato salad?” I’ll send Gus out to help Mikey get dry. Patrick, you help your father pick out cuts of meat for the grill.”
We all mumble our agreement as the ladies walk inside. As soon as the door shuts behind them, I turn to Dad and my brother. “What the hell just happened?”
“You brought home a nice girl whose favorite story about you has nothing to do with your NFL career.” Dad grins. “They all bring it back to your career, son.”
CHAPTER 20
Dallas
Paige and I are sitting together, wrapped under a blanket. I’d like to say that I am busy doing naughty things to her, but Catherine and Mikey are beside us and my parents are one row behind us. We’re in my theater room, watching an old rom-com that I can’t remember the name of, but it stars some dude with a British accent who makes all the ladies sigh. Romanov or something like that is his last name.
“You need anything? More popcorn?” I ask Paige.
She shakes her head. “I’m so stuffed that I’m pretty sure Layton will have to grease me so I can get through the door.”
“You can always stay here.”
“Not with your family here.”
“I have a six-bedroom house, bright eyes. Take your pick.”
She gives me an odd look. “Your house is that big?”
“You’ve been here often enough to have noticed how big my house is.”
“I’d say you’re right, but someone has constantly distracted me with all his other big stuff.”
Oh, yeah. I like where this is heading. “You’re the one demanding I give you the big stuff.” I raise the tenor of my voice. “Oh, Dallas, give it to me. Give it to me hard. Spank my ass.” Paige’s eyes grow so round that I start snickering. Her mouth starts opening and closing like a fish gasping. “You know you do. Don’t act so innocent.”
“That is not funny. I can’t believe you’re saying this in front of everyone.”
“They can’t hear me,” I insist.
“Shh,” Mikey says. “We’re. Watching a-a movie.”
“Sorry,” Paige whispers and mimes zipping her lips.
“Not you, Paige,” Catherine says. “Dallas has to hush up about his big stuff.”
I almost choke on my drink and Paige buries her face in my chest, groaning.
“I forgot about her bat hearing. Sorry.” I kiss the top of her head. “Let’s go in the living room so we can talk.”
Paige bolts out of there like I’ve set her ass on fire. I take my time and gather our stuff so I can put away the trash and recycling.
“Is it time for Paige to head home?” Mom asks as I move past their row. “I didn’t get to say goodbye.”
“She’s not leaving yet. I told her she could pick one of the guest rooms if she wanted to stay longer.”
“That’s nice of you, son,” Dad says, his mouth twitching. “But don’t change things on our account.”
“Trust me, I’m not the one who… Never mind.” No way will I embarrass Paige by finishing that sentence. “Enjoy the movie.”
It takes me about ten seconds to put everything away and find Paige. She’s sitting on the sofa, her legs curled up to one side as she plays on her phone.
“Texting Layton to come save you?” I ask, joining her. I put my arm around her shoulders and pull her close. I liked sitting there in the dark with her. Just sitting with her head on my chest while we watched a movie that made me want to tear out my eyeballs was almost as good as sex.
Almost.
“No. I was checking out my schedule for next week.” She smiles and puts her phone down. “I have off next Friday and Saturday. Nolan must really love that sweatshirt or he’s hired more staff.”
“Don’t you need the hours?” I ask.
“Not really.” She shakes her head. “Um… so there’s something I haven’t shared with you.”
I glance at her. Red paints her cheeks. “And that would be?”
“Remember me sharing about my mom’s seven marriages?”
I nod.
“Well, one of those times was to a major league baseball player who went on to actually own the Texas Stars. The owner is my dad. When he found out I was his daughter, he… um… set up an account for me so I could have a better adult life than I did as a kid without him or his money. I don’t live off of it but it’s there for me to use when I need it, like the safety net I never had growing up.
“It’s not a secret and he didn’t ask me to keep it a secret, but we really don’t talk that much. He has another family—not that I blame him for moving on. My mom separated from him once he made it in the league. It’s her thing,” she adds, her shoulders drooping.
For a moment, I don’t say anything, because I don’t know what the hell to say. What I should ask, or not ask… Shit, I’ve never been in a situation like this before. “Her thing?” I ask, banking that talking about her mother instead of an absentee father is safer territory.
“Did you ever watch Bull Durham?”
“The question is how often do I watch Bull Durham.”
“Then you know Susan Sarandon’s character basically thinks it’s her job to help those boys find their way in baseball. That’s my mom—not Susan, but the character is almost identical to my mom in every way.”
“Fuck, bright eyes. I don’t what to say.”
She shrugs and looks away from me, but not before I spy how watery her eyes have gotten. “Most people don’t, so I don’t share it that often. Sorry to unload all this on you now, but being with a normal family made me think about my lack of one.”
“Don’t apologize for something—hold up. You think my family is normal?”
“Very normal. Mom, Dad, two kids… football and s’mores.”
