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Breathe. I’m in control.
Miri snorted. “Relax, Reece. It’s sports psychology, for God’s sake. You’re just doing a bit of stuff around positive mindset, aren’t you? It’s not the same as the hospital. This is one night. We’ll stay out of your way. You don’t have to be anywhere near us. Go to the annex with Mum if you’re that bothered.”
“Why can’t you stay at Gabe’s? Or the hotel?”
“Gabe’s away tonight. You know I don’t like to stay alone. Besides, Frankie’s here. Frankie always cheers everyone up.”
I sighed. This was no good, but what could I do? I couldn’t tell Miri the truth about me and Skylar.
Miri lowered her voice. “Sean Wallace has been an absolute bastard. They’ve split. She shouldn’t be alone.”
A wave of relief relaxed my shoulders. So, they’d gone public with the news. I didn’t want her to be sad, but at least I wasn’t the reason.
“Trust me, Skylar needs a friend. Let me do this for her. You can stay somewhere else tonight if it’s that much of a big deal,” Miri said.
“Have you offered her tea at least? A sandwich? She’s our guest.” I took a loaf out of the bread bin. “If she’s staying with us, let’s be good hosts. I’ll stay in the annex with Mum. Let me know if you need me.”
Miri raised a sardonic eyebrow. “For the record, I think you’re being weird about this.”
“I don’t like you springing stuff on me, that’s all.”
“Fine. Whatever.” She grabbed a pack of chocolate cookies and headed for the door. “You’ve got zero chill sometimes. You know that?”
Chapter 19
Skylar
“You’re filthy. Such a bad girl, aren’t you? Is this how you like it?”
Sean loomed over me, sweaty and breathing hard. My heart pounded. Disgust rippled like a sickness in my chest.
“No. I hate that. I hate you.”
My eyes flashed open and I tried to orient myself in the unfamiliar darkness. I scrambled for my phone and checked the time. 3 a.m. Sitting up in bed, I took inventory of my surroundings. Unpleasant memories of Sean slid away, replaced with yesterday’s chaos. This was Miri’s spare room. Everything was okay. My heart pounded. Restless energy made my feet itch with the need to prowl. It would be pointless to wrestle with myself trying to sleep when I felt so wired.
Quietly I padded downstairs to the kitchen. It was the middle of the night, but only one thing could soothe me in this state. I’d always found it difficult to focus at school, so Mum had tried all kinds of things with me to focus my active brain. We’d learned to make bread together. Something about the rhythmic kneading of the dough had always calmed me down.
I rooted around in the kitchen cupboards until I found everything I needed. The ingredients and baking dishes were labeled and arranged in a neat, orderly fashion. Even the yeast had a little handwritten label on the box. Reece’s handiwork, no doubt. I liked that he was so neat and tidy. I’d spent years picking up Sean’s junk left all over the house and washing his filthy football kit. A sudden lightness came over me. There wouldn’t be any more of that. I didn’t have to deal with Sean or his filthy washing ever again.
Fuck Sean.
The door creaked and I jumped. Reece appeared, his dark hair mussed. His sleepy eyes met mine from behind his glasses.
“Skylar? What are you doing?”
“Making bread.”
He picked up a pot of yeast and put it down again on the kitchen island. “At 3 a.m.?”
“I couldn’t sleep.”
“Me neither. I came for a glass of water. The pipes are noisy in the annex. I didn’t want to wake up Mum.”
“Let me.” I moved to the sink and filled a glass with water.
His fingers were warm on mine as he accepted the glass. “Thank you.”
His faded gray t-shirt clung to his muscular frame, and his legs were toned and powerful in shorts. Whatever his brother had him doing in the gym, it was working. Desire pooled hot and tingling in my lower belly. My nipples tightened painfully in the thin nightdress Miri had given me. A few years ago, Vogue had voted Sean one of the hottest men in England. Still, Sean had never set my blood alight the way the sight of this man did.
