Chapter 25

CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE

Trey adjustedthe towel London had wrapped around her damp hair. He pressed his bare chest to her silk-clad back before bringing his arms around her waist and meeting her gaze in the mirror.

“Have I told you how sexy that robe is on you?”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re just saying that because you want to get it off me.”

“Busted.” He inched a hand beneath the silk only to feel her stomach growl. “Mm. I need to get some food in you first, though. You’re going to need some more energy. I have plans for you later.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “I’ll go see what I can salvage from the dinner I ordered.”

“I can help.”

“You finish drying off. The microwave and I are good friends.”

After allowing his lips a leisurely tour of her neck, he headed for the kitchen.

“I poured you a glass of wine. Do you want me to grab it for you?”

“I’ll come get it,” she called. “One sec.”

Trey was humming that Harry Styles song when he rounded the corner into the kitchen. The scene that greeted him had the tune dying on his lips.

“Well, that explains all this food,” his father said with a laugh. “Guess that article about your clean eating must have been BS.” Jay shook the can of whipped cream.

But it wasn’t the sight of his father unexpectedly standing in the kitchen that had him stunned and suddenly furious. It was the woman who was caressing Jay’s face.

“Mom?!”

For once, Trey’s innate reflexes failed him. He should have intercepted London before she got an eyeful of Kim and Jay locked in an embrace.

“Whoa,” Jay exclaimed. “That’s not Bree Moynihan.”

“London?” Kim went deathly pale.

“I—wha—I—” London’s voice trembled along with her body.

Trey draped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close to him. “What the hell is going on here?”

The color had returned to Kim’s face. Lots of it. Her eyes narrowed to slits as she aimed a glower in Trey’s direction. “Certainly not what is going on here.” She gestured to her daughter’s robe and Trey’s only clothing—low-riding joggers he was wearing commando.

He felt more than heard London’s soft whimper of frustration when the front door opened.

“Pizza’s here. And Kyle is happily enjoying a sleepover at my parent’s. We’ve got all night, just the three of us.”

Chuck Prince entered the kitchen to what had to be an assortment of perplexed gazes.

“Wow, this just gets more interesting by the moment,” Trey said, his tone the steely one he used on confrontational reporters.

“London?” Chuck looked from his stepdaughter, to his wife, and back to his stepdaughter again. “What are you doing here?”

“I’d ask the same of you, but I don’t think I want to know the answer anymore.”

“Oh, for crissake,” Jay shouted. “Can’t a dying man have a piece of deep-dish pizza without it turning into something scandalous?”

The kitchen was suddenly quiet. Trey rubbed his chest with his palm, trying to jumpstart his heart. Did Jay just say he was dying?

“Dad?” he croaked.

Jay sighed heavily.

Kim made soothing sounds while she rubbed Jay’s shoulder. Trey was amazed that he could feel it too, until he realized London was mimicking her mother’s actions on his own shoulder.

“We should go and let you two. . . catch up,” Kim said, softly. “Promise me you’ll make that call, though, Jay. I mean it.”

Jay gave her a half-hearted nod that seemed to appease her. She glanced over at her daughter. Some form of silent communication took place because London eventually nodded before stretching up on her toes and pressing a kiss to Trey’s cheek.

“I’m going to grab my stuff and head out with them,” she whispered. “Call me later.”

He was this close to begging her not to leave him, when he caught sight of the far side of Jay’s face. There was a bulky bandage covering his ear. “What the hell is going on with your face, Jay?”

His father headed for the fridge and pulled out a bottle of beer that hadn’t been there earlier. He gestured to a second one. Trey shook his head.

“Suit yourself.” Jay helped himself to a huge slice of the pizza Chuck left. “I’m not even going to bother asking if you want any of this.”

Trey sucked in a breath, trying to keep his temper in check. “Can we get to the point here, Jay? What happened to your ear?”

“The sun happened to it,” his father said around a mouthful of pizza. His eyes drifted shut. “Mm. They do not make pizza like this anywhere else in the world.”

An annoyed sound rumbled from Trey’s chest.

Jay chuckled. “You never did have a lot of patience. You get that from your mother.”

“Dammit, dad!”

“There’s no need to yell. I can still hear.”

Trey suddenly felt like a first-class jerk. Bullying his father never accomplished anything. Not with Jay’s chill demeanor. Case in point: The guy was downing a beer and slice of deep dish while discussing his own mortality as though they were talking about someone else.

Except they weren’t.

“Did you really just say you’re . . . dying?”

His father nodded as he finished chewing a mouthful of pizza. Trey waited in the charged silence while Jay drank from his beer.

“There’s really no easy way to say this. I have Stage Four melanoma. The doctors thought removing my ear would take care of it. It didn’t.”

