Lori

The restaurant was near Hancock Park, and we drove through a section on Windsor Boulevard lined with gigantic palm trees that were roughly four times taller than the nearby lampposts. I spotted the Hollywood sign in the distance. 

Everyone was already at the restaurant when we arrived. Since the event was private, we had the place to ourselves. I felt like we were in an open space, what with the glass walls and ceiling, and all the greenery outdoors.

"Let's introduce you to everyone." Graham offered me his arm as we walked in. I gladly took it, snaking my arm around his elbow. My man was still tense, and there wasn't a thing I could do about it right now.

The management was sitting at one large table, the players at two others. They all rose to their feet as Graham introduced me. Some were here with girlfriends, but most were solo. Amber was here with Matt. I hugged them both. I hadn't seen them since the wedding and her baby bump was visible now.

"You look great. Married life suits you," I said.

"Won't complain. Do you organize baby showers?"

"Of course I do."

"I'll pick your brain later on." She rubbed her belly. I wanted to chat with her more, but we still had to finish the introduction round.

"Hey, I think I know this one," I said when we reached Jace.

My brother stroked his chin. "Could be we share a last name?"

I grinned as he kissed my cheek.

"Jace, why didn't you introduce us before? I'd have scooped her up before Graham did," one of his teammates said. 

"That's Gaston. Ignore him. We all do," Jace explained.

Gaston opened his mouth, but promptly closed it when Graham glared at him. I could tell the guys enjoyed getting a rise out of Graham. Our seats were at the management table, but everyone mingled, especially since it was an open buffet. Graham didn't relax all evening.

If anything, he seemed to become tenser as hours went by. It was all there, in his body language. The stiffness in his shoulders took hold of his neck too. Whenever I caught his eye, all I got were strained smiles.

I ate pastrami, crab cakes, and a finely diced tomatoes and cucumbers salad with lime juice. Dessert was the highlight, though. Jace came up to me when I was loading a second serving of cheesecake on my plate.

"The chef here deserves a hug. This cheesecake is the best," I said. 

Jace shook his head mockingly. "Easy on the compliments or I'll tell Val."

"You will do no such thing. Unless you want your coach to know you routinely ignore your food plan."

"You wouldn't do that."

"Try me." I bumped his shoulder.

"Sisters. They sabotage even the best laid plans."

"And we take that role seriously. I'm proud of you, Jace." I had no clue in how many more ways I could show him that before it went to his head. He was the team's most valuable player, and had been celebrated tonight as such. That required a lot of work and dedication.

A pretty blonde waitress came up to us, carrying a glass on her tray. "Mr. Connor, I have your special order here. Should I bring it to your table?"

Jace shook his head, picking up the glass. "Thanks."

"Is there anything else I can get you?" She sounded a little breathless.

"No, that’s all." Poor woman had stars in her eyes. Jace was doing what he'd done since he was a teen—charming the opposite sex. I'd realized that smile would be trouble ever since my high school friends had blushed around him, despite the age difference. That smile had grown even more dangerous after Jace became aware of its effect.

"Question: why is there dessert here if all the players are on a strict meal plan?" I asked after she left.

"Because everyone else isn't? Amber arranged this. She likes to torture us."

"Oooh, I forgot to give her my thanks for that calendar. Best idea she's had."

"Please don't. That'll just give her more ideas."

"That's the point."

Jace sipped from his glass, then took a deep breath. "I meant to ask: did Jeff bother you again?"

"No, not at all. Not even my lawyer heard from him." 

"Graham must have scared him good when he showed at the club."

I tightened the grip on my plate, suddenly feeling like the last bit of cake I'd swallowed was crawling up my throat. "Jeff came to the club?" 

"You didn't know?"

"No, Graham didn't mention it. When was that?"

"About two weeks ago. Graham was in a mood afterward. Seemed out of it for a couple of days."

What was happening? Why hadn't he brought this up? And why the hell would Jeff bother Graham? I glanced around, searching for Graham, and found him talking with a player on the other side of the room. My stomach shrunk to a tight knot. Why hadn't he told me anything? Had Jeff's visit upset him that much? Maybe I hadn't imagined Graham's unease these past weeks. After Jace's teammates pulled him away, Amber and I talked about the baby shower, but I couldn't focus on planning anything. I wished this evening would come to an end faster.

