Back to Me (Carolina Rebels 1)

“I was thinking Leo. Short and cute like he is.”

“You know, I’m here, so you really don’t have to cuddle with him.”

She laughs. “Are you jealous?”

“That he’s against your chest? Hell yeah, I am.”

Meredith rolls over, settles him in the crook of her knees, and settles in next to me. “Miss me?” she asks with a grin.

“Always.” I lean forward and finally get my kiss. I wish I could kiss her longer, but I pull away. “You sure you’re okay, Mere?”

“I’m fine, Noah.”

She isn’t, but she’s right. I need to trust her. Not only that she won’t walk away again, but that she’ll talk to me when she’s ready.

That puppy is a pain in my ass.

First, I wake up this morning with full intentions of having sex with Meredith and what happens? Before I can slip a hand up her shirt, the puppy is jumping around and Meredith says he has to go out now. Considering I didn’t want him using the bathroom in the apartment, I couldn’t stop her. The puppy cockblocked me. Once she comes back, I pull her into the bed and show her how much I love her and how sorry I am for being an ass.

I have the day off, so I head to the kitchen to fix us a stack of pancakes. Meredith sits at the table with Leo in her lap, rubbing the top of his head. I keep glancing at her because she seems unusually quiet and focused on that puppy.

“Mere,” I say a bit strongly.

She lifts her head. “What?”

“What’s bothering you?”

Meredith frowns and looks back down at Leo. I shift my focus back to the pancakes. “It’s my first day without Gail. Erica pretty much ignored me last week. She can’t do that now.”

“It’ll be fine,” I reassure her. I don’t think Erica would be unprofessional toward Meredith. I almost expected her to mention something about Vance, but I should’ve known better considering she avoids all talk of him. She nods, but still looks troubled. “You’re a famous player, Meredith. You’re good at the game and you know the game. She can’t deny that. You’ll get the hang of the job and then she’ll have no reason to be bothered by you on a professional level. It’ll be fine,” I repeat before adding, “Anything else on your mind?”

“Actually,” she places Leo on the floor and walks over to the fridge, “yes.” My body absentmindedly tenses while I listen to her fix us drinks and grab the syrup while I finish plating the last of the pancakes. “Have you talked to your parents??

??

I relax and set the plate on the table. “Not lately.”

She falters in setting our glasses on the table. I grab plates and silverware before joining her, Leo trying to get comfortable at her feet. “As in not since I’ve been here?”

“Yeah,” I confirm. “Why?”

“Do you think they’ll be happy about us?”

Her question makes me pause. Meredith never cared about that before. I mean, she might wonder, but if they didn’t, tough shit was her way of thinking. She didn’t want her happiness to be dependent on someone else liking her. Even her weak protest over my tattoo and ratting me out to my mom was more for me than for my mom or to get my mom to like her more.

A surge of anger hits me hard. She’s doubting it because of whatever went down with her and that prick. She’s worried because of that. Otherwise, she would only be worried over what I thought and my happiness. I reach for her hand and tug gently. She stands and moves to sit in my lap, her arms automatically going around my shoulders.

“If I’m happy, they’re happy.” She opens her mouth, but I talk over her. “Dad will be ecstatic because he’s always liked you. Mom and Ashley’ll be fine once they’re convinced I am happy. If they are upset, they’ll get over it eventually, especially once they see it for themselves. You don’t need to worry about that, Mere.”

“Okay,” she nods. I almost crack a smile because this is my woman. She was worried, but I’ve reassured her and she’s satisfied. She won’t worry about it anymore. Meredith reaches for her fork and starts eating from my plate.

“Hey,” I begin, realizing I need to ask her about this weekend. “The whole team is getting together with the coaches for a BBQ before the season gets underway. I’m hoping to show off my girlfriend if she wants to go with me.”

“I’ll go with you. It’ll be fun to meet more of your teammates.”

“And the wives and girlfriends. They’ll rope you in and make you family in no time.” Leo starts jumping at my leg, wanting attention. I warily glance down at him. We didn’t have pets growing up, so I’m unsure about having a dog. “What are you doing with him when you leave?”

“He’ll hang out with you since you have the day off. If you have to leave, there’s a crate. I need to get it out of the car. He’s supposed to be fine in a crate, so he shouldn’t whine or bark. I’ve been walking him on the other side of the building. You’re okay with me having him, aren’t you?”