Authors: Theresa Ragan
Aaron’s left fist connected with Derrick’s jaw and then a quick right hook connected with his nose.
Maggie cried out, “Stop it!”
One minute he was making a life-changing confession, and in the next he was kissing the gravelly driveway. Derrick spit out a few pebbles and dirt and tasted blood. Maggie came toward him, but Derrick stopped her from coming any closer. “I think it’s best if we stay away from one another.”
“There’s a hospital down the street. Your nose looks bad.” She turned on Aaron. “I’m going to go inside my house and you’re going to leave me alone. Do you hear me?”
Derrick brushed dirt from his pants and then used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe his bloody nose as he waited for Maggie to get inside the house and lock the door. “I’m sorry,” he told Aaron, figuring he owed him that much. “I screwed up.”
Aaron grunted. “You’re an asshole.”
“I know.”
“You’ve been getting into the middle of my business since I was ten.”
Derrick’s head throbbed. “That long?”
“Probably longer,” Aaron said, “but the first time I can remember is the time we were both saving up for that shiny red bike. We were pretty even until you started selling kisses to all the neighborhood girls for a quarter.”
Despite the bloody face, Derrick grinned. “I remember that.” His smile disappeared when he saw the pain on Aaron’s face. “You’re right. I am an asshole.”
“Yeah, I gave up competing with you about fifteen years ago.”
“You were the one who talked me into playing football,” Derrick said as the memory hit him.
Aaron nodded. “I didn’t like the game and I figured I would enjoy watching you get beat up. The whole plan sort of backfired on me, of course, because you excelled at the sport and became more popular than ever.”
Derrick gave up worrying about his nose. Instead he jangled the keys in his pocket. “I never meant to make your life miserable. I just have a knack for doing that to people.”
“Yeah, you do.”
Derrick gestured with his chin toward the house. “I think she’s mad at both of us.”
“She should be. I wouldn’t blame her if she decided to never talk to me again. I’ve been a jerk. And that goes double for you.”
“Well, if there’s one thing I know for sure after all of this, it’s that Maggie Monroe loves you and always has. It’s taken me too many years to see that I can’t always have my way. Jill figured that out about me within weeks of meeting me.”
“Smart girl. I like her already.”
Derrick opened the car door and gestured toward the passenger seat. “Need a ride?”
“It’s the least you could do,” Aaron said. “I’m staying at the hotel three blocks down the road.” Aaron walked toward the car, opened the passenger door and climbed in. “After you drop me off you might want to visit a med center. That nose looks bad.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Derrick limped up the stairs. Jill’s apartment was dark. He unlocked the door to his place, turned on the lights, and went straight to the bathroom to take a look at the damage to his face. He put a finger to his upper lip and tried to get a look at his teeth.
The doctor at the med center had said he’d chipped a tooth. At least his front teeth appeared to be okay. A gash through his left eyebrow was held together with a small butterfly bandage. His eye was black and blue and swollen.
Great. Just great
.
He went to his bedroom next and changed into a pair of sweats and a clean T-shirt. He tossed his blood-streaked clothes into the garbage.
Tonight was turning out to be more bitter than sweet, but still bittersweet all the same.
More than anything he’d wanted to see Jill tonight—talk to her and see how she was doing. Since making love to her, she’d been in his every thought. He’d never felt this way about anyone before—not even Maggie, and that’s what he’d realized at dinner tonight. He’d wanted to rush home to Jill and lift her into his arms and look her square in the eyes when he told her he’d missed her, and more importantly, that he loved her—only her—nobody else. He only had a week left before training camp began. He planned to make the most of it by spending every minute with Jill and Ryan. He would do whatever he had to in order to convince her that she was the only woman for him.
The harder he had tried to get back to Jill tonight, the more difficult the task had become. For the first time since he’d moved into the apartment, he felt cold and lonely. He grabbed a bag of frozen peas and placed it on his eye. With one good eye, he glanced out the window over his kitchen sink to see if Jill’s light had come on yet. Ryan usually woke up for a feeding about now. Finally, he swallowed a couple of ibuprofen and then made his way to the couch. Propping his head on a decorative pillow, he shut his eyes.
Despite the pain, he felt as if a heavy weight had lifted from his heart. All these years he’d thought he was in love with Maggie. Now he realized he’d been obsessed with the
idea
of being in love with her. Loving Maggie was synonymous to competing and “winning” her in the end. That’s all it was—a competition. He’d deserved everything that came to him tonight. He had a lot of groveling to do before either Aaron or Maggie could forgive him. No wonder his family hadn’t understood him, especially these past few months. Hell, he hadn’t understood himself.
~~~
Derrick jerked to an upright position. The sun shot through the window, heating his face and blinding him. It took a moment to figure out he’d fallen asleep on the couch. He rubbed the back of his neck and slid his feet to the floor. He felt like hell. There wasn’t a muscle that didn’t ache.
It was already noon.
He looked out the window toward Jill’s apartment and realized that she’d probably left for Ryan’s doctor appointment hours ago.
