Page 86 of Timelessly Ours
“Aww, you’ve got a mini-me, Nicky. Then she side-eyes her little sister. “The only thing she ever wanted from me was my bigger bedroom.”
I wink at Rory in the backseat.
“So do we have good seats tonight?” I ask, keeping the conversation light to deflect any possible questions about what it’s like living with her father.
I can’t tell her what happened between us—not yet and probably not ever if her dad has anything to say about it.
However this ends, I don’t want things to be weird between Angel and me.
“Are you kidding? The best.” Then she cocks her head to the side as she watches the road. “Just hope we get to see some good action tonight instead of a disaster.” She glances at her rear-view mirror at the little one and then shakes her head knowing Rory isn’t a threat. “Jace told me…there might be someone on the team that might not have our best interest at heart.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means our losing…might not be because we suck this season.”
“Like someone is screwing with their own team?” The question leaves my lips all too casually. Because unfortunately, this is familiar territory for me. I was raised by someone who set up her own team to fail…so to speak. Of course, I was the only team member who took the bait.
Angel glances between the road and me. “You don’t seem surprised. Do you know something?”
I scoff. “Are you kidding? He’s hardly been home this week.” That’s all I say. I suppose there’s no harm in telling her he seemed super stressed this week, but nope—my lips are sealed. Whatever I witness living under his roof is no one’s business.
“Can we stop by Dad’s office?” Rory asks. “He always has popcorn for me.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, sweet pea. I’ll just buy you some.” The last thing I want to do is walk into his office before a game asking for popcorn.
“Of course, sugar.” Angel takes her sister's hand and then winks at me. “Come on, I know where he keeps it.”
Reluctantly, I follow her through the long halls, where I’d rarely been allowed to follow in the past. Nick would typically send me to my reserved seat and then to the after-party suite.
When we approach his office, the door is pulled open from the inside and Nick and Jace step out. Immediately, I search their faces to see how they feel about tonight.
Surprisingly…confident.
The men exchange glances and there’s a subtle nod before they spot us.
Royce steps out after them, wearing a crisp tailored suit and looking like the silver fox GQ model he could easily be.
Especially with that distant, stoic expression on his face.
Until he sees us.
“Daddy,” Rory cries and races toward him. Poor girl’s missed him this week.
He bends to catch her and lifts her. “Well, hello. Have you seen my little girl? She’s about your height, messy hair, wears hoodies?” She giggles and he sets her down with a big smile and gives her another once over. “I love it.”
His eyes trail up my body, starting at my ankle boots and casually making their way up until he meets my eyes. And by the looks of them…he loves my outfit too.
“Yeah, I’m diggin’ it, kid. If you were just a wee bit taller, we probably wouldn’t be able to tell you two apart,” Nick jokes, pointing between Rory and me.
I sneer at my brother. “Isn’t there some dumb ritual you should be doing right now?”
This time, the three men exchange glances, and the players briefly and mysteriously thank their Coach and head toward the locker room.
“Come on, let’s go grab a few bags.” Angel urges her little sister and pushes her into their Dad’s office.
Coach’s eyes are back on me and there’s so much warmth in them now. Neither of us say anything since the door is open and anyone could hear but the way he’s looking at me—and the way I can’t tear my own eyes from him…we don’t need to speak.
Suddenly, there’s a face to go with the text messages from this morning. The ones that, if I were to summarize, read I miss you and I won’t survive tonight if you’re not here.