Let Me Love You (Love #4) (24 page)

“Like I said, some promises are meant to be broken.”

“Mase, you of all people should know what it’s like to protect the ones you love. Look what you went through last year with Hailey. I was doing what I thought I needed to do.”

Maybe I should have told someone about what happened sooner. Maybe I wouldn’t be stuck in the past. I felt weak though; powerless, consumed by a memory I couldn’t shake.

“How do you feel now?” Mason asks.

“Relieved that I told you,” I admit. “Do you know how many times I’ve wanted to say something?”

“You should have.” Mason looks over towards the TV, lost in thought. “How did you go around campus knowing he was still out there? Did you worry he would come back after her?”

I huff, “Nah, Eli and I took care of it.”

Mason looks back over at me with a raised eyebrow.

I shrug, “He got what he deserved and more. We beat the shit out of him, planted some drugs on him and called the cops. He was expelled from school and we haven’t heard a word from him.”

Mason cracks a smile. “That’s how you handled it. But wait, didn’t Eli ask questions?”

“Nope, apparently he had some paybacks himself for some shit that went down back in high school.”

“So what now?” Mason asks after a few silent minutes.

I shrug, “I don’t know.”

The corner of Mason’s mouth pulls up, “There is no place like home plate, Coop. You need to talk to her; you can’t let her walk away. I promise you that you’ll regret it for the rest of your life if you don’t at least try.”

He’s right, absolutely right. I want that home plate, I just have to figure out how to make it mine without fucking it up again.

Can I move forward and leave the past where it belongs? If I want my heart back then yeah, the past needs to be buried in the past. I just hope it’s not too late.

I say goodnight to Mason and head off to bed. I strip out of my shorts and t-shirt and climb under the cool sheets. I lie on my side and swipe my finger across my iPhone, tapping on the photos and scrolling through the pictures. When I find the one that I want, the one of Jaylinn lying on her back on the beach smiling up at me, I smile too.

I want more of those smiling pictures.

Friday night Layla drags me to
Fierce
. Okay, she didn’t have to drag me but it took a little convincing on her part. I figured I might as well go since I have absolutely nothing else to do.

I arrive a little after ten and head to the bar when I spot Layla behind it. I sit on an empty stool beside Eli, my hands resting on the bar but nervously fidgeting.

“Hey,” Eli leans over and kisses my cheek, making me fidget even more.

“It’s pretty busy tonight, huh?” The club is packed which seems normal for the weekends.

“Yeah it’s been pretty steady ever since we opened.” Eli explains, seeming satisfied with the turn-out.

I look towards all the people dancing, having a good old time. I wish I was as carefree as them.

“Cooper and Mason come home Sunday, right?”

I nod, “Yup. Mason is surprising Hailey at the baby shower.”

“That’s cool. Cooper mentioned something like that now that I think about it.”

At the mention of his name my mood shifts. I get angry. I don’t understand why he can’t get over it.

“Speaking of Cooper, did you figure that curve ball out yet?”

Layla puts a lemon drop in front of me and before I can say thank you, she’s taking care of another customer. Everywhere I look there’s people surrounding us but I feel alone, like no one understands. It’s dim in the bar, like most are, and it fits my mood perfectly, dark and gloomy.

“No, not yet.” I don’t look over at him; instead my eyes are on my drink and the sugar crystals lining the rim of the glass.

This is a weird conversation to be having with Cooper’s friend. Bringing the drink to my lips, the sweetness hits me first, then the sour.

“I can help you with it.” He says, nudging my shoulder with his. My body rocks sideways a little but I catch myself and set my drink down on the bar.

I scoff and stare at the wall where all the bottles of alcohol are lined up. “You can’t do that.” I say quietly but it’s loud enough that he hears me. “That’s breaking code.”

Eli tips his head back and laughs loud, “What do you know about breaking code? Plus who says I’m breaking it? I’m just going to ride the fine line.”

I narrow my eyes, “What are you up to, Eli?”

“Listen and learn, pretty lady.” He turns me to face him, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

Eli and I talk for hours, laughing and scheming. It’s probably wrong that we’re doing this but Eli bet me an entire month of his pay from the club that it will work. One date and a little flirting from Eli will send Cooper into a tailspin.

So we’ve set the plan in motion, now I just need the courage to carry it out.

Andrew, Cooper’s dad, is on his way to go pick Cooper and Mason up from the airport. Hailey is upstairs in bed where she belongs while MacKenzie, Chloe, Elle, my mom and I are converting the downstairs for Hailey’s baby shower. Hailey’s mom wasn’t able to make it because she had plans she couldn’t get out of with her other daughter. Hailey didn’t really seem to care in the least, probably one less thing for her to worry about. The doctor gave her strict rules that she is not to leave the house. We were planning to have the baby shower here anyway just because of the bed rest rules from earlier on in her pregnancy. She went to the doctors late last week and her blood pressure was high. The stress of Mason not being around is affecting her more than she’ll admit.