Trey would have reached for Jay’s beer, but he was suddenly having trouble swallowing. None of this was making sense. His heart felt like it was hammering a hole through his chest. He couldn’t imagine a world without Jay in it. The man was barely fifty years old, dammit. He was handsome, vital, wealthy and had everything to live for. There was no way cancer was taking his father from him.

“Well, that’s just one doctor’s opinion.”

Jay chuckled. “That’s what makes you a winner on the field son, you never give up.”

“And you’re not giving up either!” Trey shouted.

His father turned his head toward the living room where a wall of windows showcased the Chicago skyline. “Not everything in life goes according to a game plan, Trey.” He sighed. “I’ve got appointments at MD Andersen next week. They’re conducting some drug trial the doctors in New York recommended.” His father shrugged. “Who knows? They’ve had good results so far.”

A wave of relief washed over Trey. It was so profound he had to sink down onto the stool or else he’d be on the floor. “That sounds promising.”

Jay’s eyes were determined when he looked back at Trey. “I don’t want you to get your hopes up. I’m only going because Kim will kick my ass if I don’t.”

And just like that, Trey was angry again. “Wow. Sure. By all means. Do it for Kim. A woman who’s happily married to someone else.” He shot up from his seat.

“Dammit, Trey!” His father slapped his palm on the stone countertop. “I’m trying to be a realist here. I’ve been living with this diagnosis for a few months now. I’ve done the research. And the math. There’s only a one in one hundred thousand chance that I’m not too late for the treatment to work.”

Trey slumped back onto the stool.

“And, I’m at peace with that,” Jay said. “It’s been a great ride. I was lucky to be born a good-looking dude with a silver spoon in his mouth, who literally sailed through life. Your grandfather was the one who made something of himself. Aside from a few yachting trophies, I have no real accomplishments to speak of.” He placed his hand over Trey’s. “Aside from you, of course.”

The lump in Trey’s throat threatened to choke him.

“I’m proud of the man you’ve become. No thanks to me.” Jay shook his head. “You’re so much like Pops, Trey. Driven to succeed at all costs. So much of life passed your grandfather by, thanks to his obsessive need to be the best. I’m really glad he’s finally found someone to share the everyday things with. Someone to walk through the rest of life with.”

“Does he know?”

His grandfather may be taciturn and gruff, but Trey and his dad were the only family Pops had. Trey worried his grandfather might take the news hard.

“He knows. I stopped in Italy to see the newlyweds before my surgery.” His smile was melancholy. “Pops is a different man with Olivia in his life. It makes me wonder what he would have been like had my mother’s death not broken his heart.” He studied his beer bottle as if it held the answers to the universe. “Olivia is good for him. I’m happy he’s got someone. You’ve made a good choice with London, too. She’s good people. A man in your position needs a woman who is level-headed.” He winked at Trey. “It doesn’t hurt that she’s easy on the eyes.”

Trey waved his father off. “London and I are just⁠—”

What?

He and London were just what?

“We’re just having a good time.” The words sounded a little hollow leaving his lips. “The season starts next weekend. She knows I don’t want anything complicated.”

The look of disappointment on his father’s face had Trey’s gut rolling.

“Does she, now?” Jay pulled his hand away. “That’s too bad.”

Trey snorted. “Says the man with four ex-wives.”

Jay twirled his beer bottle between his hands. “Yeah. My biggest regret in life will be whatever pain I caused all those women. Especially your mother. She was the best thing that ever happened to me. And I screwed it up. Literally.” His laugh lacked any real humor.

Jesus.Trey could have lived his entire life without having that rumor confirmed.

“All because I was a twenty-three-year-old horn dog who’d been overserved whisky.” His eyes were shiny. “It’s probably a good thing you avoid commitment. Because letting down your soulmate is more painful than any kind of cancer they could ever throw at me.”

* * *

“You and Ihave always told each other everything.” London’s mom said as she poured herself a second glass of wine.

She and Chuck had followed London back to Milwaukee. There wasn’t a hope in hell for London to avoid the conversation her mother insisted on having, so she invited them up to her place for late night sandwiches from one of her favorite clients, Between the Slices. Bennie had officiated at the wedding of the two women who owned the shop last summer. He and London enjoyed sandwiches on the house ever since.

“Except for anything about Trey,” her mom continued. “Then or now. Why is that?”

London stared at her mom, wide-eyed.

Then?

Her mother arched an eyebrow and nodded as though London had asked the question out loud.

“How long have you known?”

Her mom shrugged. “Since that summer.”

Of course, she had.

