Page 48 of Forever Player

Willow

It’s amazing how comfortable Maylee feels with Brett. He can soothe her and comfort her. We came home after having lunch at the diner and hung out downstairs playing with Maylee. Then Brett made us a light dinner and we both gave Maylee a bath. I breastfed her and Brett took her and put her to sleep.

“She’s fast asleep,” Brett says, leaning on my doorpost. He’s taken a shower and he has a way of brushing his hair back off his face when it’s wet. It’s so damn sexy. Not to mention how his gym shorts hang low on his waist, or how looking at his bare chest makes my mouth water. Every inch of Brett calls to me, but that isn’t the only thing having me in a twist. It’s weird to be sharing a night routine with him. I don’t feel so lonely. Everything feels easier with him, like we are a team, and that is a very scary thought.

“Okay.” I don’t thank him because he doesn’t like to be thanked for taking care of his own child I’ve learned.

My room is dark except for the light pouring in from the hallway.

“I can go back to the room and sleep on the floor. Don’t worry about our deal,” he backpedals, clearly reading my apprehension. He doesn’t pass the threshold of my door and I appreciate him respecting my boundaries.

I pull the covers back. “It’s fine. Thinking of you sleeping on the floor makes me feel bad.”

“I’ll be keeping my hands to myself, Willow. Until you can really feel good about us, I won’t touch you.” I don’t know if I should like those words or not because Brett touching me is the best thing on earth.

“That didn’t stop you last night,” I remind him of when he ate me like a starved man on the bench inside the truck.

“That was about you. You needed that release.” He cocks a brow, begging me to argue otherwise. He isn’t wrong. The fact he knows that is unnerving.

I swallow but don’t answer.

“That’s what I thought.” He smirks and walks the few feet to get into bed.

“Do you want me to get a shirt? I tend to run hot at night,” he says.

“That’s fine.” I swallow again because I’m convinced he’s trying to break me, but it won’t work.

He slips into bed and I flip over to the other side, facing the wall instead of him. Even without seeing him, I take in his mountain fresh scent and feel his weight dipping the bed. It feels warmer under my blankets when it’s usually cold. My heart also beats at a different pace. A part of me wants to turn around and jump him, but I won’t do that because I don’t trust in us.

* * *

Brett

I’m outside working on the farm with Jacob and Lev because I don’t feel comfortable staying here without helping out, and Willow wanted time with Maylee since she is missing her from all the time I’ve given her to herself.

The guys have me shoveling cow manure, but I don’t care. It’s weird how the focus of my life has suddenly shifted. It’s like before I was living this meaningless existence. Going from hookup to hookup. I was sure it was the way to live. A way to protect my heart from the mess of my childhood. Boy, did I have that situation all wrong, because the moment my eyes fell on my daughter my heart filled with so much love and positivity. It’s not just my daughter who has my heart beating differently, it’s Willow too.

I don’t realize Lev has walked up to me when he says. “What’s your story, Noble?”

I continue raking the shit but I look him in the eyes. “What do you mean?”

“What happens when you go back to the team? Where does that leave Willow and Maylee?” His stance is one of confrontation with each of his hands on his waist.

“I’ve asked her to come back to New York with me and if she doesn’t want a life in New York, I told her I’d retire. Then you can be spending a whole lot more time with me.” I wink at him because even though I appreciate he has Willow’s interests at heart, he’s been a royal asshole since I arrived. This whole situation was a clusterfuck with no one to blame, so I feel like I shouldn’t be blamed for missing out on things I would’ve been here for, had I’d known about Willow’s pregnancy.

“Did Willow say she was coming with you?” he asks.

“That’s a question for Willow, not me. I’m just informing you of what I offered her. I will put my life on hold for Willow and Maylee because they are now my life.”

Lev begins to chuckle and shake his head.

“What is your problem?” I ask him.

“I’m not the one with a problem, Noble. It’s you who’s the ladies’ man. You are the one who made your own reputation,” he states.

“True, but I was single and not hurting anyone,” I reply. Who is this guy to be coming down on me when he seems to be the same way? Only we aren’t the same, and I can’t be blamed for my past.

“Nice.” He nods, giving me a Cheshire cat smile.

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