Chapter 26

Eliza

Steve and I spent all day in bed yesterday, partially to recover from the red-eye home and partially because Steve made it his mission to hear me moan his name multiple times in a row.

The warmth emanating from his body is overheating me now. I pull away, and he tugs me in closer. “I’m cold.” His fingers begin to explore my hips. “You’re so soft.”

I moan in response. Every nerve is in overdrive. I’ve lost count of the number of orgasms, and I know I’m going to be sore for a while. Rolling over, I face him. He’s all smile, and there’s the twinkle in his eyes that I love so much. It means he’s up to naughty no good, and that’s always fun.

“I think you know you’re making me wet right now.” I bring my hand up his leg. “And I bet you’re pretty hard, aren’t you?” I pull myself on top of him, my legs framing his hips. I kiss down his chiseled chest while grinding my wet crotch on his hard rod.

“Don’t stop doing that,” he groans.

I run my nails behind me and between his legs. Steve curses under his breath. When I reach his balls, I go straight to kissing and licking, still not touching his throbbing cock. Steve shakes his head, smiling at my teasing. I wink at him in response.

Finally, I run my tongue up his shaft. I go to the side and repeat the action, getting reacquainted with his cock.

He growls. “Oh fuck me! C’mon, quit teasing!” Steve rolls me on my back and positions himself between my legs. Stroking himself, he watches me as he slides our last condom on. “I’ve never wanted to do this with anyone else like I want to with you. You’re my energizer bunny.”

He holds my ankles for balance and thrusts into me repeatedly, hard and fast. The squishy sounds are punctuated by the slap of our bodies colliding.

I begin to strum my clit. Every nerve in my body is on a collision course with an amazing climax.

“Now, Eliza. Come for me now,” he commands.

The cork pops, and I see stars. Steve is right behind me, groaning my name. He collapses after a moment, and we’re both breathing heavily in our orgasmic haze.

“How does it get better and better?” he asks between breaths.

I smile at him as my cell phone pings. I groan. The real world is reaching out, and it’s time to come out of hiding, unfortunately.

I find my phone on the nightstand.

Dad: Dinner at our house, 4 p.m. with Steve

I look over at Steve. “My father is demanding that we arrive at the house today at four for dinner.”

“He wants me to join you, or you want me to join you?” he asks .

I turn the phone around so he can see the text. “Both of us.”

“Okay then.” He nods.

“I wonder what could be so urgent. Do you think Charles has said something? In the last two weeks, he’s cleared Dad and me, but that’s the only update he’s had so far.”

Steve shrugs. “Who knows.”

“I should touch base with Charles to find out if he’s talked to Dad. I don’t want to go into this blind.”

“That’s smart.”

Me: We’ll be there. Should we bring anything?

Dad: No

That’s not particularly helpful, so I text Laura next.

Me: Is Dad in a good mood or bad mood today?

Laura: He’s feeling better. He was unhappy Friday night about the game.

Me: Understandable. That was a mess. We’ll be there about four. Dad’s really milking this early dinner hour.

Laura: six happy faces on their side crying emojis.

Laura: He wants you to hang out with him. I think he’s getting bored with just us.

Me: What can I bring?

Laura: I will deny this completely, but if you were to bring him a good bottle of Irish whiskey, he’d be thrilled and think he’d gotten something over on me.

Me: We’ll come with a bottle of Redbreast. See you later today.

“Do you mind going to my dad’s?” I ask Steve.

“No, actually. Not at all.”

We slowly make it out of bed. I give Charles a call while Steve’s in the shower, and after I shower, I end up in a yellow, floral-print sundress. Steve wears golf shorts and a collared knit shirt.

“We look like we’re going to the country club,” I note.

He nods. “We can do that if you’d like.”

“Not really my scene. I suck at golf.”

“I can think of a lot of things I’d like you to suck, and a golf ball isn’t one of them.”

“You’re hilarious,” I deadpan.

That makes us both laugh. We climb into the Toyota 4Runner and start working our way through downtown and over Lions Gate Bridge.

“What did Charles say?”

“He said he hadn’t spoken to Dad yet because he doesn’t have anything new. It’s taking longer to find useful information than he thought. But he said I should talk to Dad about what’s going on.”

“Okay, do you want me there for that?”

I shrug. “We’ll play it by ear.”

When we finally arrive, Minni runs out and greets us. “You’re back,” she says, seeming surprised to see Steve.

“Is that okay?” he asks her.

“It depends.”

Steve looks at her, waiting.

“Do you give piggyback rides?”

