Page 44 of Bittersweet Redemption

“Yep. So you better have the best game of your life.” I ruffle his hair.

“I will. It’ll be the best game you’ve ever seen.” I chuckle, and he runs to the kitchen to grab his water bottle.

Willa stands from where she’s sitting on the floor. She looks fucking adorable in jeans, a sweatshirt, and her hair up in a bun. “You don’t have to come. I know you’re busy.”

“I know I don’t have to come. I want to.”

The corner of her mouth tips up, but she stops from breaking out into a full-on smile, like she’s shy around me. Which is ironic, considering I’ve seen every single part of her.

“Ok.” I want to lean down and kiss her, but that feels too much like what a boyfriend would do, and I’m definitely not her boyfriend.

Willa ushers Roman into the car, and he waves at me before she shuts his door. I follow them to the park and park right next to her. After some initial back and forth, she lets me carry our chairs down to the field. We set up on the outside of everyone else just like she did last time. The other soccer moms throw curious glances in our direction. Some of them have looks on their faces that I’d like to wipe right off. Willa either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care. Either way, it pisses me off that these women would judge Willa, who probably works ten times harder than they do every day. But I won’t cause a scene today, for Roman’s sake.

My chair is as close to Willa’s as I can get it, partly because I’m looking for anyone suspicious and partly because I want to smell her sweet scent when the wind blows.

Jesus Christ. What is wrong with me? I’ve never been this far gone for a woman. And this is a woman I don’t even like. . . right?

I look over at her and see the permanent smile as she watches her son on the field. She really is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen with her little button nose, long lashes, and bright eyes. God. When she looks at me, sometimes I feel like she can see right into my soul. It’s terrifying and comforting all at once.

I make myself look away before she notices me staring.

Once Roman starts playing, he shoots us a wave and a wide grin before taking off in a run for the ball. My hand instinctively goes to Willa’s thigh. By the time I realize what’s happening, it’s too late for me to stop, so I let it happen. Willa glances down at my hand but doesn’t say anything. I leave it there, gripping her thigh because I have such a strong need to touch her right now.

We stay like that the entire game, cheering for Roman as he runs up and down the field. When he scores a goal, we both jump up from our chairs and cheer. Roman also jumps up and down, and I give him a thumbs up. I turn to Willa and wrap her in a hug. She’s stiff at first, but then she relaxes in my arms. I kiss her on the head before releasing her. She stares at me for a second, asking questions with her eyes that I’m not willing to answer.

Questions that I don’t know how to answer.

Chapter 22

Willa

The night after Kai came with us to Ro’s last soccer practice, I somehow ended up in his bed again. There’s no logical explanation for it other than I want him, and he seems to want me.

We didn’t talk about it or plan it. I just happened to walk out of my room when he was walking toward his room. He nodded toward his room, and I followed without question.

We double-checked that the blinds were shut this time before our lips crashed into each other. Even though Kai had the security system installed at his house today, I’m still nervous that someone is watching us. I haven’t noticed anyone out of the ordinary recently, but if they were close enough to take those pictures without us noticing, who knows where they might be lurking.

The thought sends a chill down my spine. I turn over in bed to face Kai. He’s got a light coat of sweat glistening on his skin, and his chest is moving quickly up and down while he tries to catch his breath from nearly fucking the life out of me—in a good way, of course. I drape my arm over his torso, and to my delighted surprise, he doesn’t push me off him.

“Do you think we’re being watched?” I ask quietly like someone will jump out from the shadows if I say it too loud.

Kai holds his breath for a second before answering. “I fucking hope not. But if they are, I hope they enjoyed the show.”

“Kai!” I squeeze his side, making him flinch.

“I’m kidding. But really, if someone was watching tonight, the security camera would pick it up. River’s guy installed it today and walked me through it while you were at work. I also had him install one at your house.”

“Oh. You didn’t need to do that.” A security system sounds pretty expensive. I’m not sure I can afford it. Safety is obviously a huge concern, especially with Roman, but so is having food to eat. “Will they bill me for that?” Maybe I can set up a payment plan or something.

“No. I paid for it.”

I push up onto my forearm to look at him. “What?”

He looks away from me. His cheeks are flushed, and I’m not sure if it’s from the sex or from admitting he paid for my house to have security. “I paid for it. It’s not a big deal.”

I grab his chin and force him to look at me. He doesn’t fight me on it. “You’re wrong. It’s a huge deal. Installing it at your own house is one thing. Installing it at my house is totally different. You went out of your way for us when you didn’t have to.” I swallow and lower my voice before adding, “Not many people have done things like that for us. It means a lot.” I drop my hand from his chin when I’m sure he’s not going to look away again.

“Yeah, well. I kinda like you guys.” He reaches up to run his fingers through a lock of my hair. “I don’t want anything to happen to either of you. I’d feel responsible.” He leans in to kiss my head. “Plus, I’d have to live with the guilt, and that’s just too much of a burden for me.” I feel him smile against my forehead and know he’s teasing me.