Page 71 of Tempting the Goalie
“You two headed for the bakery?” my brother asks.
“I’m working the bakery today,” I say. Luc and I must have the sex afterglow because I can feel it. I have a stupid smile I can’t tame.
“Are you two on something?” Asher asks us both.
My nose scrunches. “Are you insane? We don’t do drugs.” I smack my brother in the shoulder, and he winces.
“That was hard,” he complains and then his eyes turn wide and he scrunches his face. “Ew, you two were doing the dirty deed in the shed.”
“Asher, stop being an idiot,” I say to him.
“I don’t know if I can look at you the same way, bro,” he says to Luc.
“Asher, grow up for crying out loud. Act like an adult,” I beg my brother.
“Bro, I love your sister. She’s my forever and I’m not going to make any excuses for that. You’ll just have to accept it,” Luc tells him.
“Whoa, okay, bro. I can respect that. So, you two are going to get married and have kids?” he asks Luc.
“Asher, get a life and leave us alone,” I say in frustration.
My brother bursts into laughter because he knows he’s being an annoying jerk.
“Come on, I love you guys,” Asher says through his laughter.
Luc laughs too and when we reach the bakery, he pecks my cheek and says he’s going to check on Elyna and Braden because he wants to update Elyna on what happened with their dad.
Asher follows me into the bakery because he wants something to eat. “You know Luc is like a brother to me,” he begins. “I just want you to be careful. That guy was the biggest player around.”
“People change,” I bring to my brother’s attention.
“I don’t doubt that, Izzy, but I was friends with the guy. He always made it a point to say that he’d never have kids. Are you okay with that?”
When I don’t answer him, he continues.
“You’re my sister and I love you. I just want to protect you.”
“You all want to protect me, and I love you too, but I’m an adult now and I know what I’m doing,” I assure Asher.
“Okay, little sis. Do you want to hook me up with a croissant?” He waggles his brows.
I laugh because he’s such a goofball.
“Sure thing.” I give him his croissant and continue to serve customers, but I can’t stop thinking of Asher’s warning. Luc said he wants me to be his forever, but he never did say he would be okay with kids.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Isabelle
For the last few weeks of summer, I worked in the bakery in the afternoons. Luc worked the orchards in the morning and babysat Braden in the afternoons. We fell into a routine, a pattern. I snuck him up to my room at night, even though I had the sneaking suspicion Daddy knew he was in my room. It sure wasn’t a first. The only difference is things have changed. We have crossed lines we both silently promised to never cross. We are in love. But I am twenty-one years old. I’m not ready for kids. Bringing up that talk feels completely unnecessary on one level and completely necessary on another because it is nagging at me. One day I will want kids and that may be a problem because the only man I want is Luc. There is also the issue that we have to return to Riverside U next week to start our senior year of college. We are both going to be busy. Luc will be travelling with the team and there is a lot of change headed our way. I’m not a big fan of change. I like life to be stable. When I know what to expect. Surprises in my world aren’t a good thing. But there is also the issue that I am working on my personal growth, on my self-confidence which means having the courageto speak up and say what I want which is a challenge for me. I also hate confrontation, but going back to school is causing me nerves. This is our last year at Riverside. What is coming next is unknown.
“Okay, what is going on with you?” Luc asks as we lie on my bed watching a movie. It’s late and Daddy is in bed. Luc planned on sneaking out through my window when the movie was over, just like he had done when we were kids. There is easy access to my window since Daddy had ladders installed all along the sides of our house in case of a fire. After Mom left, he went through a phase of making sure the house was fireproof. Becket raised the issue that it would be easy for thieves to get to the second floor, but Daddy argued he was in charge of the police station and everyone in town knew it. No one was breaking into the main house and, so far, he has been right.
It takes me a few moments to answer Luc. I am feeling extra emotional, and it is hard to put all my feelings out there.
“I’m getting my period,” I reply.
“And I can see the balls rolling in your head,” he says with a cute smirk.
