Page 30 of Fear of Love (Falling #3)

LANDON

“ W e need one more game to clinch the division,” Wyatt said as he took a pull from his beer.

While the girls were at some paint class with Mom, the guys and I decided to make it a boy’s night. The Den was the best place to go for drinks. It was a few blocks from the arena and one of the only places Wyatt, Trevor, and Bryton could go without being hassled by fans.

We learned our lesson a few years back about going out to other bars. As soon as someone recognized any of the guys, we would be swarmed with fans and women. Winning the last championship made the three of them even more popular, making it hard to go out without someone recognizing them.

I knew they didn’t mind too much. The three of them always stopped to take pictures or sign something for fans.

They appreciated the support, but I knew it could get overwhelming.

They never expected to be this well-known, but it was the price they paid for being the three best hockey players in the league.

“That cup is ours again this year,” Trevor said matter-of-factly. It could be seen as cocky, but he wasn’t wrong. The team was playing their best, only having lost a few games during the season so far.

“A wedding and a cup win—I like the sound of that.” Wyatt smirked.

“Speaking of weddings. You ready? It’s only a few weeks away,” I asked my younger brother who sat next to me. It was hard to believe he was going to be married. It felt like just yesterday I was teaching him how to drive.

“More than ready.” The look that appeared on his face was one I never saw on him until he met Josie.

As I looked at my brother, I thought about how far he had come.

He wasn’t the little kid that used to follow me around and annoy the shit out of me.

He was a grown man about to be married to the love of his life.

After multiple failed relationships, one where the girl was only with him to boost her social media, Wyatt stayed away from anything serious. Not that I blamed him. Then he got hurt.

I watched him fall to the ice before being carted away in the middle of the game. The hardest thing I ever had to do was sit back and watch him struggle. He never admitted it, but I knew it was extremely hard for him not to play and to watch his team lose their chance at a cup win while he healed.

He put on a front and acted like he was fine but he wasn’t. Even when he was cleared to play, he wasn’t the Wyatt I knew. It wasn’t until he met Josie that things changed and the old Wyatt started to come back.

This was the happiest I’d ever seen him, and that was all thanks to Josie. The two of them couldn’t have found each other at a better time.

“When are you going to tell her about the surprise?” I asked, taking a sip of my beer.

“I’m thinking this weekend after the game.”

“What are you going to do with her apartment?” Bryton questioned.

“It’s the last thing Jo’s father gave her before he passed, so I’m not sure how she feels about selling it. We could always keep it and let Mateo move in at some point.” Wyatt shrugged.

“She’s going to love the house.” I nudged his arm. For the last two months, I went with him to countless homes, trying to find the perfect one. Fifteen houses later, he found one he claimed Josie would love. Plus, it was close to Mila and Bryton’s place and not too far from my mom’s, either.

“I hope so.”

“Who would have thought we’d see a domesticated Wyatt,” Trevor joked.

“Me? You’re the one who’s wrapped around Tasha’s finger,” Wyatt shot back.

“And I’m not complaining.” Trevor grinned. “I’ll wrap myself around her any day.”

“Glad you finally grew a pair and got together,” I commented.

“Me?” Trevor looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “When are you finally going to admit you have a thing for Lydia?” That had Wyatt and Bryton looking at me.

“I don’t.” The lie burnt my tongue. They had no clue I spent the last three weeks with her. Hell, I’ve spent more time with her than my own brothers recently.

“Yeah, right.” Wyatt scoffed in his beer. “The two of you are always staring at each other.”

“The sexual tension is astounding,” Bryton added.

Oh, I knew that . I knew all the sounds Lydia made when I was eating her out and fucking her. I wasn’t about to tell them that, though.

“You do realize if you don’t snatch her up, someone else will. Lydia’s a catch.” Trevor looked at me across from the table. “Aside from the fact she’s gorgeous, she owns her own business and is crazy smart.”

