Page 130 of How to Prevent a Fumble

Nope, no I willnot.

Going with that, I head to the bathroom to wash off quick before grabbing a pair of new sweats. The boot I’m in sucks and the only thing I can think about is not having to wear it in a couple of weeks. If everything goes well, I’ll be walking like normal soon and begin rehab.

Heading back downstairs, I don’t ask to enter the room this time. I don’t ask to climb into bed as her warm brown eyes watch as I cross the room. Instead, I just do.

Instead of saying something sassy, Briar watches me get comfy before she lets out a heavy sigh, and in an instant, she’s curling into me, her right leg hooking over mine, her head at my shoulder.

Almond soap envelopes my senses, and I dip my head down to her head in an attempt to discreetly get more of it.

“Smelling your fake girlfriend you just tongue fucked is a little creepy, don’t you think?” she chuckles groggily.

Instead of answering, I just say, “You sound happy.”

“Mmm,” she moans, nuzzling into me more.

“What are we watching?”

“Ten Things I Hate About You,” she responds quietly as it begins.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this one.”

Briar snorts, lifting her face to glance at me.

“What?” I chuckle.

“I hardly picture you as a romance movie kinda guy, Warner.”

And it’s my turn to laugh. “Excuse you, I’m a huge romance movie guy. Star Wars is one of the most romantic movies I’ve ever seen.”

I feel her body vibrate, and a warmth flows through me I can’t quite place. “Star Wars doesn’t count. What’s your obsession anyways? And corrupting my daughter, Warner? Not cool.”

“Hey,” I put my free hand up in defense. “She was the one who practically hacked my x-box. The second she saw Lego Star Wars she was all in.”

Briar shakes her head against me. “Sure, Warner.”

“It’s true.”

“Shut up and watch the movie.”

“Yes ma’am.”

It’s been a couple of days and to say I’ve been a smiling doofus is an understatement. There hasn’t been a single moment I haven’t stopped smiling.

Briar made it abundantly clear that she thinks this is just human need. We both require connection, and if we’re stuck in this situation we might as well take advantage of it.

Sure, it’s a roadblock, because that’s certainly not what I feel. But it’s a tiny step in the right direction, and I’ll take it.

“Someone iswhipped,” Cooper mutters, elbowing Dirwin in the side, reminding me of the way Isla would stab me in the ribs when we were kids.

Unwilling to grace him with a response, I roll my eyes, looking over the pile of presents in front of us. “Do you think there’s enough?” I ask.

Piles of vinyl and toys crowd my family room. Briar is out for the day working on her cookbook while Elara is at school and I enlisted the boys to help wrap all of this.

I know Briar isn’t a fan of expensive things, and I have my own idea of what to get her. Something that isn’t my dick in a box like Cooper suggested.

Neither Briar nor Elara have opened up much about Tony, but from everything I’ve gathered, neither of them havegotten much from him other than a string of broken things, at the top of the list, their hearts.

I get why they don’t talk about him much.

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