“Nice having them here, huh?” Bodi asks me once I’ve started shooting a few pucks, my thoughts still a million miles away.
“It is,” I agree.
“You’re falling hard.”
“I guess I am,” I say amiably.
“It’s okay to be happy, my man,” he says with a grin. “Stop acting like you’re not.”
“Oh, no, I definitely am. I’m just trying to figure out what’s next.”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s stubborn when it comes to money, and I don’t know how to make her trust me.”
“You can’t.”
“What?”
“You can’t make her do anything. Just let it happen. Show her who you are, like you’ve been doing, and one day it’s going to click. But like you’ve said a bunch of times, it hasn’t been very long—it takes time to build complete trust.”
“I guess that’s true.”
“According to what she’s told Jayne, she’s crazy about you. And I know you feel the same about her. Why are you so worried?”
I tell him about the discovery that DeMarco is Joey’s biological father and how he could cause trouble for her. “It feels like there’s a lot going on.”
“Which gives you the perfect opportunity to show her the man you are—and who you can be to both her and her son.”
“Haven’t I already been doing that?”
“That was the honeymoon stage. This is your first…crisis, for lack of a better word? The first real test. You don’t want to fail it.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I respond dryly.
“Just be who you are,” he says quietly. “Show her the man underneath that armor you’ve been wearing since you left L.A. That’s the guy she’s falling in love with.”
I glance back to where she and Joey are still standing, talking and laughing with Jayne and a few other ladies. It feels good to have her here. The right woman in the right place at the right time.
And it’s been a long time coming.
Chapter
Thirty-Two
Serena
It’s warmer today, in the high fifties, and I’m almost as excited as Joey is to be outside. With West gone on a road trip and Jayne busy at the library, it’s been a little lonely. Getting outside today is a nice distraction because I wasn’t prepared to miss West as much as I do. He’s only been gone a few days but for some reason it feels like forever. He’s on the west coast, so between travel and the time difference, it’s been hard to catch up.
I’ve gotten used to being with him every day, living at the house and driving his SUV. Still. It almost feels like he’s letting both of those things happen organically and maybe I am too. I want so much to be able to handle my own life but with my finances the way they are, it’s just not feasible.
I’m going to need help getting a new car, and the truth is, it doesn’t feel as weird as I thought it would because I want to be with West. Full time. I hate having to go back and forth to my apartment, constantly looking for specific clothes or toys or something from my kitchen.
Life would be so much better if I could just officially move in with him.
Maybe I should stop fighting it and let myself fall in love and be happy.
My phone rings, startling me, and I see a number I haven’t seen in a long time.