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Fifty-Seven

SUNNY

I roll over in bed and groan quietly. My back is tight, and I feel hungover, though I didn’t drink a drop of alcohol.

Thoughts of the wreck filter through, and my heart starts to race. I think of Rhodes, and my heart starts to race even faster.

I peek an eye open, and his room is basked in pretty sunlight. The bedroom door is open, and I stare at it, wondering where he and Ellie are.

Does she know I’m in his bed?

As a five-year-old, she probably will buy the excuse that he was watching me because of the mild concussion, so I don’t worry too much.

What I should worry about is the feeling he gives me with a single look. Or about the butterflies in my stomach thinking about what we did in the shower.

“So there’s no lead at all?”

My attention is pulled at the sound of his voice floating in from the hallway.

I shush the butterflies and listen harder.

“Marco said that he saw the car head right for them, and according to the report, the tire marks show a direct line to their car, as if the car didn’t spin out of control and slam into them by accident.”

What does that mean?

“I know. It doesn’t make me feel…” Rhodes’s voice fades.

I lie in bed for a little longer and nibble on my lip. I go over the events after dinner, but nothing unusual stands out. It was a fluke accident. I’m just thankful we’re all okay, for the most part. I decide not to tell my nana, or else she’ll worry. But Ruby will be angry if I don’t tell her.

Sitting up in bed with a wince, I see my phone laying on the bedside table with a few cracks on the screen. Rhodes mentioned that he’d found it underneath the driver’s side seat when he went out to Marco’s car to make a report with the police while I was being discharged from the hospital.

I video chat Ruby and do a double-take at my face on the screen.

The thin cut on my face is red and inflamed, and I look beyond tired. The braid that Rhodes did for me is messy with tendrils popping out around my cheeks, and his shirt is three sizes two big.

“Hey, you—” Ruby’s face falls the second she sees me. “What the hell happened? Do not tell me that he found out where?—”

Her first thought goes to the last time I had a cut on my face, and I don’t blame her.

“No, no!” I stop her. “It was a car accident.”

She blows out a heavy breath. “Can you start with that next time? Jeez. I was going to tell you to get my bail money ready.”

I snort and wince right after.

“What happened?” she asks. “Are you hurt somewhere else too?”

I sit up a little taller, and her eyes drop to my shirt. Her brows furrow, but she remains quiet.

“It was a random accident. Well…” I pause. Was it? “It was a hit-and-run. But Ellie is fine. I have this cut, a mild concussion, and I’m sore. Everyone is okay.”

“A hit-and-run?” she scoffs. “I lied. Get my bail money ready.”

My mouth curves into a smile.

Her eyebrow hitches. “What are you wearing?”

I look at Rhodes’s Blue Devils shirt.

“And whose room are you in?” she asks.

I’m suddenly hot.

“Uh, well…”

“Allison!” she snaps.

I flick my eyes to her with the use of my first name.

“Oops, sorry, I’m just recovering from utter fucking shock. Have you been holding out on me?”

“Shh,” I hiss. “No. Well, yeah, kind of, but it’s…I don’t know.”

How do I explain this?

I can’t even explain it to myself, and if I’m being truthful, there’s a tiny seed of shame buried in my stomach at the thought of telling anyone that I’ve slept with Rhodes. He’s my boss and the father of the little girl I nanny for. But then I think about how safe I feel with him and how I truly care about him and Ellie both.

It outweighs the shame and guilt.

God, I’m a jumbled mess.

“Are you two a thing?”

“What? No!” Are we?

Ruby looks at me funny.

“Stop it,” I whisper. “I know what you’re thinking.”

She smooths her face.

“You’re thinking what everyone else will think if they find out.”

My allegations won’t stand a chance if it gets out that I’m messing around with Rhodes, because who’s to say that I didn’t do what was accused of me? If I “seduced” another father of a child I was nannying, I must have done the same to Rhodes, right? They’ll say, it's no wonder things turned out the way that they did. I’ll be the one faulted.

“That is not what I’m thinking,” Ruby says.

I glance at the screen and can’t even bother to look at my face. I stare at her instead.

“I’m thinking that I hate that you even had that thought to begin with.”

Me too.

I snap my attention toward the bedroom door. The small opening gets larger, and I expect to see Rhodes, but instead, it’s a little face with sleepy eyes.

“Good morning.” I smile.

Ellie rubs the grogginess away and walks over to me.

“I gotta go,” I say to Ruby, pulling the blanket up so Ellie can get into bed with me. “Love you.”

“This conversation isn’t over, but I love you too.”

I blow her a kiss before hanging up.

Ellie crawls toward me, and I cover us both up with the blankets.

“What are you doing in my daddy’s bed?” she asks.

Great question.

“I had to make sure she was okay after the wreck.”

My senses heighten when I see Rhodes leaning against the doorway with a mug of coffee in his hand. Damn him for being so attractive in the morning. My body is highly aware of his every move, even down to the faint bob of his throat when he swallows.

Ellie slants her chin to look up at me. “Are you okay?”

I nod through the slight throb in my head.

“Are you?” I poke her belly, and she giggles.

“Yes.” She stands up quickly and gets out of bed to do a cartwheel. “See!”

Rhodes and I both laugh.

“Hey.” Rhodes gets down on her level. “Some of the team is downstairs with donuts. ”

Ellie’s eyes light up. “Is there one with sprinkles?”

He stands and shrugs. “Yeah, but I saw Malaki eyeing it.”

She takes off, shouting Malaki’s name as she goes.

I laugh again, but this time, I don’t hide my wince. My head pounds, and the longer I sit in bed, the worse it gets.

Flinging the covers off my legs, I move to stand.

Rhodes is there within a flash. He sets his mug on the side table. “Does your head hurt?”

I peer at him from his bed. His brow is furrowed as he stares down at me.

“It does.” I shoot him a half smile. “But I’ll be fine, you ol’ softy.”

He grips my chin lightly. His lip twitches with a grin so small it’s easy to miss. “Softy?”

Warmth flows to my chest, and I’m marveled by it.

Rhodes lifts a shoulder. “I guess I am a softy when it comes to you.”

“And Ellie,” I add.

He nods slowly.

“Rhodes Volkova,” I tease, “the most intimidating winger on the Blue Devils is a softy. Who would’ve thought?”

To my surprise, he doesn’t deny it or, at the very least, scoff. His hand falls to mine, and he gingerly pulls me to my feet.

“What can I say?” He wets his lips, and I’m captivated. “I’m a softy for my girls.”

His girls?

My stomach dips.

“Let’s get you some medicine, and if you're up for it, the guys brought donuts.”

“The guys?” I let him lead me to the bathroom.

Rhodes glances over his shoulder at me. “The team. I guess they’re softies for you too.”

I make a face. “They’re here for you. Not me.”

He chuckles. “I can assure you that they’re here for you, Sunshine. Not me.”

My cheeks grow warm.

“Welcome to the fam, baby. I guess you’re one of us now.”