Page 65 of The Double Play

“It’s okay, we should head back to Emmett’s anyways.”

“Speakingof Emmett.” She raises her brows.

I bite my lip to keep from smiling. It doesn’t work.

“I knew it! Iknewyou two would get together,” she says with a self-satisfied grin.

I laugh. “I didn’t say anything.”

“You don’t have to. It’s written all over your lovestruck face.”

I roll my eyes. “This is why I don’t tell you about guys I’m dating.”

“What guys? You haven’t dated in forever.”

It’s my turn to throw a napkin at her. She laughs as it falls on the console instead of reaching her.

“In all seriousness, I’m happy for you.” She toys with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. “You deserve a guy who’s good to you. Someone to take care of you the way you do everyone else.”

My eyes sting with tears again. “Okay, that’s enough of you being mushy. We should get back.”

She laughs. “Fine, I’ll throw our cups away.” I give her mine and she grabs hers off the dash along with our dirty napkins.

When she hops out, I situate myself behind the wheel. I use the sleeve of my sweatshirt to dab beneath my eyes, then draw in a shaky breath. Another task complete. I told Raven about us and I decided to have her move in with me…without mentioning it to Emmett. It’s not like we’ve been in a relationship long enough to make the decision together, but it will affect the both of us.

He’s a single parent of a five-year-old, and I just became one of a fifteen-year-old. Our already limited time together is going to be cut down even more. Not to mention the fact that I’ll need to ask for the flexibility of picking up Raven from school each day. It would be great if she could stay with me and June in the afternoons, too. Emmett’s concern about my apartment complex is starting to get in my head. I wouldn’t want to leave Raven alone there on a regular basis.

I rest my forehead on the steering wheel. Asking him for all of this would have been hard enough before we were dating, but now I feel like I’m using him. I don’t want him to feel like he has to say yes just because we’re in a relationship.

The passenger side door opens. I quickly lift my head.

“Okay, I definitely need to wash my hands, but the bathrooms in there looked like they would make my hands dirtier. Why are all fro-yo places so run-down?” Raven asks, sounding like all the sugar from her sweet treat just kicked in.

“I don’t know, but you’re right, they always do seem on the dingy side.”

“Weird. Anyway, can I play my music on the way home?”

Home. My throat tightens again. One night there and she already sees it as home. I know the feeling.

“Yeah,” I choke out. “Go ahead.”

She switches the Bluetooth setting to her phone and starts blaring some song I’ve only ever heard the chorus of on Instagram Reels. I pull out of the parking spot and drive home with a racing heart.

All of this is too much. I don’t know how to balance it all. My sister, my job, Emmett, and everything that comes with him, like the pressure of the media. I wish I could go back to last night under the stars, when all there was to think about was his hands in my hair and how safe I felt. He was my fortress, but reality has broken through with a battering ram. I just hope that the damage isn’t irreparable.

Chapter thirty-one

Hazel James

“You’vebeenquiet,”Emmettmurmurs into my ear as he comes up behind me in the kitchen. I stir the pot of hot cocoa I’m making for the girls to drink during their movie. It’s probably irresponsible to give Raven more chocolate after all the sugar she’s already had today, but when she and June teamed up with their puppy dog eyes, I didn’t stand a chance.

“It’s been a long week,” I say, my abdomen tensing when he wraps an arm around me.

He uses his other hand to move my hair away from my neck and presses a kiss to the skin there. My eyes flutter shut. I lean into him. His warm strength seeps into my weary bones and I feel my eyes sting. If I cry he’s definitely going to know something’s wrong. I already told him about the situation with my mom, so he might assume it was residual emotions, but he might think something deeper is going on. And after all that’s happened today, I’m not sure I’m ready to have a conversation about possibly having to quit my job.

“Do you want to go to bed early? The girls can watch the movie without you.”

Another thoughtful gesture. Another melt-worthy kiss.

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