Enticing: Chapter 7

I’m not sure what it says about me that I just realized all the punishments I threaten my daughter with are my actual adult goals. Staying home. Going to bed early. Having to be quiet for five minutes. And my favorite . . . getting spanked. I’ll never spank her, but I’m certain I wouldn’t mind being spanked once in a while.

—Addie’s Secret Thoughts

I stand, staring at my sleeping baby, wishing like hell I didn’t have to wake her but knowing the second I pick her up from her swooshing swing, her beautiful brown eyes the color of melted cinnamon sugar will open, and she’ll probably go from being angelic to cranky in a heartbeat. I mean . . . like mother, like daughter. I don’t like to be woken up either. Lennox, however, takes dislike to a whole new level.

A quick glance at the clock reminds me I have no time left to stall if I want to get Izzy from Hockey Tots on time. And I’d really like to get there a few minutes early, just to be safe. At least, I’m telling myself that’s the reason for my sudden urge to be on time for the first time ever.

It couldn’t possibly have anything to do with the fact a certain hockey hottie wasn’t there last week when I picked her up.

Or that I may have checked the schedule, and the Revolution is home today and has a game tomorrow. So that same man should theoretically be there, coaching the Tots today.

And it definitely has nothing to do with the fact that the words have been coming few and far between while I struggled to write this afternoon, or that those damn words seem to come easier after I’ve talked to said hottie.

Damn it.

If Mrs. Murkey was here, I could leave my teething baby to sleep with her, but our surrogate grandmother went to Washington to stay with her sister for December, leaving me on my own until she gets back in January. And as much as I appreciate her letting me use her car while she’s gone, I miss her more than I’d like to admit. Not just because she’s such a huge help with the girls, but because she’s become family, and the girls and I don’t have a whole lot of that.

I look down at Lennox one more time, wishing I didn’t have to wake her but knowing I do. Okay . . . here goes nothing.

I scoop her out of her swing and place her in her car seat as gently and slowly as someone would diffuse a bomb. Then careful not to jostle her, I tuck the blanket around her legs and zip up the carrier cover.

December rolled in earlier this week and brought the first real inches of snow with it. It’s bitterly cold today. Cold enough that I had to suck it up and turn the heat up. Future ridiculous bill be damned.

Two big brown eyes pinch shut as she puckers her little pink lips together and stretches before those same eyes pop open and lock on me, clearly pissed off.

It’s definitely Lennox’s world. The rest of us just live in it.

“Shh . . . sweet girl,” I coo. “Mommy’s got you. We’ve got to pick up your sissy.”

I press my lips against her head and pull back, concerned. “You’re warm, baby girl.”

Mentally, I go through the cupboards, trying to remember the last time I bought infant’s Tylenol and decide to swing by the pharmacy drive-thru on the way home to be on the safe side.

My phone rings a few moments later as I slide behind the wheel of Mrs. Murkey’s caddie, and I hit the speaker while Lennox whines from the back seat. “Hey, Coraline. What’s up?”

“Hey, Addie. Just finished my first final. I’ve got three more and a paper to turn in, then I’ll be home. Counting down the days. What’s going on in Kroydon Hills?” she asks me in a hyperactive way that makes her sound like a cartoon character on speed.

“Slow down, sissy. Take a breath. How did you do on your final?” I ask, loving how happy she sounds. I get it. Coraline is in her final year of law school. Thankfully, our parents left money in the trust specifically for tuition, so she’s been able to finish.

My heart pinches in my chest as I think about the way they’re controlling our lives even now, and I have to force it away.

“I nailed it.” Her smile is evident in every word, even if I can’t see it.

“Good . . . Can’t wait to see you this weekend.”

“What’s wrong? You sound upset.” If anyone can call me out on my shit, it’s her, and she never hesitates to do it.

“No. It’s all good. Just struggling to get through a chapter. I’m in the car now, on my way to pick up Izzy, then swing by the pharmacy. Lennox is teething and has a fever.” As if she needs her side to be heard, Lennox’s whimpers in the back seat transition into a full-blown sob.

“You sure it’s just teething?” Cori asks, as concerned as I am.

“I think so. She’s six months old. The pediatrician told me at her last checkup, we should be past the point of seeing any complications. But still . . . I think I have some lingering trauma over the whole thing,” I admit, concerned.

“I guess so,” Cori agrees. “A small bowel resection at three days old and seventeen days in a hospital would do that to any parent. I’d be more concerned if you didn’t have some trauma.”

“I know. But it’s not like she’s going to wake up, and her intestines are going to be on the outside of her body again. They fixed it. She should be fine. This is either teething or a little bug.” I’m definitely working to calm my own fears while I try to calm Coraline’s as well.

You never get over having your baby stay in the hospital for weeks.

Thank God for my sister and Mrs. Murkey.

I couldn’t have done it without them.

“So . . .” Cori drags out in a teasing tone. “Is he going to be there?”

“He who and where?” I ask, playing stupid. I know exactly who she’s talking about.

My sister laughs. She knows too.

“Whatever. I’ll play your game. Do you want to talk through the chapter giving you a hard time?”

I turn the corner, nearing the practice facility in town that today’s Hockey Tots practice is at. “No. Not right now. You focus on studying. One more semester to go. I’m so damn proud of you.”

“Don’t be proud yet. Let me pass the bar next summer, then we can celebrate. Love you. See you this weekend.”

