Page 20 of Don't Leave Me

“You too.”

We wave as she ends the call and drops her phone on the table. She’s quiet for a few moments, then she glances up at me.

“Well, you’ve officially met everyone in my family other than Charlie and Wyatt.”

“Is Wyatt a professional sports player too?” I roll my eyes, joking around with her.

“He’s the catcher for the Pit Bulls,” she sighs.

I blink at her, trying to figure out if she’s screwing with me. She has to be, right? There’s no way…

“Wait… Your brother-in-law is Wyatt Everson?”

“Yup.” She scrolls through her phone and shows me a photo of Wyatt and another woman who looks identical to her. “This is him and my sister. Do you have his jersey too?”

“Nah, I have Cord Powell’s jersey. Now, I kinda wish I did though.”

“Ugh, I want to call Wyatt and rub that in his face so badly, but if he and Jax join forces, I’ll never be able to go home again. We could call Cord though. He’d love it”

“You don’t need to call anyone else.” I chuckle. “I want to spend time with you, not talking to my favorite sports players.”

“You’d rather hang out with me than talk to them? Are you crazy?” She frowns at me like I'm insane.

I slip my arm behind her head and twist to face her a little bit more. I want to make sure she understands how I feel.

“Sweetheart, I didn’t ask you out because I thought you could introduce me to someone famous.”

“Really?” she whispers.

“I'm assuming you’ve been treated pretty crappy by guys in the past. You were probably used for your connections to Jax, Cody, Wyatt, and whatever other pros you know. But I'm not doing that. I just want to spend time with you. If I never meet any of them, or never get my jerseys signed, I wouldn’t care. Actually, Ialmost don’t want to, just to prove I'm here because of you, not them.”

I lean in a press a soft kiss to her forehead. I wish I could make her see how amazing I think she is, but that’s going to take time. I'll have to prove it to her.

“You’re hot,” she whispers.

“What?” I pull away, chuckling.

“The verdict after stalking your social media page is that you’re hot and have a very nice body,” she mumbles under her breath.

“Thank you? Why do you seem upset by that?” I can’t wipe the smile off my face no matter how hard I try to.

“Because it doesn’t matter,” she sighs, making my brows tug together.

Chapter 8

Sophia

“How was your date?” Colt asks as he hands me my morning coffee.

“Good,” I sigh, taking a long sip.

“Why do you sound upset by that?”

“Because he’s a nice guy and he’s hot, but it doesn’t matter. He doesn’t want me and I shouldn’t want him.” I stare out the picture window at the backyard.

Snow’s chasing a bird through the yard, but she stops before she crosses the property line. She sits down and watches the bird, waiting to see if it comes back to where she can chase it. She’s such a good dog.

“Why do you think he doesn’t want you?” Colt pulls out the chair across the table from me and rests his arms on the wood. Concern knits his brows together, making him look a little like Cody right now.

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