Page 18 of Coach Me (Boston Blues #2)

Lucie

Having a job is great, but having a job where I have no clue what I’m supposed to do outside of being the nanny and homeschooling when it’s time, is interesting to say the least.

Am I technically on the clock unless told otherwise? Is there something I’m supposed to do when Miles isn’t around that’s still my job?

I barely know myself and what to do with my own free time. I guess we’re just winging everything now.

I practically memorized the Blues’ schedule after Shannon gave it to me, so I know today’s game isn’t a super late one, but me currently up at six in the morning isn’t exactly necessary.

I’m not sure if it’s nerves or the anticipation of being here, but there’s no forcing myself back to sleep. I’m wide awake.

Gathering up my shower stuff and some clothes for the day, I tiptoe over to the extra bathroom in our suite, thanks to Shannon’s little “slip of her mind”. I’m not entirely sure what her angle is. First, leaving out Dex’s schedule, and now this?

Avoiding her is a fun game for Miles, but it seems as though it could be vital for me. Everything has been last minute, so maybe I should give her the benefit of the doubt, but I’m not trusting her as far as I can throw her.

Dex will eventually get used to me, I hope, but I think this whole suite mess has put him a little more off kilter. Here I was wanting to give him space to adjust, but nope.

After hopping out of the shower, I forgo my hair dryer for now since it’s still quiet. I guess I could attempt to read or— My stomach growls loudly before I can even finish my thought… Or I could get us some food. Dex did mention wanting Miles to eat more.

If I can’t give Dex space, then I might as well do what I can to take the most off his plate.

Pulling my damp hair back into a loose braid and grabbing my shoes, I sneakily head down to the free continental breakfast in the lobby.

Grabbing a plate, I’m not entirely sure what to get. Dex said Miles didn’t have any allergies, but does Dex? And I know we’re branching Miles out on food, but are there any hard no’s?

Well, here’s to winging it.

I start by making some waffles as a safe bet on a crowd pleaser, then load up a plate of eggs, bacon, and some potatoes. There are maybe three other people down here at this bright and early 6:30, so I don’t feel too bad about making myself at home as I load up our plates.

With three waffles done, I stack them on top of one plate. Hmm, I probably need to bring some extra plates upstairs too. Goodness, I really just jumped on this idea.

“Ah, so she’s an early riser,” a male’s voice says as he comes up beside me. Whipping my head to the side, Olsson has this proud look on his face. “And apparently, she’s hungry too.”

I chuckle. “True to both, but I was going to take breakfast up for the guys. Granted, I didn’t think my plan through fully. I believe it’s going to involve multiple trips.”

“I think I can help with that a bit.” Olsson turns back to a worker passing by at just the right time. “Excuse me, sir, could you possibly bring out a tray and some covers for this young lady to take some food upstairs?”

“Of course,” the man replies.

“Thank you, I appreciate it. Oh, also, do you happen to know if Dex is allergic to anything?” Ya know, so I don’t accidentally kill my boss. Or imply it since Dex is already leery of me, I’m sure it wouldn’t be the best look.

Olsson laughs. “No, he isn’t. I like the concern, though. Dex needs a little of that.”

Olsson’s words hit me hard in my chest. I know I’m just on day three of being Dex’s nanny, but his stress isn’t lost on me. I may be spurring on some of that stress actually, but it’ll get better…I think…I hope.

I shrug off like I’m indifferent. “Oh, well. I’m here to help, right?”

Olsson nods, but before he can say anything, a worker comes up with a tray and two covers. “Here we are. I’ll let you take care of the rest, but welcome to the Blues, Lucie. We’re happy you’re here.”

“Me too,” I say—and mean it. The best part is that I think Olsson really means it too.

After loading up the plates, I add some muffins, fruit, a juice box, and a couple of water bottles. While the tray does make carrying everything a little easier, I think I walk just as fast as my turtles to get back to our suite .

The workers preparing breakfast will probably hate to see me coming for the rest of the week, but this could be a good way for me to help out in the morning. One step toward getting Dex to relax for a moment.

Getting into our room, I set our food down and immediately start a pot of coffee before unloading our breakfast as quietly as possible.

There’s a microwave if we need to heat stuff up, but the moment I get all the waffles laid out, Dex’s door swings open, and Miles runs out.

“Good morning, Lucie!” Miles climbs onto the barstool across from our spread. “Wow, you got a lot of food.”

I chuckle. “I got all of us a lot of food.”

“You did?” Miles’s eyes go wide as he takes it all in.

“I did!”

The little cutie’s got on pajamas that look just like a baseball player’s uniform, and he has those sleep lines on his face where he must have been sleeping hard. He did say travel was exhausting.

“Morning,” Dex mumbles low as he walks into the kitchen.

While it looks like Miles just rolled out of bed and ran out the door, Dex, on the other hand, seems like he might have been up for a bit. His hair seems slightly damp from a shower, and whoever designed these T-shirts for the team was doing the Lord’s work because they fit in all the right places.

