Page 69 of Press Your Luck

"I slept okay." I sat down.

"Just okay?" He lowered into the seat next to me, his eyes shining with mischief. "I haven't slept that good in a long time." He winked again.

For a moment, I stared at him, but when the ache in my heart became too much, I looked down at my food. I was playing with fire, and I couldn't help but think it wouldn’t be long before I was going to get burned. The question was, what would be torched? My career and dreams? Or my heart?

31

Pierce

Apart of me wondered if Naomi agreed to join us for breakfast because she couldn't say no to Porter. While I wanted her to want to be with me, if she joined us because she was being nice to Porter, I’d accept that. In the end, she was sitting at our table, enjoying her breakfast. For now, this would do.

Getting out of her bed last night was one of the hardest things I'd ever done. She was snuggled in close against me, looking so serene and beautiful as she slept. There was nothing I wanted more than to close my eyes and have them open to see her in the morning.

But I was a father now, and my priority had to be Porter. So eventually, I got out of bed, dressed, shut the adjoining door on her side of the room, and then exited her hotel room through the main door and returned to my room. But as I lay in bed, the image of her next to me kept me warm all night.

"When are you all heading home?" she asked as she piled her eggs and some bacon on an English muffin and began to eat it like a sandwich.

"The team is flying back today, but Porter and I are staying an extra day to take in the sights."

She arched her brow as she wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Reed splurged for two private planes?"

I flashed her a grin, remembering her comment the other day about flying commercial with her team. "Well, first, yes, and second, I am part-owner of the team as well. Whether Reed likes it or not, Porter and I are sticking around for an extra day."

"We're going to the zoo." Porter drowned his pancakes in syrup. With that much sugar, I was going to have to put him on a treadmill to run off the energy.

"That sounds like a lot of fun. I hear the San Diego Zoo is quite the place."

"Why don't you come with us?" I said the words automatically, but upon reflection, I determined that it was a good idea. Naomi and I had this wild chemistry, and last night, after a little time alone, we discovered we had quite a few things in common. Spending a day away from hockey would give us an opportunity to connect away from all the complications.

"It's very nice of you to offer, but I definitely wouldn’t want to get in the way of father-son time. Besides, my plane leaves this afternoon."

"Cancel it. Spend the day with us, and you can fly back with us tomorrow." I hoped I didn’t look too eager.

She looked from me to Porter and back to me again, her expression uncertain.

"You should come," Porter said with a mouthful of pancakes. "My dad likes you."

My cheeks had to be the color of beets if the hot flush was any indication. I glanced at Naomi, who was looking at me with amusement in her eyes.

I shrugged. "It seems to be an open secret." Emotion flashed in her eyes, and I was desperate to understand what that meant. I had just come out and admitted my feelings to her and to Porter. I had told her before that I wanted to see where this thing between us could go. Last night, I showed her. Maybe it wasn't something that would last, but what in life ever really did? The question was, had her feelings about it changed at all?

She looked down at her fruit, poking at it with her fork. "What about your father-son bonding time?”

I looked over at Porter because she was right. This trip was supposed to be for the two of us. "I did tell you that it was just going to be us two, buddy."

Porter shrugged. "I don't mind if she comes." A part of me wondered if he wanted a third person as a buffer between us. Porter and I were getting along, but I could tell that sometimes, too much touchy-feely was difficult for him.

I looked over at Naomi. "We'd both like you to come." I could feel it deep in my bones that she was going to say no. I steeled myself for the rejection.

As I watched her, it was as if there was a battle going on in her mind and I wondered what it was about. Was she worried about Todd? The woman was delivering him a winning season. Surely, he could give her a day. Maybe she was worried about the media. Maybe I should be too, but to be honest, I didn’t give a shit what they said about me. All that mattered was being able to spend time with Naomi.

In reality, the media was likely done with us. Or perhaps they were in the lobby or the airport, but they’d be gone once the teams were.

Naomi took in a deep breath and then slowly let it out. "Okay. I'll do it."

Fan-fucking-tastic. I wanted to jump up on my chair and do a dance. Or high-five Porter for being my wingman. Instead, I picked up my coffee and sipped as she took out her phone to cancel her ticket and called Max to put him in charge of ensuring the team got on the flight.

The San Diego Zoowas different from most other zoos. It had a more traditional zoo, but it also had a wildlife park where we got to ride in open-air buses to the various compounds housing the animals. Porter was entranced as he sat on the edge of his seat, scanning the horizon for whatever animals we were supposed to be seeing now.

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