She’d been hurt. She’d lost everything. She’d lost her home and her parents and her money. She’d pulled herself up and gotten married and had a baby when she was still a baby herself. She’d lost them, too, along with the ability to walk. She’d fought. She’d taught herself to walk again, and she put herself right back out in the world because that girl didn’t know how to quit.
He’d quit a long time ago. He could see that now. He’d worked and walked around, but he hadn’t really lived since that day in the wharf-side flat. The man he’d been, alive and vibrant and happy, had died and a completely different human being had been dragged out of the water. Shut down, cold, distant. He’d chased pussy that didn’t matter. He’d fucked women who couldn’t touch him for precisely the reason that he knew damn well they couldn’t move him.
Something cold was pressed in his hand, and he took a long swig. The low hum of an announcer’s voice filled the room. Jake sat down beside him, not saying a word, and Adam passed him a beer before sinking into the chair and staring at the TV.
Yep. This was what he needed. He trusted Adam and Jake. There was something deep inside that trusted them because in so many ways, they had taken the place of his brother. They annoyed the fuck out of him. He wanted to punch them half the time. And he was happy they were here.
“It’s football,” he heard himself say.
Jake snorted a little. “Footballs are oval shaped and way more manly than this shit.”
“And more interesting. Does anyone ever actually score?” Adam asked.
Fucking plebians. He laughed, his tension dissolving. He would figure out what to do with Avery. He had a little time. Damon Knight wasn’t going to kick him out of the country. They would need him, and he would protect her. “It’s called football, boys, and we don’t need all those pads and shit. This is a man’s game.”
They started arguing, but the tension was gone. His problems were still there, but he could handle them.
And he would handle Ian. He would listen to him. He owed the man that much and more. He owed them all, and he wouldn’t let them down. He’d been sulking for four days. It was time to get his head back in the game and back his people up.
It’s what family did.
Chapter Eleven
Avery looked up at Simon Weston. It was so much easier to be friendly with the man now that she had Lee. She didn’t feel uncomfortable with him anymore. She’d even caught herself halfway flirting. It was a little perverse that she couldn’t flirt before, but now that she had a boyfriend, she was okay with a little harmless repartee. And Simon had eased up so they were finding a very nice friendship.
“How was the time off? I managed to get the quartet scheduled for the ball.” He sat on the edge of her desk, a mug of coffee in his hands.
She winced a little. “I’m so sorry I pawned that off on you.”
He smiled, a genuine beaming that lit up his face. “Hey, no problem. I’m happy you’re having a good time. That Lee guy seems all right. And it’s obvious he’s making you quite happy.” He nodded toward the door to Thomas Molina’s office. “I noticed he’s been in the office a lot lately. And he’s crabby. Aren’t you supposed to keep him calm?”
Yep. She’d gotten an earful from a whole bunch of the staff the minute she’d walked in. Apparently Thomas had been a bear to deal with. “I will give it my best shot. Let everyone know that he won’t be in tomorrow so they can all take extra-long lunches.” She remembered the look Monica had given her. “And I’ll buy the first round after work.”
“You’re going to come and drink with us?” Simon asked, one aristocratic brow arched.
“Sure. I have to warn you, though, I’m a total lightweight and I’ll probably get even klutzier than usual.”
“I think we can handle that. We would all help you, you know.”
She leaned back wondering just how much she could ask him without sounding like a massive moron. “I don’t know. I don’t seem to fit in here.”
“You would fit in just nicely. You’re an incredibly likable woman, Avery. Have you ever wondered why you haven’t found friends here?”
She wasn’t especially good socially. She often felt awkward and out of place. Her twenties had been one long hospital room stay. She could talk to doctors and sling medical jargon around all day long, but she was a little lost when it came to small talk. She liked sci-fi movies and romance novels, two things assured to put a blank look on most people’s faces.
But she was more confident now. She had Adam and Jake, and most of all she had Lee. And now she had Simon. And she’d been assured that she would likely find friends at the club Lee was taking her to. He’d laughed a little and said subs liked to stick together.