Page 39 of Saving You

Now Grayson and Matt have sombre looks, but Josh is grinning like an idiot. He claps me on the shoulder before saying, “I’m happy for you, man.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Grayson asks him.

“That’s exactly how I’ve always felt about Olivia. Even before my feelings for her became romantic. I couldn’t be in a room with her without gravitating towards her. I always had this nagging urge to talk to her. To be near her. To hear her laugh or see her smile. It’s still that way. Every time I walk into a room, I find her immediately. I still want every one of her smiles and laughs directed at me.”

There is a softness to his features that’s only present when he talks about Liv. You can see he has affection for his sister when he talks about her, but with Liv, he completely melts. I know in every part of myself he would die for her if he needed to.

I lean my head back, close my eyes, and allow his words to sink in. I’m falling for this woman. I’m falling for a woman I barely know, but it’s not just her I’m falling for, it’s her daughter too. I think I’m royally fucked because I don’t see a way to stop it, and I’m not sure I want to.

CHAPTER 14

Bailey

Charlie is completely enraptured by Olivia, allowing Hannah to pull me aside to chat. The other girls weren’t able to come out tonight, so it’s just Liv, Hannah, Charlie, and me cheering on the team today.

“So, I heard from a little birdy that Caleb kissed you outside the changing room before the game,” she says with a shit-eating grin. “I guess you decided to take my advice and go for it.”

I blush, remembering all the events that have gotten Caleb and me to this specific spot. Hannah’s finger does a circular motion in front of my face. Her smile grows larger and her eyes light up.

“Okay, spill because women don’t blush like that for nothing.”

Olivia catches the motion and comes to sit beside us as Charlie decides she’s going to run an entire lap around the boards. I can see the entire thing, so I let her go ahead and run. It will help wear out some of her energy and hopefully make putting her to bed tonight easier.

“Okay, spill,” Hannah says, nudging me.

I sigh. I’ve only met Hannah recently, but I know she’s relentless and I’m not going to get away with saying nothing.

“So, I ended up working a flu vaccine day at his precinct, and he was our liaison. He caught one of the guys flirting with me, and honestly, I wasn’t not flirting back. But Caleb came up and was all alpha and told the guy to get back to work and basically, without actually saying it, said I was off limits. So when he took me to his locker to give me back the container his cookies came in and I saw a photo of him and Charlie in his locker…” I trail off. “I may have jumped him and kissed him.” I rush the last words out as quickly as possible.

Their mixed expressions of amusement and pride tell me they heard.

“He then told me he promised to teach Charlie how to skate. That night, I invited him over for dinner. Then we went on a date Friday, and it was good.” I blush, thinking about it. I’m still embarrassed about it, but it also turns me on knowing how much Caleb enjoyed receiving it.

Hannah’s eyes narrow. “More happened. You’re not telling us everything. We want everything.”

I cover my face with my hands as I say, “I may have accidentally sent him a voice message of me masturbating while thinking about him and calling his name.” My hands are pulled away from my face, and I’m left staring at their shocked expressions.

“I’m sorry, I’m going to need you to repeat that,” Olivia says. “Because I believe you just said you accidentally sent Caleb a voice message of you masturbating and calling his name.”

I nod, and both girls break out into uproarious laughter. I shove their shoulders.

“This isn’t funny. I was mortified. I found out I sent it because he texted me about it. Then, to top it off, the fucker showed up at my house Saturday morning with a cat-who-ate-the-canary look when I answered the door. If it wasn’t for the fact that Charlie had seen him, I’m not sure I would have answered the door after I slammed it in his face. He used my daughter and breakfast to weasel himself into the house.”

The girls continue to laugh so hard they clutch their stomachs. After a few seconds, their laughter dies down and they wipe at the tears leaking from their eyes.

“So glad you two can have a laugh at my expense,” I huff.

“Girl, when Josh and I had just started to date, I woke up on the couch one day and he was sitting there reading on my Kindle. He had opened up one of my dark mafia romances. I was mortified. But it did turn out good in the end because he now has taken to finding inspiration from my books. He’s not intimidated by them, he uses them to his advantage.” She rubs her hand lovingly over her belly. “I wouldn’t be surprised if one of those inspiration nights made this little one.”

The guys walk out and begin to make their way towards the ice. Just as Caleb walks past, Hannah calls, “Hey Caleb, I hear you have a fondness for voice messages.”

I elbow her in the side, and Liv covers her mouth, trying to suppress her laugh.

He grins mischievously. “From Bails, hell yeah. Think they might be my favourite.” He winks at me before he steps onto the ice and does a lap.

A blush covers my entire body at this point.

I know I need to steer this conversation somewhere else. I pat my thighs and ask Liv about the baby until it’s time for puck drop.

---