Graham was still tense when we climbed in his car and drove off. The conversation with Nana had clearly rattled him, but I wished he'd talk to me about it. Whatever it was, we could work through it together. And even if there wasn't anything to work through, I wanted him to know he could talk to me.

During the drive, I kept wringing my hands in my lap, trying to decide on the best angle to tackle this. I was completely out of sorts. When we pulled in front of my house, Graham didn't turn off the engine. It was dark outside, and in the dim yellowish light cast by the lampposts, I couldn't make out his expression.

"I'm going to head to my place this evening. I'm not in the right headspace right now."

My stomach bottomed out. He thought that was the solution? 

"I thought we were at the point where we could talk things out, no matter what they were. Don't close yourself off to me. Talk to me."

Graham bristled. I bit the inside of my cheek. Damn, that came out different than I'd intended. My tone was almost accusatory.

"Not much to say. I still have to figure out what to do."

I took in his body language. Shoulders hunched, head hung. I wanted to comfort him, but he didn't seem to want that. I wasn't going to let him pull away, though. I didn't want that kind of dynamic in our relationship. It wasn't healthy. Besides, he'd been the one who'd pushed me to share things with him until now. Why wasn't he reciprocating?

Since I had no idea how to tackle the issue with his dad, I switched gears.

"Jace told me Jeff stopped by the club two weeks ago. What was that about?"

I wanted to get to the bottom of this.

Graham straightened up in his seat. "I meant to tell you about that, but then I thought there was no point anyway."

"But what did he want?"

"Money."

"What?" Goddamn it! I couldn't believe Jeff. That was why I hadn't heard a word. My previous anxiety morphed into anger. That moron.

"He showed up saying that he'd be making a nuisance of himself if I didn't give him money, so I wrote him a check."

"Graham, that's... wow. That you'd do that for Milo, and for me... I'm grateful." I was stunned and humbled, but the whole thing didn't sit well with me. "But, I'd like us to talk about these things before making a decision. You can't decide on your own when the ramifications might affect me, and especially Milo. It doesn't work this way. I don't think that giving Jeff what he wanted was smart. He might come back for more."

"Can't seem to do anything right, can I?" He sounded pissed off, which instantly pissed me off too.

"That's not what I mean. I just don't like the lack of communication."

"I didn't want you to have to deal with him again. That meeting with him lasted less than an hour and you were upset for days."

"So the solution was to push me out? Like you're doing now? Is this how it's always going to be?"

"The two things aren't related. I was ... I wanted to spare you another unpleasant conversation. If you can't understand why I'd do that, maybe you don't feel as strongly for me as I thought."

What? How is this conversation getting so out of control?

"I understand that the conversation with your nana has you out of sorts, but I'm here for you."

Graham rubbed his hands up and down his face, as if he was losing his patience. Then he gripped the steering wheel. "I keep thinking the old man will pull himself together, grow up. He's sixty. Scares me to even think we're related."

"You're nothing like him. You've been great to Milo, and to me."

"What’s to say I won't screw up in the future?" He leaned his head back against the headrest, frowning at the windshield. I went very still, feeling as if someone was pulling the rug from under me.

"So, what? You think it's better if you don't try?" I ran a hand through my hair, trying to calm down and be rational. But I felt more irrational with every second. "Is this...too much for you?"

Graham turned to face me abruptly. "That's not what I'm saying."

"But is this what you actually mean?" Had it all become too much for him? Was it the thing with Jeff? Was the strangeness in the last two weeks because he had second thoughts about being in our lives?

No, those were crazy thoughts. I was just reeling because I was afraid of losing him. I had to keep it together.

"This isn't about you or Milo. Lori, you've got this all wrong," he insisted. My chest constricted instantly. Was he about to give me an it’s-not-you-it’s me speech, or was fear clouding my judgement?

"Let me explain," he continued.

I wasn't equipped to have this conversation right now. I wasn’t rational, and I didn’t want to overthink every word he would say. I needed to be on my own to process everything. I was so riled up that I couldn't think straight, let alone carry a conversation.

I shook my head and cleared my throat. "No need." He motioned to turn off the engine, but I held my hand up. "Don't. I want to be alone."

"Lori, you need to calm down."

He definitely wasn't calm either.

"Don't patronize me," I said.

"I wasn't—okay, you know what? Clearly, neither of us is rational right now."

"I agree. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

I climbed out of the car and walked to the house without looking over my shoulder. Once inside, I peeked out the window. Three seconds later, he drove away. I released a long breath. What just happened?