Page 50 of Beautiful Broken Love

“Yes, well, I agree about backing off. She needs time to heal herself,” he said.

“I know.”

“Because I can tell you, after I lost Eloise, I did not know who I was or what the point of living was. I still feel that way sometimes, but Aleesa keeps me going. Perhaps that is what this woman is feeling too. You cannot make a person move faster with something like this.”

“But I’m not,” I countered. “Iwanther to process it. Iwanther to acknowledge it. I don’t even mind being there while she does. Don’t ask me why, but I care about this girl and her well-being. I can relate to her in so many ways, and yes, I do want to know more about her, but I can’t do that if she doesn’t let me in.”

“Okay, okay. I get it.” Javier raised his hands in the air, a gesture for me to slow it down. “But you need to listen to me, Deke. You say you do not want to be just friends with her, but what if that is what she needs right now? Afriend. And perhaps all those emails you shared made her feel like you were a friend she could talk to. It proved that you did care. Sending her your number probably made her realize you are seeking more from her, and she does not want to hurt you, so she’s keeping quiet. Her emotions are all over the place. She probably doesn’t even feel like herself. I think you should just keep being that friend to her. If there is true chemistry, it will be one day. And when she is ready, she will call.”

I nodded and sighed, dropping my head again.

“Bishop! Valdez! Get off your asses and start these drills!” Ken shouted across the court. “It’s not my money you’re wasting!”

Javier capped my shoulder before rising to his feet, and I followed suit. As we walked across the polished floors, he asked, “Have you ever been friend zoned before?”

“Hell no, Javier! Are you serious? Look at me.” I gestured from my face to the rest of my body. “Not a single woman I’ve met haseverattempted to put me in the friend zone!”

“Ah, that is right. Because you are Deke Bishop,” he said, chuckling.

“Damn right.” I smirked.

“So this woman bruised your ego. Are you sure that is not why you want her? So you can prove to yourself that you can get her? That you have stillgot it, as you Americans like to say?” Javier asked as Ken tossed a basketball to him.

“First of all, that isnothow we say that shit.”

Javier’s laugh filled the gym.

“Secondly, it’s just like I told you. I care about her. She’s rare, and I think she deserves the best.”

“Interesting you say that,” he said.

“How’s that?” I asked, scooping up a ball from the rack. I moved to the spot Ken was pointing at.

“Because if she deserves the best, will you be capable of giving that to her?”

I stared at Javier as his words sank to my stomach.

Damn. That was a good question.

I wasn’t the best guy, and I’d made my mistakes. I had a cloudy reputation as some bachelor athlete, and I couldn’t say some of the rumors about me weren’t true. I’d had my fun, but those days were behind me.

Now I could see why Davina was hesitant. She probably didn’t think I was serious—or maybe she thought I was chasing her for one thing.

I realized that day what went wrong. She didn’t trust me worth a damn. And the worst part about the realization was that I had no clue how to fix it.

TWENTY-SEVEN

DEKE

After I hopped out of the shower and threw on a pair of basketball shorts, I went to the kitchen to warm up the lunch my personal chef had delivered earlier.

It wasn’t until I’d popped a slice of asparagus into my mouth that my phone rang on the counter.

MA

I sighed, setting my fork down with a soft clatter.

“What’s up, Ma?” I answered, tapping the Speakerphone button.

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