I’m wrapping crepe paper down her railing when Hailey drops a couple of f-bombs. I’m glad Alex and Ryder aren’t near to hear her. That’s all they need to hear, those little bad asses would definitely repeat it and at the most inappropriate times too.

Chloe ties an umbrella shaped balloon from the railing. She snorts, “Has she been doing that a lot?”

“When doesn’t she do that?” We all found out early on that Hailey hates being pregnant. She loves the babies but just never ever wants to carry them again.

Chloe laughs, “True. Think she’s okay?”

I yell up the stairs, “Hails, are you alright?”

“No, I’m convinced these babies hate me already.” She yelps. “I swear they are going to crack one of my ribs with the way they kick.”

I raise my eyebrows at Chloe, “She’s perfectly happy.”

She shakes her head and goes out the front door to hang more balloons out front. Mom, MacKenzie and Elle are in the kitchen getting all the food prepped for the guests that will be arriving in a half an hour.

The house fills quickly with family and friends. Everyone is standing around chatting and catching up.

MacKenzie comes to stand by the front door, “Mase said they’re around the corner.” She whispers.

“I hope this doesn’t put her into labor.” I look over to MacKenzie hoping she’ll put the thoughts in my head to rest.

“You never know what’ll happen. Look what happened with Ms. Olivia, she couldn’t wait to make her grand entrance.” MacKenzie peeks out the door. “They’re here.”

I run into the kitchen to let Elle know that Mason is here. We all run over to the door and greet him when he opens it. He gives us each a hug before he makes a beeline to his fiancé. This wasn’t part of the plan but there was no stopping him.

The room gets quiet and we all wait for Hailey to notice Mason. MacKenzie grabs a hold of my arm and Chloe takes my other one.

“Oh my…” Hailey starts to cry and I think every female in this house gets teary eyed. We can all hear Hailey sobbing from upstairs.

After a few minutes we gather everyone in the living room. We decide to play a game giving Hailey and Mason a few minutes of alone time.

Eventually they make their way downstairs. We start the party after Hailey has made her way around the room. Mason is holding Hailey’s hand, never letting her get out of reach. He helps Hailey with all the presents that everyone brought for them and the smile that touches his face never falters. It’s nice to see that by the end of the shower, Mason and Hailey are pretty much set for the delivery of the babies.

I’m envious of my friend; she’s living a dream of mine, a dream that is so far out of reach for me right now. I want what they have. The way Mason adores her, the way you can see it in his eyes that nothing means more to him than her. I want the happiness that I see radiating off her, the dreaminess in her eyes that tells me she knows her life is perfect. She has my dream life. Everything I want, she’s living it. It pains me to be jealous of her but I can’t help it, not when I can’t have what I want.

Cooper never showed up at the shower and I assumed that maybe it was because of me. Monday evening rolls around and I’m on my way to the soccer field to meet my group of girls for the first time. I was lucky enough to get my own group this year as opposed to last year when I was assistant coach.

Twelve out of my thirteen girls showed up for practice, a pretty good turnout for the first day. I have them start with a jog around the field to warm up their bodies. Then I send them into the center of the field for some stretching to loosen up. After that we did some dribbling exercises up and down the field. We also took some practice shots from the corner and also six and eighteen yard line shots.

My assistant coach, Kelly, stays back assessing the players and takes some notes on where some girls would be positioned. After about an hour and a half practice is over and the girl’s parents start to arrive to pick them up.

I’m collecting all the cones when I hear my name being called. I turn and see Hunter jogging towards me.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” I ask, surprised to see my brother .

He puts his hands on hips, “We’ve got to go. Hailey’s in labor.”

My eyes go wide in surprise, “Seriously?”

Hunter nods, “Let’s go.”

Hunter helps me carry the cones back to my car and we discard them in the trunk. I look down at my attire, I’m wearing Nike shorts and an old tank top that I’ve been sweating in. I’m not exactly clean and dressed to go to the hospital. “Uh, Hunter, I think I should go home first and change.”

He looks over at what I’m wearing and then down at himself. He’s got a pair of gym shorts and a sleeveless shirt. “I’m not exactly dressed for it either but I don’t want to miss Mason’s reaction when he comes out to tell us what the sex is.”

I smirk picturing the reaction in my mind. “You’re right, let’s go.”

We arrive at the hospital shortly after leaving the field and we find everyone in the waiting room. Everyone is here including the kids, the Cahill’s and McCormick’s taking over the majority of the waiting room. Each person is betting on what the sex is going to be and even passing money around to officially place the bets. Andrew is keeping track for all of us. I guess that they are going to have two girls as did MacKenzie, Hunter and Chloe. Andrew is the only one who said two boys and Jackson, Elle and my mom said one of each.

Three hours later Mason comes walking out the double doors wiping at his face. Andrew walks up to his son and brings him in for a hug. Mason wipes his face again as we all stand there waiting, and not very patiently I might I add.

“Well…” MacKenzie starts to say.