AllFreeNovel
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I lean into her familiar flowery scent and soft skin. With her, it feels so simple and safe. I want this. I want my music to be my own, not a hit that takes someone else to the top of the charts. I don’t need to be at the top. I just want to share my stories in hopes they will help someone else.
“And I hate to break it to you, toots, but people are already watching your every move.” She places Ax in my lap and pats my knee. “Now, let’s go find some shoes to set that dress off.”
I moan. “I have shoes.”
She gives me the eye that says arguing is pointless. “Get your buns moving. Just any shoes won’t do. The eye starts there, Andie, and travels up. You’re going to this party, and my granddaughter is going to look like she’s there to kick ass and take names.”
Chapter 26
SEAN
My hotel room is silent, except for the buzz of the fan kicking on. I’m immensely familiar with quiet solitude. I like it. For a long time after leaving the group home, all I wanted was my own space and silence. Tonight, though, I’m itching for a distraction.
Our afternoon game tomorrow requires us to be here the night before, but more time with the team makes these trading rumors harder to bear. I want to know if they have validity, and Rob hasn’t successfully pinpointed where they’re coming from. He’s hoping it’s just more of the fallout from the firestorm Morgan created. I’d like to put my GM on the spot, but Rob advises I sit tight and see what he can casually squeeze out, not stirring up any ideas that don’t exist.
My phone buzzes on the table beside me. Andie finally played a word. The smile creeping across my face at just the thought of her is dangerous. Thinking about Andie in any way other than my planning partner in this event will only hurt when it’s all over.
The problem is I can’t get sitting in her house, holding her baby, and listening to her hum and laugh out of my head. There hasn’t been a time, maybe besides with my brothers, where I’ve felt completely relaxed and comfortable. My growing attractionto her brings about thoughts and feelings I’ve never experienced before.
The private things Andie said to her mom that night are stuck in my head, and I can’t ignore them. I can’t get over that her husband didn’t know about Ax or that she had to drive herself to the hospital. That alone made me want to wrap my arms around her and hold her tight, knowing how terrifying all that must have been and how she faced it alone.
How her mom spoke to her makes anger spawn within me all over again. The more time I spend with Andie, the more I see what a kind and genuine person she is. She’s rare and special, and I’m concerned when this event is over, I won’t want to quit spending time with her.She’s like a ray of sunshine in my artificially lit world.
While I stare at the Words board, trying to figure out my next play, Shane’s name pops up, and I answer. “What’s up, bro?”
“You just going to leave me hanging with the lady troubles?” His dry, grumbly tone is so familiar.
“You said to call Maggie.”
“You haven’t, so I assume that means you’re in even deeper shit than you want to admit to someone intelligent enough to recognize it.”Damn.I let that hang there because I’m pretty sure he’s right. “So out with it, or I’ll get Mark on the line, and he’ll just nag you until he pisses you off enough you’ll spill.”
I groan and rest my head back against the headboard. Saying anything out loud feels like admitting something I’m not sure I’m ready for.
Shane huffs. “I don’t have all day, so let me guess to get things moving. You’re developingfeelingsfor the woman you’re not actually sleeping with.”
“Shit, man. What’s happened to you? You sound like a woman.”
“I sleep next to one every night, and Liv is very sensitive. There’s lots of sharing of feelings.” He’s trying to sound annoyed, but I know he’s completely smitten with both ladies in his life.
I decide to try to carefully talk around this. “I don’t know if feelings are the right word. I like her. I like being around her. She’s…real, you know, and she couldn’t care less about who I am.”
“So what’s the problem?” Shane barks. “That can’t be it, or you wouldn’t sound like you’re in an interrogation room without a lawyer.”Why does he have to know me so well?“She’s beautiful. I’ve seen pictures, but I know it’s more than that. If that’s all you were interested in, you would’ve stayed with Morgan.” When I don’t say anything, he all but yells at me. “Spit it out, or I’m calling Mark.”
“Ugh. Fine. I like her…a lot. More than I should. She’s beautiful and smart and so incredibly talented it’s sick. She gives me more shit than I’ll ever know what to do with, and when I’m with her, I can just be me.” I pause, determining whether I want to tell him the next part. If it were Mark, he’d eat me alive, but I think Shane will get this. “She has a son. He’s tiny, and the other night, I held him on my chest for an hour. I didn’t hate it, man.”I liked it way more than I should.
I give him a chance to say something, but when he remains quiet, I say the last thing that keeps floating through my mind. “The more I know about her, the more I want to know, and I already have a very good idea that she might be the strongest woman I’ve ever met. And you and Mark and I…we know what it means to survive.”
I rub my head, feeling like a complete idiot waiting for him to respond. I wonder if the ridiculousness of it all has stunned my growly brother speechless.
When I’m ready to pull my phone away to make sure the line didn’t drop, he speaks.
“I’m going to tell you something that I wouldn’t tell anyone else, and if you ever repeat this, I will beat your ass.” He pauses, letting out a breath, and I wait patiently, needing this to help me.
“When you meet someone who makes you laugh and drives you absolute bat shit crazy. Someone who makes your whole world better just by being near them, and when they’re near, it takes every single ounce of your willpower to keep your hands off of them…That person who looks at you and sees nothing but the flawed person you are underneath and cares enough to stick around anyway because they think you’re worth it. When you find that person, you do whatever is necessary to pull them in tight and pray that they never let go. I don’t know anything, but I’m smart enough to know that feelings like that don’t come around more than once if we’re lucky.”
Well, shit.I let out a long breath. “I feel like I’m insane for even thinking about her when I have so many things I need to work out. Rob’s hearing rumors about a possible trade.”
“First of all, love isn’t convenient. It doesn’t wait for you to be ready or come wrapped up in a nice bow.” My tough-loving brother is back after that soft and sweet soliloquy. “Second, what the hell is this about a trade? Are the Tigers trading you? To whom?”
