Page 100 of Rules Of Our Own

Fuck me. It would hurt less if he stabbed me.

“Leave it. We’ll take care of her,” River says, tone an icy crisp.

Damon sucks on his front teeth. “You better. I won’t have players on my team fuck with other people’s lives.”

“Don’t worry. She’s ours.” With that, River leaves, and I follow after him. Fuck, I liked the sound of that. Not mine.Ours.

The second I’m out of the room, River’s backing me into another one. His eyes are hard on mine. “This could fuck with your career. Are you sure about this?”

“Dead.”

“Right answer.” His lips land on mine, taking every fucking thought with them.

CHAPTER49

RIVER

“When Prosthetics For Kidscame to us with this opportunity, how could we say no?” Alex answers the news reporter, the bright sun shining off his blonde hair. It’s surprisingly warm for a fall day in Boston, the grass in Lucas’s backyard still a vibrant green.

Alex’s wearing his signature confident smile he uses for the press. For a Canadian, he’s nailed the stereotypical All-American look. The reporter’s looking at him a little too interestedly for what they’re talking about. Luckily, Mia’s too pumped to notice.

Today’s the big day, and we’re here to do whatever we can to support her. Last night, she was a walking stress ball. Even her cat kept his distance.

I could practically feel the electricity crackling off her as she ran through the list of things she needed for the event to be successful. She’s been killing herself for weeks preparing, and I know it’s going to be better than she expects. But there’s no telling her that. You’d think she winged it for how little confidence she has in herself.

There’s a compressed oval in my carpet from where she paced for hours. It took Alex lifting her off her feet and collapsing on the couch to keep her still. He worked his strong hands into the tight muscles of her back while I kneaded the bottom of her soles.

She’d passed out between us, exhausted from the stress.

“What made you start this charity?” the reporter asks Mia.

Alex tilts his head toward Mia as she answers more questions. Only the people closest to us would spot the change in him. The way his smile softens and his eyes crinkle while he watches her.

Mia’s completely oblivious to it all. She’s gripping her hands behind her back so tight her palms turn pink, and she’s abusing her poor bottom lip.

A small boy, face painted in red and black with white spiderweb details, comes barreling down Lucas’s lawn toward me, two girls with rainbow-painted masks following a few feet behind. His below-the-knee prosthetic doesn’t slow him down, and I barely dodge out of the way before they crash into me.

Smiling, I grab two white buckets from the porch and walk them to where everything’s set up. There’s a camera placed directly in front of the few chairs we’d laid out. There are towels and coolers a few feet away. We’d gotten here first thing this morning, and from the smile on Mia’s face, it’s totally worth it.

Mia wants the Center-Ice challenge to feel accessible to everyone, so she skipped all the fancy decorations and opted for a simple setup in Lucas’s backyard. She’s done an amazing job with this event, and the crazy thing is, I don’t think she even realizes it. She’s so focused outward that she never takes the time to look at her own accomplishments.

The entire team is here to show their support. With them are their wives and kids, making for the perfect amount of chaos.

I’ve never wanted kids, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like them. I glance toward where Mia’s wrapping up her interview. I think I’d give her anything she wants.

“You’re staring.” Lucas dumps several bags of ice on the ground and rips into one, a knowing look in his eyes.

“Problem?” I ask, not bothering to look away from where Alex is now ushering her toward us. I don’t give a single fuck if anyone notices my obsession with them. Hell, if it wouldn’t mess things up for Mia, I’d be screaming it from the rooftops.

“Nah, just wondering when you’re going to do something about it.” Lucas tips the bag over the bucket, and the ice splashes water everywhere.

“Iamdoing something. We’re just keeping it private.”

Lucas huffs out a breath. “How long do you think that’ll last?”

I peel my gaze away from Mia and raise one brow. “As long as she needs it to.”

“So, what gives? Mia doesn’t want to go official?” Lucas looks sympathetic; he’d been a complete dick to Piper, then had to work his ass off to get her back.