“You didn’t happen to notice that my brother’s face looks like it’s been through a meat grinder, he talks really slow, or that he uses a wheelchair?” I ask incredulously. While I didn’t expect Paige to be a jerk or stare at Mikey like he was a freak show because of his scars and deformed face, I sure as fuck didn’t dream she’d call any of us normal. “Mikey is the reason my foundation even exists. The first time Mikey was diagnosed with leukemia, he was a sophomore in high school and I was in sixth grade.”
“The first time?”
I swallow hard, hating all the memories that come rushing back. All the crying, praying, and wondering if my brother would live to see the next hour, much less the next day, but I remind myself that he’s sitting in the theater room, Catherine at his side.
“It came back three more times, each prognosis worse than the last… My parents couldn’t afford the medical bills, or the gas to John Hopkins, until some private organizations got wind of what was going on and made the burden go away.
“But wouldn’t you know it, as soon as Mikey got the all-clear that he was in remission, his car got T-boned by a drunk driver. Mikey was on the way home to celebrate with his wife, and he never saw it coming. It’s a fucking miracle he’s alive. They had to cut him out… I wasn’t there. I… well, I was doing my job, you know? But as soon as I got the call, I flew back on the first flight home.” I blow out a shaky breath and wipe my hands on my thighs. “That’s when I decided to start taking life a little more seriously. Stopped pushing my luck between my last drink and when I drove home. Started pushing my foundation more.”
“Oh, Dallas, I’m so, so sorry.” Sincerity glows in her pretty blue eyes, and it makes me feel both uncomfortable and comforted because I don’t do well with pity. Except she doesn’t pity my brother or my family. She thinks we’re normal.
“Lookit, I didn’t mean to insult you and spill my guts. You just took me by surprise with the normal label.”
&
nbsp; “Two parents who actually know of your existence and stick around to raise you—that’s my definition of normal.” Hurt shines in her gaze. “I had half a parent and Finley raising me. I helped raise Bond. My mother is a kind and loving person, but she has serious issues that she refuses to address with therapy. But I’m not her, and I refuse to be her.”
She adds with a soft smile, “But you can spill your guts to me anytime you want.”
Other than taking her in my arms or to bed, I can’t do anything to make Paige feel better. Maybe that’s not my job. Maybe it’s only times like this that she feels bad.
But I have to do something. I’m the clown of the family.
“I don’t know… fucking my brains out to help me improve my game seems like a good deed.”
She gives me a ‘you are out of your mind’ look.
“Too soon?”
“Too everything.” Looping her arms around my neck, she leans up to kiss me. “Too you, but I like it.”
“I thought it was a very romantic moment for us.”
“Fucking your brains out is romantic?”
“Sure it is. How about this—next time you want to ride me like the goddess you are, I’ll put on a wet shirt first and you can pretend I’m that pansy-assed Darcy who makes you have to change your panties.”
“He’s not a—you know who he is?”
I grin. “I asked around. Figured I could do you a solid some time, and we can watch every version of Pride and Prejudice that you want.”
She sighs thickly and smiles. “Now that’s romantic.”
“So romantic you’ll consider using next weekend’s time off to go to Miami with me?”
“Dallas, I told you—”
“Not for a game. For bye week. I have off and want to go someplace where I can get you in a bikini, since our first trip to the Keyes was cancelled,” I explain, even as irritation rises like acid in my throat.
“That does sound fun, but what if—”
“We’re going to a private house. No press, but I can’t help what anyone else puts on social media.”
“How many people are going to be there?”
“A few teammates. The place is huge. Some socialite who Aiden knows is letting us use it.”
“Aiden will be there?”
“Yes.”
She makes a face. “Goody.”
“I’ll beat him up if you want, but I’d planned on staying in our room, in your sweet pussy, for most of the time.”
“I like your plan a lot.” She licks my lower lip, and I nip at hers. “Also, don’t worry about beating him up. I’ll pretend he’s not there.”
Red clouds my vision. “Did he hurt you?”
“Nope. But he might be on my shit list soon for potentially hurting my best friend.”
“Okay, I’m confused. I thought this was about Finley, then you, and now you’re telling me Layton is involved?”
“Layton heard from the biggest gossip in our old town that Joe is cheating on her, so she’s asked Aiden to help her. He agreed.”
That doesn’t sound like something to merit a shit-list status. “And that’s bad because…?”
“If Joe is found to be cheating, then Aiden says he wants one night with Layton in payment.”
Layton is a grown woman who can make up her own mind, but since Paige is worried, that makes me worry as well. “Tell you what, bright eyes. He fucks with her, in any way, you tell me, and I’ll take care of it.”
“Thank you.” She kisses me again and it turns deeper, frantic, until her hands are in my hair and her fingernails are scratching at me. I shove my hand down the front of her jeggings, as she informed me they were called, easily pushing her panties to one side. She’s wet and spreads her thighs, willing and wanting my touch.
“Need to come, baby? I can help you out.” My fingers glide through her wet pussy as I find her clit.
“What about your family?”
“Guess you’ll have to be quick.”
“What about you?” she gasps as I hit a sweet spot.