The sleeves end where I can see hints of the ink swirling around on his forearms. Being that Dex has always been a player I enjoy watching on TV, it kind of bugs me that I don’t know what his tattoos are…Maybe I should talk Callie into a team calendar .

“Good morning, I got us some breakfast.”

Dex walks to the end of the counter as he does the same look around that Miles did.

“I may have gone a little overboard. I wasn’t sure what everyone would want.”

“I want the fruit cup!” Miles reaches over all of the waffles, eggs, and muffins to snatch the blandest fruit cup I’ve ever seen. Strawberries and blueberries only.

Dex lets out a breath. “You need something with the fruit, bud.”

Miles scrunches his nose and sends a snarled look to his dad. “I don’t want anything else.”

Alright, here’s my opportunity. “You know what I like to eat with my fruit?”

Miles spins back around to me. “What?”

I reach for one plate of waffles and a fruit cup. “I like to put fruit on my waffles.”

While the turning up of the nose I get from Miles isn’t as dramatic as the one he gave Dex, I still get one. “I don’t think I’d like that.”

“Have you tried it?”

“No, but?—”

I cut him off before he can tell himself he knows he doesn’t like it. “Well, I like it. Waffles are better than pancakes, in my opinion. They have these squares that are perfect to keep all the syrup together.”

After dumping my fruit and pouring syrup over my waffle, I watch as Miles looks at the plate in front of me.

There’s no way this kid doesn’t want syrup.

I get this not-wanting-to-eat attitude is likely stemming from the big changes he’s had in his life lately, but now's the time to work through ’em .

Miles and I both—working through it.

“You know what else I like to do?”

Miles sends his little eyebrow up his forehead. “What?”

“I like to dip my bacon in my syrup.”

“What!” Miles squeals. “That’s crazy!”

My only response is to dip my bacon in my syrup and pop it in my mouth.

Miles giggles as if he can’t possibly believe I would actually do such a thing—and Dex, well, he just watches me with his unshakable, stonewall look on his face.

“It’s good, I promise,” I tell Miles, but when his face scrunches again, I pull out the big guns. “Even Callie thinks so.”

Hook. Line. And sinker.

“She does?”

I nod. “Sure does. You don’t have to dip?—”

“Okay, make me a plate! I mean, make me a plate, please!” Miles turns to Dex, hoping his save came off okay, and finally, the man breaks. Cracks might be a better word for it, but he lets out a small laugh and, dare I say, has a small smile on his handsome face.

“Close. Asking might be a little better with that, please,” Dex says.

“Make—”

“Can,” Dex corrects.

“Can you make me a plate…please?”

“Yes, I can.” Dex reaches for one of the waffles, but then Miles puts his little hand out.

“Actually, can Lucie make my breakfast, and maybe I can watch some shows while I eat?” A beat or two passes, and then Miles adds quickly. “Please! ”

An emotion crosses Dex’s face that I can’t quite read, but then he nods. “Alright, let me help you get a show.”

When they walk over to the living room, I get to work on making Miles’s breakfast. I drop a few strawberries and blueberries on his waffle before drizzling some syrup over top. I decide to leave some of the berries in the cup just to be safe, then add a piece of bacon on the side.

I drop his food off on the coffee table just as Dex sets down the remote. “Here we are.”

“Thanks, Lucie! I can’t wait to tell Callie all about my breakfast.”

Yep, I’m going to have to tell Callie that waffles are now her favorite, despite my brother’s specialty being pancakes. Might be the polar opposite of what he asked me to work on, but, eh.

Walking back to the counter, I grab Miles his juice box, then turn to Dex. “I made us some coffee too.”

Dex simply nods. While it might seem like he’s slipping back into his stony self, I think I got a little chip in there.

Coming back to my plate, I stay quiet, not wanting to push him any further, but then he appears next to me with two mugs in hand.

Dex slides one to me. “Thank you for that.”

“It was nothing, really. I’ll try not to always use Callie as my scapegoat, but hey, it worked.”

Dex and I both look over to Miles as he shoves a forkful of waffle in his mouth.

“Honestly, I’m a little mad I didn’t think of it myself.” A small corner of Dex’s mouth turns up, but he tries to hide it with a sip of his coffee.

My stomach turns in knots. He hasn’t stepped back like he usually does, and his closeness threatens to bring goosebumps to my arms. Maybe I can dig into this stone wall a little deeper.

I keep my voice light and easy. “Eh, you got a lot on your plate, Coach.”

Dex makes a small grunt and sets his coffee down on the counter. “Right, well…” He trails off as he walks back over to inspect the stuff by the coffee maker.

Crap, I went too far. So, nicknames are a no-go. I thought it was lighthearted. Dang it.

I know one step forward and two steps back can seem counterproductive, but if you look at the big picture, we still took a step. Maybe I can recover.

Walking to the tray I left on the other side of the counter, I grab the two sugars I brought up.

Deep breaths.

“Dex.” When he turns, I hold up the packets. “Two sugars, right?”

I don’t get a smile, but a small nod and a moment of those brown eyes meeting mine. “Yeah, that’s right.”