Big, deep, booming laughs, and I exhaled slowly, tension ebbing from my frame.
Harold wiped his eyes when tears gathered. “Oh goodness, that’s the funniest shit I’ve heard in a long time.”
The sound of two car doors preceded Remi’s voice behind us. “Sorry we’re late. I baked some muffins and they took a little longer than I thought.”
The sight of Remi was a blow to my chest, and like a fool, I’d line up to take that hit over and over and over, until there was nothing left.
This woman had already wrecked me, and still I wanted more. I wanted nothing but for her to tear down whatever I was before I’d met her. Maybe what was left would be the good parts, the parts I’d never really tried to find until now.
Her eyes found mine, color creeping up her cheekbones. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
Friends,I thought. This woman, this exquisite creature, wanted me to be her fucking friend. Yeah, right. She wasn’t looking at me like a friend, either, and my stomach twisted pleasantly when she fidgeted nervously with her hair. It was braided back today, but a few tendrils had escaped, fluttering around her face.
The way I wanted Remi Sinclair defied every law of logic in existence. And if she allowed me to stay in her orbit much longer, I’d fall in love with her.
Wasn’t I already halfway there?
What else would you call this sickening feeling that gnawed ceaselessly at my insides? Even when I shouldn’t be, I was thinking of her. Wondering where she was and what she was doing. How she’d react if I did something like buy her a new car or pay off the mortgage on her house. Something—anything—to bring a smile to her face, even if she didn’t know it was me.
Remi blinked, severing the relentless build of energy as we stared at each other. I could breathe more easily now, but I wasn’t sure that was a good thing. If I choked to death on my feelings for this woman, I’d probably do it with a smile on my face.
“Pops, did you meet Archer?” Gavin came tearing around the front of the car, stopping short when he saw the rookie. “Whoa,” he breathed. “You’re—you’re Grant Williams.”
Williams smiled easily, holding his hand out for a fist bump. “And you must be Gavin. Archer told me all about you.”
“Hedid?”
The look Gavin gave me—full of awe—was a double-edged sword. No matter how much we didn’t want it to be true, athletes and celebrities and musicians carried the weight of children like Gavin. None of us went into our respective fields wanting to be role models, but when you were good enough, popular enough, your platform stretching far enough across the globe, impressionable kids looked up to you.
I’d ignored that for a long time.
But I couldn’t anymore.
“Of course I did,” I told Gavin. “Listen, I felt really bad that I couldn’t come in and see your room before, so I wanted to find a way to make it up to you.”
He stared, wide-eyed, at Williams. “This works for me.”
We all laughed.
I cleared my throat. “No, I brought him so we had an extra set of hands and another truck. But I’d still love to see your room, if you want to show me.”
“Yeah, I can ... I can do that.” He puffed out his chest and looked at Williams. “Would you want to see it too?”
“Of course, dude. I bet your room is awesome.”
Remi glanced at the second truck parked next to mine. “I thought you had the fancy sports car.”
Williams shrugged. “What can I say? I have a weakness for vehicles.”
She shook her head, a tiny smile playing around her lips. When she finally looked in my direction, what I saw there left me breathless with anticipation. With a plate of muffins clutched to her stomach, she met me halfway.
“Two football players for the price of one, huh?”
“Please don’t slap Williams. I’d hate to think he gets the same treatment as me.”
Remi laughed, and fuck, did I love what it did to her eyes.