Page 43 of Beautiful Broken Love

I loved kids, man. They were the realest people on earth and not tainted by any of the world’s bullshit. At least Eli wasn’t ...yet.

I’m convinced growing up is a curse. All the emotions hit you harder and the innocence fades when you get a dose of the real world. This earth is supposed to be our playground, and yet every day feels like walking through a war zone.

After we grabbed some italian ice, we headed to Camille’s crib. She had a simple one-story home with three bedrooms and a theater room we loved making use of during my longer visits.

I wouldn’t be able to stay long this time around. My training with Ken Massey was coming up, and I needed to be prepared. Ken was one of the toughest trainers around, but he yielded impressive results. Mymain goal was to get better at the game, not worse, so hiring him was a necessity.

I waited at the hood of the car for Eli before heading to the front door of his house. He had a fresh blue stain from the italian ice on his gray shirt, and I huffed a laugh.

When I gave the doorbell a ring, it only took a few seconds for Jack, Camille’s fiancé, to answer the door. Jack, an extremely extroverted man with warm beige skin, a big gap-toothed smile, short auburn hair, and shirts tucked into whatever pants he was wearing, would soon be my brother-in-law.

The last man Camille was married to—Elias’s father—was a piece of shit, and the complete opposite of Jack, literally down to the skin tone. Her ex talked too much, tried too hard, and wanted everyone to like him, even though he was a narcissistic asshole.

But Jack was a good dude, and he treated my sister well. And to be honest, Jack was only ever himself, and I could appreciate that ... even if he was a little too handsy and always in someone’s face.

“Well, look at that!TheDeke Bishop is at my doorstep!” Jack announced, raising his arms in the air.

“That’d be me,” I said, then cut my eyes to Eli, who was rolling his.

“Hey, Jack,” Eli said, squeezing through a gap to get inside.

“Hey, there, Eli! I made some pizza rolls if you want some!”

Jack looked at me again with that same goofy smile and his hands at his hips now. He ran his eyes up and down the length of me in awe.

I raised a curious brow. “You gonna let me in or what, Jack?”

“Oh! Right! Yes, come in, come in!” Jack moved aside, and I stepped over the threshold. It definitely smelled like pizza rolls, and as I entered the kitchen, I spotted Eli standing over the stove, devouring them.

Damn.

Maybe I should’ve grabbed him a burger instead of shaved ice.

A hand clapped my shoulder, and Jack stood at my side. “The kid’s hungry, huh?”

I laughed. “Guess so.”

“Hey, listen, Deke. Thank you for picking Eli up. Camille’s been so stressed with work and all. I would’ve gone to scoop him up myself, but I was trying to finish up with one of my patients. Time sort of ran over. Glad I could make it home before you got here, though.”

Jack was a physical therapist. Mostly treated sports injuries ... which was why it was so awkward at times with him, because it was like he waswaitingfor the day I got injured just so he could treat me.

I stepped back, not only to remove Jack’s hand from my shoulder but also to face him a step or two away, like most men usually did. “It’s all good, Jack. Trust me, I get it.”

“Anyway, make yourself at home. Camille should be here within the hour. I’ve ordered pizza and wings for tonight. Oh—can we take a picture together? My golfing buddies are gonnafreakwhen they hear Deke Bishop was inmyhouse!”

Oh, man. There was only so much of this I could take.

I took the selfie with him, but not without thinking that my sister needed to get her ass home stat.

TWENTY-THREE

DEKE

“Are y’all going to be out here all night or what?” Camille’s voice rang in the air as I passed the basketball to Eli.

I turned to find my sister stepping out the back door of her house and walking through the trail leading to their private basketball court.

“Hi, Mommy!” Eli abandoned the ball to rush to her. He hugged her tight around the waist, and she laughed as she held him back.

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