Page 14 of Undisputed Player
And she'd dismissed me like I was just another parent picking up their kid.
The woman had balls.
I helped Avery into her booster seat, buckling her in the back while she continued her dinosaur monologue.
My movements were automatic, my mind still stuck in that classroom, replaying every second of our brief interaction.
"Is Ms. Estelle Leo's mommy?" Avery asked suddenly, only adding fuel to my thoughts.
"I don't know, pumpkin," I replied, starting the car and trying to sound casual. "Why?"
"Because she picks him up every day and helps him with his backpack and stuff. But he calls her Estelle, not mommy."
Interesting.I filed that information away, unsure why it mattered but unable to stop myself from collecting these crumbs about Estelle Moore.
"Maybe she's his aunt or something," I suggested, pulling out of the parking lot. "Like how I'm your uncle."
Whoever that kid was to her, as long as she didn't have a husband, I could work with it. Hell, even if she did have a husband, that had never stopped me before.
As these thoughts drifted through my mind, I realized that nothing in my life, no fight, no victory, no woman, had ever hit me this hard.
Estelle Moore had walked into my world and, with a single fleeting glance, turned it upside down.
And I knew with certainty that I wouldn't rest until she was mine.
Women didn't walk away from me. They made it abundantly clear they were available, desperate for my attention, my touch, my money. And I took what was offered, enjoyed it thoroughly, then moved on without a second thought.
But Estelle Moore hadn't offered anything. And for some inexplicable reason, I wanted everything.
Everything.
By the time we pulled into Connor's parking garage, the sun was dipping low, painting the concrete walls gold. Avery was already half out of her booster seat, her excitement about seeing Toffee contagious enough to pull me out of my head for a moment.
She darted to the private elevator, calling for the cat, and I followed, rolling my shoulders to shake off the tension that had settled there like a physical weight.
When we reached the top floor, Connor opened the door before we could knock. Sierra slipped beneath his arm with Toffee in her arms, her smile as warm and sweet as always.
She'd always been gentle, but there was a strength in her now, a confidence that had grown since she'd become part of Connor's world.
She was the kind of woman men like us wanted to protect, even though she was stronger than she looked. Like how I bet Estelle was.
"Hey, cutie," Sierra greeted Avery, bending down so the cat could nuzzle against her cheek. "Toffee's been waiting for you all day."
Avery squealed and scooped the cat from Sierra's arms, alreadylaunching into a breathless explanation of her day at school. I watched Sierra for a beat longer, feeling something twist inside me.
She had that effect on people, made you want to be softer, better, just by being in the room. I wondered, not for the first time, how Connor had known. How he'd seen her and decided she was it, that no one else would ever measure up.
Was this what it felt like? That instant, world-tilting certainty?
Because that's what I felt the moment I saw Estelle Moore. The world had stopped, and I'd been left standing in the silence, yearning.
Connor remained in the doorway, his presence filling the space like a storm cloud. He gave me a look, half amusement, half challenge, and clapped me on the shoulder as I pushed inside.
"You look like hell," he grunted, but there was a glint in his dark eyes. "Rough day?"
"Something like that," I muttered, glancing at Sierra as she disappeared into the kitchen with Avery and the cat.
She returned moments later with a mug of tea, her movements graceful and sure. "Want some tea, Jax? Or something stronger?"
