Page 83 of Undeniable Love
Sagging back on the chaise he was currently on, he let out a long breath. Glancing at the clock on the phone, he saw it had been two hours—two freaking hours of this bullshit and he had no idea if Lucy was okay.
Jumping to his feet, he stormed back inside, ready to deal with whatever member of the Dawson family that was giving her grief. Sliding the glass door open with more force than necessary, he looked around wildly and found…
Everyone laughing and eating.
What the…?
They all stopped the moment they spotted him, and he knew he must look like a deer in the headlights. Lucy got to her feet and ran over to him. “What happened?”
Gently grasping her shoulders, he returned her question with a question. “It’s not important. Are you okay? Do I need to call anyone and straighten things out?”
Her smile was like a balm for his wounded soul. “Everything’s fine. Although when you didn’t answer Ty’s call, he called me back and I had to explain some of what’s going on to him. Nothing overly specific, so please don’t freak out. I just said that you were on a mandatory team call.”
“Did he upset you? Should I call him back right now?” He was already pulling the phone from his pocket when Lucy took his free hand and tugged him toward the table where they were all eating.
“The muffins were fine, but then somehow we started talking about sandwiches…”
“That’s on me,” Juliette said with a sheepish grin. “I was just in the mood for a good breakfast sandwich.”
“Lily and Noah ran to the store and got all the makings for bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches and we decided to have them while we waited for you. Do you want one?”
“Um…”
“I got it,” Noah called out, already standing by the stove. “We made a ton of bacon, so it’s really just a matter of frying up a couple of eggs. You want coffee, or do you need something stronger?”
“Um…” Right now, he couldn’t be sure.
“Come on and sit,” Lucy urged. “If you’re not ready to talk about everything, that’s fine. We were just all really worried and cooking and eating seemed like an excellent distraction.”
“Yeah, but…what about you? What happened with your family? Ty can’t be the only one you talked to.”
“Oh, well…my mom called and we sort of had a bit of a heated exchange and then we both calmed down and I think we’re good,” she assured him. “Like I said, she likes you more than she likes me.” And with a wink, she added, “But she mentioned that my dad isn’t too thrilled with the news, so…there’s that.”
The bark of laughter was out before he could stop it, and it was the first time in several hours that he let himself have an honest reaction.
Juliette put a mug of coffee down in front of him and then Lily put a glass of orange juice beside it just as Noah put a plate down with a large breakfast sandwich for him.
Then they all sat and stared at him.
“Yeah, I know what you’re all waiting for, but I’m going to take a bite of this first, so…sorry.” And he did. “Damn, Noah. That is the shit! You always made the best breakfast stuff.” He took another bite and almost laughed at the confusion on everyone’s faces, but this meal was too good to let get cold. Not that it took long for him to finish—only another three bites—but it wasn’t fair to keep them all hanging like this.
But he needed something to drink first.
“For the love of it, Jax!” Lily cried out in frustration. “You’re killing us! What did the VP say?”
Putting his glass down, he shook his head slightly. “Basically, I’m not the only football player Tiffany was trying to blackmail. She’s playing the same con with a player in Dallas, one in St. Louis, and one in Omaha. I don’t know the specifics, but basically she was doing this all at the same time and a lot of team staffs talk, so…it was out there that this was going on.”
“Holy crap,” Simon murmured. “So then…you’re in the clear! That’s great!”
“Well…only where that’s concerned.”
“Meaning?” Juliette asked.
“Even though just twenty-four hours ago Coach Floyd was all about me generating more good PR on top of the camp stuff, the general consensus is that I’m not…” He sighed. “I’m not playing up to my potential because I’m too distracted.”
He wanted to look over at Lucy, but he couldn’t.
Not yet.