Page 23

DEKE

“Are y’all going to be out here all night or what?” Camille’s voice rang in the air as I passed the basketball to Eli.

I turned to find my sister stepping out the back door of her house and walking through the trail leading to their private basketball court.

“Hi, Mommy!” Eli abandoned the ball to rush to her. He hugged her tight around the waist, and she laughed as she held him back.

“Well, hello to you, too, honey. How was camp?”

“It was good. It was my turn to be the jungle leader today.”

“Oh, really? And did you walk in a straight line?”

“Yeah, but some people kept getting out of line.”

“Well, as long as you did your part, that’s all that matters, baby.” She kissed Eli on the forehead, then turned her attention to me. “Declan. Look at you.” She sighed, moving closer to me.

I tried not to react to her calling me by my real name. She and my mom were probably the only two people who could get away with it now.

“Wassup, sis?” I hugged her tight as she stepped into my arms.

“I’m glad you’re here.” She leaned back and gripped my upper arms. “Did you get enough to eat?”

“Oh yeah. Me and Eli killed that pizza.”

“Yeah, I see that, and now you and Eli can help with the dishes.”

She stepped away and wrapped her arm around Eli’s shoulder as he threw his head back and whined, “Aww!”

After cleaning up, Eli and Jack put on a movie in the living room, while Camille opened a bottle of red wine. I stood next to the fridge, with my lower back resting against the counter edge and my arms folded.

“You want a drink?” she asked, eyeing me as she placed the wine bottle on the counter.

“Nah, I’m good. I’ve got training on Monday and drank enough at that party over the weekend.” Speaking of the party instantly reminded me of Davina, and as if the universe had read my mind, my phone vibrated in my back pocket.

When I checked it, there was an email from her. It was wild to me that we were still communicating. I mean, technically I fulfilled my end of the contract. I did the photo shoot, she had her party, and it turned out great. All she had to do now was wait for the products to hit the shelves and for people to snatch them up.

But, regardless of all that, I liked talking to her ... and I wanted her to know it, so I read her email.

Sorry it’s taken me a minute to get back to you. I was at the warehouse today—hectic stuff. Anyway, your training sounds intense. But look at you! You’re living your dreams and playing basketball for a living. Not many people in this world can say that.

Don’t worry about getting back to me hours later or whatever. You’re a busy man so I get it ... plus I’m sure there are other women you need to entertain first. It’s all good!

I couldn’t help laughing at her email.

Other women? If only she knew I hadn’t slept with a woman since meeting her ... and by sleeping with , I mean actual intercourse. I hadn’t felt the urge to sleep with a woman unless her first name started with a D and her last name with a K .

“What are you smiling about?” Camille asked from the other side of the kitchen. She sipped her wine as she looked from my phone to my eyes.

“Nothing.” I slid my phone into my back pocket. “Just an email.”

“Is it from that Giselle girl?” she asked, her nose scrunching with distaste.

“Hell no. I’m done with her.”

“Oh. Well, good, ’cause you know I don’t like her ass.”

I chuckled. “Trust me, Camille, you have made that abundantly clear.”

She smiled behind another sip of wine. “So, if it isn’t Giselle, who is it?”

I hesitated.

I wanted to tell Camille about Davina, but I knew my sister, and if Whitney had made a fuss about our situation at the rebranding party, I could only imagine what Camille would say in the privacy of her home.

“It’s just a woman I met at a party,” I told her, which was partly true. She was at the party, and I did bump into her at the fountain, only to discover a new side of her.

I’d noticed after my speech that Davina’s eyes were a little shinier than usual. Then she took off and left the ballroom altogether.

When she still hadn’t returned after ten minutes, I looked for her and found her sitting in front of that fountain.

She hadn’t noticed me when I first spotted her. It was clear she was crying, and I felt a twist in my chest and the sudden urge to hold her and comfort her somehow. It would’ve been inappropriate, though, so I just gave her a moment. When her crying had calmed, I’d shuffled a little louder through the grass so she could prepare for my “random” appearance.

“Oh, yeah. The party. Whitney said it was really nice.” Camille’s voice pulled me out of the memory. I watched as she refilled her wineglass. “You going to see Mama while you’re here?”

“I planned to stop by for a little.”

Camille nodded, then pursed her lips as she scanned the kitchen. Several seconds of silence passed, and while she casually sipped, I studied her. She was avoiding looking at me for some reason.

“What?” I finally asked.

Her eyes flickered to mine. “Nothing.” She stepped around me to sit at the dining table.

I took one of the chairs closest to hers and could see Eli and Jack in the living room, watching one of the Fast & Furious movies.

“You’re thinking about something. You’ve got that pensive look. What’s going on?”

Camille took a big gulp, swallowed it down, then said, “I think Mama has been seeing Dad.”

I froze.

Those were not the words I expected to hear.

Frowning, I sat back and shifted my attention to one of the windows. Half the sun was beneath the horizon, the sky an orangey pink.

“How do you know this?” I asked. A part of me didn’t want to ask. I didn’t want to care.

“Last weekend I went to drop off a glass pitcher she’d been asking me to bring for her little margarita night with her book club friends. When I got there, I saw his car in the driveway. I only recognized his car because I saw it the night me and Whitney agreed to have dinner with him at that Italian restaurant, remember? Anyway, I didn’t go inside, just left the pitcher on the porch with a note ... but why else would he have been there?”

I inhaled deeply, letting the frustrated breath collect in my chest before releasing it. “She promised she wouldn’t go back to him,” I muttered.

“She’s lonely, Deke. I mean, she has me, Eli, and Jack most weekends, but I can’t say I’m surprised if something is going on. And, you know, it seems Dad has turned a new leaf. When we saw him at the dinner, he said he’d been going to AA and he’s a coach for a youth basketball team at his church—”

I sniffed and pushed back in my chair so hard the legs scraped the floor. Jack and Eli twisted their necks to find the commotion.

“Declan,” Camille murmured evenly, her eyes hardening.

“I’m gonna head to my hotel,” I said when Jack and Eli looked away. I couldn’t sit here anymore. If I did, I’d blow the fuck up, and the last thing I wanted my nephew to see was his uncle getting angry.

I walked out the back door and took the trail to the court, which had a path near it that wrapped around the house and led to the driveway. My keys were in my pocket. I could leave right now.

“Deke, come on.” Camille rushed after me. “He’s trying to change.”

“No, see, that’s the fucking problem, Camille!” I whirled around to face her, and she stopped dead in her tracks. “I don’t believe that shit. Not for a second. So, what, he goes to a fucking alcoholic group, joins a church, and that makes him a saint? Fuck that! He hasn’t changed, and you know it!”

“What happened between you, him, and Mama was so long ago, and we were all in a dark place, okay? I get it, trust me. I understand why you’re angry, but people can change, Declan.”

“Stop calling me that shit,” I snapped, giving her my back. I fished my keys out of my jeans pockets and marched toward the path. “Tell Eli and Jack I’ll see them tomorrow before my flight.”

“Deke!” Camille called, but I kept walking until I reached the Mazda.

I slammed the door behind me, huffing rapidly as I started the car and backed out of the driveway.

I was too fucking mad to drive, though.

Every car was in my way.

Every person crossing the street was a hindrance.

I pulled to the side of the road, bleary eyed and full of rage, and without thinking, I yelled and punched the steering wheel so many times my knuckles split.