Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 115833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
“Damn right.” I smirked.
“So this woman bruised your ego. Are you sure that is not why you want her? So you can prove to yourself that you can get her? That you have still got it, as you Americans like to say?” Javier asked as Ken tossed a basketball to him.
“First of all, that is not how we say that shit.”
Javier’s laugh filled the gym.
“Secondly, it’s just like I told you. I care about her. She’s rare, and I think she deserves the best.”
“Interesting you say that,” he said.
“How’s that?” I asked, scooping up a ball from the rack. I moved to the spot Ken was pointing at.
“Because if she deserves the best, will you be capable of giving that to her?”
I stared at Javier as his words sank to my stomach.
Damn. That was a good question.
I wasn’t the best guy, and I’d made my mistakes. I had a cloudy reputation as some bachelor athlete, and I couldn’t say some of the rumors about me weren’t true. I’d had my fun, but those days were behind me.
Now I could see why Davina was hesitant. She probably didn’t think I was serious—or maybe she thought I was chasing her for one thing.
I realized that day what went wrong. She didn’t trust me worth a damn. And the worst part about the realization was that I had no clue how to fix it.
TWENTY-SEVEN
DEKE
After I hopped out of the shower and threw on a pair of basketball shorts, I went to the kitchen to warm up the lunch my personal chef had delivered earlier.
It wasn’t until I’d popped a slice of asparagus into my mouth that my phone rang on the counter.
MA
I sighed, setting my fork down with a soft clatter.
“What’s up, Ma?” I answered, tapping the Speakerphone button.
“Deke, honey, how are you?” My mother’s voice was loud and vibrant. “I haven’t heard from you in a while. Everything okay?”
I shoveled some brown rice into my mouth and garbled out, “Everything’s fine.”
“You sure? It isn’t like you to not call me at least once a week. I mean, I would call you, but I know you’ve been busy.”
“Yeah, it’s fine, Ma. I have been busy. It’s why I haven’t been able to call.”
“Hmm.” It was a noise of disapproval, which meant she had more to say and I needed to coax it out of her.
I stood up from the barstool and walked toward the window with a sigh. “What’s up, Mama?”
“Well, it’s just that Camille told me you were at her house, and I recalled you saying you were going to stop by, but you never did. It would’ve been nice to see my son while he was in town.”
“I had to get back for training.”
“Declan. Do not lie to me,” she countered, her voice stern.
I sighed and walked to the couch to sit. Zeke sat up on his pillow and cocked his head at me. “Camille told me she saw your ex-husband at your house.”
“Oh, good Lord,” she muttered.
“That’s why I didn’t go. Because if I would’ve swung by and he was there, I’m positive I would’ve lost my cool. And the reason I haven’t called you is because I’m not good at faking how I feel about him, like my sisters can, and I didn’t want to ruin your mood.”
“Deke, baby. That situation is not what you think it is.”
“No? So why was he there, Ma?”
“Look, I ran into him at the grocery store a few days before that and invited him to come over. He’d asked me to join him for lunch one day, but I turned it down. I felt guilty seeing him at the store, all run down and tired looking, so I invited him over. He comes around every couple of days or so to make little repairs around the house and to catch up. That’s all.”
“Oh, is that all? You sure?”
“Declan, I know you don’t want to believe it, but he is changing, okay? Holding on to a grudge like this will only make you bitter.”
“Ma, you know I don’t like when you call me by my real name.”
“I don’t care! That’s the name I gave you and the name on your birth certificate. You have to get over what happened, Declan! You have to let it go! He can’t do those things to you anymore!”
I shot off the couch. “Get over what happened? Ma, he was literally beating your ass and mine every day until he got arrested!”
“Don’t you curse at me,” she scolded. If she were with me in person, she’d probably have slapped me upside the head.
I closed my eyes for a moment, breathing in through my nostrils and then exhaling. “Listen, I’m sorry. Okay? I’m sorry. You may have forgiven him, Mama, but I can’t. So if you decide to get closer to him or to let him back in, I won’t act like I’m okay with it and I won’t come by the house.”