My jaw tightened at the mention of Lydia with another man. I didn’t enjoy the image of someone touching her that wasn’t me.

“There’s been a few guys on the team interested in her.” The way Wyatt said it had me clenching my beer bottle. Like hell one of those boys could satisfy Lydia like me.

“She’d chew them up and spit them out within minutes,” I said, trying to sound like I wasn’t pissed at the thought of another guy seeing Lydia the way I did.

I didn’t want anyone to know her the way I did either.

Over the last few weeks I’ve learned more about Lydia and what made her who she is.

Like how she has an insane amount of skincare products, items I had zero clue how to pronounce.

She also had a strange obsession with sour gummy worms, anytime we watched tv she had to have a small handful.

Knowing those few little things just made her burrow even deeper under my skin.

Wyatt shrugged. “You never know.”

As they changed the subject and started talking about something else, I sat there silently fuming. Like hell I was going to let some idiot steal my girl.

An hour later, we called it. The guys were ready to get home since they had practice early in the morning and their girlfriends texted them to talk.

I used their excuse to leave as well and called Lydia when I got in my car.

The guys’ words about someone else snatching her up festered beneath my skin. I needed to see her.

When I knocked on her door, I wasn’t prepared for the sight that greeted me when Lydia opened the door. One look and it was like my stomach dropped, she was unreal.

Her short blonde hair was half pulled up and done in a cute messy bun that I found myself liking a lot.

She clearly changed out of her work clothes and was now clad in an oversized T-shirt.

I couldn’t tell if she had anything on underneath.

Part of me was hoping she didn’t. Her face was clear of makeup, which made her even more beautiful, if that was possible.

I liked business Lydia, but this version of her was my favorite.

“Hey,” she greeted, a small smile on her face.

“Hey.”

“I was just about to start dinner.” She stepped to the side to let me in.

“Need help with anything?” I asked as I followed her to her kitchen. Seeing her counter sent me into a flashback of eating her out for the first time. I willed my dick to behave. As much as I wanted to charge in here and fuck her, I needed to wait and not go all caveman on her.

“I was thinking of making a quick stir-fry. That okay?” Lydia looked at me over her shoulder, those gorgeous green eyes stealing the words from my mouth. All I could do was nod in return. “While I get the sauce made, do you want to chop the vegetables?”

I finally got my tongue to work. “Sure.”

I stayed off to the side of the kitchen as Lydia moved around getting everything. I couldn’t help but watch as she bent over in the fridge, her oversized shirt lifting up to show her thighs and the tiny shorts she had on underneath. If she kept it up, we wouldn’t be having dinner.

“Here you go.” She placed an armful of ingredients down—a mix of broccoli, peppers, green beans, and onions. “You know how to use a knife right?” Her voice was serious as she asked but her eyes twinkled.

“Blondie.” I narrowed my eyes at her. “I know how to handle a knife.”

“Just making sure. Don’t want a trip to the emergency room.” She put her hands up as she backed up, lips twitching. “If you lose a finger, you can’t blame me.”

While she turned to start the stir-fry sauce, I reached out and smacked her ass. She whirled around with wide eyes.

“Hand slipped.” I gave her my most innocent look.

“Mmhm.” Lydia shook her head and turned around, but not before I saw the smile on her face.

The silence was comfortable as we worked. I couldn’t remember the last time I cooked for or with someone.

I started grabbing different vegetables to cut. The two of us were quiet as we worked. It was surprisingly comfortable and very…domesticated.

“Do you cook often?” I asked a few minutes later.

“I try but sometimes I stay late at the office and end up just ordering something. What about you?”

“I do most nights,” I answered, eyes on the peppers I was cutting. “I like to cook.”

“Really?” She sounded so surprised that I laughed under my breath.

“Really. When I was younger, my mom had to work late most nights, so I ended up making dinner for Wyatt and Mateo.” I shrugged. “I ended up liking it.”

