“Sure. I need your help anyway.”
“Uh-oh, you never ask for help. This must be bad.”
I snorted. “You have no idea.”
Once Derek made his calls we went inside. I’d never seen him so happy. I’d often wondered what it was like to feel that way. I’d had many great times in my life, but nothing life-changing. There was a part of me that envied what he and the others like Evan and Cooper had. Their lives were almost perfect.
I took a seat at the bar, breathing in the savory scent of the roast. “Smells delicious, Hayden.”
She beamed. “Thanks. I figured Derek was tired of eating out, so I made a point to do something about it. Did you know you can pretty much put anything in a Crock-Pot? One Thanksgiving my family cooked a turkey that way.”
“Fuck that.” Derek laughed, taking the seat beside me. “I’m not going to ruin a turkey that way. Speaking of which, what are you doing Thanksgiving?” he asked me.
Thanksgiving was in three weeks and we had a home game against Arizona. “Probably going to the game and then heading home.” Derek glanced at Hayden, and she nodded with a smile on her face. “Why? What’s going on?”
He placed a hand on my shoulder. “Come eat Thanksgiving dinner with us. Everyone’s going to be here. It’ll be fun.”
“Who is ‘everyone’?” I asked with a sigh.
I could tell by the look on his face, he didn’t want to tell me. Probably because he knew I’d say no. “Evan and Summer, and Summer’s twin sister, Lara, and her fiancé, Luke,” he informed me. “There might be more, but that’s all we have right now.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
He elbowed me hard in the ribs. “Sure it is. Now stop being a pussy. You’re a part of my group now and I know you don’t have family around here. I’m not going to have you alone on fucking Thanksgiving.”
“Exactly,” Hayden chimed in. “We want you here.”
I held up my hands in defeat. “Okay, I’ll come.”
Usually on Thanksgiving, Angela would pack up some of the food she and her family made for the holidays and bring it over if we didn’t have an away game. Then the Friday after, I’d always travel to Tampa to see my family.
“Now what did you want to talk about?” Derek asked. “You looked pretty serious earlier.” Hayden stood across from us, leaning her elbows on the counter to listen.
“You know how I wanted to get Delaney back for being a complete and utter douche?” I said regretfully.
Derek sighed and closed his eyes. “Yeah.”
“Well, as you know, my first thought was to go after his girl, which ended up being his sister. Her name is Bristol Thomas. She’s his half sister.”
Hayden huffed and shook her head. “Dammit, Jax. Bringing an innocent girl into your games is messed up. How could you do that?”
“It’s not what you think,” I told her, hoping she could hear the truth in my voice. “I wanted Bristol before I even knew who she was. And now that we’ve been spending time together…” I stopped and sighed. “Let’s just say Delaney’s been the last thing on my mind.”
With narrowed eyes, Hayden glared at me, but then she gasped. “Oh my God. Are you saying you fell for her?”
I glanced at her and Derek both before nodding. “I don’t know what it is about her. We were together last night and I couldn’t seem to get enough of her. It’s like there was a connection between us that I’d never felt with anyone before.”
Squealing, Hayden jumped up and down. “This is awesome. You’re finally starting to settle down. I knew it would happen eventually.”
Derek didn’t seem to share her enthusiasm. “You do know it’ll be a shit storm when Delaney finds out. He’s not going to want you with his sister.”
I nodded. “I’m aware of that.”
“Does she like you as much as you care for her?” Hayden asked.
“I think so.”
She smiled. “Then there’s nothing to worry about. Just make sure to tell her how you feel.”
If only it were that simple. “That’s not going to matter when she finds out the truth. She doesn’t know who I am.”
Derek looked confused. “What do you mean?”
Groaning, I ran a hand through my hair. “She doesn’t know I’m a football player. If she did, she’d have nothing to do with me. Mark Whitmore is her ex and he cheated on her multiple times. She has a severe loathing for jocks.”
“Ouch,” Derek blurted. “That fucker is a piece of work. I can’t believe she dated him.”
“No shit.”
Hayden waved her hand in the air. “So let me get this straight. You’ve been spending time with this girl and you haven’t told her who you really are? Does she even know your real name?”
I hung my head. “No. I’d told her my name was Jack and that it was what my family called me. It’s actually the truth but I haven’t heard my mother call me that in a long time. I was afraid that if I told her who I was, her brother would find out.”
“Damn, dude, you’re fucked,” Derek stated sadly.
Hayden snapped her fingers to get my attention. “Not yet you’re not. But the answer’s simple.”
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I set it on the counter. “Oh yeah? How so?”
“Tell her the truth. Call her up and ask if you can see her. You have to do it before Ryan does.”
“What if she doesn’t forgive me?” I asked, knowing full well there was a strong chance she wouldn’t.
Hayden shrugged. “I don’t know, but it’s a chance you have to take. There’s no other option.”
I knew she was right, but I didn’t want to see the look on Bristol’s face when I told her. Maybe it was a good thing to tell her the truth now before things went too far.
Chapter 12
Bristol
“Good afternoon, Jennifer. Thank you for coming to see me,” I said in greeting. Jennifer Hallowell was a new client who had just bought a house with her fiancé. She was around my age, with golden-blond hair and a sweet, girl-next-door type of face, and arrived in a black Calvin Klein dress.