Kickin' It (Red Card #2)(52)

“Life, Parker. Life happens next.”

“Yeah?”

He kissed my temple. “Yeah, but first sleep.”

I yawned. “And you’ll be here . . . in your bed.”

“I’m here.”

“Home,” came out of my mouth before I could stop the words.

“Home, Parker. Home.”





Chapter Twenty-Six

MATT

I couldn’t remember the last time I woke up with such a huge grin on my face. I turned on my side to see Parker still sleeping. Damn, she was beautiful. Her hair was a mess all over the pillow like she was trying to claim ownership with each strand.

And it made me that much more determined to keep her there.

She fit.

We fit.

I wasn’t sure how.

Or why.

And I didn’t know what the hell I was going to tell the press if they ever caught wind of our relationship, which just meant we needed to deal with this Erik business once and for all. He was threatening, stalking, and bordering on being a complete sociopath. And the last thing we needed was for her to feel powerless or afraid again. I was more concerned about her mental state than I was about her position on any team. In my mind I could do anything, create a miracle, get her to play anywhere; the issue was him, it had always been him. He was the root problem, and I needed to destroy him as soon as possible.

Starting with a phone call this morning to let the LA team know she wasn’t interested, especially after last night.

The Seattle Reign were almost all in. All she had to do was be her charming self, a.k.a. kick ass, have a killer tryout, and it would be a done deal.

I was giving her a rest day so she would be fresh for tryouts, but knowing Parker, she’d want to at least go for a run.

And it would be normal for her coach to go with her, right?

I quickly dressed and put on my running shoes then jogged into the kitchen to make breakfast.

“So . . .” Willow’s voice had me nearly tripping over my own feet. She was sitting at the breakfast bar with a newspaper in front of her face so I couldn’t read her expression. “I hope I’m not intruding.”

“Intruding?” Shit. “Nope. Not at all. Just headed out for a run in a few.”

She slammed the newspaper down. She was fresh faced and wearing a Seattle Sounders sweatshirt.

I pointed. “Is that Jagger’s?”

“I am NOT making that whore breakfast!” she screeched, turning her head to me.

I opened my mouth to respond then jerked back. “Fuck, is that a hickey?” I roared.

“I heard that slut’s screams twice last night! Twice! I almost had to get ear plugs.” She threw her hands in the air.

Wait a second. Whose pants were those?

“Those aren’t yours.” I grabbed a coffee mug and stared down her obviously too-big black Nike sweat pants.

“I can’t believe you!” She paced, completely ignoring me. “You just bring home the first skank you can find! Poor Parker had to listen to that all night long, and you know she likes you! What the hell is wrong with you, Matt!” She turned and reached for a magazine and rolled it up, which revealed another hickey on the other side of her neck.

“How long did that sick bastard suck on your neck! We aren’t vampires!” I hollered. “Where is he!” I tried getting past her. “Jagger! You sick motherfucker! I said one date! Not a feast!”

Parker chose that moment to make an appearance in nothing but one of my Tshirts. Jagger came out of the shared bathroom. They took one look at each other.

And fucking high-fived.

I groaned into my hands while Willow jumped into the air. “YOU WERE THE SKANK LAST NIGHT?”

“I wasn’t that loud!” Parker said defensively. “And it’s not like—”

“I get to be your maid of honor!” Willow announced, performing a little twirl.

“Aw, you guys are getting married?” Jagger winked and then sidestepped me. “Need some coffee, bro. Your sister’s an animal.”

A headache throbbed at the base of my skull. “Wait, Willow, why are you happy, you just found out I was with . . .” I felt my face pale and then felt guilt start to pulse through my body. “Will . . .”

“No.” She held up her hand. “And yes, I’m happy. Happy with Jagger.” I held my groan in. “And I’m happy for you.” She frowned. “Wait, aren’t you happy? I’ve only been trying to get you guys together since we accidentally”—she made air quotes—“moved in under weird circumstances.”

Jagger chomped down on an apple next to me. “She’s a manipulative, evil mastermind. Seen her shoe collection? Huge, it’s huge, not normal.” Another large bite. “I think they hold her secrets.”

I took a long, soothing breath and locked eyes with Parker, who burst out laughing so hard tears started streaming down her cheeks.

“Willow, what the hell?”

She grinned over at me. “I know you, I know what you need, and I’ve known for years that the one girl you need in your life just needed to be groomed by me. You know, a few short skirts, some makeup—”

Parker snorted.

“Or,” Willow said, grinning, “just bringing her around so you could see what I see, what everyone sees: the most amazing woman you’ve ever met.”