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“I need you bonding with the guys. They all respect your game, but the team needs more. Especially now. We need you to build those relationships. When it’s your turn to set the tone in this locker room, you need their buy-in. Trust me. It makes everything easier. You’re a silent motherfucker with a killer work ethic. We’re gonna need you to put yourself out there more. With the guys. With the press.”
“Yeah... I get it,” I grumble. “Doesn’t mean I like the sound of it though. I fucking hate the dog and pony show. I’m not the guy who’s ever gonna want to sit down for the post-game press.”
“Well, you better get used to it.” He picks up the folded jerseys I hadn’t noticed sitting in my locker before now. “Now get moving so I can make the announcement to the guys. I need to get home in time for my daughter’s soccer game.”
Alternate captain.
Well, I’ll be damned.
Idecide to swing by Sweet Temptations on my way home and grab cupcakes for Kerrigan and Bellamy and order a coffee for Everly while I’m there. According to that woman, she runs on caffeine, and I’m pretty sure she still at Le Désir .
An older woman behind the register smiles when she hands me the coffee. “That’s a very specific coffee order, Mr. Wilder.”
Damn small town. Everyone knows your name. “It’s for a very specific girl... if she’s still at work.”
“She’s still there.” Her smile grows. “Have a nice night.”
Small. Fucking. Town.
The bells above the door in the lingerie shop chime when I walk in, and a petite brunette looks up from a rack of sheer bras. “Hi. Welcome to Le Désir. Can I help you find something today?”
“Uh... I was hoping to find Everly,” I half mumble, caught off guard for the second time in just a few minutes.
The woman by the rack hides her laughter at my obvious discomfort. “Can’t say I have one of those for sale.”
“Hey, Aunt Carys...” Everly walks out from a back room, holding up two pairs of red lacy panties with thick satin ribbons. I’d like to see them on her, just so I can untie them with my teeth.
I angle my body behind a rack of robes, so they don’t see the effect the sight of this woman has on me.
“There’s someone here to see you, Everly,” the tiny brunette whispers something else I can’t hear, then takes the panties away from a frozen Everly. “I’m going to put these away. You can get out of here if you want. I’ll close up.”
She moves past Everly, who finally shakes off her surprise and blinks up at me with her beautiful eyes. “Thanks, Aunt Carys...” her voice trails off, and she runs her palms over her short black skirt, straightening it. “What are you doing here, Cross?”
I hold up the cup of coffee. “I stopped by Sweet Temptations on my way home and thought you might like a cup of coffee.”
“Thanks.” She steps forward, her long lashes fluttering behind black-rimmed glasses. That—combined with the black skirt, white blouse, black catholic-schoolgirl heels, and a blackvelvet bow holding up half her hair—has my cock so fucking hard, you could use it as a goddamned hockey stick.
“Come over to my house for dinner.” The words are out of my mouth before I even realize what I’m saying. I don’t bring people home. Not women. Not friends. Not anyone. My house. My family. My kids. They’re private.
“Tonight?” It sounds so innocent. “Like a second date?” She’s hesitant—like a deer caught in headlights.
“No... Not a date.” I run a hand over her hair and tug. “Just have dinner with me.”
My skittish girl chews her bottom lip as she contemplates my offer. “What about your kids?”
I tilt her head up to my face. “What about them?”
“What are they going to think?”
“Pretty sure Jax is going to cry because that’s all he’s done all week, and Kerrigan may try to get you to put on a tutu. She’s barely taken hers off. Not that I’d complain about seeing you in a tutu, Cinderella. Just saying... Anything past that, I’m not sure my kids will even care.”
She sighs, soft and sweet. “A tutu, huh? I could probably make that happen, you know.”
I wrap my arm around her waist and press closer. “I’ll save that for another day. I’m going to be dreaming about this sexy librarian way you look right now for fucking days.”
Everly licks her glossy pink lips, and my cock jumps in my pants. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah,” I groan as my lips graze hers on their way to her ear. “Say yes, Everly.”
