Page 128 of Winning Brynn

“I’m also angry,” he admits on a whisper. “So incredibly angry, and then I get angrier because I shouldn’t be feeling angry at all right now. Not while my daughter is lying in a damn hospital bed.”

My heart thumps against my ribs. “Angry at me?”

Heshouldbe angry with me. I left his daughter alone with Isabella, knowing he wouldn’t be comfortable with it. It doesn’t matter that it was only for a few minutes or that Issy had been spending time with Salem for weeks. I shouldn’t have left that room.

At the very least, I should have told Issy that the fruit needed slicing first. I shouldn’t have expected her to just know. There are so many things I should have done differently that would’ve stopped us ending up here.

No matter what Leo says, I’m to blame for what happened today.

But he just looks at me softly, with more love than I deserve right now. “No, baby, not at you. Never at you.”

“Isabella?” I ask, my stomach sinking.

He nods. “She’s abandoned Salem again.”

“Yeah.” That’s all I can manage, because what else is there to say?

He’s right.

Despite the jealousy I felt toward her, I tried my best to support Issy in building a relationship with her daughter. I was patient and empathetic, even when I didn’t understand her reason for doing things. I put aside every doubt I had, every worry, and was prepared to stand aside if it meant Salem would get the complete family unit she deserves. I did it all out of the hope that she was truly committed to her daughter.

So, I understand why Leo is angry, especially since he didn’t want to allow Issy back into their lives in the first place. He only conceded because I encouraged him to. I don’t know if I’ll ever get over the guilt I feel about that, now that it’s backfired.

But beyond all that, there’s a part of me that feels deeply sad for my friend.

Despite everything, I still don’t think she’s a bad person. She’s just a woman who’s made some bad decisions and is living with the consequences of them. One who wanted to make them right, but in trying, only made everything worse.

“What are we gonna do, Brynn?”

“About Issy?”

“About her, about your brother, about me being inevitably dropped from the Strikers.”

I roll my eyes with affection. “No one’s going to drop you from the team, Leo.”

He snorts. “They should.”

“You’re still the best striker in the league right now. A couple of shitty games doesn’t stop that being true.” I sigh. “As for my brother, I guess we’ve finally gotta tell him, huh?”

He chokes a sad laugh. “Yeah, we do.”

Unfolding myself out of the chair, I pad my way over to him and sit myself in his lap. His arms come around me instantly, enveloping me in the scent of wood and earth andhim. I run my nails over the back of his head, stroking at the place where his hair meets his neck. “We’ll do it together.”

“Yeah?”

I nod. “I know you’re scared of losing him, and I imagine he’ll completely overreact at first, but I genuinely believe he’ll come around.” He nuzzles his face into my neck, and I cup his cheek to hold him there. “I love you,” I tell him with my eyes closed. “And I’m not prepared to give you up, so if he loves me like he says he does, he’ll learn to accept it.”

“I love you too.” His eyes raise to look at me. “I haven’t thanked you yet for what you did.”

“You don’t need to.”

“No, I do.” He shakes his head. “My daughter is still breathing because of you.”

“It wouldn’t have happened at all if I hadn’t left the room.” My voice trembles, but I need to say it. I need to acknowledge my part in what happened, take accountability for my failings. “I was distracted. I could have called Ivy back later. I didn’t have to take the call then, but I did, and I left. I knew you still weren’t comfortable with Issy being around Salem, even supervised, but I left anyway. So, please don’t thank me. I should be saying sorry. Iamsorry. More than you’ll ever know.”

“Baby, breathe,” he says gently.

I hadn’t realized I was talking so fast, or breathing so little, until he rests his hand over my chest and taps in a slow rhythm until my breaths begin to regulate again.

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