by Layla Hagen
Val seemed to seriously consider it, but I still remembered what had happened last time we’d had that brilliant idea.
“Girls, should I remind you what happened last time we pulled this prank? We almost gave him white hair.”
Will had offered to drive us home, and since we were opportunistic brats, we took him up on it. When he’d arrived, some guys were getting too friendly. Will flexed some of those over-protective brotherly muscles.
“Oh, yeah, you’re right,” Hailey said, as if only now remembering. “How about Jace?”
Val shook her head. “Nah, this isn’t the place for him or he’ll get ambushed by people asking for his pic or autograph.”
We ended up parting ways in front of the bar, each hopping into an Uber. I relaxed in the back as the car took me home to Graham and Milo. I hadn’t felt happier in my entire life. The house was quiet when I arrived, even though it was a little past midnight. I checked on Milo, who was sound asleep, then went in my bedroom, dropping my clothes on the floor and slipping in bed next to Graham, who was also fast asleep. Unfortunately for him, I was in no mood for sleeping. Plus, I was hot and bothered, just from watching him all gorgeous and muscly in my bed. I appreciated the view. It would be a pity not to show him how appreciative I was, right? I didn’t think he’d mind, so I threw the covers to one side. I worked on him with my mouth. I’d barely licked him twice before he woke up.
“Lori!” he groaned, rolling his hips in my direction. “You’re home.”
“Yep. And I’m up to no good.”
He looked straight at me while I took him in my mouth, bobbing my head up and down. Then he switched things up, pinning me against the mattress with his body.
He kissed my mouth, and I knew he could taste himself and the alcohol.
“You’ve had a few cocktails, haven’t you?”
“More than a few.”
“So I’d be taking advantage of you.”
“I’m begging you to.”
“Begging me?” He smiled against my lips, sliding his knee between my legs, parting my thighs. “In that case, how could I deny you?”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Graham
"Calendars are here," Amber's voice resounded throughout the corridors of the club as she made the rounds.
"Are you happy with them?" I asked when she barreled in my office, carrying a stack of calendars.
She pushed one into my hand. "Absolutely. Don't tell any of the boys on the team I've said this, but you're hotter than all of them."
Charity or not, taking my shirt off for this wasn't my brightest idea.
"They won't hear anything from me. By the way, I want you to expand on the benefits of the calendar in the club’s quarterly planning session next week.”
“Sure. Want to grab dinner? Matt’s picking me up in an hour.”
“Can’t.”
"Plans with Lori?"
"Milo. I'm picking him up from school and spending the afternoon with him. Lori has to work tonight." She had her Hollywood event this evening, and I offered to watch Milo. We had a lot of fun when Lori went out with the girls.
Amber nodded appreciatively. "I like the sound of that. I'm so glad you're giving this thing with Lori a real chance. After your divorce, I thought you'd be a serial dater until you got old, and then I'd have to deal with your grumpy ass."
I chuckled, shaking my head. Then a realization hit me out of the blue, shocking the hell out of me. For the past two years, I hadn’t wanted to give my future much thought—probably because I agreed with Amber that I’d end up a grumpy, old sack of bones and still going out on meaningless dates. But now, I was cautiously optimistic about my future, hoping Lori and Milo would be in it.
"Your concern for my well-being is touching."
"Well, what are friends for? I haven’t seen you this happy even when you were married.”
I pondered her words, then realized the explanation was simple. “That’s because I wasn’t.”
Elizabeth and I spent half the time fighting to reach a middle ground on anything, and most of our compromises made neither of us happy. Amber smiled at me. She and Matt had been wary of Elizabeth from the start, pointing out that we were too different.
“I’m happy for you, Graham. I'll let you get back to what you were doing. Need to get these to the boys. Practice should be over soon."
After Amber left, I turned my attention to the issue I'd been putting off all day—calling my father. Almost three weeks had passed since my first Friday dinner with the Connor clan. When I sent him the last monthly payment, I tried to talk to him for longer than five minutes. He'd seemed pleasantly surprised even though it had been awkward as fuck, mostly because we hadn't had a real conversation in years. Now I was debating calling him, even though it wasn't the time for a monthly payment. After debating with myself for a few more minutes, I finally bit the bullet and dialed his number.
"Hey! How have things been?" I asked as he picked up.
"Graham? That you?"
"Yes."
"Your number's hidden. Did anything happen?"
"No, I just thought I'd touch base."
"Okay."
An awkward pause followed. Yeah, this wasn't getting easier.
"Where are you?"
"I landed in London. I'll fly back next week." He'd always been a globetrotter, so this came as no surprise.
"Passing through LA any time soon? We could watch a game together."
Another awkward pause followed, but he actually did sound animated when he said, "I can do that. I know the team's schedule and when they're playing at home."
"Let me know when you're in town."
"Will do. How's the weather there?"
"Sunny. London?"
"It's raining cats and dogs, like the English like to say."
Talking about the weather wasn't much, but we had to start somewhere. We exchanged some more pleasantries before ending the call. I was wondering when our conversations would stop feeling like pulling teeth.
