Page 71 of Broken Player

But my stinging, watering eyes told me otherwise—stupid onions. "Hi," I said with a small wave. Wiping away a stray tear.

"Hey, I'm Grayson, this one's older brother," he said, ruffling Kennedy's hair as she rolled her eyes.

"He's a couple minutes older and thinks that gives him the right to tell me what to do. Pshh," she scoffed. Then she cracked up and leaned closer to me, almost conspiratorial. "Did you know one time Zen thought Grayson and I were dating? Can you imagine?"

I found myself laughing with her. She was so warm and made me feel like we'd known each other forever. It was a comfort I hadn't experienced before.

"Okay," she straightened, resting her hand on her stomach. "This little guy kicks the crap out of my insides when I laugh. I can't tell if he thinks he's funny or not," she mused, lovingly rubbing her stomach. Over her shoulder, I noticed Zen hovering nearby but trying to act like he was giving her some space. It was sweet and amusing at the same time.

"Okay, Jericho. I think he's in the pool room with the rest of the guys," she explained, walking faster than I thought she'd be able to with her stomach as big as it was. We stepped into the room at the front of the house. A pool table sat in the middle, and another huge TV was spread across the wall. Maddox set down his pool stick and crossed the room, wrapping me in his arms. "You okay?" he whispered so only I could hear, and I nodded, relishing his closeness. Even though everyone was great, fantastic even, it was still a lot to take in meeting them all at once like this.

He leaned down to kiss me before letting me go. Kennedy watched him with a look on his face like he'd grown a secondhead. Then a sly smile spread across her face. "Okay then. Last but not least is my favorite. Jericho," she said, stepping up behind the Asian guy on the couch who had a game controller in his hand. "I heard that," Zen called out from the other side of the room, and Kennedy winked at me.

"Sorry.Secondfavorite," she corrected, and he grumbled, but her smile just got wider.

"Who are you?" he asked as he looked me over, and I had no idea what he was thinking.

"Ryan, Maddox's…" I paused to think it over. "Childhood best friend slash sometimes safe person slash girl who's been pining over him forwaytoo long," I gushed before clamping my mouth shut. "Yeah, so, it's complicated," I said with a laugh, and he grinned.

"Right. Well, welcome to the fam. If you ever want to throw down on some Xbox, I'm your guy. And for the love of Christ, don't let Montana mix you a drink," he warned before turning back to his game. I wasn't sure what to make of him, but I liked him all the same.

"Okay, I think that's everyone," Kennedy hesitated, looking around the room. "Pregnancy brain makes me forget all sorts of shit."

"I have literally no idea what pregnancy brain is but sure if you say so," I said, glancing at where Maddox stood with his eyes locked on me, his gaze turning darker and more heated by the second. I squirmed under his scrutiny.

"Hey, Ryan," True called out from where he stepped up next to Maddox, and sometime in the last ten minutes, he managed to snag his daughter from Montana and carried her in a wrap across his chest. I waved. Watching these rock legends become giant piles of tattooed and muscled mush around their wives and kids would have been hilarious if it wasn't so endearing.

"Good, now we can eat. Did you know Gray's a world-class chef? You're about to have a foodgasm. Prepare yourself," Kennedy cautioned. I followed her back to the kitchen, wondering what the hell a foodgasm was and whether or not I wanted one.

She chose me, and I still couldn't believe it. The past two days were a goddamn fantasy come to life. Ryan fit seamlessly into my life in LA, better than I could have ever even hoped. And even Quinn felt like he was meant to be here with us. He and Grayson had hit it off at dinner Saturday night, and he even hung out at the restaurant with Gray on Sunday.

That was perfect because it meant Ryan and I didn't even get out of bed yesterday. I looked over at where she sat beside me on the plane, and I squeezed the hand I held. She glanced up from the magazine she was reading, and her eyes crinkled at the corners as she gave me a soft smile that fucking melted me.

The amount of love I felt for this woman was overwhelming in the best way.

She settled back in, leaning her head against my shoulder for a few minutes before she sat back up and gnawed on her lower lip. I reached over and gently tugged it out from between her teeth. "What's wrong, Freckles?"

Quinn chuckled from where he sat across from us, and my eyes flicked to him before settling back on my girl. He had dark sunglasses still perched on his face even though we were inside the body of the plane with all the window covers pulled down. It looked like he had even more fun with Connor than I thought.

An adorable crease formed between her eyebrows. "I'm so nervous about facing my parents and my family when we getback. What can I even say to explain everything that happened? And then just running away like I did and leaving them all to deal with the fallout. I'm terrified they're all going to hate me."

I moved my hands up to her face, gently turning her, so I stared directly into her eyes. "Remember what I promised you? I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right next to you for every second, and I won't let anything happen. Your parents are some of the most understanding people I've ever met. And when they find out why you agreed to that whole sham in the first place? I have a feeling any anger they might have will go up in smoke."

"He's right," Quinn agreed, his usual snark missing while he suffered from what looked like one hell of a hangover.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and I watched as some of the tension melted out of her body as she leaned into my touch. "You don't think they'll hate me?"

Shaking my head, I let her go and pulled her against me instead. "Shannon and Alex love you. They'll forgive you. I'd bet my Maclaren on it."

She giggled lightly. "You love that car too much."

"Not as much as you," I countered, wanting to pull her into my lap, but we were flying through a shit ton of turbulence right now, and I'd always put Ryan's well being above my wants and needs. I always had, even when we were kids. It was why I left and stayed away without contacting her. I think deep down, I always knew I was fucking lost when it came to her. That there wouldn't ever be anyone else for me, but I didn't want to admit it because she deserved so much more than me.

I knew she'd never walk away, so I had to be the strong one and keep her safe from me. But the older I got, the more I faced my own demons, the more I realized they didn't control me.Icontrolledthem.Which meant I could have her and be confident I wasn't going to turn into my dad. I'd rather die than hurt Ryan in any way.

"You two would make me sick if I wasn't so fucking jealous," Quinn complained, lifting the soda water he was nursing up to his lips and taking the smallest possible sip.

"Don't worry, Quinny. When you move to LA, it won't take long for you to find someone," I promised, and he sat up a little straighter, his eyebrows lifting.

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