Page 75 of Let Me Love You

We drive in silence for a few minutes, each lost in our own thoughts. Finally, he adds, “If it counts for anything, I really am happy for you and Blake.”

My mouth lifts in a smile. It’s the first one I’ve had all day. “Me too.” The familiarclick-click, click-clickfrom his blinker echoes in the otherwise silent cab as he turns right, and the rhythmic sound ceases. I add, “So Ash wants to be the martyr and let you go so you can get back with Eleanor?”

He sighs. “Last we’d talked, she’d gotten it in her head Jaxon’s best chance at a good, normal childhood is if his parents are still together. While I wanna fault her for it, I can see where she’s coming from. Having divorced parents would’ve sucked as a kid.”

“Well, yeah, but having parents together when they shouldn’t be sucked too. Ask Hazel and Miley,” I argue. “Besides, it’sAsh.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Colt seethes. “I’m not gonna give her up. I can’t. It would fucking shatter me, man. I’m barely hanging on as it is. But I can’t make her stay if she doesn’t want to. And I’m afraid Ellie and the baby are the final straws. With all the shit I’m putting Ash through, the shit from the articles, and the girls who won’t leave her or me alone…it’s killing her. And it doesn’t matter what I do. I can’t protect her from all of it while she tries to fade away and pretends none of it exists. I’m fucking lost, man.”

He’s right. Ash has been put through hell. More than Blake. More than any other player’s significant other in the league. And adding a baby mama on top of everything? She’s gotta be close to the tipping point. Any other girl would be.

“Running doesn’t sound so terrible anymore, now does it?” he jokes as he pulls up in front of my new place. Colt’s phone rings through the speakers, and Eleanor Elshner’s name flashes on the dashboard screen.

Colt stares at the name as if it belongs to a ghost.

“Why’s she calling?” I ask.

Colt shakes his head. “I dunno.”

Ring. Ring.

“You gonna answer it?” I push.

His upper lip curls, and a mumbledfuckvibrates up his throat. He answers the call through the Bluetooth speaker.

“Yeah?”

“Hey, it’s me. Ellie,” a feminine voice answers as I open the passenger door and step onto the sidewalk, unsure whether or not Colt wants privacy.

“Hey, Ellie.” Colt scrubs his hand over his face, catches me staring, and mouths, “I’ll talk to you later,” effectively excusing me.

“Hey. I’m glad you answered my call,” Ellie says. “I was hoping you’d maybe want to grab coffee—”

I slam the passenger door closed, cutting off the rest of Eleanor’s sentence as my hands clench into fists.

Becausefuck.

I don’t know why his ex is calling, especially when Colt doesn’t have the test results yet, but after hearing Ash’s side of things, it’s clear he’s walking a fine line. If he isn’t careful, he might lose the only person who’s ever mattered to him.

27

MIA

It’s barely one in the afternoon when the bell on SeaBird’s door rings, notifying me of a new customer. When I look at the entrance, all I find is Ashlyn. She looks like she hasn’t slept in days. Her straight blonde hair is pulled into a high, messy ponytail, but the bags under her eyes are a dead giveaway, and so is the worn hoodie swallowing her small frame despite it being the middle of summer and less than chilly outside. Just a hunch, but I bet she stole it from Colt so she could feel close to him. After the mess from last night, I don’t blame her. I read the article this morning. Needless to say, they raked Colt over the coals for what happened and twisted him into a cheating asshole who likes to hit women.

Yeah…not so great. But at least it wasn’t entirely about her this time, right?

“Hey, what are you doing here?” I ask as she plops onto the barstool across from me.

Tucking her hair behind her ear, Ash looks around the nearly-empty space and murmurs, “Oh, missing my best friend, so I thought I’d stop by.”

I frown. “You doing all right?”

“Not really.” She sniffs. “Am I too soft? Am I too much of a wallflower?”

I laugh and pour some Diet Coke into a glass, setting it in front of her with a straw. “Colt told you what I said, huh?”

“Yeah.” With a jabbing motion, she stabs the straw against the counter and removes the wrapper, sliding the straw into her soda and swirling it around the caramel-colored liquid. “Was it bad last night? The mess with the girl and everything?”