We disconnect as I pull into the parking lot and stare at the building for a hot minute. I was pleasantly surprised when we got the message that the remainder of the Tots practices would be at the practice facility. Serena Kingston personally apologized for the change, but it was much more convenient for me because I didn’t have to make the trek into the city. Not that it took long, but ten minutes to the center of town versus thirty minutes to the Revolution Arena is a nice little win in my book.

I untuck Lennox from the car seat and hold her tight to my chest, hoping the closeness calms her a little as we hurry into the building and stand, swaying by the half wall surrounding the ice, getting us both settled to catch the last ten minutes of practice. And there she is. My girl. Laughing with a little blonde as they take turns trying to hit the puck. Neither manages to make contact, and the two large men behind them beam as they watch them.

One is Leo.

The bigger one.

The hotter one.

Not that I noticed or anything.

But really, how could I not?

And that right there might be the biggest bitch of all.

This man has taken up residence in my mind over the past few weeks, and he’s done so without my permission. Not only do I not need him or want him there, but I don’t want to like him there. Yet he’s still there. Looking hot. Sounding hotter. And looking at my daughter like she matters. Which she does, but she’s never had a man in her life look at her that way. Certainly not her father. And unfortunately, not mine either.

This man is dangerous, whether he knows it or not.

Dangerous to the careful balance I’ve been holding like my very last lifeline for long months because he threatens to destroy it all just by being himself. But when Izzy manages to slap the puck down the ice and get it absolutely nowhere near the goal, he celebrates with her like she just won the Stanley Cup.

He lifts her up in celebration, and Izzy’s face soars, while my heart sinks.

Leo

Adelaide’s presence hits me like a Mac truck before I even look back, and once I do, there’s no keeping my eyes off her. She stands, swaying back and forth with Lennox tucked against her chest. Black leggings mold shapely legs, and a chunky off-white sweater hits at mid-thigh. Her blonde hair is down in wild waves, framing a face free of makeup.

She’s the most effortlessly beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

“Might want to make it a little less obvious, Sinclair.” Ares cracks a grin and shakes his head. “Who’s the hot mom?”

“Watch it, Wilder. You’re married to my sister,” I warn him as I turn my attention back to the girls in front of us.

“Listen, nobody in this world can hold a candle to my wife, but I can appreciate a beautiful woman the way I’d appreciate a beautiful goal. Now you, on the other hand . . . You’re staring,”—his smile grows—“and maybe drooling.”

I’m about to tell him to fuck off when Izzy turns around and sees her mom. “Leo, are you coming to dinner at my house again tonight?”

Ares’s eyes grow as wide as his stupid smile.

“Ummm . . .” I have no idea how I’m supposed to answer her.

“Again, huh?” Ares asks just before Molly pulls her stick back to swing and hits him in the shin.

“I’m going to ask my mom,” Izzy tells us before taking off at a pretty fast pace for a five-year-old.

“She’s asking her mom,” my brother-in-law taunts, and I fight the urge to smack his other shin with my stick, only harder than my niece just did.

Mouthing fuck you silently so no tiny tots hear me, I glare back at him.

“You got something going on with a single mom, Leo?” Ares pushes harder, and hitting him with a stick sounds better by the minute.

“There’s nothing going on,” I admit. “Not saying there won’t be, but there’s not yet.”

Something I’m going to go work on rectifying now.

I clap his shoulder. “Thanks for finishing up here, brother.”

He’s definitely giving me a death stare as I skate away from him and over to Izzy and Addie. “Hey, short stack, you’ve got to take your skates off if you’re all done. Do you want help?”

She shakes her head and sits down on the bench where she starts meticulously untying her laces. “Mom said we’re just having chicken nuggets for dinner.”

I chance a look at Addie.

Fucking beautiful.

“Oh yeah?” I wink and take the opening my new best friend just teed up for me. “Any chance you’ll let me bring some takeout over as a thank-you for cooking me dinner last time?”

“That was supposed to be me thanking you, Leo. It kind of defeats the purpose if you bring us dinner now.” She adjusts Lennox in her arms, and I reach out.

“Can I hold her?”

Addie blinks up at me, her lashes fluttering like I’ve just shocked her before she decides I won’t bite, then carefully transfers the unhappy baby over to me.

She’s got no clue I’m now thinking about all the places on her body I’d like to run my teeth over.

Soft places.

Hidden places.

Fuck me and this train of thought.

Pulling my thoughts back to the land of little kids, I give all my attention back to Lennox. “Hey, baby girl. It’s been a while.” I blow a raspberry against her belly until she’s giggling and happy in my arms, tucked against my chest. Her small hand wraps around the string of my hoodie and tugs as I laugh. “You know . . .” I look back at her mother. “It doesn’t have to be a taking turns kind of thing, Adelaide. Let me do something for you. Let me order dinner and bring it over after practice.”

“Why?” she whispers, and my fucking heart tightens.

One word filled with so much hurt and distrust.

“Because I’m a nice guy, Addie. And I want to bring you dinner. I want to take you out on a date, but I know you’re not ready for that, so this is the next best thing. We could still do dinner and a movie. Just at your house instead of downtown.”

“I don’t believe in nice guys, Leo.”

Lennox slaps her small hand over my mouth, and I blow another raspberry against her palm before answering her mother. “Guess I’m going to have to change your mind.”