Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78793 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78793 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
“Do you need anything else from the store?” she asks.
“I guess since you’re stopping, maybe get some chips, too. I’ll order pizza and wings. Do we have drinks?”
“Yes, the garage fridge is still stocked.”
“Okay, just some chips unless there’s something else you want. Whatever it is, you use my card to get it all.”
“I can buy some brownies and chips, Baker. My boss pays me well.” She smirks.
“Use mine.” My words leave no room for argument. Opening the back door, I get Camden settled into his car seat and step back. Before I can close the door, Sloane slips in front of me and bends down to talk to him.
“I’ll see you soon, little man. You were such a good boy today,” she praises him.
“Cam, good,” he says, patting his chest.
“That’s right.” She kisses his cheek before standing and turning to face me. “I’ll see you soon.” She turns to leave, but I grab her wrist, pulling her back to me. I close the car door and pull her into my chest.
“Drive safely,” I say, hugging her tight.
“I will,” she says, returning my embrace.
I have to let her go, so I do so reluctantly. She smiles, waves, and turns to walk to her car. I don’t move until I see her climb inside and drive away.
Chapter Sixteen
Sloane
* * *
I’m gripping the steering wheel, but I can still feel the slight tremble in my hands. My heart is pounding inside my chest, and I know I need backup. Pulling into the parking lot of the grocery store, I put my car in park, grab my phone, and call Corie.
“Hey, miss me already?” she teases.
“Always,” I assure her. “But, I kind of need to chat.”
“Sure, what’s up? Is everything okay?”
“Yes. I’m fine. Nothing is wrong, but I need to get this off my chest.”
“Sure, Knox and I are headed home. He wants to take another shower there before we head to Baker’s.”
That’s her way of telling me she’s not alone. “Got ya. Okay, well, I’ll just say it, and you can think on it and hit me with your thoughts later.”
Corie laughs. “Sounds good.”
“Baker and I—I don’t know what we are, but we’re something. I think,” I confess.
“Do you have more than that?” she asks me.
“Glances, soft touches, and the three of us slept in Camden’s bed a couple of times, and he held me all night long. Kissed my cheek before he left to go to practice that next morning the first time, and then breakfast and the three of us spent the day together wrapped up on the coach the next.”
“And when was this?”
“The day after Natasha’s and Levi’s funerals, and then again a couple of weeks ago.”
“Sloane!”
“I know. I know that I should have told you, but I assumed he was just feeling vulnerable. Yet, the soft touches and the heated looks… they’ve never stopped. Things like, I’ll be in the kitchen, and he’ll come up behind me, place his hand on the small of my back, and lean around me. He’s kissed my cheek, my forehead, the top of my head more times than I can count. He gives me hugs goodnight, and then tonight happened.”
“What happened tonight?”
“Well, after the game, he took Camden from me, then hugged us both to his chest, and then he wanted to know why I was wearing Knox’s number instead of his. He kind of said that he knows I feel whatever this is between us, too, and I agreed with him.”
“I love this for you,” she says.
I pause. “Really? Corie, I work for him. He’s our friend. My friend. This could mess it all up.”
“Or it could be amazing. You remember when I first started seeing Knox, right? We tried to pretend it was just a hookup, and that got us nowhere.”
“Shhh, Knox is with you.”
“We’re home. He’s already upstairs in the shower.” She laughs. “Baker is a great guy, an incredible father, and he’d be lucky to have your attention. Just know before you dive into this thing, it’s more than just him. He’s a package deal.”
“I know. I love Camden so much. My heart is going to crack wide open when he replaces me.”
“Who says he has to?”
“Come on, Corie. I can’t keep working for him if I’m sleeping with him.”
“You can. But also, what if this turns into more? What if he’s your person?”
“Don’t go putting crazy ideas into my head,” I warn her. But what if she’s right? My heart starts to race, and hope wells inside of me.
“It’s not crazy. I never in my wildest imagination would have thought that I’d be married to Knox, and now, we’re starting a family. He’s my everything, and I never would have gotten to this point had I not taken the chance.”
“So, you think I should let this—whatever this is between us—happen?”