Chapter 4

Bailey

As the day of Valentina’s party got closer, my anxiety amped up.

I so rarely went out in public I didn’t even know how to anymore.

I had a car but didn’t drive very often either because I often got cramps in my right hip and leg, so it was stressful to have to worry about it happening while I was driving. Occasionally, I ventured out to a doctor or to a store that didn’t deliver, but mostly I stayed home. Where it was safe and quiet, and I didn’t have to worry about anyone seeing me limp from room to room.

Between the damage to my hip and pelvis, I wound up with an almost two-inch difference in the length of my legs. Add pain to that equation, along with cramps and stiffness, and I was very conspicuous when I walked.

So, I didn’t go anywhere public unless I absolutely had to.

I’d already decided I would use my crutches at Valentina’s party.

They would be helpful if I got an unexpected cramp, but it also eliminated the limp. People in general would assume I was recovering from an injury or something, and most people didn’t look twice at a person on crutches. And that was my goal.

The last thing I wanted was to be recognized.

Jeans would cover the scars on my side and leg, and a baseball cap would make it harder to recognize me, so hopefully I’d get through the party without any issues. Manny got recognized in public fairly often, and even though I’d been out of the public eye for three years, it wouldn’t take much for the paparazzi to put two and two together once they saw us together. However, Casa del Papaya was a small, local place so it was usually quiet. They had decent food, a great bar, and a game room in the back, which was what Valentina liked best. It was small but it had a pinball machine and a handful of other games that kept kids occupied while their parents enjoyed a meal.

The party was a worry for tomorrow, though.

Today we were in the middle of a crusade, launching an attack on the kingdom we were desperately trying to recapture. We had two extra players, our friends from Europe, and with eight of us, there was plenty of firepower to take down the guards. We’d been hoping for an opportunity like this for weeks, and it seemed to be working. We were so close to overwhelming them, but obviously, the creators of the game made it challenging. We’d been here before and wound up running out of ammunition before we could take them down and it had taken us months to build up enough power to try again.

@Empress: Let’s do this! We may not get another chance!

@Phantom: I’m right behind you, Your Majesty!

I laughed at his use of the title.

My character was the empress of the kingdom we’d lost, which made me their leader. It was a fun fantasy that filled my otherwise lonely days and nights, and I looked forward to times like this, when we were all together, working toward a common goal. As if it were real.

It was a game, and I was cognizant of that.

But it was so much more to me because I had very little else in my life.

That probably sounded pathetic from the outside looking in, but I was doing my best to survive the cards life had dealt me.

@CrusadingAHole: And that’s how you fuck up some phantoms!

@Thunderbolt: Yeah, baby! We just got back our kingdom!

@Macy: Fuck yeah!

@Phantom: Be careful—there will be soldiers hiding in every nook and cranny until we clear the place.

@Manny: Guys, I hate to be the old fuddy-duddy, but I’ve got a conference call with a client in Europe that I have to take. I have to bail—but I’ll be back! Talk soon.

Manny was probably talking to a director or producer, but of course, no one else could know that. Sometimes it was odd spending so much time with these people without really knowing anything about them. I knew Manny, of course, but none of the others. I knew Phantom and Thunderbolt were brothers, and I thought Phantom had said that CrusadingAHole worked at another branch of his company, but Macy-the- college-student was a mystery, and our European friends didn’t give details either.

My notifications dinged, indicating I had a private message from Phantom and I switched to another screen.

@Phantom: I hate to do it, but I’ve got to beg off soon too. My mom is in town and I feel bad leaving her alone all this time.

@Empress: Of course. We got back the kingdom. We’ll probably start working on clearing it and then we’ll focus on rebuilding in the next few days.

@Phantom: Have fun at your party tomorrow!

@Empress: Well, I’ll try, but I’m not sure how much fun I’ll have at a Peppa Pig birthday party, trying not to trip over my crutches with all the kids running around like lunatics.

@Phantom: Crutches? You okay?

Shit.

I hadn’t meant to mention the crutches.

@Empress: Oh, I’m fine. I just tweaked my knee the other day—it’s an old cheerleading injury—no big deal.

@Phantom: Don’t mess around with knee injuries. See a specialist if it doesn’t clear up quickly. Knees are the worst.

@Empress: I will. Talk soon.

I went back to the game, but my mind was still on Phantom.

Was he as nice as he seemed or was it nothing more than a keyboard warrior pretending to be something he wasn’t?

He was most likely just living his life.

Something I hadn’t been able to do since the accident.

I was in survival mode.

I spent most of my time gaming and the rest doing the very bare minimum to remain a functioning member of society.

Even from where I was sitting, that was pretty sad.

