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Dayna looked as though she might fight the switch in topic, but then she exhaled heavily and replied, “He’s fine.” Her lips hitched up slightly as she added, “He’s loving the ball pit I bought him.”
Deke remained silent as she chatted away about the toddler, so much love shining in her eyes. It didn’t surprise him that she’d bonded so tightly to the kid. Much like Deke, she didn’t let many people get close to her and was reserved with most. But if she considered you one of hers to protect or take care of, she would give as much of herself to you as you needed.
She blew out a breath, making some of her curls flutter. “It’s going to hurt to leave him.”
Deke lifted his shoulders. “So stay.”
She blinked. “What?”
He downed the last of his juice and then set his glass on the chestnut coffee table in front of him. “If it’ll hurt you that much to leave, stay with him. You can’t tell me you haven’t considered it. Anyone in your situation would.”
A line dented her brow. “I don’t know how I should feel about you encouraging me to stay here. I would have thought you wouldn’t want that.”
“We were friends before we were anything else, Dayna. I want you to do what’s best for you, not for me. I don’t think you returning would be best for you. I think you’d just be sad and wish you could go back. Am I wrong?”
Pulling her arms close to her body, she let her head drop forward. “I don’t know.” The words were soft. Quiet. Pained.
“If the reason you’re so conflicted is that you feel you owe it to me to come back, you don’t.”
After a few moments, she lifted her head and bit down on her lower lip. “Maybe you could come out here.”
He held back a sigh. “We’ve talked about this before.”
“You could be an enforcer here once you got settled and won the Alpha’s trust.”
“It’s not just about my position.” She knew that already. “I don’t want to relocate. I don’t want to leave my family any more than you want to leave yours. I’ve told you this many times.”
Her face hardened. “So I have to be the one who gives everything up?”
Annoyance flared through him. “You don’t have to give up anything. I’m not insisting that you come back. I never did.” Not even when he’d wished she would.
The anger drained out of her, and her shoulders slumped. “I know, I know. I don’t think I’d have been so patient in your shoes. I’m sorry for snapping at you. I’m upset about other things. My great-uncle’s mate slipped away in her sleep yesterday. I knew she would, and we weren’t close or anything, but it was still hard.”
Not good with stuff like this, Deke could only think to say, “I’m sorry.”
“She lived a long, fulfilling life. They both did. That makes it easier.” Her head turned to the side as someone spoke in the background, the words muffled. Dayna turned back to him. “I have to go.”
Deke gave a slow nod. “Take care.”
“You, too.” She smiled and then ended the call.
Puffing out a breath, he let his head fall back. He’d been on the verge of telling her to stay with Evan; that there was no point in her coming home if she was only doing so for Deke. But he’d held back the words, not wanting to kick her while she was already down. He’d give it a few weeks, and then he’d tell her.
He didn’t believe she’d be devastated by his decision, but it was bound to sting. He hoped she didn’t ask him to reconsider, because he couldn’t. More, he shouldn’t. Not when another woman constantly invaded his thoughts.
He hadn’t seen Bailey since the day he’d discovered the profile. He’d been invited to a movie night at the Alphas’ place that evening, but he’d declined the invitation, needing a little space from the mamba. He’d thought it would help prolong the break he was having from the relentless arousal, but it hadn’t. Maybe because his thoughts kept dancing back to that evening he’d blown his load all over her after feeling her come around his fingers.
Cursing his cock for throbbing at the memory, Deke righted his head and stood, determined to put Bailey out of his mind … and utterly clueless as to why such a thing couldn’t be simple.
“Bailey, if you’re drawing boobs on that board again I swear …”
Turning the smoothie menu toward her Alpha female, Bailey said, “I only did a few decorative swirls this time.”
“Why bother?” asked Havana.
“Why not bother? They look pretty.”
There was a loud twang followed by a “Shit, sorry.” Seeing that one of the guys working out had lost control of a resistance band and sent it sailing through the air toward another of the rec center’s regulars, Bailey winced. “I did that to a guy once.”
