Page 40 of The Comeback

“You’re so sweet,” she sighs. “I wish my boys would’ve been this respectful.”

“Mom!” Ace calls from the living room. “He’s getting pussy. Of course, he’s going to be sweet. He doesn’t want that to dry up.”

“Shut up!” Charlotte yells from the kitchen, and I contemplate crawling under the table and dying.

Screw that. I straighten my shoulders. They’re never going to get off my ass if I don’t fight back. “When you find a pussy worth keeping, you don’t throw it away.”

Knox laughs and shakes his head while walking into the living room to join the twins. He glances over his shoulder. “Dude, you’re going to fit in fine here.”

I waggle my eyebrows. “I fit in nice and tight.”

“Oh, Lord, I’m going to be ill.” Knox makes a gagging sound.

“This is what you get.” Ruth rests her hands on her hips. “But I’m out. You two oversee the kitchen. I’m going shopping with one of my girlfriends.”

“Be careful, hon.” Coach Tillman stands, walks over to her, and kisses her forehead. “I’m going to the office. I’ll see you tonight.” He swivels his head to face me. “No fornicating in my house. Understood?”

“Yes, sir. I mean Coach Tillman. You’ve made yourself crystal clear.”

“Remember, it’s Brett.” His eyes twinkle as he slaps my back. “See you at the stadium tomorrow. And be good to my little girl.”

“Yes, sir.” I inhale and lick my lips. “Brett.” God, that hurt. But tomorrow at the stadium, he’ll be back to Coach Tillman. I’m not about to use our relationship to get special favors.

After everyone leaves, I walk into the kitchen. Charlotte stands in front of the sink, waiting for it to fill with water as the suds pile above the plates. “Are you okay?”

She spins around to face me and nods. “Yes, I’m fine.”

“You were quiet when we were talking about my contract.”

Her eyes dart away from mine. “I’m not going to pretend it doesn’t bother me. I question whether this is a good idea right now.”

I shove my hands into my pockets to keep them from shaking. “And?”

Her eyes meet mine, and she walks toward me with her hips swaying. “I don’t think I can stay away from you. Maybe I should protect my heart, but I don’t want to.” She wraps her arms around my neck as I pull her to me.

“Baby, I feel the same way. I don’t know what will happen, but I can’t pass up the opportunity to be with you. If I did, I feel like I’d be making a mistake. That I’d be denying my destiny.”

She smiles. “You think I’m your destiny?”

“What else would you call it?” I rest my forehead against hers. “I was injured and dumped, couldn’t get over my fears…,” I wink as I say the word I’d refused to admit when we first met, “of getting reinjured, was traded twelve hundred miles away, and dropped off at your doorstep. That kind of sounds like destiny. Or fate.”

She runs her fingers through my hair. “It kind of does since if I hadn’t been injured, I’d be coaching a high school girls’ basketball team instead of opening a dance studio.”

“I thought you were doing the dishes. Not making out.” Knox stomps through the kitchen, dropping off two serving dishes from the table.

“In a minute,” I respond to him without breaking Charlotte’s gaze. This is it. She’s it. It comes out of nowhere and bashes into my head, knocking me for a loop. She’s who I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life with. This isn’t physical attraction. It’s more than that. It’s love. It’s my future. She is my future.

Holy fuck.

“It’s disgusting,” he growls and marches to the refrigerator, yanking open the door. “Get a room.”

“Later.” I lean down and place my lips over hers. She sighs and arches into me.

My agent needs to get busy and get my contract finalized because I’m not losing her. This is where I belong. She arches into me and grinds against my cock, dragging me to life. I groan. These are going to be the most painful dishes I’ve ever washed.

Because as much as I’d like to drag her into an empty room and sink into her depths, I can’t. I won’t disrespect her parents like that. If it were only her brothers, I’d do her right here in the kitchen and tell them to get lost.

“Disgusting.” Knox smacks my back and disappears out of the room, mumbling something about missing his fiancée.

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