AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Surprising,” Gareth said, sipping his drink.
“Surprising or disappointing?” Crossland asked, flashing Gareth a challenging look.
“Seeing Doyle every month is more than enough,” Gareth said.
“Ah, Doyle yes, but what about his delightful daughter?” Crossland hedged, and I cocked a brow at him. I loved the guy, but goddamn he loved to stick his foot in his mouth.
Gareth lingered behind his drink, eyes contemplative before he met Crossland’s amused, shit-eating grin with a lethal look. “I don’t care for any of the O’Briens,” he said. “But I’d take Serenity over her father any day.”
“I bet you would,” Cross said.
“Why isn’t Alex here?” Gareth asked, tossing the spotlight on me.
“Nice deflection,” I said, and he shrugged. “She had a conference call with the league commissioner today and then she’s volunteering at the shelter. I’m seeing her later.”
And I couldn’t fucking wait.
Not only because I loved seeing her, but because I had a massive surprise for her. I hoped she’d like it…I thought she would, but I couldn’t stop the nerves making my stomach hurt, either.
“How is that going?” Cross asked.
“I really like her,” Wes added his two cents before I could answer.
“She is super nice,” Brynn added.
“The girl can definitely hang,” Daisy added where she sat perched on Asher’s lap after he’d sat down. “I hope you bring her to the next poker game.”
“Yes, please,” Brynn agreed.
“He hasn’t even answered the question,” Asher pointed out, and I gave him a thankful nod, but laughed at the same time.
“We’re taking it slow,” I finally answered.
Slow emotionally, at least. There was nothing slow about us in the physical sense. Fucking hell, I couldn’t keep my hands off of her unless we were technically in one of her coaching sessions. Outside that? I was fucking starved for her and showed her that on a second-to-second basis.
“Slow?” Gareth asked. “You don’t normally operate that way.”
“Nothing about Alex and my…situation is normal,” I countered. The bet, our professional obligations, the chemistry. None of it was normal for me.
“I know,” Cross said. “You haven’t kept a woman around this long since your ex.”
A thick silence fell over the group, and I waved them off.
“It’s fine,” I assured them. They all wore equal looks of pity and just a hint of caution—like they were afraid the mere mentioning of my past would set me off.
And that was fair. It certainly had in the past, and I couldn’t guarantee it wouldn’t ever trigger me again, but working with Alex had changed the emotional reaction when I thought about it.
“Alex has helped me work through some dark shit,” I explained. “I know I could be a dick about that stuff,” I continued. “And I’m sorry. I’m working on it.”
“Holy shit,” Cross said. “You’re falling for her, aren’t you?”
I swallowed hard, shaking my head, outwardly denying what I couldn’t possibly acknowledge inwardly. “I don’t fall in love anymore, remember?”
It felt like a lie, but also at the same time didn’t. Because I remembered loving my ex, remembered proposing to her and remembered the pain that came when she betrayed me, but what I felt when I was with Alex? It was different than before, different from anything I’d ever felt. And I didn’t know if that was because we had an intense friendship coupled with a crackling chemistry we couldn’t deny, or if it was something more.
Something whispered in the back of my mind that I knew exactly what it was, but was too much of a coward to define it.
Either way, I couldn’t linger on it. Not when it would waste the time I had left with her—a couple of weeks if we stuck to her terms. And if she changed her mind and gave me more time? Then maybe I could take a closer look. Right now, I’d enjoy the pieces she gave me and not ruin it by trying to unpack it.
“So you’re saying I’m going to win the bet,” Gareth said, breaking the tension.
“I think you’ve already won,” I said. “I may as well give you—”
“Nope,” Crossland cut me off, wagging his finger at me. “Those aren’t the terms of the bet. You still have a month before the deadline. We’ll decide who won and who lost then.”
I laughed, shrugging. “Suit yourself,” I said, turning my attention back to the game. “I’ll have the check ready,” I said to Gareth, who smirked.
“You’re so sure she’s not going to fall for you?” Asher asked. “From the look of it at the gala, I’m not so sure.”
“Funny thing about Alex,” I said. “She’s a lot like me. Her past is riddled with a pile of shit. She’s worked through it, but it’s made her just as squeamish about love as me. Not just love, but anything long-term.”
“How do you feel about that?” Brynn asked.
“I respect it. Understand it probably more than anyone.”
