Going Deep (Imperfect Love 2)

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” she asks. “Nick and Olivia are taking things slow.”

“Oh, c’mon, you can’t be that dense.” I take a sip of my coffee. “Nick has been begging her for damn near a year to move in with him! You think either of them want to bounce their son back and forth between homes? You think Olivia, the queen of fairytales, wants to wait months to marry her fucking prince?”

Giselle frowns. “She never said anything…”

“Of course she hasn’t. She doesn’t want to leave her best friend homeless.”

“I didn’t know,” she murmurs.

“Well now you do.”

Her phone’s alarm goes off, and she pulls it from her purse. “Shit, I need to go.”

“Another date?” I shake my head. “You should hang out with Celeste more. You two have a lot in common.” I laugh. “Although”—I snap my fingers—“She’s at least finally standing on her own two feet instead of leeching off her best friend.”

Giselle flinches. “I gotta go,” she whispers. “As always, it was great seeing you.” She turns her back on me and heads down the hallway.

I take another sip of my coffee, almost feeling bad for what I said. But the truth is, everything I said is fact. It probably wasn’t my place to point it all out, but how could she not have known that’s why Olivia is still refusing to buy a home with Nick.

About thirty minutes later, Giselle comes out, dressed in a tight black dress and black fuck-me heels. Her hair, which was down in waves, is now pin straight, and her makeup is a bit darker. And in her arms is Reed, who is smiling and babbling like crazy at her.

“He was sitting up in his crib, so I grabbed him.” She hands him over to me. “I changed his diaper.”

“I didn’t hear anything,” I say, holding up the monitor.

“That’s because you never turned it on.” Giselle grabs the monitor and clicks it on, then hands it back to me. “Goodbye, my little love muffin. Be very bad for Uncle Killian.” She glares at me then gives him a kiss on his cheek.

“Have fun on your date.” I smirk. Giselle rolls her eyes, grabs her purse, and heads for the door. “Oh, wait, I forgot to ask you…” She stops in her place but doesn’t turn around. “What number is this guy on Forbes’s list?”

She swings the door open, flicks me off, then slams it closed. Guess she didn’t like my question.

Seven

Giselle

“If they can get this touchdown, they will be in the Super Bowl,” Olivia tells me for the hundredth time in the last two hours. I don’t call her out on it, though. She’s just nervous. She paces across the room in the friends and family suite we’re currently in. Reed toddles over to her and pulls on her jersey. She lifts him up so he can see the field and talks to him as if he knows what’s going on. Everybody else is more or less quiet, watching down below as the New York Brewers huddle. The team breaks and gets into formation. The score is tied with less than a minute left on the clock.

When I walk up next to her, Reed leans over and I take him in my arms. Olivia’s eyes never leave the field as she watches Nick call the play. The players scramble, and Nick looks for an opening. Killian runs to the left and is open, but as Nick cocks his arm back to throw the ball, he’s tackled. The ball falls to the ground and New England gets it.

There are collective sighs and several people in the suite curse. New England has the ball now, and if they score, New York won’t be going to the Super Bowl. The players are walking off the field, and that’s when I notice Nick is still down.

“Oh no,” Olivia gasps. We watch as Killian kneels next to Nick. We can’t hear what’s being said, though. A second later the medic runs out with the coaches.

“Oh god, please no.” Olivia’s eyes meet mine. “He’s grabbing his arm.” Tears pool in her eyes. Reed reaches for his mom, but I hold him close. She’s shaking, on the verge of freaking out.

“I need to get down there,” she tells me. Then she turns toward her stepmom, Corrine. “He’s hurt.”

“Let’s just give him a minute,” Dylan tells her. Everyone watches in silence, until the gurney is brought out, and that’s when we know it’s game over.

“Go,” I tell Olivia. “I have Reed.”

“Thank you.” She gives her son a kiss. “Mommy will be right back. I love you.” Then she takes off out of the suite, along with Dylan, his wife, and Corrine.

A few minutes later it’s announced that Nick Shaw will not be back in the game. New England has the ball. They score and New York is out of the playoffs.