Would her freshman year in college not have sucked so badly had she confided in her mom? Shame clogged her throat. Except her mother had been a little distracted with Trey’s dad at the time. And that hadn’t helped London’s woes.

She refilled her own glass. “The same could be said of you and Jay. Why is that, Mother?”

“Wow. It’s ‘Mother’ tonight. Alright. My friendship with Jay has never been a secret. And for the past decade, it’s been just that. A friendship.” She quirked an eyebrow. “I wasn’t exactly picking up those same vibes between you and Trey this evening.”

Getting caught by one’s mother moments after “doing the deed” in the shower was embarrassing at any age. Still, London powered through. “We’re friends, too.” She lifted her glass to her lips. “Friends with benefits,” she murmured before taking a healthy sip.

Her mom worked hard to hide the disappointment in her eyes, but London glimpsed it anyway.

“It’s not that big of a deal,” she added, her tone a tad defensive. “Lots of people enjoy those kinds of relationships.”

Her mother’s expression softened. “Yes. They do. It’s very progressive.”

She waited for her mother to add more. When she didn’t, London’s hackles went up.

“But?” she demanded.

“No buts.” Her mother shook her head.

London eyed her quizzically. Her mom glanced over at Chuck who was snoring quietly in his leather chair. The Timbers’ baseball game droned on in hushed tones in the background. Turning back to London, she braced her elbows on the kitchen island and leaned in. Her eyes danced with a mischievous look.

“If he’s anything like his father, those benefits are out of this world,” she whispered.

“Mom!”

“Hey, every woman should be so lucky to experience those—” she made air quotes with her fingers “—benefits. But there’s more to relationships than that.” She glanced back over at her husband and smiled fondly. “And one day you’ll find someone who satisfies your needs in more than one way. Someone you can count on not to let you down.”

London had lost count of the number of “ways” Trey had satisfied her needs these past few days. Not that she was spilling that tea with her mom. Her flushed cheeks likely gave her away anyway.

“I’m not really looking for anything permanent right now, Mom.”

Or ever.

“Of course not. You’ve got big things happening in your life. A move. A fascinating new career. You have no time for anything more than ‘benefits.’”

Her mom’s expression didn’t match her words, however.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Her mom linked her fingers with London’s. “I just want you to keep an open mind. Not every man is going to let you down. I promise. Would it hurt to give Trey a chance?”

London nearly choked on her wine. “Are you kidding me? I thought you’d be thrilled things between me and Trey aren’t serious.”

“I know. Even I think I sound crazy. But the way he looks at you. . .” She shrugged. “Besides, Trey is not his father.”

“Wow. That’s a ringing endorsement.”

“They are both good men in their own way. Jay’s issue is he wants a relationship desperately. Except he can’t commit to anyone because he’s still madly in love with his first wife.”

This was news to London. “Seriously? That’s kind of sad. Especially now.”

Her mother and Chuck had filled her in on Jay’s cancer diagnosis. She worried how the news would impact Trey. He and his father seemed as opposite as night and day. That didn’t mean they didn’t love each other, though. London grew up missing a father she’d never met—right up until she found out what a jerk he was. Losing someone after having them there for thirty years would certainly hurt.

“Mm,” her mom continued. “Trey, on the other hand, seems to me to be a lot like you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked before realizing she really didn’t want to hear the answer.

“It means I don’t think either one of you know what you really want.”

London groaned at her mother and opened the freezer for some ice cream therapy, only to remember she’d sacrificed it for multiple orgasms the other day. She turned and rested her back against the fridge.

“You’re way off base, Doctor Kim. Both of us know exactly what we really want. Our careers come first,” she announced as she crossed her arms over her chest. “And, before you ask, yes, we’ve both been very upfront with each other about it.” An inexplicable lump formed in her throat. “Trey’s one and only love is football. And I’m finally getting the chance at the job I’ve always dreamed about. The timing never seems to be right for us. I’m fairly certain the universe is trying to tell us friends with benefits is all we’re ever going to be.”

They stared each other down before her mom gave her a half-hearted nod and looked away.

“Well, I’m glad you’re both being mature about this. It’ll makes things easier to end when you move, I guess.”

Her mother’s cellphone vibrated against the countertop.

“It’s Kyle.” Her mom grinned. “He probably wants to know why his father stopped texting him about the game.” She put the phone to her ear and strode into the living room. “Hi, sweetheart. Having fun?”

It’ll make things easier to end when you move.

London corked the bottle of wine and put it back into the fridge. Did things have to end when she moved? She’d initially assumed they would, but the distance hadn’t been an issue this past week. Why couldn’t they continue to be “friends with benefits” while living in different cities? Parts of her did a high five just considering it. She ignored the fact that neither her brain nor her heart joined in.