Page 28 of Timelessly Ours
My brow perks and I move to the sofa. He follows me but sits on the coffee table facing me. “Nicole, I’m not a threat. I’d never do anything to hurt you. I promise you’re safe in my home.”
I put up my hand. “I think you’re a little confused. I’m not afraid of you.”
“I intimidate you.” It’s a statement and it’s fucking ballsy.
I mean he’s not wrong. But I’ll be damned if I let him have the upper hand in this conversation.
“Not in the way you might think.”
Silently, I dare him to challenge me. To ask me in what way he intimidates me. Hell, he might already know.
I’m not even sure how discreet I’ve been over my crush on Coach Collins for the last two years, because every time we’re in a room together, my whole body reacts. I go ridged when he’s near, tingly when he speaks, and every inch of my body melts when he smiles at me.
Smiles from Coach are rarer than the total solar eclipse for anyone that’s not his daughter—but even Angel has been getting less of those lately, now that she’s living with Jace—his least favorite player.
Instead of pressing me for details, he stands and places distance between us. “I’ll pay you well. You can stay in the same room. There’s also a guest room down here if you prefer—”
“You…trust me?”
“I trust you—with Rory. It’s the highest level of trust I can give anyone.”
I nod. “Royce, I don’t know anything about—”
“I’ll teach you.” Again, as if he can’t help it, he draws closer. “Everything you need to know—I’ll teach you.”
I shake my head, still doubting this is a good idea. It would have been. Maybe a week ago, before I fell off the wagon. Before I ended up in the last place I ever thought I’d step in again. I would have thought this might be worth a shot.
“Why?” The word comes out in a breath.
He considers it for a moment before his features turn hard and his eyes drift. “You don’t have a lot of options right now, Nicole, and I—”
“Stop,” I shout. My eyes narrow on his. “Stop being so stone cold,” I hiss. “I have a lot of options. I’m no one’s charity case and I will not be pitied.”
“I don’t pity you in the least, Nicole. I care about you,” he shouts back, before catching himself. “You’re Angel’s best friend, you’re my team captain’s sister. The season just started and I need someone with Rory almost every night. She knows you. She trusts you. I trust you.” He catches my elbow and once again invades my space. “And fucking sue me, but yes, I want to help you.”
I blink and look down at his hand under my arm. “Do you…know how to help me?”
He shakes his head slowly. “Not a damn clue.”
I nod and sniffle. “Then I suppose we’re even.”
“Do you trust me?” he asks.
I don’t need to think about this the way he did. “Probably more than I should.”
He nods and releases my arm. “I won’t let you down.”
I glance up to Rory’s bedroom. “Wish I could say the same.”
8
I rinse the soapy suds off my little girl’s silky auburn hair until every trace of it is washed off. When her hair is sleek and shiny down her back in deceiving straight locks, I set the rinse cup down.
“So, what do you think, Squigs?”
“What if I get tired of her? Or what if you get tired of her?”
I nod. “Hmm…what if she gets tired of us?”
