“Why didn’t anyone tell me I looked like an emotional raccoon?” I ask, sliding off the counter and grabbing a paper towel before wetting it and cleaning off my face.
“Does this mean I can take you home?”
“Yes,” I say as I roughly swipe at my face.
Bram grabs my wrist and takes the paper towel. He’s gentle and sweet as he cleans my face.
I can’t lose him, but I can’t deny Max either.
I’m an excellent schemer, and I’ll figure out a way to make this work. Because there’s no way I’m letting the men of my dreams slip through my fingers. I’ll make this work—somehow.
CHAPTER 21
Idrive Sloane home, and the whole ride home, she’s fidgeting.
Reaching across the console, I grab her hand and put it on my thigh. It doesn’t seem to help anything.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, what? Nothing. Nothing’s wrong,” she says.
“Not that I’m complaining about what happened in the bathroom, it just seemed to come out of nowhere. Are you having pre-heat symptoms?”
“That might be it,” she says, biting on her nail.
“You’d tell me if something was bothering you?”
Her green eyes glance over at me before quickly looking down at where our hands are interlaced.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Anything,” I tell her.
“Why do you hate Max Connery so much?”
I grunt and let go of her hand to hold the steering wheel with both hands. She then wraps her arms around herself, and I immediately feel guilt over the action.
“It was a long time ago, my rookie year. It’s not worth bringing up.”
“But it’s a big enough deal that you still don’t like him.”
“He’s a selfish asshole, and he hasn’t changed in the last handful of years. The team will be better off when he eventually gets traded. Why are you asking?”
She swallows and looks out the window. “I was just asking.”
“You should stay far away from him, Sloane. All he does is use people and think about himself. He’s not a friend worth having.”
“Right,” she whispers, looking out the window.
I feel like whatever I’m saying is fucking this all up, or whatever she isn’t telling me is weighing too heavily on her.
I grab her hand and kiss her knuckles before putting it on my lap.
“Sloane, I want to be in this with you. But you’ve got to tell me what’s going on.”
“It’s just stress, I think. Not knowing when my heat is coming and I think I’m worried about you and Ethan being able to handle it on your own. I don’t mean that I don’t trust you or that you won’t take care of me. I just don’t know what to expect. What if I need another Alpha?”
I grunt, hating the idea.
