Page 43 of Power Play

Red tints her cheeks, and she lowers her gaze to the engagement ring Drake gave her. She pinches it between her fingers and slowly starts twirling it around her finger. Damn. I feel bad for my tone of voice. She doesn’t deserve it.

“Angie, I’m sorry. I’m nervous, and I’m snapping at you for no reason.”

“Thanks.” She meets my gaze for a moment. A smile that wasn’t there a second ago is already pulling at the corners of her mouth. “Besides, you’re right. Maya’s only two. I can’t seriously expect her to understand everything the doctor told her, letalone want to follow his advice.” Angie points to her belly. “I need to remember that when it’s my kids.”

“Just to be clear.” I set my elbows on the table and lean toward her. “We’re still hiding from Drake that it’s twins?”

Angie bites her bottom lip, her hand coming to a stop on her belly. She tucks a few strands of her long brown hair behind her ear. “I’ll tell him once we know whether to expect boys or girls—or both. That will be around the end of October.”

“Still…that’s a month of me hiding things from my brother,” I taunt her, enjoying her flushed look.

It disappears quickly, though, replaced by a devilish smile. She drapes a hand over the back of the bench she’s sitting on, tilts her head to the side, and asks, “Are we going to talk abouteverythingwe’re hiding from your brother? Because it’s been three days, and I feel like it’s ready to spill out any minute.”

“Angie,” I warn her, sneaking a glance at Maya, who’s still lying on the blanket, Coop by her side like the best guard dog he is.

“What?” She bats her long lashes at me, a mask of innocence on her beautiful face. “I thought we were confiding in each other. Me about the twins, and you about going on a date with Clay.”

“It wasn’t a date,” I correct her. But her words cause a light fluttering in my belly, making me a little dizzy. “It was for Maya. She wanted to see him. I told you this already.”

A big, radiant smile instantly blooms on Angie’s face. Her eyes twinkle with laughter as she studies me in the quiet. “They were adorable together. It makes me sad you missed it. I watched them for a little while before I walked over. They were hunched over the drawing, talking in hushed voices. I was kinda expecting you to show up.” She glances over her shoulder at Maya and then brings her gaze back to me. “Did she draw something for him?” I nod, surprised to notice Angie’s pout. “She’s never drawn anything for me.”

I throw my head back, giggling. “Angie,” I mutter between bursts of laughter, “did you forget that she drew Coop for you for your birthday?”

Angie becomes thoughtful, her eyes narrowing at her phone on the table. Then she shakes her head. “Goodness. You’re right, Layla. I’m forgetting everything—literally, I have a to-do list where I write down even the smallest, silliest tasks so I remember them. This whole pregnancy information flood gets the best of me from time to time.”

“I know the feeling,” I tell her. The ache in my chest is a raw reminder that I remember it all too well. In a desperate desire to change the subject, to not think about Eli and my pregnancy, I decide to explain myself to her. “Angie, Clay and I are just friends. Our relationship is a memory. Maya took a liking to him for some reason, and he likes her just as much. So when he mentioned he’d never been to your shop and Maya said she wanted to go with him, I thought why not.”

Well, I tried to keep my distance, to say no over and over, to find excuses. Not because I don’t want to see him, of course not, but because I don’t believe that I deserve another chance with him. I don’t want to give myself false hopes that things might be different between us, because it’s something that never going to happen after all the shit I did. But he won me over by simply telling me what time he’d come pick us up…and, like the good girl I am, I agreed.

I’m hopeless when it comes to Clay Rodgers.

“You look good together,” Angie murmurs sweetly. “Clay, you, and Maya, I mean,” she clarifies with a smile. Her words feel like a stab through my heart. It could’ve been us, a real little family…if only I saw things for what they are, and wasn’t that stupid.

I had real love…and I chose illusion instead.

“He’s a great guy,” I say the first thing that comes to mind. “With him being the new goalie for the Thunders, I’m sure he’s going to find a lot of girls swooning for his attention. He won’t be alone for long.”

I don’t know why I’m saying this. Who am I trying to convince? Myself or Angie?

“I’m not sure he cares about all those possible girls. It doesn’t look like he needs anyone else except?—”

“No.” I lift my hand, cutting her off. “Angie, I love you, but please don’t. Clay and I are over. It’s not an ellipsis, not a semicolon. It’s a full stop.”

She’s silent, staring at me with a calm demeanor. “If you’re sure, then okay. You know him better than me anyway.” Angie shrugs, but the smile that’s still on her lips tells me she’s just leaving me alone for now. “And thank you for letting me keep my little secret from Drake. It means more than you know.”

I grin at her, my mood swiftly changing. “As long as you let me plan your gender reveal and be the first to find out, you’re fine.”

“I already promised that, didn’t I?” She chuckles. “And I promise I won’t tell Drake anything about you and Clay.” I open my mouth to correct her, but she doesn’t give me the opportunity. “About yourfriendshipwith Clay.”

“Thank you.”

We sit in comfortable silence, enjoying the warm weather, while Maya starts playing with Coop again. The way she loves him is something else. Maybe I should get her a dog? A little dachshund? Maybe not now, but a bit later, once she’s older? I think it would make her happy.

And that’s exactly what I want her to be.

“Mommy, no!”Maya sobs, her chin trembling. She stands with her back pressed to the wall, her little hands dangling at her sides, balled into fists. The tears streaming down her face break my heart. “I don’t want this.”

“Baby, it’s for two hours, okay? I’ll put it on your left eye, and then we’ll take it off. I promise.”

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