“I’ll finger fuck you as fast and as hard as I can.” Then I make good on both fronts. And when she comes, I cover her mouth with my free hand while she moans my name around it.
Music to my ears.
CHAPTER 21
Paige
It’s after work hours at the library but I’m still at my desk, going over the details for events that will be taking place here in the next two months without Layton.
I hope to God a replacement for her is found before then because I can’t deal with another party planner who wants to know if we can temporarily remove two-hundred-year-old stained glass windows for more light, or if live animals can be incorporated as long as we have poop bags on hand.
“How do you do this without going insane?” I all but whine as I slump across my desk.
Layton gives me one of her patented mom looks. She’s so good at it that I sit up and make sure I’m not slumping. “I make myself assume that each person simply wants the best for their party. And that when they make odd or impossible requests, it’s because their client is making them be the bad guy.”
“That doesn’t help.” I pick up my pen and flip back to November. “Dallas’s event is in two weeks.”
“And you’ve done an amazing job.” She smiles and drinks hot chocolate from a mug that has SPARKLE ON, SUGAR written on it in glitter lettering. “The only thing left to do is confirm the guest list to make sure we don’t go over capacity and that access to the third floor is fully functional that day.”
“I have to worry about the elevator?”
“It’s almost as old as the house.”
“Oh, no.” I start to fan myself. “I can’t deal with things that move. Books don’t move, Layton. Where you put them, that’s where they stay, and they’re always in working order.”
“And to think I was voted most dramatic in high school.”
“That is not a helpful observation.” I stop fanning myself. “Can we take a break and eat the yummy Chinese food you had delivered?”
“Yes, but only because we got all our work done.”
“Oh, thank you, Mom.”
She fluffs her hair. “You’ll thank me later when we get to go home after we eat, instead of working for another hour and then eating.”
“Or we can take breaks like normal people do at work.”
“My way is more efficient.”
It totally is, but I’m not going to encourage that sort of thinking with her. I snag the container with garlic chicken and fried rice while Layton picks shrimp and broccoli like I knew she would. “How are things going with cheatergate?”
Layton makes a face. “Aiden told me he doesn’t have anything to share… yet. It would be easier if I could look that jerk in the eyes to see if he’s lying or not.”
“You could go to his house.”
“Security would stop me since I’m not on his guest list, but I am considering other options.”
Too bad Aiden didn’t live in the same neighborhood as Dallas. I’d get her in without a hint of remorse.
“And as of yesterday, he stopped answering my texts. So… the whole thing was more than likely a joke to him. He probably thought he’d humor me, pat me on the head, and make up some stupid payment because he thought I’d say no.” She stabs a shrimp with a chopstick. “Such a jerk. Oh, and to add insult to injury, I can’t even wait for him in the parking lot after practice because he’s going on vacation in two days. The only day I have off during the week when I know he’ll be in Raleigh, and he has the nerve to skip town.”
Inspiration strikes. Hopefully, Dallas won’t be upset with me. “I know where Aiden is going to be this weekend.”
Her hazel eyes round. “You do?”
I nod. “Yes, because I’m going to be there, too. You should come with me. Dallas won’t care, I promise.”
She hesitates. “I don’t know. That might seem kind of desperate.”
“Says the woman wh
o was ready to stalk the guy in the parking lot of the stadium.”
“My future is on the line… and my wedding is in t-minus twelve days and counting.”
“Which is why you should come with me to Miami.”
“When do y’all leave?”
“After he’s done with practice tomorrow night. Dallas got a private plane. Oh my gosh, wouldn’t it be amazing if Aiden’s on the same flight? He would be trapped and unable to not answer your questions.”
She grins. “I like your devious ways. I’m in.”
* * *
After Layton and I finish dinner, I drive to Dallas’s house instead of home so I can break the news to him that Layton’s going with us to Miami. I’m hoping he won’t mind and that I didn’t lie to my best friend when I said he wouldn’t care.
As usual, Dallas meets me at my car door before I can get out. He opens the door and grabs my hand, helping me from within.
“This is a pleasant surprise. I thought you’d spend the evening packing for our trip.” He captures my lips in a kiss that makes my toes curl. “You planning on spending the night?”
I shake my head and give him one last kiss to help ease his disappointment. “No, I still have to pack. I actually have nefarious reasons for coming over… and I’m willing to do sexual things to get you to go along with my plans.” I want to do sexual things to him anyway, so even if he doesn’t agree, I’ll still get orgasms.
And I’ll book a flight to Miami for Layton on a separate plane.
He links our hands together. “I can’t wait to hear all about the sexual things you’re going to do to me.”
“But not my nefarious plans?” I ask as he opens the door to the house. I walk in slightly in front of him. “Aren’t you worried I’ll ask you to rob a bank or—”
“Play with snakes in a pit,” he finishes.
“That will never happen.” I shudder. “That’s plain cruel to even imagine.”
“There aren’t any snake pits around here for you to fall in. I googled to make sure so when we have a picnic at Falls Lake, you won’t be worried… shit. That was supposed to be a surprise.”
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