“Bennett.” Orion leaned on the front of his desk and looked down at me. “Pro athletes have families. You can make it work. Hire help.”
“Maybe . . . they’d still want me in six months. If I stayed on as a Flyer.”
Orion’s eyes bulged. “Are you out of your fucking mind? You don’t say no to this. Or maybe later.”
“Yeah, I do.” I lowered my brows in a serious look. “A year ago I would’ve been on my way to Chicago five minutes after you told me. But I have a family now. Charlotte’s going back to work in four weeks. We both have to make sacrifices to be the parents we want to be, and this is mine.”
“This is insane. You’re going to turn down ten times the amount you make together right now so that she can work for the county and you can work at a lumberyard?”
I scowled. “You don’t want me back?”
“I’m pretty sure I’ll beat your ass on to the injured reserve list if you come back here.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “I know where your head’s at, okay? I had to give up the NHL. You don’t. You’re passing on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Orion had retired after a short NHL career to donate a kidney to his nephew. I’d thought that he, of all people, would understand where I was coming from.
“I can’t,” I said, bowing my head with disappointment. “I’d be sorry if I said yes. With Charlotte and Charlie here and me there, I’d be miserable. No amount of money or fame would make up for it.”
Orion stood and waved an arm through the air, clearly frustrated. “Is that it, then? Are you positive? You can take some time to think about it. Maybe talk it over with Charlotte.”
“I’m positive.” I glanced at the clock on his wall and stood up. “I have to get to work.”
He nodded, disappointment all over his face. As I walked out of his office, I felt a pang of sadness myself, but it was no longer myself or my coach I refused to let down. Charlotte and Charlie mattered most to me.
Charlotte
Charlie slept for an hour in his cradle before he woke up, wanting to eat again. When I picked him up, he frowned and then his little mouth rooted frantically.
“Shh, shhh, it’s okay,” I said softly. “I’m breaking out the boob right now. It’s okay, buddy.”
I got him latched on and sat down on the couch when there was a knock at the door.
“Of course,” I said to Charlie. “Perfect timing. But we can’t ignore it because it could be Publisher’s Clearing House, right?”
I used my free hand to toss on the cotton poncho thing I wore to breastfeed in front of anyone but Bennett. When I peeked through the peephole, I saw Liam standing in front of the door, his arms folded.
“Hey,” I said, opening the door. “This is a nice surprise.”
“Hey.” He scrunched his face up in a mix of confusion and disgust. “Is that . . . I mean, is he . . . ?”
“Suckling on my boob? Yes, he is, and it’s perfectly natural, so get in here and stop looking at me like that.”
“I just feel kinda creepy being here while that’s going on.”
“My child eating?”
“Eww.” He looked away. “Don’t put it that way.”
I rolled my eyes and laughed. “I forgot that to you I don’t have boobs or a vagina.”
“Stop,” he said, giving me a dirty look.
“Do you want a drink?” I closed the door as he stepped in.
“Nah, I’m good.”
“So how’s life? Come in and sit down.”
He sat down on the other end of the couch from me. “Did Mom tell you she’s leaving Michael?”
“Hmm. I’ll believe that when I see it.”
“Yeah, me too,” he said.
He glanced around the room, looking at everything but me, and I sensed it wasn’t just because I was breastfeeding.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, just . . . thinking.” He sighed deeply. “I’m an imperfect person, you know?”
“Nonsense. You are flawless.” I smiled and he followed.
“I lost my shit over you and Bennett, and I think a lot of it was just feeling left out. You guys are two out of my three top people in life. Well, I guess there’s four now, with Charlie.”
“You guys are at least talking again,” I said. “That’s progress.”
“Yeah, but I was a dick to him. And then he understood, which made it even worse.”
I peeked down my shirt to check on Charlie, who was still nursing.
“If you want to apologize, maybe you should talk to Bennett,” I said to Liam.
He ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah . . . I’m kind of here to offer an unconventional apology.”
“How so?”
“I overheard a conversation between him and Orion earlier. I eavesdropped because I thought he was coming to quit the team, and I planned to talk him out of it if he did.”
“He didn’t quit, did he? I hope he didn’t.”
“I think he did, but he also did something worse.”
I arched my brows expectantly. “What?”
“Orion told him Chicago wants him next season, and he turned it down.”
I just stared at my brother for a couple seconds. “He turned down . . . the NHL? Are you sure?”
“Positive. He said you won’t marry him, you won’t move there with him, and he’s not leaving you and Charlie behind.”
