Page 89 of Power Play

“You’re celebrating this shit?” Incredulity drips from my tone.

His laugh is hollow. Bitter. “Coping. Drinking our sorrows, erasing this shitty game, whatever you want to call it.”

“Nah. All I want is to get home and crash.” I don’t even want to see Riley, I don’t want to deal with Emmy; I just want to be alone with my thoughts and misery.

“I don’t blame you,” he says, shaking his head. “Another time. You’ll have to bring the wife out with us sometime.”

“Yeah, we’ll see.”

With a two-finger salute, I grab my coat and head for the parking garage. I’m just—done.

The drive home feels like it takes forever and a year. I enter the house, stripping off my coat and suit jacket and unbuttoning my shirt as I climb the stairs. Even though I already took a shower at the arena, I need to stand under the hot spray and wash off this numb feeling.

A light shines beneath my door, and my heart skips a beat. I turn the handle and step over the threshold to find Riley sitting up in bed, wearing my T-shirt and reading a book. She’s wearing the cutest fucking reading glasses, cat eye with sparkles. My heart threatens to burst right out of my chest. She’s here. In my room, in my bed.

“Hey,” she says softly. “I saw the game. It looked like it sucked.”

“You watched my game?”

“Of course I did. I always do.”

All this time… I had no idea. She’s never mentioned it before. When I’ve talked about past games, she never intimated she’d seen them. Maybe she’s not as indifferent to me as I thought.

Dropping my jacket and shirt, I crawl onto the bed and tackle her in a hug. Riley laughs, pushing her book aside and then wrapping her arms around me.

“What’s this for?”

“I’m really glad you’re here,” I murmur into her neck. “I missed you.”

Her body slackens against mine. “I missed you, too.”

“Tonight sucked.”

“I’m sorry.” Her hand slides into my hair, scratching at the back of my scalp.

I lean into her, desperate for her affection. My cock gives a lazy twitch, but I’m not in the mood for sex. I want comfort—and she’s freely offering it.

“Can I just hold you?” If she turns me down, I don’t know what I’ll do.

Riley leans forward, kissing me softly. “Anytime.”

Reluctantly, I untangle my limbs from hers. I shuffle into the bathroom, brush my teeth, and drop my suit pants in the dirty clothes hamper, before returning to her—where I belong.

She sets her book and glasses on the bedside table, beside the baby monitor and a glass of water. My heart warms at the thought of her settling in. I could get used to seeing her there every night and waking up next to her every morning.

As I pull back the covers, she turns off the light, immediately sinking down onto the pillows and rolling toward me. I tug her into the circle of my arms, and her familiar scent settles my jumbled nerves.

“Hey, Riley?” I mumble into her hair.

“Hmm?”

“I’m really glad you’re here.”

She settles her head on my chest, her arm slung low around my waist. “Me too.”

Don’t leave me. I can’t ask her to promise that, but the words are on the tip of my tongue anyway. Now that I know what having her in my life is like, I don’t know how I’d ever survive without her.

“Get some rest,” she says, snuggling closer to me. “It’ll be better in the morning.”