Straddling the Line

EIGHT

TREVOR KEPT AN EYE ON HAVEN WHILE HE WAS TALKING with the guys. She seemed engrossed in conversation with Alicia and Liz, and eventually disappeared upstairs with Liz after a while.

He knew why, when Liz came downstairs a little while later with Genevieve. Many of the women surrounded her and the baby. And really, Genevieve was kind of hard to resist. At almost two months old, the infant was cute as hell with a full head of red hair just like her mom’s, and her cute chubby cheeks.

She sure was loud, though, crying when anyone but Gavin or Liz tried to hold her. Liz apologized, but shrugged and took the baby and held her. The baby eventually quieted, and they left early.

It must suck having a kid. Something he never intended to do, anyway, so he’d never have to worry about those sleepless nights Gavin was always telling him about.

Haven came over. “Did you get a chance to see the baby?”

“Yeah. She’s cute.”

“She’s adorable. Liz said she’s going to hate when she has to go back to work soon.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet. Though maybe she’ll get some rest then,” he teased.

Haven laughed. “I doubt she’ll rest. She’ll probably worry about the baby the whole time. And I can’t imagine with all the travel she has to do how she’s going to deal with leaving Genevieve. Though she said her mother-in-law has offered to watch her, so I’m sure that’s going to give her some peace of mind.”

“That’s good.”

“Are you having a good time?”

“I am. How about you? I saw you spending a lot of time with Alicia and Liz.”

Her lips curved into a smile. “I did. We had a nice conversation.”

“About?”

“Work. And . . . stuff.”

He arched a brow. “What kind of stuff?”

“Oh, just some stuff about you. And me. And you and me.”

“Really. Care to share?”

“Maybe later. I’m a little hungry right now. How about we grab some food?”

“Sounds like a good idea.” He led her into the dining room, where food was spread out across the table. They grabbed plates and filled up, then found a spot outside. It was a cool night, but there was a fire pit and heaters set up.

They took seats next to Garrett, who was seated with Alicia and a couple of other guys from the team.

“How’s it going, Haven?” Garrett asked.

“Good. You and Alicia have a beautiful home. Thank you for inviting us here tonight.”

“We’re so glad you came,” Alicia said. “Liz and I had fun talking with you. We hope you heed our advice.”

Haven tilted her head and smiled. “I’ll definitely give it some thought.”

“What advice is that?” Trevor asked.

“I’ll tell you later.”

“Girl talk,” Garrett said. “It’s always a mystery. Whenever Alicia gets together with the Riley women, it’s like an hours-long chat fest. They spend a whole day together, doing the lunch or dinner thing. It’s like I’ve lost my woman.”

Alicia patted the side of his face. “Awww, poor baby. You know I like my girl time. Besides, we all have to get together to complain about you guys. It’s like free therapy.”

“Come on. We’re not that bad,” Garrett said.

“Of course you’re not.” Alicia grinned at Haven.

Trevor laughed. “I’m glad I’m not a Riley. This sounds like torture.”

“Oh, but didn’t Haven tell you? We’ve officially adopted her into the women clan. She’s going shopping with all of us next week. And then out to dinner. So we can indoctrinate her into our cult.”

Trevor cast a glance at Haven. “You are?”

Haven looked just as surprised. “I am?”

“You are. I just decided. You’re saying yes, aren’t you?”

“I . . . yes.”

“Good,” Alicia said. “I’ll call you with details.”

Trevor liked the smile on Haven’s face. It’d be good for her to make some friends out here, rather than hanging out with him all the time. And he liked Alicia and Liz.

After they visited a while longer, they said their thanks and left.

“Do you have a game tomorrow?” Haven asked when they got in the car.

“No. It’s an off day.”

“I see.”

“Why?”

“Just asking.”

“Did you want to spend some time on the interview?”

“Yes.”

He got the idea there was something else on her mind besides just scheduling interview time tomorrow. “What else, Haven?”

She half turned to face him. “There’s nothing else. Just work.”

Somehow, he knew there’d been more. She’d gone quiet, as if she were thinking hard about something.

They were both silent for the rest of the drive. Once they were inside, Haven started toward her wing of the house.

“I’m heading up to bed,” she said, hardly looking at him. “See you in the morning, Trevor.”

“Haven.”

She stopped. Looked up at him. “Yes?”

“Is there something you want to talk about?”

She paused for a few seconds before answering. “Not tonight. See you in the morning, Trevor.”

He stood at the entryway, watching her. “Okay.”

He could have pressed it with her, could have poured her a drink and they could have gone outside. Maybe he could have drawn out of her what she was so pensive about.

But he didn’t want to push, and they had time. So he’d let it go.

But he sure as hell wanted to know what was on her mind.