My heart melted out of my chest and onto the floor. Liam was telling me the truth. Bennett would sacrifice his dream for us. He was selfless enough to do it and not feel bitter or remorseful about it.
“Oh my God,” I said softly. “I’ve ruined his career.”
“No, you haven’t. I went into Orion’s office after Bennett left and asked him to give me some time to change his mind. But it’s really your mind that needs changing.”
I felt Charlie squirming as he finished eating, so I pulled him out from beneath the poncho and put him on my chest, patting his back gently.
“You think I should go to Chicago with him,” I said.
“Don’t you think you should? The guy’s willing to give up the motherfucking NHL for you, and you won’t give up the county prosecutor’s office?”
I had to smile at my brother’s sudden and complete change of heart.
“Well, when you put it that way . . .”
“Look, I was a prick,” he continued. “I kind of knew it then, and I completely know it now. I feel like it’s my job to be protective of you.”
“I know.”
“But the truth is, Bennett’s one of the best men I’ve ever known. He used to chase women, but hell, we all did. He was single and never promised any of them anything more than he was willing to give. And with you . . . he changed. He loves you and Charlie more than anything.”
“I love him, too.”
Liam looked at me hopefully. “So, will you go?”
I swallowed hard, trying to create a quick mental pro/con list. But I came up short on cons.
“You don’t think I’m like Mom, chasing him because I’d feel incomplete without a man?”
Liam cracked a big smile. “You’re nothing like Mom. And it’s not just any man we’re talking about here; it’s the one who’d take a bullet for you. He deserves all of you.”
Slowly, I nodded. “You’re right. Liam, you’re so right. Can you come to the lumberyard with me?”
“Right now?”
“Right now.”
My heart raced as soon as I saw Bennett. He was in the lumberyard parking lot lifting long boards onto a flatbed cart, his gray T-shirt soaked with sweat.
“There he is,” I said to Liam. “Wish me luck.”
“Whoa, wait a minute. What do I do with him?” He gestured at Charlie’s car seat.
“If he cries, get him out of his seat and rock him.”
Liam’s eyes doubled in size. “The fuck? I can barely hold him when I’m sitting still and you put him in my arms. I don’t want to drop him or something.”
<
br /> “Okay, so just push those two green things to unlatch the carrier from the car and walk him around the parking lot if he cries. I won’t be long.”
Liam nodded uncertainly. “Walk him around. Okay.”
I got out of the car and walked toward Bennett. When he stood and saw me, he pulled his brows together and gave me a lopsided grin.
“Hey, babe. You lookin’ for some wood?”
I laughed and gave him a suggestive waggle of my brows. “Maybe. You got any?”
“For you? Always.”
He pulled the bottom of his T-shirt up to wipe his face, and I caught a glimpse of his defined abs. Also sweaty. Damn, I was a lucky woman.
“So I heard you were offered a pretty amazing opportunity this morning,” I said.
He gave me a puzzled look. “Did Orion talk to you?”
“No. Liam did. He overheard your conversation.”
Bennett rolled his eyes. “Overheard, my ass. Fucker was eavesdropping.”
“That’s not the point. The point is Chicago.”
He looked to the side, seeming to focus on the horizon. “Yeah, I’m not going. And it’s the right decision. Don’t try to change my mind. I can’t be in two places at once, and I choose to be here with you and Charlie.”
“I know, and I love you for that. But I choose Chicago.”
“What?”
“I want to go with you. The fact that you’d give that up, just because I’m neurotic and afraid of commitment . . . well, that tells me I’ve got the best kind of man there is. And I want us to go and chase your dream . . . together.”
“Together?” His eyes brightened with hope. “You mean you’ll live with me?”
I took in a deep breath and let it out. “Yes. And if you still want to get engaged . . .”
“If?”
He reached into his pocket and took out a small, black box.
“Oh my God, are you serious?” I covered my mouth with my hands.
“I keep it on me all the time just in case you’re in a yes mood.” He got down on one knee and opened the box. “It’s not much, because as you know . . . I’m broke. But that appears to be changing soon, so we’ll get you a new one.”
I managed to focus on the delicate, plain white gold band through my tears. “We will not. This one is absolutely perfect.”
“Is that a yes?”
“It’s a hell yes.”
His eyes glistened as he took the ring from the box and slipped it onto my finger. He wrapped his arms around my waist as he stood, spinning me in a circle.
“When will you marry me?” he asked softly. “Soon?”
“The first moment you’ll have me,” I said, repeating the words he’d said to me in the delivery room.