It was time to pick up Milo, so I left the club. I almost stuffed the calendar in a trashcan, then thought better of it. I knew someone would have a field day with it, so I put it on the passenger seat.
Milo was waiting along with a few other kids in the small yard in front of the school building when I arrived.
"What do you want to do, buddy? It's just the two of us today," I asked as soon as I strapped him in the car.
"I get to choose what we do?"
"Yes."
His face morphed into a strange expression, like he couldn't believe his luck. He and Lori had loved testing out new restaurants with me, so I thought he might go with that.
"Can we go to the toy store?" he asked.
"Sure. Does it have a name?"
"Simba's."
I googled the address, then used the GPS app on my phone for directions. Milo chatted my ear off the entire drive, informing me about the toys of all his classmates.
Simba's was hands down the equivalent of nirvana for a kid. Milo's expression was priceless. I felt like I was reverting to my seven-year-old self too. It had a warehouse feel to it, with rows upon rows stocked chock-full of toys.
"Can I have this truck?" He pointed to a miniature red truck.
"Sure."
He placed it inside the small cart I was pushing. Ten feet later, his eyes went wide, his little mouth formed an O when we came to a stop in front of an assembly of superhero figurines.
"Look at Thor," he said excitedly. "And Captain America."
"I'm Team Iron Man."
Milo took each figurine in his hands, inspecting it before putting it back.
"Do you want one of each so you have the entire collection?"
"All of them?"
"Sure, buddy. Buy whatever you want."
I realized something was amiss when his eyes went wider than I'd ever seen them. Did Lori have some sort of rule about how many toys he was allowed to buy? I had to remember to ask her... f
or another trip. No way was I letting the kid down now. We loaded one of each in the cart and moved forward, coming to a stop only a few feet later. Milo pointed to a fire truck. His eyes went wide again, and suspicion gnawed at me. I was being played. I was sure of it. But I still nodded.
The section of outdoor entertainment came up next. We were surrounded by slides, swings, and tents. Milo inspected a small tent, which didn't seem suited for any sort of camping. The slightest wind could blow it away. A family of three was inspecting the tent next to us, and when they moved away, Milo immediately pointed to it.
"Can I have a tent in my room?" he asked. That was where saying yes to everything got me.
"Would your mother be okay with that?"
Milo averted his gaze, which was answer enough. The tent was small enough to fit. I was pretty sure Lori would hand me my ass for this, but when Milo sighed and cast those green eyes at me, I knew there was no way I'd say no.
"Okay. We're taking this, but then we're heading straight home, okay?"
That grin right there? Yeah, it was worth it.
"Yes! Wow. I will have a tent. I will be an actual explorer. Maybe my uncles will help me build it."
"I can help you."
"Really? Like a real dad?"
Wham. My chest twisted, and then twisted again. What was I doing, playing at being a father? I had no idea how to be one. What if I screwed this up? The better question was, what were the odds that I wasn't going to screw this up? But when this little boy smiled at me, I wanted to be everything he needed. I made myself a promise, right there and then, not to disappoint Lori and Milo.
I ruffled his hair, lowering myself on my haunches.
"Exactly. I'll build it with you. Do you know if your mom has a toolbox?"
"Yes. Uncle Will brought us a new one last year. I know where we keep it."
"Okay, buddy. Let's take everything home and I'll help you build it."
Like a real dad.
***
Turned out we'd both miscalculated. The tent didn't fit in his room, so we set it up in the living room. I hadn't manned up enough to send Lori a picture yet.
"You're the best explorer," Milo declared after we pretended to light a campfire in the living room. The fire was pretend, but the mess we'd made wasn't. We brought in twigs and leaves, and cleaning up was torture, because we dragged in dirt too.
"Do you have homework?" I inquired after we cleaned up as best as we could.
"Yes."
"Let's take a look at it."
"Do we have to?"
"If we want your mom to allow me to watch you again, yes."
Milo practically ran to his room, returning with a book and a notebook. We settled on the floor, and he showed me his math homework.
I'd saved a soccer club from bankruptcy and turned it profitable, and I'd minored in engineering. Surely a second grade math problem couldn't stump me? Except it did. Not so much the problem itself, but the way of presenting the solution. It was a simple geometry question, but explaining it to a second grader was different than explaining it to an older student. I spent twenty minutes on Google and thirty on YouTube until I understood what I had to explain.
"Milo, we've earned an ice cream," I announced once we were done.
"We're allowed ice cream for dinner?" The excitement in his voice was contagious. Shit. I definitely remembered a rule about sugar and evening, but I chose to fake selective memory loss just this once.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Lori
"I get now why planners charge three times their normal rate for celebrity events. It's because you do three times the work," I told Hailey the second she picked up. I was driving home from the birthday party, and she'd asked me to call after the event was over. "But it was exciting."
"Exciting enough to do it again?"
"Absolutely. But I'm going to rethink my rates."
I'd been running around like a crazy person ever since I took on the event. I'd realized this birthday party would be more work than even a wedding from the first meeting. By the time they changed the theme for the third time, I understood why the previous planner had bailed. I wouldn't lie; the thought crossed my mind too. But I didn't want to put Hailey in a bad position, and I made a point of seeing through what I started. Besides, if I wanted to work more celebrity events, I had to get used to the grind. Now, however, I was ready to sleep for a week.
