Page 71 of Offside Devil

Before I can say anything, she disappears down the hallway.

“How much do you hate her wearing my old jersey?” Daniel asks.

“I don’t care.”

That’s what I told her last night. Why should I care? Whether she’s wearing Daniel’s jersey or the sports bra and spandex I saw her in the first morning she lived with me… or maybe something lacy, something that matches the flash of red bra I saw two nights ago… It doesn’t matter to me.

“Maybe I’ll buy her Jace’s jersey,” he muses. “She’d look great with a 36 on her back.”

“Or you can stop buying shit for my nanny,” I growl.

“I thought you didn’t care?” Daniel says, smug enough that I know I’m being transparent.

Mira comes back in with Aiden trailing behind her, rubbing at his eyes. He’s dressed for the day, but he clearly just woke up. “I’m hungry.” He pads over to me and I scoop him onto my lap.

Mira’s eyes catch on the two of us long enough that she trips over her own feet. She yelps, barely catching herself on the counter.

“You can eat breakfast on the way.” She waves his favorite raspberry granola bar in the air so she can lure him towards the door. “We want to beat the crowds so you can do the big slide.”

“Playgrounds are a lot more cutthroat than when I was a kid,” Daniel jokes. “It’s barely eight o’clock.”

“Well, the early bird gets the—” Mira’s jersey catches on one of the drawer pulls and she drops her purse. Her keys and phone scatter across the floor. “—slide.”

She sighs and drops to her knees as I hop down to help. Before I can reach it, she snatches her phone away like my hand is a bear trap. Like, if she lingers, I’ll never let her go.

When she sinks her teeth into her full lower lip, I realize she might be onto something.

“Come on, Aiden,” she blurts, blowing past me.

I wave to my son before Mira whisks him out the door to meet Evan downstairs.

Daniel is staring after her, frowning. “Mira is being weird. What’s wrong with her?”

Nothing is wrong with her.

Which is exactly what’s wrong with me.

The breathy little sound she made when I pressed her against the wall last night is going to haunt all of my dirty dreams. Even with way too many clothes on, the way her body felt against mine fueled two solo sessions last night and another this morning. I can’t think about the heat of her skin radiating through that fucking sundress without getting achingly hard.

“I don’t know,” I snap. “Ask her.”

“I would, but she couldn’t be in the same room as you for longer than thirty seconds without dropping something or blushing. So, I’ll ask again.” Daniel points a forkful of eggs at me. “What is wrong with Mira?”

“You act like I had something to do with it.”

“Because you definitely did.”

I roll my eyes. “It’s not a big deal, but we almost kissed last night.”

There’s no point in lying. It’s not like anything actually happened.

Daniel pumps a fist in the air. “I knew it! So did Taylor, actually. We both knew it.”

“Why are you talking to Mira’s best friend about me?”

“Because you’re my best friend and we like to talk about how our best friends clearly want to fuck each other silly.”

My teeth clamp down hard. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen.”

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