Donovan (Face-Off 3)

“I had every intention of apologizing to him. But he has a baby. That’s the part I cannot get over.”

“Tyler has never mentioned anything to me about Carter having kids. As far as I know, Carter lives alone, doesn’t talk to anyone but Tyler and his sister, and keeps his head down and out of the papers. In all the years I have owned Sports Buzz, I have never heard a bad thing about his personal life. In fact, I’ve never heard anything about it at all except maybe a picture here or there with a model or puck bunny.”

“True, but couldn’t the same be said about Tyler? No one knew he had a son. He buried it so well you had to dig to find it. How many people would put that much time into searching through his past? I guess Carter is just as good at keeping secrets as Tyler. That must be why they are such good friends.”

“Yeah, I suppose so…” Her voice trails off but only for a few seconds. “I’ll mention it to Tyler and see if I can get him talking. I have a few tricks up my sleeve I can use.”

“I’m sure you do,” I deadpan, pulling into the parking lot at my apartment complex.

“Look, I have to run. I’m not feeling too hot. This pregnancy does not agree with my stomach. So, I have to go hang my head over the toilet for a few, but I’ll see you on Sunday, okay?”

“Sure thing.” I smile as I pull into a spot and turn off the engine. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some drinking to fit in until then.”

She chuckles on the other end. “Have fun with that. See you soon. Kisses. Bye.”

Then, the line goes silent, leaving me alone with my thoughts once more. Lately, that is not a good thing. At least I have this brunch to look forward to on Sunday. Maybe if I drink myself to sleep tonight, I can do the same tomorrow and wake up refreshed and new on Sunday. I need to binge drink and purge Carter from my system so I can move on with my life.

Chapter 12

Carter

“What do you mean Sydney will be here any minute?” I yell at Tyler without meaning to be so loud. But I have a right to be somewhat annoyed, maybe even a little pissed off. My voice carries throughout the living room of his house, the sound echoing off the vaulted ceilings.

“She’s Kennedy’s best friend, man.” Tyler sits back, sinking into the couch cushions as he kicks his feet up on the coffee table. He slides his hands behind his head, linking them together, and turns to face me. “You can’t avoid her for the rest of your life. At some point, you will have to grow a pair, deal with her face-to-face, and act like a man about it.”

“But you guys ambushed me.” My anger surges through my body, practically radiating off my skin. “What do you expect me to say? That I’m happy about it. Because I’m not. That woman is the devil. Sydney pushes until she gets what she wants, and then starts her games all over again. I had enough of it.”

He smirks at me, a real cocky one that makes me want to slap it off his face. “We both know you’re full of shit. You like Sydney. You’re just too afraid to tell her about your past. Hey, I get it believe me I do. I doubt I would have told Kennedy about Blake so soon if she hadn’t dug into my background on her own. But I’m glad that she did because look at us now. I’m finally getting the family I had always wanted. You could be happy, too, if you stop overthinking everything.”

I frown, shaking my head. “She finds too much joy in torturing me to make me happy. Not unless she changes her mind and wants to wrap her lips around my cock. That’s the only way she’s going to get me to reconsider. I’m sick of being fucked with, and I'm tired of the games. I had enough of it growing up to last a lifetime.”

He moves his hands back down at his sides and rolls onto his shoulder to lean closer to me. “From what Kennedy has told me, Sydney would do just about anything you want to get you back. Maybe you should listen to what she has to say.”

“Wait.” I hold up my hand in protest even more irritated than I was a few seconds ago. “This is a setup to get us back together. I’m out of here.” I attempt to get up from the couch when Tyler clamps his hand on my wrist, h

olding me in place.

“Well, yes and no. Just hear me out.” His expression changes along with his tone. This conversation is about to take a dangerous turn.

Having brunch with Sydney, stuck at a table where I’m sure she will grill me for more information, is not my idea of a fun Sunday afternoon.

“We wanted to get you and Sydney together so we could talk to you about the baby, but Kennedy also thought this would be a good place for you to speak to each other on common ground and without any commitments. Sydney is sorry for what she did and misses you. She’s on the phone with Kennedy every day, bitching about how she would do whatever it takes to get you back. Just eat this brunch crap Kennedy ordered and listen to what Sydney has to say and then you can leave after that if you want.”

Seeing Sydney in person will make it harder for me to leave. She’s smart and beautiful, enigmatic and crazy. But I like her, always have, which is why it was so hard for me to walk away. That’s why I acted like a coward and stopped calling her and ignored all of her messages.

I still think about her, wonder what she’s doing, but I cannot let myself get sucked into her vortex of insanity. My life is too complicated to allow myself to become part of her world. I cannot go back, not without Sydney making some serious changes.

Before I can decide whether I want to retreat or not, I hear Sydney’s voice echo throughout the house as she strolls down the long hallway with Kennedy. She takes my breath away. Literally. When she walks into the living room next to Kennedy, I am speechless and in awe of how gorgeous she looks today, even more so than normal. In a tight black dress that barely covers her thighs and hugs her in all the right places, I have an immediate response to her appearance.

Struggling to erase the dirty thoughts from my mind, I get up from the couch and think of how shitty I played yesterday at home just to keep myself from getting hard. I walk toward Sydney as if drawn to her energy, and forget what I was going to say by the time I’m standing in front of her.

So, like an idiot, I mutter, “Hi.” Real smooth.

Sydney strokes my arm with her nails and peeks up at me from beneath her long, dark lashes. Her blue eyes are so wide they’re like saucers. “Hey, big guy.”

She’s more reserved than normal and so unlike herself. This version of Sydney is not so bad. Maybe the princess needed to be knocked down a peg and thrown from her throne for her to come to her senses.

“Carter,” Kennedy says, as she tugs on my arm to give me a hug, ending my staring contest with Sydney.