Page 24 of The Recovery Coach
Daisy leaned her head on Hazy’s shoulder.“She’s right,” she said.“And we didn’t leave you behind.I’m still here.”
He looped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her as close as he could at the awkward angle.
“That reminds me!”Livy said.“Are you going to stay here while I work tomorrow?”she asked Daisy.
Hazy groaned.He was a grown man who didn’t need a babysitter, and, as much as he adored Daisy, if he had to choose one, he wanted it to be Livy.
“Or,” he dragged out the word, “Hear me out.”He raised his hands in surrender.“The offer to come work for me while I heal still stands.I can pay you.More than that fuck-ass hospital.”He’d resisted the urge to beg her to quit her job for a whole twelve hours.If he pushed too hard, she would rebel, and he’d never get what he wanted.
“I’m already relying on you for everything.”
“And I’ve told you, please rely on me.Otherwise, I’m useless while I’m fucking broken.”
Her taking up space in his house for the few days she’d been there made it feel much more like home.The little pieces of herself she left in her tracks were minuscule.A hair tie on the coffee table.An extra coffee mug in the sink.A tube of lipstick that had fallen out of her purse.Nobody would notice if they weren’t looking.Nevertheless, all those signs of her warmed the house up.He wanted to keep her close for as long as possible.
Daisy stuffed a handful of crackers into her mouth, then talked around them.“I bet you wouldn’t have to pay.”She took a swig of diet soda.“The league would probably cover it.”
Hazy stole his snacks from her.“They totally would.What if I wasn’t paying?It could be separate.A temporary contract, like Daisy’s.”
Livy pressed her lips into a flat line.
“You could use the time to find a different job,” Daisy said.Hazy could have kissed her, but he restrained himself.
“I’ll think about it,” Livy replied.
He’d be happy if she quit right that second, but her thinking about it was better than the flat-out no he’d been getting.
Chapter 9
Olivia
Connorstillbeingsingleat twenty-eight while immersed in a culture that heavily pushed getting married and having babies young blew Olivia’s mind.Not because she thought that would be the best lifestyle for him, but because the women he surrounded himself with were absolute rock stars.
Daisy was the most supportive and upbeat person she’d ever met.She’d gotten a little taste when they went to the game together, but seeing her drop everything to care for Connor endeared her to Olivia.Daisy was everyone’s cheerleader.Olivia loved that Connor had this sunbeam of a human being on his side.
They’d just hit play on the third episode of the reality dating show Connor and Daisy were behind on when a knock sounded on the front door.Whoever it was didn’t bother to wait for someone to answer.The woman let herself in.
Olivia didn’t know whether to be concerned that most people let themselves in.Connor was welcoming to his friends and family any time, day or night.His door didn’t even require a key.If you knew the code, you were welcome.
The newcomer was beyond gorgeous with light brown skin, a full sleeve of tattoos, and septum and eyebrow piercings.She greeted them with a blinding white smile, arms open wide for a hug nobody moved to give her.
“Ayy!You’re here!”Connor yelled, excited.He did his best to jut his lower lip out through a full grin.“I was beginning to think you didn’t love me anymore.”If he could easily stand, he probably would have run to scoop her up the same way he did with Olivia.
“That would imply that I ever liked you to begin with,” the woman teased.She placed her purse on the kitchen island and crossed the room to ruffle Connor’s hair.
He swatted her hands away.“Don’t be mean.I’m your favorite, and everyone knows it.”
“Yeah, Roxie.Don’t be mean to him,” Daisy said.She changed her voice to sound like she was speaking to an adorable little puppy and pinched Connor’s cheeks.“He’s had such a hard day, hasn’t he?”
Connor laughed and said, “Fuck off.”
Olivia didn’t understand the dynamic between these three, but she instantly liked Roxie.She shouldn’t be surprised considering Connor had pushed so hard for them to meet months ago.Feeling an involuntary grin spread across her face at their playfulness with each other, Olivia kicked herself for wasting all those months trying to make friends Lance approved of while a group of her people existed twenty minutes away.
The four of them spent the day together, wasting time.They ordered dinner and watched the Freeze kick New York’s ass.Roxie and Daisy took diligent notes, and occasionally, Connor would offer input and say, “You can quote me on that.”
When dinner was put away and the game ended, Connor groaned.“I should go to bed.I need to take a pain pill and that shit knocks me out.”
Roxie and Daisy helped Olivia get Connor settled for the night.It was next to impossible because he kept asking them for different things.He got settled in bed but needed a glass of water that Daisy fetched.Then he couldn’t sleep without the lip balms he forgot, which Roxie had to dig through the bathroom to find.Then he needed an eye-mask that, try as she might, Olivia could not find.All three women were tearing the room apart looking for it when Connor said, “I think it would be fun if you told me a bedtime story.”
