Defending Hayden (Second Chances #7)(22)

Evan guffawed. “Well, thank you.” Then he turned to Derek and winked. “I like this one. Do you want to join us?”

Derek shook his head. “Maybe next time. I have to get Hayden back home.”

Evan’s smile slowly faded. “All right, brother. Come on over if you change your mind.”

They shook hands. “Will do,” Derek responded.

Evan got back into his truck and waved before backing out of the driveway. Once he was gone, Derek blew out a shaky breath. “Are you okay?” I asked him.

He turned to me and nodded. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know. It seemed like there was something bothering you. I could see it on your face.”

Sighing, he focused on the lake, avoiding my stare. To judge by the look on his face, his mind was going a hundred miles an hour. “Some days are harder to deal with than others, depending on who I’m with. Do you ever experience that?”

He was holding something back, but I didn’t know him well enough to dig in to his personal life. I wanted to know, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask. “I think we all do,” I answered honestly. “We all have our good and bad days.”

“Are you ready for me to take you home?” His light blue eyes stared down at me, and though I desperately wanted to say no, I had to stick to my words.

“Yes, please.”

A look of disappointment flashed across his face, but I couldn’t back down. I’d given in too many times with my ex, and look where that had gotten me. Getting attached would be the worst decision I could make.

I followed him back inside, where he grabbed his keys and two bottles of water out of the refrigerator. He passed one to me and we headed back out. “You’ll be here with Bear tomorrow, right?” He opened the truck door for me.

“Of course,” I said, getting in. “Lunchtime, right?” He nodded. “I’ll be here.”

We rode in silence. I could tell something was bothering him, but I pretended not to notice. When we got to my house, he parked in my driveway but kept the truck running; he wasn’t planning on staying. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said.

Opening the door, I slid out quickly before I could make a fool of myself. It wasn’t like he was going to kiss me. I plastered on a fake smile and shut the door. “See you then. And I’ll make sure to go over everything with you as far as Bear’s walker and the meds he’s taking.”

A small smile spread across his face. “Sounds good, Hayden. And don’t forget, we have a bet going on next week. I refuse to lose.”

“We’ll see about that,” I said, walking backward to my front door. “Have a good night.”

“You, too.”

I unlocked my door and watched him disappear down the street. Tomorrow I’d see him again and dig myself further into a hole. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to agree to the bet.





Chapter 10





Derek


For the rest of the night, I went out on my boat and slept until the sun came up. When Hayden said she needed to get home, my first thought was that I didn’t want to take her back. Then again, it gave me the excuse I needed to get out of Evan’s invitation. How could Hayden see through me the way she did? Though I’d spent months pretending to be fine, she’d known something was wrong. Something inside me told me to run away from her as fast as I could, but there was another part of me that told me to stay.

Being around her helped me to forget. Her smile and the way we talked together pushed every bad thought to the back of my mind. It was as if I gravitated toward her without even realizing it. However, getting close to her was probably going to be the worst mistake I could make. Why did I agree to that f*cking bet? I wanted to be with her, but I was afraid that the more time I spent with her, the more I wouldn’t be able to get away. It was a double-edged sword.

My phone beeped with an incoming text.

Hayden: On my way.

Everything was ready for Bear. Agreeing to adopt him was an impulsive move, but I couldn’t take it back; I wanted to impress Hayden. She thought football players were materialistic, and I had to show her we weren’t like that—or at least some of us weren’t. For the past few months, I hadn’t given a shit about impressing anyone. I hadn’t needed the approval until now. Maybe it was the fear that my deepest and darkest sins would come forth and taint her opinion of me. I’d seen the look of disgust on so many people’s faces, and I didn’t want to see it on hers. The closer she got to me, the easier it’d be for her to find out the truth.

The solution was simple: Keep her close but at a distance.

I heard a car door shut and peered out the window; it was her. Bear was in the front seat with his tongue lolling out to the side. When I opened the front door, he perked up and barked, his tail wagging nonstop.

Hayden was at the back of the car with the trunk lifted high. I couldn’t see her until she walked over to Bear’s side, laughing. “Calm down or you’ll hurt yourself.”

She was so f*cking beautiful; I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her. Her denim shorts showed off her long, tanned legs, and I didn’t have to look at her eyes to know that her green shirt would match them perfectly. I’d never met a woman who was smart, sexy, and had as big a heart as she did—and a desire to be around me. Most women like her would be married to a doctor, lawyer, or some arrogant douchebag like that. She was a woman who deserved a whole hell of a lot more than me.