“You’re too big for anyone to carry on their back,” I tell her.

But she looks at Steve, waiting for him to respond. Sometimes, I can see my father in her—he challenges and then waits silently.

“I might give you a piggyback, for the right price. ”

Her hands go to her hips. “What?”

He shrugs. “Depends on if you think—”

“Amelia Danielle Rourke, you are too big for a piggyback ride. No,” Laura calls from the front door.

“I almost had him,” Minni whines.

I hug Laura and put a bottle of cranberry juice in her hand. “I assume you have vodka?”

She smiles broadly. “I do, and I also have limes.”

“Then we’re set.”

We talk for a few minutes before my dad shuffles in. “There she is,” he says.

“Daddy.” I give him a tight hug, and despite the heat, he’s wearing wool pants and a wool cardigan over a collared shirt. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m sick and tired of people asking me how I’m feeling,” he grumbles.

I nod and slip him a bottle of bourbon in a paper bag. He feels the weight of it and smiles. He’s not mad anymore.

“Both of you come meet me on the patio,” he says. “I want to talk to you.”

“I’ll be right there.” I put three tumblers in Steve’s hands and send him off.

As soon as they’re out of earshot, and I confirm that Minni is busy painting and watching one of her shows, I turn to Laura. There are dark circles under her eyes, and her hair is a bit frizzy, not Laura like at all.

“How are you doing?”

She gives me a tight smile. “I’m great.”

“Okay, that’s what you tell people who barely know you, the ones who don’t see your exhaustion.”

Laura’s facade crumbles. “I’m so worried about him.”

“What are they telling you?”

“He’s doing great on the meds, and his blood count shows his immune system is responding.”

“That’s fantastic. Why are you worried?”

“Because it’s almost too easy. ”

I let that sink in a minute. This has been tough, and she doesn’t have anyone to share the burden with. “I understand exactly what you mean.”

“We’ve not been together long enough that I’m ready for him to die. I knew when we married, he would die before me, but I figured we’d have a few decades before that. He has more energy than most thirty-year-olds.”

I nod. “But he’s doing well,” I insist.

“He is, but he looks so frail, and he’s slowed down.”

“How is his mind?”

“Sharp, and I shouldn’t keep you,” she says, suddenly coming back to herself. “He was flipping angry watching the game on Friday night. The network didn’t even come back after the third quarter.”

“That’s no surprise. The team was not on their game. There was a mishap in the locker room, and it threw everyone off.”

“Well, go talk to him. I appreciate you checking on me. Maybe you and your mom can meet me for lunch one day this week.”

Internally, I cringe at the idea of being out of the office for two hours, not to mention managing Mom and Laura simultaneously, but I know she needs it. I’m sure Mom isn’t managing this well either.

When I nod, she hands me a drink, and I head out to the patio to find Dad.

The door is open, and I can hear my dad drilling Steve.

“What are you getting out of being involved with Elizabeth?” Dad presses.

I can smell cigar smoke, but I can’t tell where they are.

“I like her, probably a lot more than I should, and that’s all I need to get out of it. That’s the point of a relationship, right?”

“You do realize there’s no way I can hire you back next year if you’re still dating her.”

Steve is quiet a moment. “I checked, and there isn’t a no- fraternization policy. But if you don’t want to renew my contract, I have other options. I don’t do this for the money. I do this because I love the game, and I love working with athletes. But the Olympics will be here in a few years, and I’m always approached by those teams. You do what you need to do.”

“When do you get your trust fund?” Dad quizzes.

My ears perk up. We’ve never really discussed this. Not that it’s any of Dad’s business. Jeez…

“I got it at twenty-five, and it’s sitting in an account at the Royal Bank of Canada,” Steve says matter-of-factly. “Upon my father’s death, I’ll have more money than I know what to do with. But I’m sure you already knew that.”

My father is quiet a moment. “You know I told her she needed to be engaged to get the team,” he finally says, his voice different somehow.

I wish I could see Steve’s face, but I can’t.

“I wasn’t aware of that,” Steve counters smoothly. “Why would you do that? She’s worked her whole life in football to be close to you, and I know she has big plans for the team. Why would you do that to her?”

I lean in closer to hear his reason. Maybe it will finally make sense.

“Because the team is a black hole, and all I do is throw money into it. She’s too smart to waste her brain power on that team.”

“Shouldn’t she make that decision?”

Dad huffs. “I don’t know what you’re up to, but it’s no good. I don’t want you dating my daughter.”

