Page 82 of Break the Ice
“Shesavedme. Over and over and over…” A wry smile pulls at one side of his mouth.
He opens his mouth to say more, but instead he stands tall and shoves his hat back on at the clack of heels behind me.
“I have to go,” he grumbles as Dr. Armstrong ambles over to us.
She’s assessing Eli while she asks me, “Still here?”
I smile back with a shrug. “Trying to unpack tonight’s game.”
Growing up with a psychologist and a psychiatrist for parents has left me well versed on how to carry myself around them. Say too much around Momma, she knows I’m overcompensating for my emotions, while if I don’t say enough around The Sire, he knows I’m holding them in.
“That’s good,” she replies, her lips quirking in approval. Eli is getting into his Mercedes when she peers down the driver’s side and tells him, “Don’t forget to schedule your appointment this time.”
That answers my question about Coach’s order.
Eli sticks his thumb up before he shuts his door and starts his engine. The aggressive rumble of it does nothing to scare Dr. Armstrong. She leisurely walks across to her Lexus parked on the other side of the lot. It’s a damn nice car next to Coach’s Ford pick-up, even with his Batman matte paintwork, her convertible is fucking gorgeous.
With a wave, she gets into her vehicle while I amble over to my iX and get in.
Eli doesn’t start moving until my engine is on. Dr. Armstrong is ahead of him while I’m following out of the lot behind him.
We merge onto the freeway in convoy. As I’m growing used to the quiet, a call comes through my speakers.
Eli.
“Do you want to come over?” He asks the instant I answer.
Do I want to? Yes.
But I don’t want to crowd him and Finley. To make things awkward again.
“Fin’s going to want to spend time with you, and?—”
“She’s busy with work. She’s creating a mural for Christina’s friend.”
“The nursery painting?”
“Yeah, she’s already got three sketches, but she doesn’t think any of them are…inspired.” The sound of his chuckle eases the tightness in my chest.
“Have you told her otherwise?”
“I told her they’re all amazing.”
Eli, Eli, Eli…“Did you tell her why? And not that it’s because she did them or that everything she does is amazing.”
He’s silent for a beat. “It’s true, though. Everything she doesisamazing.”
“Yeah, but that’s like me telling you that your game is ace and not telling you that it’s because you have a great eye for spotting the weaknesses in the other team’s offensive line and turning them around into an aggressive attack. You need to give Fin a key observation to attach the praise to so that it computes. So she can believe it.”
“I wish you luck finding thatonething that’s more brilliant than the rest when we get home.”
I love the way he says home and not simply his place. It makes it easier to breathe and the rest of the drive in our separate cars bearable. Because yes, I’m going home with him… to him… to Finley.
CHAPTER 24
FINLEY
They were off.
