Chapter 36

thirty-six

MADDOX

"You look happy." Bash takes a seat beside me, beer in hand. His gaze follows mine to where Isla sits with a few wives and girlfriends. The sound of laughter has been almost constant from the circle of women, and I've been smiling nonstop. I'm glad she's getting along with my teammates and their significant others. It's important that whoever I end up with feels comfortable with these guys because they're such a massive part of my life. I've known a few players over the years who tried dating women who couldn't stand the team or the other WAGS, and they always ended up completely miserable. When you play a sport with a season as long and grueling as ours is, it's just not possible to separate your life into neat little sections. Everything bleeds together, and disharmony can lead to shit playing and abject misery.

Dragging my attention away from Isla, I turn to Navarro. "I feel happy. I'm trying not to wait for the other shoe to drop, you know?"

He nods. "Understandable, after everything you went through in your last couple relationships. Isla seems different, though."

"She is. It doesn't mean this will work out the way I hope, but I at least know she'd never turn me into a spectacle if things end between us."

"No," Navarro agrees, "I don't believe she'd do that either."

We fall silent, both of us deep in thought. It's always like this with Bash. He's the most thoughtful of all of us. The one you can just be with. When silence stretches between us, it's never awkward. Just companionable. It's not that he has less to say than the other guys, just that he takes more in. I'm not sure if it's something that springs out of being a goalie, or if he's a great goalie because he's so observant. Either way, the guy is sharp as a tack and rarely misses anything.

"Her ex showed up at the coffee shop we went to yesterday," I tell him.

One eyebrow arched, Navarro gives me his full attention. "Really?"

I nod. "Yeah, man. It was suspicious as hell. Isla made it pretty clear it's not his normal haunt. I can't imagine it would be hers if he was a regular. I think that might have been the first time she's seen him since they split." My mind flashes back to the tremor in her hands once the prick left. She stood her ground, but I know it shook her up.

"She okay? "

"Yeah." I run a hand through my dark hair. "They were engaged."

Navarro's eyebrow climbs higher. "Really?"

"Yep. I figured as much because I kinda came across a few photos of her with a diamond on her finger in her Instagram feed, but she confirmed it yesterday."

Bash barks out a laugh. "Online stalking your girl?"

"Wouldn't you?"

Something flashes across Navarro's face, there and gone before I can read it. "Yeah. If she had social media profiles? I would."

Sensing that my friend won't talk about whatever that was, I forge on. "Right. I don't know the story yet, but the guy was a total douche yesterday. He struck me as one of those manipulative pieces of shit that knows exactly how to twist his words to make sure he never has to take the blame for anything." My lip curls back in a snarl. "He tried to make her feel guilty for dating me."

Navarro's attention zeros in on Isla for a moment before he turns back to me. "None of that really surprises me. She seems way too surprised anytime anyone does anything kind for her. He sounds like a narcissist. People like that are selfish and make everything in the relationship about them." Sebastian takes a sip of his beer, looking again at the girls. "Lots of times, those guys will love bomb their partners, only to use it to control them or to use the nice things they do to hold over their partner's head. She may have a hard time accepting help or gifts without feeling suspicious. Make sure you don't take it personally, if that's the case with her. It's a survival mechanism."

I hate the idea of Isla seeing the world through such a fucked up filter. But I can see it, too. Her hesitation to believe I'd follow through on my end of the deal once she gave the interview after our auction dinner. Her difficulty accepting that I wanted to take her on an elaborate date. I'll have to be careful with that.

"You think he's going to be a problem?" Navarro asks, swinging the conversation back to Isla's ex.

"I hope not. I'd rather not go to jail for assault."

Bash chuckles darkly. "We've all got your back. Hers too."

"Thanks, man. I don't know what I'd do without you guys."

He claps me on the back. "You'd be a hell of a lot grumpier."

He's not wrong. "How're you doing, man?"

Navarro shrugs. "I'm good. Same old, you know?"

"You'll tell me if something's up, right?" Sebastian Navarro is always a little on the quiet and broody side, but he's seemed more in his head than normal lately. I don't know if it has anything to do with me dating Isla, but this new level of introspection seemed to begin around the same time I started trying to make her mine. I know it's not anything about Isla personally, but I worry about him. I'm not the only one with heartbreak in my past, but Bash's is a total mystery.

"Yeah, Madds. I will."

"Good. You'd better. We can't have our goalie in his head and off his game. We need you."

"Who's off his game?" Logan asks as he flops down on Navarro's other side on the outdoor sofa.

"No one," I reply.

"Good." Logan rests his arm across the back of the sofa before turning to me. "D'you think Isla would be pissed if I hooked up with one of the teachers at her school? A few of them gave me their numbers, and they were hot."

Navarro groans as I lean forward in my chair, bracing my arms on my knees. "Don't even think about it, Byrne. Seriously. I will kick your ass."

"What?" He shrugs. "They're adults. I don't see the problem."

"If you didn't see the problem, you wouldn't have asked Graves for his opinion." Navarro shakes his head.

Logan lets his head fall back against the back of the couch. "Fine. You guys are no fun."

"Who's no fun?" Griffin plops himself into the chair across from me, blocking my view of Isla. The rookie Ryder Hanson is with him.

Ryder gives us all nods. "Hey, guys."

"Graves won't let me call any of Isla's coworkers," Logan says over our greetings.

"Aw man. I forgot to ask her which teacher was the dominatrix," Griffin whines.

"I've clearly missed something here," Ryder says with a chuckle.

That has me barking out a laugh, and I decide to take pity on Griffin. "Sorry man, but the teacher she was talking about is like sixty years old."

Griff's nose scrunches up. "Really?"

"Yep."

He tilts his head to the side. "But is she a hot sixty year old?"

Navarro and Hanson groan.

Logan kicks Griffin. "You have issues, man."

"Nah," Griffin shrugs, an impish grin plastered across his face. "I'm just an equal opportunity lover. The package is important, but it's what's inside that really matters."

"That's surprisingly mature. I think." Navarro's brow furrows.

"Well," Griffin says with a smirk, "a sixty year old's pussy is just as warm and wet as a twenty-two year old's."

"No." Navarro leans over and smacks Wright upside the head. "Just, no." And with that, he stands. "I need another beer. You guys want one?"

"I need brain bleach after that," Logan says with a groan.

Ryder lifts a finger in the air. "I could use another."

Isla's laughter floats through the air, overlaying Logan's grousing, and despite Griffin's ridiculousness, I smile broadly. I wouldn't trade any of this.

Well, I could have done without the visual Griffin just provided, but I wouldn't trade anything else.