The least I could do was help make dinner. She had to take time off to pick us up from school, and then most nights, she had to head out to her other job. I may have only been eleven but I was the man of the house, and I needed to help out where I could.

“Sweet of you to cook for everyone.” I appreciated that she didn’t give me any pitying looks. I got plenty of those when people heard about how my father left us at such a young age. I didn’t want or need it.

“Have you, um…” The way Lydia hesitated made me put my knife down and turn around.

It wasn’t often Lydia faltered when she talked.

She was usually the type to just say it.

I leaned back against the counter and waited for her to continue.

She bit her bottom lip before she finally asked, “Have you spoken to your father since he left?”

“Once,” I replied honestly. I took a deep breath as I thought back to the moment. I didn’t tell a single person about it, not even Wyatt or my mom. Lydia’s gaze was curious as she waited for me to elaborate.

“About four years ago I got a call from a random number. I thought maybe it was Mateo borrowing someone’s phone. It wasn’t the first time that’s happened.” I crossed my arms, looking at the cabinet in front of me instead of Lydia.

“It ended up being my father.” I remembered the shock I felt when I heard his voice for the first time in fourteen years. I was on my lunch break at the accounting firm I worked at. I just stood there, my phone pressed to my ear, unable to do anything.

The last time I saw my father was the day he left. Wyatt and I were outside playing hockey in the front yard. I came in to get a drink to find my parents standing in the living room, bags surrounding my father as my mom stood there holding Mateo who was barely a month old.

I watched from the doorway as he told my mom he couldn’t stay with us anymore.

That having three kids was too much for him.

That was his fucking excuse. That having kids wasn’t for him .

That was all he said before he grabbed his stuff and brushed past me.

I remembered following him out, confused as hell.

He didn’t even spare Wyatt a glance as he stood there watching our father get in his car before driving off.

“The prick didn’t even try to make small talk before he was asking questions about Wyatt. Nothing about my mom, Mateo, or me. It was all about Wyatt being in the league and winning the Cup Championship.” I couldn’t keep the anger out of my voice.

“You’re serious?” Across from me, Lydia looked at me slack-jawed, disbelief clear on her face.

“The only thing he cared about was his professional hockey player son. Wanted to know if he could get season passes.” Even now, thinking about it pissed me off. “The guy wanted nothing to do with us growing up, but suddenly, he wanted to be Wyatt’s dad.” I scoffed.

“When I told him to fuck off, he got mad, saying he was Wyatt’s father and that he wanted to talk to Wyatt himself.” The fact he only cared about Wyatt hurt more than I cared to admit. I was his firstborn, yet I meant nothing.

“What did you do?”

“I said what I had to so he’d leave Wyatt alone.” I shrugged, skipping over the specifics. I may have done a bit more than that, but I wasn’t about to tell Lydia the details. “He hasn’t reached out since.”

I told myself I didn’t care. That so much time has passed that it didn’t matter anymore. But I was a liar.

“Does Wyatt know?”

“No.” I shook my head. “None of them do.”

“You haven’t?—”

“No.” I didn’t mean to snap at her, but I couldn’t help it. “They don’t need to know.” If carrying that secret kept my family safe and happy, I’d gladly carry that burden.

Lydia was quiet, her eyes assessing. I waited for her to say I needed to tell my family. That I was being an idiot keeping it to myself the last four years. But she did none of that. Stepping forward, she gently pulled my arms away from my chest before hers wrapped around my middle in a hug.

I brought my arms down, pulling her close. Her head rested against me as she squeezed me a little tighter. I felt the anger and tension slowly seep out of my body as I dipped my head down by her shoulder, breathing in her perfume.

“You’re a good man, Landon.”

Lydia’s voice was muffled by my shirt, but I heard her loud and clear. Her words struck a cord, making my throat close up. Unable to form my thanks, I pulled her even closer.

As we stood there in the kitchen hugging, the burden of my secret lifted.