Page 28 of Defending her Heart

“True dat. But convince a woman worth settling down for? That’s hard work.”

I stew on that for another half mile and pick up my speed. “What if the tables were turned?”

“Meaning?” Darius chugs from his water bottle.

“What if she was the flirt in the relationship? Would you still have pursued her as hard as you did?”

“If it were any other woman, probably not. But Mindy is worth it. She owns my heart and soul. I knew it from the minute I picked her up at a bar.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, man.” Darius shoots me a stupid grin. “Best decision my sperm and I ever made was knocking her up. She’s stuck with me forever now.”

I shake my head with a laugh. “Good for you guys.”

“Done using me and my beautiful wife as a distraction and ready to tell me what’s really on your mind?”

“I’ve been a royal dick to a woman that I...” That I what? Like? Lust after? “I don’t know what it is about her that makes me irritated and god damn hard at the same time.”

Darius chokes out another laugh. “I hear ya, man. Let’s start with the hard stuff.” He snorts. “And by hard I mean the shit that’s got you in a funk. The irritating stuff. Keep your dick issues to yourself. There are paid therapists to help you in that department, and I ain’t one of them.”

My dick isn’t the problem. My mouth is.

“I have a way of insulting her in one breath and asking her for favors with the next.”

“If you’re talking sexual favors, and the degradation thing is your kink, again, I’m not your shoulder to cry on.”

“Fuck, Dar. No, that’s not what I mean.” I slow the treadmill down and take a swig of my water. “I need to talk to Buck about this.”

“Hell, man. If you’re going to Miles Buckingham for love life advice, you’ve reached an all time low.”

“Not for advice. He knows the woman I’m...I’ve been an asshole toward. I just need to know if they have something going on.”

“I can’t see Buck settling down anytime soon. He’s fucked his way through Boston and every other town he visits, so chances are your girl may be marked by him. Will that change the way you feel about her?”

“I don’t know.” I honestly don’t. It’s not that I expect her, or any woman I date, to be a virgin. But if she’s currently sleeping with him, I don’t want to get mixed up in that triangle. “I’m not sure what I’m feeling toward her.”

“Except irritated and horny.”

“Yeah.”

“What is it that irritates you? That she may or may not have slept with Buck or is it something else?”

“I wish I knew.”

“Sounds like you need answers to the first, then maybe you’ll figure out the second. Go ask Buck. He’s not shy about kissing and telling.”

“Isn’t that the truth.” We cool down and I wipe the sweat from my face.

“I haven’t seen you with a woman or heard any stories about you getting your dick wet since you joined the team three years ago. Is that what’s bothering you? That you found a woman you’re interested in but she doesn’t fit the mold you wanted her to be in?”

Hell, Darius is good. I don’t respond, and he takes my silence as confirmation.

“She’s a party girl and you’re a single father who keeps his life private. Even from the team. We respect that, but there’s no shame in being a father, even a single one. We’ve yet to meet your little girl. I know Mindy and the boys would be down for a play day sometime if you’re ever up for it.”

I should take him up on the offer. Maybe they have connections for babysitters.

“Yeah. Sure.”

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