“Come on. Please? Anna is so damn stubborn. She’d jump into bed with some complete idiot just to piss Jack and me off.”
Lucas’ face remained expressionless — inside, though, he was starting to get angry. Dax was taking himself too seriously, damn it. “Dax, your sister is an adult with a mind of her own. Let her do what she wants.”
But shit, what the hell was she doing on Tinder?
Anyway, he had bigger problems. He needed to find a damn babysitter!
“No, Luc, that’s not possible. You didn’t want to give us custody, so now you have to deal with having a child.”
“Laney specifically named me as guardian in her will, Mom,” he replied calmly. And he was okay with it. It was just…fucking hard. God, he loved Melody to death, but it was fucking hard.
“Yes, and now you see what happens because your sister placed more trust in you than us. Although she wasn’t known for making good decisions. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have jumped into bed with that vagabond and accidentally conceived Melody.”
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Mom, I have an appointment all afternoon and evening that I can’t cancel.”
“Me too. I have my yoga group and your dad doesn’t want to miss that big football game…”
“It’s not just any football game.” His father’s angry booming voice came through from the background. “For God’s sake, Bridget, don’t make it seem like I’m putting football above my granddaughter.”
“Well, that’s exactly what you’re doing, Fred!” his mother retorted caustically.
“I invited everyone, Bridget! Six guys are coming over. Should I send them all away?”
“Yes! That would be helpful.”
“Oh, Jesus, as if your yoga nonsense is more important, I…”
“Okay. See you later, Mom,” Lucas said curtly and hung up. He couldn’t listen to his parents’ drama anymore. He’d spent his entire childhood doing that. Maybe it was better that they didn’t have time. He still had hope that Hazel…
His phone vibrated, and he stared at the screen.
I can’t, Moreau, sorry! I have to catch a flight to Phoenix, so I am leaving at three.
He glanced at his watch. It was just after two. “Fuck.”
“ ‘Hello’ would be more traditional, but okay. A good ‘fuck’ to you too.”
His head shot up. Of course, Anna was standing in front of him, her arms crossed in front of her with stray rays of sunlight catching her mop of dark curls.
“They’re all waiting for you in the conference room. I was told to tell you toget your ass insideif I saw you on the way to the parking lot.”
He nodded and rubbed his forehead with his fist. She looked angry. At him. But he didn’t even have the nerve to care.
“Fuck,” he repeated softly and closed his eyes. He loved his job, but right now, he also hated it a little.
“Lucas? Is…everything okay?” Anna asked hesitantly.
Her voice was suddenly gentle, no longer annoyed. It was as if someone had poured a bucket of fabric softener on her.
He didn’t answer. Instead, he ran through every possibility in his head. The babysitter didn’t have time and he didn’t want someone new he didn’t know. His parents were a no-go and Fox was out of the question. Hazel was also off the table. The neighbors, whose daughter Melody was good friends with, were on vacation. He couldn’t take Melody with him. First, she’d be bored to tears, and second, no one knew about her, and third, he wouldn’t be able to concentrate with her there. The only people who knew about her didn’t have time and…
Shit. That wasn’t true. He realized he was looking at the one other person who knew.
He opened his eyes and noticed that Anna was still looking at him worriedly. She reached out her hand to touch his shoulder, but dropped it quickly when she met his gaze. It looked like she’d suddenly remembered that those times were over, when they’d touched so often that the feel of her skin under his fingertips had been almost more familiar than that of his goalie gloves.
“Anna,” he said quietly, his shoulders tensing, “I have no right to ask you for a favor.” And he didn’t want to. He wanted to push her out of his life, not drag her deeper into it. He needed distance.
But what choice did he have? Melody would always come first.
