Page 29 of King of Hearts

“What will you do now?” Mallory gently inquired, stretching into one of the lounge chairs.

“I’m keeping busy…going back to RFU actually as a TA, just for now.” I rubbed my neck, feeling oddly embarrassed.

Mallory tilted her head to the side. “For now?”

I sipped the coffee, hating that she’d gotten mine like hers. She knew I hated all the sugary shit she liked. I took mine black with a splash of milk, that was it.

“Yeah…I mean, I have to make a decision soon regarding hockey. I can sign on with other teams, out of the area.”

“What’s wrong with this area?” she asked in her reporter tone, and fuck, if my best friend caught wind of my family, I would be screwed. She worked for an international paper that worked tirelessly to seek out social justice. She’d rip my entire family to pieces if she knew what I was tied to.

“Nothing, just…might be time for a change…” I trailed off.

“Right,” she murmured, like she didn’t believe me, and I wasn’t sure why she wouldn’t.

“So, what’s going on with you and mysister?” She sipped from her pink straw.

I had nearly forgotten about the little sisterly come-to-Jesus meeting where they overcame the term ‘step’ when referring to each other as siblings.

“She’s a temporary roommate.”

“Paying rent?” Mallory’s dark eyebrow rose in question.

I almost laughed, just thinking of Taylor trying to offer it. I knew she probably would, but our tentative truce would likely implode if she did. I thought over the last week that she’d been here, starting with our explosive beginning where we couldn’t seem to not want to hate-fuck each other every five seconds, and sadly how it had cooled and waned into a tentative lukewarm existence. She came and went to school without making a fuss. If she’d stepped foot in the pool again, it had been while I wasn’t home. She had made a few meals on her own, leaving leftovers in the fridge, cleaning every single scrap of proof that she was ever there. The only reprieve from her silent, mouselike existence was when she’d come downstairs in her pajamas with a leatherbound book in her hand. I’d turn off the hockey highlights and turn on something for us to watch. She loved anything that had to do with history, whether historically accurate or not.

“She might be…we haven’t discussed it yet.”

“Cut the crap.” Mal spun on her ass, sitting up to face me. “What is going on with you two? Why is she here?”

“Nothing is going on.” I peeked over her shoulder at the pool, wondering if Taylor had mentioned what had happened. “She’s here because I caught her sleeping in her car on campus.”

“What?” my best friend yelled, confirming that Taylor hadn’t told anyone about her little homeless situation.

“I guess she couldn’t find a place or something.” I shrugged, not really caring why Taylor didn’t have a place to go, only that now she slept here every night and woke up here every morning. Not that I necessarily wanted her to…the knowledge just sort of sat inside my chest uselessly, right next to my black heart.

Mallory’s face softened, the fire in her eyes simmering a fraction. “Well, thank you…I have no idea what in the world caused her to sleep in her car of all places. She could easily go to a hotel.”

“I don’t know either…something about parking at the school.”

“Has she told you about the father yet?” Mal asked in that same reporter voice.

I hated this question. I didn’t know why I hated it so much, or why the idea of Holden’s hands on Taylor’s body made an ice storm form in my chest cavity, but it did. Seeing them together in the hall the other week, knowing she wanted to go see him wearing that scrap of fabric she called a dress, especially right after I had seen her saunter toward me completely naked from the pool…

Fuck.

Pregnant or not, her body was pure temptation. I wanted to claim her, grab her by the hips, and let her know what seeing her in that tiny black bikini did to me. Never in my life had I been that hard in such a short amount of time. I saw her lying on that pool lounger, her tits pushed together, tan and glistening with sweat, and those bottoms…just a fucking string. Smooth skin greeted me, a tiny tantalizing fantasy just waiting for me to succumb.

I cleared my throat, remembering Mallory’s question. “Holden, right?”

A huff of air left Mal’s chest. “Yeah…such a loser. I’m so frustrated on her behalf. She just needs some place to lie low and build the confidence to be a mom. I know she’ll move back to be near Dad’s once she gets close to delivering, but her having a safe place to be right now means so much to me. Thank you, Juan.” She stood and leaned over, kissing me on the head. “But if you try to sleep with her or break her heart, I’ll totally force Decker to kick your ass.”

I laughed, because Decker was a good guy, and even if he wanted to kick my ass, I knew he wouldn’t. I also knew he couldn’t. Mallory, however, probably could…the girl was scary as hell.

“Got it, M.” I hugged her, forcing images of Taylor in my house, holding a new baby out of my head.

“Let’s go FaceTime Hillary and meet her new girlfriend.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

Shaking my head, I laughed. “No, I don’t want to—they’re always so mean.”

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