But I had no idea how to change it or if I was even capable of change at this point.

Nineteen eight-year-olds in a relatively small space was a lot.

I spent time with Manny and Lucia’s kids fairly regularly, but this was a whole other level of hell. They were loud, messy, and never stopped moving, talking, and eating. They appeared to be having fun, running back and forth between the dining room and game room, but I couldn’t imagine being in charge of them all.

“Auntie Bailey, look what I got?” Valentina held up a small stuffed unicorn she’d apparently just won from the claw game.

“That’s so cute!” I said, reaching for it. “Can I have it?”

“Sure!” She blew me a kiss and took off before I could tell her I’d been kidding.

“She’s a good kid,” Lucia said, smiling over at me. She was finally sitting down to eat, and I nodded.

“She is. You’re doing an amazing job with them.”

“Auntie, up!” Louisa held up her arms to me and I lifted her onto my lap so Lucia could eat.

“Are you bored with the game room?” I asked her.

She nodded, her lower lip protruding a little. She’d been struggling with jealousy today, something that happened a lot when the big kids didn’t make a fuss over her.

“It’s okay. You can sit here and keep Auntie company.” I handed her a tortilla chip and she crunched it happily.

“Thank you for coming,” Lucia said, her dark eyes finding mine. “I know this is a lot for you.”

“Mostly I’ve sat on my behind and eaten too much,” I said. “It’s fine.”

“Yes, but I know you hate being out like this.” She paused. “How’s the pain today?”

“I’m starting to get stiff,” I admitted. “But no real pain. I may take off soon, though. I’ll just Uber home because the last thing I want is to drag Manny away.”

We both looked in the direction of the game room where he was currently holding court by dominating the pinball machine.

“He’s a big kid at heart,” she said, smiling. “It’s part of what makes him such a good dad.”

“It sounds like you might be in love with your husband,” I teased.

She nodded. “Absolutely. Though there are also days when I want to kill him.”

“I think that’s normal. At least from what I remember. It’s been so long since I dated, I don’t know what I would do with a man.”

“Oh, I think you’d remember pretty quick if the right guy came along.” Her eyes drifted to a tall guy who’d just walked into the restaurant. “Like that cool drink of water.”

I followed her gaze.

Whoever he was, he was gorgeous.

Extremely tall and broad-shouldered, his torso tapering at the hips. He had light brown hair that hung just over his ears and chiseled features, the kind of guy I would have gone for back in the day.

I sighed. “Yeah, because guys like him are lining up to get a piece of this.” I motioned to my right leg with the hand that wasn’t holding Louisa.

She scowled. “That’s a copout, Bailey. There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re young and beautiful and talented. Yes, you have a limp and some physical limitations, but you’re getting better. And there’s always that surgery?—”

I cut her off. “I’m done with surgery, Luce. It never makes any difference and I have to spend months recuperating. I have and stop chasing the hope that I’ll get my old life back.”

“One more surgery to eliminate the pain and potentially make your limp better. They can?—”

“Lucia.” I gave her a look. “Stop. Please. You know how I feel about this.”

We’d argued about it more times than I could count.

It had been a year since my orthopedic surgeon had suggested yet another surgery that would potentially decrease the difference between the lengths of my two legs and eliminate some of the stiffness. But I’d heard that before and not only had the last one not worked, the recovery had also been long and painful.

I was done with the fantasy that I might be normal again.

“Mommy, come play with us!” Valentina came over, tugging Lucia’s hand.

“Can you watch her?” Lucia asked me as she got to her feet, motioning to Louisa.

“Of course. Go.” I smiled, watching her run off with Valentina hand-in-hand.

I took a sip of my margarita, wondering if it would be a good time to make my escape. I’d wait for Lucia to come back and take Louisa, of course, but I was tired and it had been a long afternoon. The lunch crowd was gone, and the early dinner crowd would be showing up soon, so I wanted to be home before then. Besides, I was starting to get twinges in my hip, telling me I needed to stretch.

Louisa was getting sleepy, and I let her doze off against my shoulder.

“Need a hand?” Manny appeared and smiled, reaching for Louisa.

“If you grab the stroller, I can put her down.”

“I’ve got her.” He picked her up like she was nothing and walked over to the stroller, settling her in it.

He really was a great dad.

And now it was time for me to get out of here.

I took out my phone and opened the Uber app, calling for a ride. According to the app, it was eight minutes away. I’d wait until it was one minute away and then walk outside.

I gathered my things, so I’d be ready to go, and was just about to stand up when the gorgeous guy from before glanced in my direction.

How had I not noticed his incredibly blue eyes?

I really needed to get out of here, but when our gazes locked, I was rooted in place.

And completely mesmerized.