“I drew a picture for her.” Melody’s eyes lit up. “It’s at kindergarten. But I’ll bring it home on Monday.”
“Cool. She’ll be happy,” he said, even though he could still feel Hazel’s gaze on his face.
“Do you think she’ll bring her hammer this time?” Mel asked. “To test my reperplexes?”
“Your reflexes,” he corrected her. “And I’ll ask her.”
“Melody, how often is Anna here?” Hazel asked innocently.
“A lot!” she answered happily with a grin before storming out of the room.
Okay, that wasn’t fair.
“A lot,” Hazel repeated. “Hmm. So it's not chamomile that's relaxing you, Moreau? Do you have a girlfriend?”
His stomach lurched at the word — and he couldn’t tell whether it was in a good way or a disastrous way.
“She... Nope,” he said anyway, standing. Because she wasn’t... They weren’t, were they?
“You don’t sound confident,” Hazel stated, shocked. “Shit, Moreau, I was joking!”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” he replied stormily, pulling Hazel up from her seat.
“Why are you getting so defensive?” she asked, confused. “It would be perfectly fine if you had a girlfriend! Nobody would care, everyone would be happy.”
No. Not everyone. “Get lost, Hazel, before I lose my cool,” he muttered in warning.
His agent laughed loudly, but slung her purse over her shoulder. “It’s okay. But the next time I babysit – which is tomorrow, when you have your game – I’ll find out everything anyway.” She waggled her eyebrows. “Good luck. Squash the Whales, okay?”
She disappeared from the room and a second later, the front door slammed shut.
Shit. Why was he suddenly more nervous about Hazel and Melody being alone tomorrow than the game?
Do you have a girlfriend?
He rubbed his face and pulled his phone out of his pocket, which vibrated with a message.
Took your pills yet? I went shopping, by the way...
He smiled.
Anything other than ice cream?
he typed back.
Yes. Granola bars. I heard some men need them now and then.
He chuckled softly as a new message arrived.
And I hope you destroy the Edmonton Whales tomorrow. Jack is such a sore loser, he’ll be unbearable if you get knocked out of the running.
Oh, he wouldn’t let them down. Not because of West, but because he owed it to the whole team and himself. They’d damn well win tomorrow!
Chapter Twenty-Three
Twenty-third encounter
“Why is...family so hard?”
