Page 64 of Home Game

“I can’t even take one right now. The master bathroom is one of the most fucked up places in my house. Can’t wait until it’s renovated and I get my jacuzzi tub.”

“You know, I have a pretty nice jacuzzi tub,” Emmett said.

I met his gaze.

“Is that right?”

He nodded. “It was one of the most luxurious things I wanted in my house,” he said. “It’s got a lot of jets. It’s comfy as hell. And it’s huge.”

“You trying to make me jealous, Fancy Pants?”

“I’m trying to offer you my tub, fucker,” he said, giving my arm a shove. “It’s the least I can do.”

Something stirred in my chest.

Goddamn, I do not deserve you, Emmett Waycott.

As a friend, or as anything else.

Two thoughts were at war in my mind. I’d told Emmett almost everything now, and he knew about my past. Knew I’d grown up in trailers, knew how people had treated me as a kid.

He knew that even my own father hadn’t wanted me.

But I also knew that Emmett was still right here with me, being himself, even after everything that had happened. Beingkindto me. No matter how much my instinct was to believe he just felt sorry for me… I wanted to believe it was something else.

That just maybe, he might actually see me for me.

Not gutter trash. Not a dumb hothead football player. Notworthless.

I cleared my throat, trying to center myself in my body again and act normal and snarky. “Careful what you offer, because I’m starting to get freezing out here, and a cozy bath sounds like heaven on Earth right now.”

Emmett stood up, reaching out his hand to me to pull me up. “Come over, then, already.”

15

EMMETT

By the time we got back to my place, Storm was shivering. As we walked through my front door, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of him, wondering how the hell we’d gotten to this point.

I’d been completely numb outside, sitting there on that bench, before Storm had showed up.

The Racks deal falling through felt like so much more than just one bad business misstep. It felt like failure. Failure to do what I’d set out to do. Trying to do everything right, to never miss any detail, and still falling flat on my face. And it felt like a failure to the memory of my father, a man who seemed like Superman, who could makeanybusiness deal happen.

Then Storm had appeared beside me.

And finally, I could think about somethingelse.

Something that wasn’t business or failure or the bone-deep ache of how badly I missed my father, and how badly I wished he were still here.

Storm had brought me back down to Earth. It was causing some misguided surge of affection to well up inside me, all aimed directly at him.

“You have no fucking idea how glad I am to be inside,” he said, doing a full-body shivering motion that somehow looked fucking adorable even though he was a tall, built man.

I reached out and rubbed his arms, trying to help heat him up. When he glanced back at me and gave me his dimpled half-smile, it felt like my heart was being tugged directly toward him.

GoodGod.

How had I never noticed howkindhe could look, when I didn’t feel like I was his rival?

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