Page 83 of Wicked Player

Shit. I’d completely forgotten about the center opening on Sunday. It was our bye week so we were doing the grand opening before the first game of the day so everyone could spend the day enjoying it while watching football even if the Rough Riders weren’t playing on the screen.

“Yeah, Ma. I’ll see you then. Tell Dad I said hi.”

“Will do,” she chuckled. “But you know your dad.”

“I do.” Work hard all the time. It killed him to miss giving the sermons on Sundays, but he’d learned long ago if he wanted to see any of my games, which he did, he had to loosen the reins and hire an Associate Pastor. I still knew he’d be watching the online streaming of it, ensuring Pastor Luke was doing a good job.

“See you soon.”

“Okay dear. Take care and call me if you need me.”

I promised her I would and hung up. Then I tossed my phone back to the nightstand. My head fell to my hands and behind me, Elizabeth’s hands roamed my back, heels digging into the back of my shoulders.

A groan fell from my throat. “God. Damn. That feels good.”

She worked my shoulders and back, her little hands not having the strength to get my deepest knots out, but it felt fantastic regardless. Mostly because it was her hands and she was kneading my bare flesh.

“Your mom is very sweet.”

“Sweet as sugar. With a bite of a rattler if you crossed her.”

“I could see that, too.” Her soft laugh skated across my skin.

My shoulders slumped. This was too easy. So perfect. With too much to say. Clasping my hands in my lap, my gaze landed on the wall in front of me. “I owe you a very large apology and an explanation.”

Her hands on my back stilled for a moment. “You do.” She moved again, pressed the heel of her palms on both sides of my spine and God. Glorious. “Start talking.”

I chuffed a laugh. “Demanding little thing.”

“Impatient.” She poked me in the ribs and I jerked. I had two ticklish spots on me and she was close to finding one.

“Easy,” I growled, but damn. I was smiling and who would have thought I’d be smiling and laughing today of all days. “I was an ass. We’ve gone over that, and I should have handled it better. Powell said some things and took me by surprise. It’s not right, and it’s a shitty excuse, but with the opening of this center, all the work I’ve poured into it over the years, I’ve been more on edge than usual. The last thing I need right now is publicity harming my reputation in any way.”

“I can understand that. It’s why I go to Velvet, too you know.”

I knew that. “Yeah, but then I learned Jaxon was your brother and you had that connection with Hale. And then Shannon. Plus Velvet. I had no idea you knew the girls and it didn’t take long for my mind to spin and conjure a bunch of shit. It made me wonder if you were playing me, or if you and Connor were working together. It wasn’t right, Elizabeth. I know that. It wasn’t then, felt shitty even while I was thinking it.”

I turned in the bed quickly and put my hands on her hips. “Oh!” she gasped in surprise, but I kept moving us until I was sitting, back to the headboard and she was in my lap. “I can’t do this not looking at you.”

Her hands went back to my shoulders. She trekked her own movement down my arm and back up, down the front of me.

My dick took notice and I gritted my teeth to will away the erection forming. “Keep doing that and it’ll lead to a lot more than an apology, Elizabeth.”

She didn’t need the warning, I had no doubt she could feel my dick pressing against her backside. Somewhere I hadn’t been in awhile but seemed like a really great fucking idea in the moment.

“You know how I met Shannon and I told you about my brother.” Her eyes stayed on my chest and I hated she wouldn’t look me in the eye. “And Connor, well, he’s a jerk. I didn’t know he had all that in him months ago. But I think what hurt more than your words, Gage, was that your instinct wasn’t to trust me.”

Twenty-Eight

Elizabeth

Trust was something I freely gave. Perhaps too easily. Maybe I was naive. Growing up with such a great family and an easy life compared to many others, I gave that trust until you lost it or broke it. And often, I gave people several chances to lose it only because just like me, other people made mistakes, too.

I would have understood if Gage had come to me and asked me questions. Yet that’s not what happened.

He’d flung verbal bombs at me and hadn’t given me a moment to suit up in armor to defend myself against them.

It still hurt and while forgiveness came easy, being vulnerable to move forward with anything with him wasn’t an easy decision.

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