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“I heard what you said.”
“No, sweet pea. You heard the tail end of a conversation. The one where I had already made up my mind that you were going to be mine. Hell, I was probably already half in love with you but too blind to see it.”
Before she can reply, there’s a knock on the door. I stand and go to answer it, but it’s not who I was expecting. Instead, I find Cameron standing there with his hands shoved in his pockets.
“Hey,” I greet and step back, letting him in.
“I ran into Peyton in the lobby. She told me what happened.” He goes to sit on the bed next to Parker and pulls her into a hug. “You okay?” he asks her.
“No.” Her voice cracks, and the fact he’s comforting her and I’m not has me going crazy. I begin to pace the room. All I want to do is hold her and tell her what she means to me. I just want this all to go away.
“Do you want me to ask him to leave?” he asks, just as another knock sounds at the door.
I rush to open it, desperate for it to be the guys. I need this shit handled, and I need to hold her. Thankfully, when I pull open the door, all four of my teammates are standing there. “Get in here,” I say, more forcefully than I probably should. When Rogers passes, I shoulder check him and glare, daring him with my eyes to fucking start something with me.
“Rogers, let’s start with you,” I seethe. “Can you please tell the love of my life what you heard that day?” I cross my arms over my chest.
“What I recorded is all that I heard. I got the tail end of the conversation, but it’s obvious what was going on.” He smirks.
I keep my arms crossed to prevent from knocking this fucker on his ass. I turn to Wade, and he nods.
“Parker?” he asks. She lifts her head, and he holds his hand out for her. “I’m Wade Hoffman. I was traded to the Blaze with Holden.” He motions to Tucker and Sonny. “We all were.”
She nods and shakes his hand, her manners winning out.
“I’m not here to sing his praises. I’ve played ball with him since he was drafted to the Tomahawks, and he’s never been one to settle down, instead choosing, uh, variety,” he says, and I glare at him.
How in the fuck is this helping me?
“Anyway,” he says, ignoring my glare, “we were all giving him a hard time because the moment you walked into the room, he couldn’t take his eyes off you. We were razzing him, which is what we do, and Sonny said he sensed a wager. We knew he was into you, and it was wrong of us to tease him with a bet. It’s just what we do.” He looks down at the floor.
“What did you say?” Cameron asks.
He and I might be friends, but she’s his family. “Wade? Sonny? Tucker? I’ve already told her what I said. I want her to hear it from you.”
“I can’t really remember exactly,” Tucker speaks up. “Something about you being better than a bet,” he says directly to Parker. “He said no deal but then proceeded to tell us something about guaranteeing that you would be his.”
“Thanks, guys,” I say, my voice tight with fear that having them come here wasn’t enough. One by one, they file out of the room, and even Rogers has the decency to look ashamed of what he did. Once the door closes behind them, I slouch against the wall. My heart is cracking wide open, bleeding on the carpet. Fear like I’ve never known grips at my chest as the thought of losing her becomes a real possibility.
“Parker?” Cameron says softly. “Tell me what you want me to do. Do you want me to kick him out? Kick his ass? You name it, and it’s done.”
I can’t even be mad at him for it. I like knowing she has him in her corner. Cameron is a stand-up guy.
“No, I’m okay. We need to talk,” she says. Her eyes stay trained on him, and I’m not going to lie, I’m scared as hell that she’s going to tell me to go to hell.
“All right. Well, the team is staying here, which I’m sure you know, so if you need me, just call.”
“Thanks, Cam.”
“Anytime.” He stands, kisses the top of her head, and walks away. He stops next to me and squeezes my shoulder. “Fight for her,” he says, low enough for only me to hear.
“Always.” I nod. I’ll never stop fighting for her. For us.
The door closes with an audible click, and the sound echoes throughout the room. I can’t take it any longer. I walk to where she sits on the bed and drop to my knees. I wrap my arms around her waist and bury my face in her lap. At first, she doesn’t move a muscle, and I can feel the pain as my heart shatters in my chest. I swallow the lump forming in my throat. I don’t know how I’m going to walk away from her.
