The Daddy Box Set

“Who’re you talking to, Ry? ‘Cause I’m sure that Ryder, the guy who’s known me for years, knows that I don’t do serious.” We both thawed out a little, allowing our frustration with each other to flow to our muscles and into our workout.

“James, the guy who I’ve known for years, has never blown off just about everything for some girl.” He threw my shitty reasoning right back at me.

“I told you, I’m just having some fun.” My brow was covered in sweat, and I was so far over this conversation that I was coming up on Timbuktu. “Since when do we gossip like teenagers about girls?”

“Since now, apparently. Who is she, James?” The man was tenacious; I had to give him that. Grudgingly.

A deep sigh ran through me. He wasn’t going to let me off the hook. It was time to get it over with. “It’s Gabrielle, okay. Gabrielle Ralls.”

Ryder went rigid. His jaw hit the ground as he turned to me. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“No,” I admitted. “We met. Shit happened. We’re having fun.”

“Does she know that?” It would be an understatement to say that he looked doubtful.

“Yeah, of course.” We hadn’t talked about it, necessarily. Not in so many words, but I was sure that we were on the same page.

In fact, I was convinced that she’d only had dinner with me that first night to piss off her father.

The thought made me, I don’t know, uneasy maybe? But I was sure that her hanging out with me wasn’t about that anymore. Now it was something else.

“So you’re telling me that you’re potentially sacrificing your spot on our team for a fling?”

“What are you talking about?” It was my turn to stop and stare, though I knew exactly what he meant.

“You know what I’m fucking talking about. Don’t play dumb, Jamie. Not with me, cause I ain’t falling for your bullshit.” He was full-blown annoyed if his twitching jaw and harsh tone were anything to go by.

“Come on. Richard might not be happy about it, if he even finds out, but he’s not going to kick me off the team.” I’d dialed down my own irritation.

“No, maybe not. The restructuring of your contract, on the other hand, that might be in trouble.” His jaw clenched, and his dark eyes radiated a seriousness that he didn’t display too often. “I’m not going to say anything, but shit like this tends to get out. You said yourself that you’re not serious about this Gabrielle. So is it really worth it to risk your future over a fling?”

“If I agree to think about it, can we drop it?” I huffed. I was done with his shit.

He cast a last worried look my way, then broke out a grin. “Sure, man. Let me spot you.”

We grunted through our workout, hit the showers, and were out the door without another word about Gabrielle.

Thoughts swirled around in my head as I drove around, not wanting to head home just yet. Harper’s eyes flashed in my mind, as did the kind of life that I wanted for her.

Next was the Super Bowl and how shitty I had felt watching it on Ryder’s flat screen when it should’ve been us on that field. The ring that

had eluded me for so long.

As much as I liked spending time with Gabrielle, maybe Ryder was right. Maybe she wasn’t worth risking my future.

Chapter Twenty

Gabrielle

“That’s it. I’m calling it a day.” I snapped my copy of the professional code of ethics shut and leaned back on Heather’s couch. I ran my hand over the cool leather of the armrest and let my head fall back, closing my tired eyes.

“Thank God. I’ve been rereading the same paragraph for the last 20 minutes.” Heather groaned from her perch at the ex-dining table.

“I think we made enough headway for today. There’s no use in carrying on when my brain feels like a sieve.” If my brain had been a bucket of water, it would have been leakier than a broken tap by that point.

“Try a rusty sieve with nothing left but frayed edges, in my case.” Heather pushed her textbook back and stretched her arms above her head. “I’m in serious need of more caffeine. You want some?”

“Is the Pope Catholic?” It was lame, but it was the best answer I could come up with. I had thrown myself into studying more and more that week, trying to ignore the fact that the man I was falling in love with was inexplicably pulling away from me.