Sounded familiar.
“And your parents?” I asked hesitantly.
His hand found mine, lacing our fingers together. “Not sure. I’ve never tried to find them. My father was a drunk. He ran off after my sister was born. My mom…” He paused. “She had a lot of problems that she took out on us.”
I squeezed his hand, giving silent encouragement.
“On Liv.” He swallowed and I could see the pain in his eyes. “When she…”
“You don’t have to share, Preston,” I whispered. “If it’s too much.”
“No.” He shifted but didn’t look at me. “I want you to know. To know who you’re getting involved with. My past isn’t a pretty picture, but I did everything I could to turn it around. Give Liv the life she deserved.”
Heaviness filled my chest. A sadness I’d never held for another human.
“What happened?” I asked.
“She tried to drown my sister when she was two.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I called nine-one-one. They took us away and we never went back.”
I couldn’t keep from climbing to my knees and wrapping him in my arms. I wanted to give him all the love he deserved. My heart broke for the innocent kid inside of him. The one who had to witness such depravity before he could fully comprehend it.
He tugged me onto his lap, my lips resting on his forehead. “I’m so sorry.”
His arms wound around me, his palm sliding up my spine. “It’s behind me. I washed my hands of that life when we met Ray and Cecile.”
I released him, leaning back to meet his eyes. “And Wes.”
“And Wes. His parents were like a second family. He was an only child, so they welcomed us anytime. We were happy.”
“I’m glad you had them.”
“We went through hell.” His hands dropped to rest on my hips. “But we made it to the other side. I found a family and then football. That was all I needed.” His gaze seared into mine. “Until you.”
A raw emotion thundered through my chest. One I was scared to process. So I switched the heavy topic.
“What about Theo and Shaw?”
“I knew of both just from being in the NFL world. You know players, especially those as good as them. Theo isn’t from here. His family lives somewhere on the East Coast. But Shaw is from Texas. His family is super wealthy. They own oil companies all over the state. We became good friends when we started coaching together.”
“I admire your friendship.”
The confession landed heavily. He sensed it.
“What about you? Anyone you grew up with back home?”
I shook my head. “I was more of a lone wolf.”
He laughed, bringing up our conjoined hands to drop a kiss on my knuckles. “Nothing wrong with that. But you and Landry seemed to hit it off?”
I smiled at the thought of my bubbly blonde friend. “I don’t think she’s the kind who lets you have a choice when you meet her.”
“You both have that in common,” he murmured.
Gosh, his words.
His blue eyes dipped to my lips,wantfilling the depths.
“I need you to do something for me.” He repeated my words to me, the rasp of his voice signaling goose bumps to dance across my skin.