"Do that. I told Cameron you've given us an introductory rate anyway, so he's going to expect a price raise."
"Okay. Thanks."
"I'm so happy I found this job, Lori. I'd forgotten what it was like to actually live in my house. I'm planning some changes around here."
"Oh?"
"A new coat of paint. A shoe closet."
"Wanna organize a Connor day at your house? We can bring sandwiches and do a group job of it."
"Nah, job is not that big. Though I was thinking about calling our brothers. Not sure which one to torture."
"How about all three?"
"Oh, you're giving me dangerous ideas."
"That's what older sisters are for. What are you up to tonight?"
"Netflix and a glass of wine. Not like others, who've got a sexy man waiting for them at home. Enjoy him."
"Oh, I will. And I plan to be very thorough about it."
I arrived at home shortly after finishing the conversation with my sister. Just seeing Graham's car parked in front of my house made my insides flutter, even though it scared me how much this felt like we were a family. What scared me even more was how much I wanted it.
When I opened the front door, my jaw dropped. There was a tent in my living room. A tent. I swept my gaze around the room, almost afraid of what else I'd find, and my chest warmed when I saw both Graham and Milo sprawled on the couch, sleeping. They looked so cute that I wanted to wake them up just to snuggle them. Tiptoeing around the room, I started picking up some toys that were sprawled around.
"You're back," Graham whispered, startling me. He glanced at Milo, who seemed sound asleep. "Let's not wake him."
"I'll carry him to his room," Graham offered. Milo slept like a rock while Graham took him in his arms. We tucked him in together, then returned to the living room, where I came face-to-face with the tent again.
"How did this happen?" I inquired.
"Simba's."
"Oh, God. What else did you buy?"
"Just superhero figurines and the tent. And a truck... and a fire truck." He was so sexy, walking barefoot around my house. His jeans were low on his hips, and a white T-shirt with short sleeves covered his torso. It was the kind he wore under his shirts—snug enough for every delicious inch of him to be on display. I had a prime view of his mouth-watering oblique muscles. Devouring him had to wait, though.
"You have to learn to tell him no. He's playing you."
"I know. But by the time I realized it, it was too late. And where's the fun in saying no?"
"So how much fun did you have, exactly?"
"We went crazy at Simba's, came back to build the tent, did some math homework, and went for ice cream."
"Wait, math?"
"Yup. Had to search for tutorials on the Internet. Haven't felt so stupid since I failed introductory engineering in college. But the Internet saved my ass."
Wow. I was too stunned to say anything more than, "Thanks for spending time with him."
"I loved it."
"Well, now I am going to look after you."
I felt him wrap his arms around me from behind. He spun me around until we were facing each other. I rose on my tiptoes and kissed his chin. On a feisty whim, I scratched him with my teeth a bit. Graham pulled back, then crushed his mouth to mine. I couldn’t even begin to describe the feelings I had for this man, but I planned to show him, and to make him as happy as possible.
"I'm so lucky to have you and Milo in my life," he whispered in between kisses. That caught me off guard because as far as I was concerned, it was the other way around.
>
"That's true for us too."
Graham had slipped so easily into our lives that I was afraid he'd slip out just as easily, and my feelings for him were stronger every day. I'd never stood a chance. Who would? Look at those dimples, and the baby blue eyes. And that smile, huh? Who wouldn't fall for that? Well, I hoped that no one other than me did, because I was not going to share him. Nope, Graham Frazier was all for me. Anyone wanting a piece of him would see me in full catfight mode. I went to set my phone on airplane mode, so no messages from bridezillas or other customers would interrupt our time together. I groaned when I noticed an e-mail from Jeff.
From: Jeff Finn
To: Lori Connor
I’m in LA next week. Let’s meet for dinner.
“What’s wrong?” Graham asked. I showed him the e-mail, and his nostrils flared when he read it.
“I’m going to give a friend of mine a quick call, okay? She’s a lawyer and I want her take on this.”
He nodded curtly. I felt him pace the room while I called my friend Bridget, expelling a relieved breath when she answered. In quick words, I told her about Jeff’s past e-mails, and asked if she thought meeting with him was a bad idea.
"In my experience, these types of calls come when the party is regretful or looking to make amends. I think you should meet him and keep an open mind."
“An open mind?” It sounded easy in theory, but he’d hurt us both so much.
“Yes. Go to that meeting; see what he wants.”
"Okay, I'll arrange a meeting via e-mail. The least contact I have with him, the better."
"Let me know if there is anything else I can do."
After hanging up, I tossed the phone on my couch and massaged my temples. Graham was watching me intently.
"Lori?"
"My lawyer thinks I should meet with Jeff."
I paced around the living room, trying to shake off the growing unease.
"Lori, talk to me. I want to know what's going through your mind right now."
"I don't even know."
"What are you afraid of?" he asked softly.
"What if he's interested in Milo after all this time? Could he take him away?"
Logically, the fear was irrational. But I wasn't feeling rational. I was scared.