“I care deeply about Eliza,” Steve says calmly. “I don’t understand why you can’t see that she deserves that from everyone in her life. I’ve always been cautious about women because they either wanted my money or the influence my name offers. Eliza has been in the same boat. We’re not sure what we are right now, but we’re enjoying ourselves, and I have nothing but respect for her. I would think that’s what’s important to you.”

My heart beats wildly. That’s a giant admission. I want to show Steve how much I appreciate all that he’s said, but maybe after I shake some sense into my dad.

Before my dad says something I won’t be able to forget, I walk outside. “What are you two talking about?”

Steve crosses to me with a smile. “You.”

I blush at his honesty. He’s my chief defender, and standing up to my dad like he did wins major points with me. But he does it from a place of calm and control. I need to do the same. Who knows how much of what he said he means.

“Did you tell Dad about what happened on Friday?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “I left that for you.”

I take a deep pull on my drink. “Start from the beginning. I wasn’t in the locker room at first, so tell him how it all began.”

Steve looks at my dad. “We’d been at the stadium for a short time. The team was getting dressed for warmups when Nathan Cotton—and I was told this; I didn’t witness this part. Cotton confronted Pelletier for sleeping with his girlfriend. He got a typical response, and that led to a fight, but Pelletier threw the first punch.”

Dad takes a puff of his cigar.

Then Steve tells him about Pelletier kicking the helmet.

“Wait, didn’t Rhymes do that before?” Dad asks.

Steve nods. “I’m guessing that’s where he got the idea. Only he did it better than Rhymes.”

Dad sighs. “How bad is the injury?”

“It’s a clean break. We immobilized the shoulder, and as long as it heals okay, we won’t have to do surgery.”

“Why didn’t he go back in the game?” Dad presses.

“Because of the twenty-five-thousand dollar fine for drugging to mask pain,” I inform him. “And until the X-ray, we weren’t certain how severe the injury was.”

Dad looks at me like I’m stupid .

“We didn’t have anyone on the bench, but Jerome Standing on my team—he’s one of the physical therapists—was a kicker in university at McGill. So he went in on a one-day contract.”

Dad looks at Steve. “That was smart thinking.”

I nod. “It worked out, but the problem wasn’t that. It was Cotton.”

“I leave recruiting and retention to Roy.”

Now, it’s finally time. I take a deep breath. “That’s what I thought you’d say.” I put my empty glass down on the small teak side table. “I’ve engaged Charles to look into how Rhymes, Cotton, and Pelletier came to the Tigers. Darius had them all on his list of players we shouldn’t hire, and Coach Roy has told me he was surprised to find out they were on the team. Charles is looking for a money trail, to start with. But he tells me you’ve been cleared.”

Dad’s brows furrow. “You engaged Charles?”

I sit up, ready to defend my decision. “Was I not supposed to?”

“I’m just surprised. Charles isn’t one of your favorite people.”

I sigh. “I know he has your best interests at heart. Knowing that you send him after me to get information you could just ask me for upsets me, but that doesn’t mean he’s not good at his job. If there’s anyone in the world you can trust, Dad, it’s the people who are here with you right now.”

He blows out a bellow of air. “And I trust your mother.”

“Fine, but someone gave the go-ahead to sign these three guys, and as a result, they’re screwing up our season.”

Next, I tell Dad about the offers two other CFL teams got. “Those numbers mean that if you decide to sell to Donnie Cochran, you’re undercutting yourself.”

“I thought you wanted the team,” Dad counters. “After running it for a month, you’ve changed your mind?”

It’s been two months, but I don’t think I’ll point that out to him. He may not want to be honest with himself about how long he’s been out of commission. “No, I didn’t change my mind. I have plans if you’ll let me take over, but it’s your team until you tell me otherwise, so you need to do what you want to do.”

“Dinner’s ready,” Laura says through the curtain.

With that, Dad nods and looks toward the house. This conversation has concluded for now.

Dinner is fun, but I can tell Dad’s getting tired. We eat, and then Steve and I make our excuses to leave.

“Thank you for inviting us,” I tell Daddy.

“You’re managing all these issues well. Thank you.”

I smile and nod, but my heart sings. I want to do my own touchdown dance.

As Steve and I drive back into town, I watch what’s left of the sun drop below the horizon. “Thank you for coming, and for defending me today.”

Steve glances over with his brow furrowed.

“I was listening for a minute before I came outside.”

He nods. “I didn’t let on that I knew about his requirement, but everything else I said was true.”

My heart fills with warmth, even as fear makes it beat a little faster. How am I ever going to navigate my way out the other side of this? “Thank you.”