Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“Go. I’ll make sure Patrick and Susan are on board and then I’m going to take my pregame nap. And don’t step in to help if Annalise needs you. Let them see how much work it is.”
“Thanks again, Wes.” She touched my arm, grabbed her plate, and left the room.
Once again, I watched her retreating figure almost longingly.
I wanted her.
There was no doubt about that, but I couldn’t just press her up against the wall and fuck her the way I wanted to. Well, I could, and if I was lucky, someday I would, but not now. Not today. She probably needed it as much as I did and I was willing to bet it had been even longer since she’d gotten laid than it had been for me. I hadn’t been with anyone since before Ben and Lauren died, not even on road trips, and my balls were sporting a nice shade of blue these days. But that was beside the point.
We hadn’t talked about it in any detail, but we were both resolute in our desire to keep custody of the kids. Patrick and Susan were too old to start over with babies, whether they wanted to admit it or not. Could they do it? Probably. But why? Hadley and I were younger and had the energy and resources to give them the kind of life Ben and Lauren would have wanted. Not that Patrick and Susan wouldn’t take care of them, but Patrick would be in his sixties by the time Benny was ready to learn how to ice-skate, play baseball, whatever. It was a complicated issue because plenty of grandparents wound up raising their grandchildren, but that wasn’t what Ben and Lauren wanted or they would have left custody to them.
I went upstairs to Annalise’s room where Susan was on the floor playing Barbies with her while Patrick sat in the nearby rocking chair holding Benny, who was squirming and whining to get on the floor. He was learning to crawl and liked to scoot around on his stomach. Patrick didn’t know that, though, and I wasn’t going to tell him.
“Hadley and I were talking,” I said to them, pretending not to notice Patrick’s discomfort. “We know you want to spend time with the kids so she’s coming to the game tonight and then a group of us are going out for a late dinner. Are you guys okay taking care of the kids?”
“Of course we are.” Susan looked up. “They’re going to be living with us soon anyway.”
I chose not to engage and merely smiled. “We’ll see, I guess. But yeah, it’ll be a great opportunity for you to spend time with them.”
“We have to watch the game on TV, Grandma,” Annalise told her. “Just like I used to do with Mommy.”
Susan looked startled but then nodded curtly. “You can’t stay up that late. You have to go to bed, young lady.”
“But Mommy always lets me watch the first period!” Annalise protested.
I walked out just as she burst into tears.
We notched another win so we were in high spirits as we left the locker room to head to the family lounge, where wives, girlfriends, children, and guests waited for us after home games. I couldn’t explain the excitement in my gut, knowing Hadley was there with the others, but the minute I stepped into the room her eyes found mine.
She looked adorable tonight in skintight jeans, a jersey with Ben’s number, and her dark hair curled and tumbling just below her shoulders. When she smiled at me, I forgot all about the impending lawsuit, how Benny never slept, and the way Hadley busted my balls all the time. Mostly, I wanted to walk over to her and kiss those sweet lips of hers and let every single guy on the team know she was off-limits. Because more than one was eyeing her, especially the new guys who’d never met her.
I settled for walking over and kissing her on the cheek. “Hey.”
“You guys looked awesome out there,” she said. “It’s been ages since I’ve been to a game. Thank you for inviting me tonight.”
“Anytime.”
“Who’s this?” One of my teammates asked, coming over to join us and holding out his hand to Hadley. “I’m Michael Boone but my friends call me Boone.”
“Nice to meet you.” Hadley seemed a little startled at Boone’s overt interest. “I’m Hadley Ellis. I was Lauren Whitmer’s best friend.”
“Oh.” His eyes rounded. “Wow. I didn’t know that was you. Nice to meet you, though. Welcome to the Mavericks family.”
“Thanks?” She watched him hurry in the other direction and then cut her eyes to me. “What did you tell him about me that made him run off like that?”
“Nothing.” I laughed. “I swear. I think he was looking for a hookup and when he realized that wasn’t going to happen with the woman I’m raising Ben’s kids with, he took off. The youngsters have no finesse.”