There was a widening of Pearce’s eyes at my question, and he swallowed hard. “Well, I think a lot of people don’t even bother with a call. Text messages do the trick.” His gaze lowered to the cell in my hand. “You need help working out the right text message etiquette to tell Wayne to fuck off? If so, I’m your man.”
My lips twitched, liking too much that Pearce didn’t hold back his pleasure. “I can’t, right? Do that, I mean? Tell him it’s over by text?” I rubbed a hand over my face, exhaustion creeping in.
“Hey.”
I opened my eyes and dropped my hand, startling at Pearce’s proximity. For a big guy, he moved far too quietly, getting into my space.
“Maybe don’t even worry about this now. It’s been a long twenty-four hours. I know there wasn’t a chance you slept for more than a couple of hours in that tiny bed in Lottie’s room last night. Why don’t you head to my place and get some sleep?”
I shook my head. “But Lottie—”
“Lottie has me. She’ll be fine. She’s healing brilliantly and the nurse said it’s likely the doc will be releasing her tomorrow. They just need to get her temperature under control. We’ll hang out here and talk basketball when she wakes. You come back for dinner. Pick us both something up.”
My heart stumbled in my chest, my shoulders sagging in relief that Pearce was here. Moira was obviously in Hong Kong. Yesterday when I spoke to her, she’d said she’d be able to jump on a late evening flight, but by that time, and I knew she was going to be fine, so what was the point? When I’d told my ex to not worry about it and that I’d send regular updates, her gratitude had been immediate.
It wasn’t something I understood myself—her not being desperate to see her daughter—but I was used to single parenting. That didn’t mean it couldn’t be tiring or lonely. It made Pearce’s offer mean so much more, especially as it was genuine. Not only that, but I believed he cared for Lottie.
“You sure?”
He nodded. “Absolutely. It’s only just after one, so you can get a decent nap. I’ll keep my phone on, and if anything changes, I’ll call you immediately. I promise.”
“I know you will.” Unable to resist, I stepped closer and wrapped my arms around him. Pearce hugged me back, his arms strong and warm, and when he squeezed, I sagged a little into his embrace. Such simple contact fed my soul, providing me with comfort I didn’t dare dream I’d receive. Not pulling away, I gave myself the moment, drinking in Pearce’s support.
From the moment it was clear something had been wrong with Lottie, he had stepped up and taken control. And thank Christ he had. I’d been running on autopilot, everything frozen beyond the rapid beating of my heart and stone-cold panic. Without Pearce… I relaxed into his touch, not wanting to finish that thought.
“He’s an asshole. Okay.” Pearce squeezed me lightly. “Whatever you decide will be the right thing for you.”
I nodded, my thoughts flicking to my conversation with Wayne.
He hadn’t even asked about Lottie. Not once. Hadn’t asked how I was or if I needed him. It wasn’t even as though the last six months we’d been fucking very often. Was I relieved he’d been getting it elsewhere? That my answer was a resounding yes meant it was finally time to let go.
“You okay?” Pearce whispered the question close to my ear, the warmth caressing my skin and giving me goose bumps.
I nodded against him, sure that was my cue to step out of his arms. But it was comfortable here. It was rare that we hugged—well, not like this. We always greeted each other with a handshake and a half hug, but like this—up close, bodies connected, his body heat pressing against my skin—it was enough to remind me why we didn’t.
Pearce was temptation personified, and if we’d done this regularly, I wasn’t sure I could hold back from making a move and possibly screwing up our friendship. That was the last thing I wanted. And after him stepping up like he did with me and Lottie, there was a whole lot of hero worshipping happening right now. And holy hell if it didn’t make my heart beat that little bit harder for him.
Reluctantly, I eased out of his hold. Our gazes connected. “Thank you,” I said quietly. “For this, for everything.”
He squeezed my forearms before releasing. “You know I’m always here for you and Lottie. Now get your ass out of here.” A chin uplift followed his words, along with a curve of his lips. “You know how I like my burgers, right?”
I snorted and shook my head. “So, grilled chicken and salad. Got it.”
Pearce groaned and passed me his car keys. “It’s like you’re mirroring Jake, our nutritionist.”
A smile lifted my lips. “Twelve years’ experience in the League will do that. You’ve got training first thing. Then your first big game in four days.”
“Shit, these days go fast.”
I winced in sympathy, remembering all too well that five days between games initially sounded awesome, but between training and life, they passed by in a blink. “Just think, a few more weeks and it’s the off-season. That’s your time to kick back.”
The narrowing of his brows took me by surprise. “That’s if we get that far. It could just be a couple of weeks.”
“Hey,” I said, surprised. Easygoing was Pearce’s middle name, and I was sure his teammates would have added several more choice descriptors alongside that. Prankster being just one of them. He wasn’t known for taking life too seriously. Between this unusual negativity and him being completely in control with Lottie, I was seeing unexpected sides of the man. “That defeatist attitude stops now. Screw that. You’re in the playoffs. The aim is to make it all the way.”
A slow smile formed on his mouth. “It’s like having my own personal cheerleader. The guys are gonna be so jealous when I tell them Eddie Phelps waves his pom-poms for me.”
An amused snort tore out of me. And there he was. The Pearce who’d managed to claim a section of my heart just for himself. “You go ahead and see how well that works out for you.”
