Dax (Arizona Vengeance 4)

Bending so only she can hear me, I point out the obvious. “I was just thinking this is sort of the first time you and I are together as a couple in front of the team.”

She cocks a perfect eyebrow at me. “I hadn’t realized we were acting as a couple here tonight.”

I hate to tell her, but I really like that smart mouth on her. I grin before giving her a kiss. When I pull back, I say, “If anyone was watching right now, they would know.”

“So we’re going to be open about this?” she asks cautiously.

“Not about your illness. Of course, we’ll still keep the marriage a secret since that sort of goes hand-in-hand with that. But I don’t see why we can’t be open about us being together.”

“If that’s what you want to do,” she replies hesitantly.

Putting my arm around her, I pull her into my side before I usher her to our group. “Yeah, that’s what I want to do.”CHAPTER 23ReganErik and Blue’s house is pretty magnificent. It’s huge, of course, which means despite the fact the entire team is here for Billy’s party, it doesn’t feel overcrowded.

This is good because despite the fact our time together following the game in Detroit was our first official “outing” as a couple, it feels as if I’m more in the spotlight here. Probably because it was late and in a dark bar in Detroit, so not everyone saw Dax and me together. Plus, we didn’t really engage in overt affections being as his family was there and it was still a little awkward with us being “together” in front of them.

But here in Blue and Erik’s house, where it’s broad daylight and not overly crowded, it feels like there’s a spotlight on us. That might be because since we arrived, Dax hasn’t left my side. Hasn’t stopped touching me for that matter.

It might be an arm around my waist, or maybe he’ll pull me down onto his lap. Several times, he’s leaned over and kissed me right in front of people. No one has said a word.

Well, no one except Blue herself. After we arrived and Dax introduced us, she immediately pulled me away from him, asking if I’d give her a hand in the kitchen with a few things.

I was delighted to help as I’d heard wonderful things about her from Dax. She’s a flight attendant on the team plane, and Erik fell hard for her. Blue didn’t really want much to do with him, but he was persistently charming according to Dax and finally won her over. It sounds like such a romantic love story, especially with how Erik has become like a brother to Billy.

Once I was away from Dax, Blue proceeded to grill me—in an incredibly nice and overly friendly way—about how Dax and I came to be together. She knew from Erik that he and Lance were best friends and we’re longtime family friends. I guess a friends-to-lovers story was just too intriguing for her to ignore.

I stuck to the truth as much as I could. That Dax offered for me to come to Phoenix to be around a longtime family friend during my grief. That we’d gotten drunk one night and one thing sort of led to the other. That we had doubts and then regrets, but then ultimately decided to “go for it” so to speak.

Blue listened with a dreamy smile on her face as we sipped wine in the kitchen. I’d found out the party was catered, and she didn’t have a damn thing to do to get ready, but just wanted to get to know me.

Dax showed up not long after, and he whisked me away to meet some of the other players and their significant others. I’d met Brooke, who is engaged to Bishop. Sadly, I didn’t get to meet Pepper who was still recuperating from her injuries, although Legend came to wish Billy a happy birthday.

And, oh my gosh… Billy. The sweetest man ever. I loved seeing how at ease the players were with him and vice versa.

Best of all was watching the mysterious, reclusive Tacker interact with Billy. Dax had told me they bonded months ago at Dave & Buster’s while playing video games, and that Tacker often visited him at his group home. I observed him carefully for a while. He smiled easily and talked without restraint to the young man who looked to be about my age, and he did all this without Billy being able to actually talk back. But he did respond with smiles and nods, communicating with hand signals and grunts. They sat in front of Erik’s big-screen TV in the basement and played Mario Kart together.

The party is a smashing success. And after the cake and opening of presents in the large great room upstairs, which was more than enough to accommodate everyone, I finally have a moment to take a long overdue bathroom break. The two upstairs restrooms are occupied, so I make my way down into the basement.