“I love you, Charlotte.”
I kissed him and closed my eyes, tears spilling over. “I love you, too. All these years I’ve been lost, but I didn’t even know it until I found you.”
He squinted at something over my shoulder. “Is that Liam? With Charlie?”
My brother was jogging around my parked car, Charlie’s car seat carrier resting in his outstretched arms so he could look into his face. Liam was making every eyebrow-raised, open-mouthed expression of glee he could come up with in an effort to make his nephew stop crying.
“He looks frantic,” Bennett said, clearly amused.
“He thinks Charlie crying is a life-or-death situation.”
“So we should ask him to babysit more, then.”
I laughed and looked down at my ring, which glinted in the sunlight. “That would be fitting revenge, yes. But you should know he’s sorry. This whole thing . . . it was him who showed me how . . . challenging I was being.”
“Challenging, huh? Is that what we’re calling it now?”
I met his warm brown eyes. “Only if we want to get laid regularly.”
He nodded and kissed my brow. “Challenging it is.”
BRENDA ROTHERT LIVES IN CENTRAL Illinois with her husband and three sons. She was a daily print journalist for nine years, during which time she enjoyed writing a wide range of stories.
These days Brenda writes New Adult Romance in the Contemporary and Dystopian genres. She loves to hear from readers.
Visit Brenda Rothert at www.brendarothert.com.
Thank you for reading Bennett! If you enjoyed it, I would greatly appreciate a review at the site you purchased it from.
In case you aren’t aware, the On the Line series is a spinoff from my Fire on Ice series. On the Line is a concurrent series, so all three stories—Killian, Bennett and Liam—are happening at the same time. Liam will release in late 2016.
Would you like to know when my next book is available? You can sign up for my new release e-mail list at Newsletter or like my Facebook page at Facebook.
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You’ve just read Bennett.
You may also like:
Standalone books
Unspoken
Barely Breathing
Lockhart Brothers
Deep Down
In Deep
On the Line Series
Killian
Fire on Ice Series
Bound
Captive
Edge
Drive
Release
Now Series
Now and Then
Now and Again
Now and Forever
I hope you enjoy those as well!
I’m surrounded by a truly amazing team. I couldn’t do what I do without them. Many people helped shape the story I had in my head for Bennett and Charlotte into what it is.
Beta readers Chelle Northcutt, Janett Gomez, Chantal Gemperle and Michelle Tan read this story mostly one chapter at a time. Their encouragement, enthusiasm and honesty keep me going. I’m enormously grateful to these four dear friends.
Editor Lisa Hollett put the perfect polish on this story. She kept it mine but helped make it better. She also taught me how to spell ball sac. It’s hard to find the words to say thank you for that.
Copy Editor Taylor Bellitto rocked the copy edit of this book. She truly went the extra mile to make sure we got this book as clean as it could be.
Photographer Sara Eirew stepped in on short notice to redesign the covers for the On the Line series. She’s amazing to work with and her beautiful designs reinvigorated me as I was approaching the finish line of this book.
Photographer Golden Czermak, also known as FuriousFotog, took the cover photo on this book. I adore Golden and his commitment to excellence. He has an eye like no one else.
Model Ryan McNulty has always been Bennett to me. He’s been incredibly supportive of this book and I’m so grateful.
Christine Borgford is the best formatter I could ask for. She is dedicated, kind and generous. It means everything to have her in my corner.
My publicist Jessica Estep of Inkslinger PR deserves a huge hug for her hard work promoting Bennett. She has all the ideas and all the organization. Love her to bits.
Pam Carrion and Pam Million help keep me afloat and I adore them. Their help allows me to focus on writing. Plus, my graphics look like a child’s stick figure drawing compared to Pam Carrion’s gorgeous ones.
My author friends mean so much to me, on this book and every other one. GP Ching, Stephanie Reid, Katrina Kirkpatrick and Karla Sorensen keep me sane. Special thanks to Sawyer Bennett for being such a kind, gracious friend who believes there’s room for all of us to succeed.
Denise Milano Sprung helped me plot this book more than a year ago. Her friendship and willingness to share her amazing ideas mean so much to me. It’s my privilege to support The Keith Milano Memorial Fund at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in honor of Denise’s brother Keith. He lives on in the work she does and lives are changed by the money she raises for mental health awareness.
The biggest thanks go to my husband and boys. I love you and it means everything to be chasing my dream with you guys beside me.
Bennett (On the Line Book 2) Page 20
