Chapter 26

chapter 26

brYCE

On the plane ride home, Emmaline sits in the same row with me, with Jolie between us.

Emmaline keeps stealing glances at me, and a car wash machine couldn’t wipe the grin off my face. The muscles in my face ache. They’ve been stretched so wide.

Jolie’s asleep with her head on my arm. Emmaline whispers, “I’m so happy for you. I told you.”

“You did. Her voice… damn music to my ears.” Those are the only words Jolie has spoken to me or anyone, but it was like a preacher or a motivational speaker. I hung on every word and haven’t stopped thinking about them. “It’s all because of you, Emmaline. Helping me. Being with her… with us.”

She blushes. The woman doesn’t know how to take a compliment.

“Do you have plans for Thanksgiving?” she asks.

“Jolie and I are going to Reed’s. Are you and Roman taking a quick trip home? ”

“No, my parents are coming to my house, and I’ve got a million things to do,” she says while putting in the code to unlock her phone. “Roman and I wanted to invite you and Jolie over, but she’ll be more comfortable with Cannon and the Cross kids.”

0514.

Why does that number seem familiar?

“What’s on your to-do list?”

She scoffs, “What’s not? While we were gone, the list got longer. A neighbor called and said a water pipe burst in my house. She was walking her dog and saw water running off the front stoop. She called the water department, and they shut the line off to my house.”

“Didn’t realize they could do that. Why didn’t you tell me before now? We didn’t have to go to Dane’s house; we could have flown home after the game. In fact, if I knew I wasn’t going to play, we could have flown home this morning.”

“Still upset about not playing?”

I lay my hand on Jolie’s leg. “Not as much. Jolie gave me the greatest gift. I’m just not made to sit and watch. My life and circumstances made me a doer. Practice and play. Practice and play some more. Then I added, weightlifting, cardio, commercials. I rarely have true downtime. I don’t like sitting on the sidelines.” My hand that’s hung around Jolie’s little body reaches for Emmaline’s leg. “Not with hockey or with you.”

I move it up to where it’s not as noticeable, and her body heats at my touch through her leggings. My fingers move into the crease between her thigh and her center. Her head falls back against the blue leather seat, and she hums .

Realizing she made a noise, she turns her head, looking for where her brother is seated, then continues, “Roman wants you to like him.”

Removing my hand, I say, “I do like him. More than I used to.” I let a chuckle escape my throat. “Back to the list.”

She hands me her phone.

Water damage removal.

Replace hardwood floors.

Paint kitchen cabinets.

Pressure wash the sidewalk leading up to the house.

Buy bedroom furniture for guest room. (Find a cheaper version of picture attached)

Décor for guest room. (pictures from my travels, framed)

Install bathroom fixtures.

Paint the living room (Behr – faux fur)

Install a wrought-iron fence around the backyard.

The list goes on.

“That’s a pretty big list.”

“Yeah, I think we’re going to have to do it at Roman’s condo instead.”

I hate the look of disappointment on her face and the tight-lipped smile. But I can help her make this little dream come true.

“I have to shoot a commercial early tomorrow morning. I’ll need to leave before the sun comes up. Since you can’t sleep at home, will you sleep over?”

“With you?”

Shrugging, I say, “If you want. I’m not opposed, but I’m not sure what the rules are. But there are three other guest rooms, so one of them can be yours for whenever I need to be gone at an ungodly hour or will be home late.”

She takes a glimpse of Jolie. “I can stay… tonight… in the guest room. We can date secretly, but I still think we should have some boundaries.”

As she agrees to stay the night in the guest room, a satisfied warmth engulfs me. Having her in the adjacent room means, with our get-to-know-you agreement, the thought of falling asleep and waking up with her in such close proximity is enough to make my heart race. I don’t want to lose her, so I’ll show her brother I have nothing but good intentions.

While Roman and I are grabbing luggage, I explain to him that I want to help Emmaline get the house ready. He stares at me with his face drawn in. “Why?”

“She’s the reason Jolie’s speaking, and there’s no way she can do all of this by herself by Thursday. I’ve talked her into staying with me tonight so I can get to her house by five in the morning and work for several hours before practice.”

“Whoa.” He glances at Emmaline holding Jolie on the bench. “Sleeping at your house wasn’t part of the job description. That’s crossing the line.”

We’ve crossed that line, but he can’t know… yet. “It’s important to her. You should have seen the disappointment in her face when she told me. Are you going to help or not?”

After a few more glances at his sister, he huffs and says, “I’m in. It’s the least I can do since she moved here for me. I admit I’m not very handy.”

“I’ve texted the company that designed my place, so I’ve got contractors meeting me there. We’ll get it done. ”

“I’ll take her there so she can see the damage and grab some clothes. Then, I’ll drop her at your place.”

We sling the suitcases off the conveyor belt and meet Emmaline. “Hey, Roman is taking you by your house to get some clothes and so you can see the damage, then he’ll bring you to my house.” I turn my body so that Roman can’t see my face and wink. “One step at a time.”