Careful not to make any jarring movements, he made his way to the bathroom. He brushed his teeth, which was no easy feat considering his swollen lip. Then he splashed cold water on his face and looked at his reflection in the mirror. His eye looked a little better than his lip today.
A knock sounded at his door and he headed that way, excited by the prospect of finally having the chance to talk to Jill.
But it was Maggie who stood on the other side of the door, looking fresh and summery in a pair of jean shorts and a pink shirt. Trying to hide his disappointment at seeing her standing there instead of Jill, he welcomed her into his apartment with a crooked smile.
“Oh, you poor thing,” Maggie said, squeezing her way inside and then shutting the door behind her.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“We need to talk.”
For some reason, that particular statement made him nervous.
“It’s okay,” she said, obviously noting the apprehension he was feeling. “I came because I won’t be able to rest until I talk to you once and for all. I have some important questions to ask you.”
“Okay,” he said, swallowing the knot in his throat. “Shoot.”
“You look horrible.”
“Thanks.”
“Aaron has a mean right hook, doesn’t he?”
“That he does.”
“Who would have guessed?”
“Not me.”
She put a hand to his jaw. He stood there stiffly and let her touch him since he figured she obviously had something very serious she wanted to say. Then he noticed a strange look in her eyes and it struck him. “Don’t say it,” he said.
“Don’t say what?”
“Don’t tell me you’re sorry because I’m the only one who should be apologizing. We could both say we’re sorry until we’re blue in the face, but it isn’t going to do either of us a bit of good.”
“You’re right.”
He kept looking out the window toward Jill’s apartment. It felt as if months had passed by since he’d seen her. “So, what is it, Maggie?”
She dropped her arm to her side, resting her hand on the purse dangling from her shoulder. “It’s about me and you.”
He didn’t like where this conversation was going. Two weeks ago, hell, two days ago, he would have given his right arm to spend time alone with her, but now all he could think about was Jill. He looked over Maggie’s head again toward Jill’s apartment. She should be home by now.
Where was she
?
Suddenly he felt very uncomfortable having Maggie standing here before him, alone—just the two of them. “What is it, Maggie?”
“I’ve had a lot of time recently to think about things…to think about us.”
A long uncomfortable pause settled between them. He went to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. The pain in his head had become intolerable. He took two more ibuprofen. “Can I get you anything?”
“No, thanks.”
“Okay,” he said. “Spit it out, Maggie. The suspense is killing me. What exactly are you trying to tell me?”
“I love you,” she blurted. “I want to be with you forever. Runaway with me, Derrick. Today. Now.”
A throaty guffaw escaped him and water threatened to shoot out of his nose.
Maggie huffed. “Are you laughing?”
“I’m sorry. It’s just that your timing is impeccable. I don’t love you, Maggie.”
“So you weren’t just saying that because Aaron was standing there last night?”
“No. I was telling the truth. I guess I just needed some sense knocked into me to make me realize I didn’t like losing you to Aaron.”
She put the palms of her hands to his chest and shoved him hard.
“Hey…what are you doing?”
She shoved him again and then hit him on the shoulder with her fist.
She was a tiny thing and he felt nothing, of course, but he took a couple of backward steps just in case she decided to pick up the coffee table and hurl it his way.
Her face was all shades of red now. “So you’re telling me that you got in my face every chance you could, you ruined my relationship, you did it all just for the hell of it…all because you’re a big tough guy who’s used to getting his way? Because you like to win?”
She marched across the room and opened the door. He followed her outside. “I know it’s bad, Maggie.” He moved as close as he could, but not close enough for her to take an eyeball. “I wish I could take it all back,” he said. “I wish I had seen what everyone else saw a long time ago. I love you like a sister, but the truth is, I love Jill. I didn’t know what love was until I met her.”
Maggie didn’t look convinced.
“It’s crazy, but it’s true. I think I’ve loved Jill since the very first moment I laid eyes on her.”
Maggie lifted her arms, prompting him to take another step back. She smiled and took a step forward, and then cupped her hands around his face, stood on the tips of her toes, and gave him a peck on the cheek. Before he knew what she was up to, she dropped her hands from his face and simply hugged him, squeezing him so tight he thought he might break in half. When she was done with him, she merely hitched her purse up higher on her shoulder, looking happy and maybe even amused, as if she’d never expected him to run off into the sunset with her in the first place. “Thank you, Derrick. I’ll see you in the courtroom on Monday.”
He scratched his head. “You’re going to be there? After everything I’ve put you through?” Nothing made sense anymore.
“That’s right,” she said. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Maggie headed down the stairs and Derrick, sensing someone watching, looked over his shoulder toward Jill’s apartment and saw her through the kitchen window.
~~~
On the drive home from Ryan’s appointment with Dr. Lerner, Jill rolled down the window and let the warm Los Angeles air swoosh through her hair as she passed by the Warner Brothers Studio and NBC.
Dr. Nate Lerner had expressed pleasure at seeing how well her son was progressing. After Nate finished the exam, she thanked him for the flowers and then proceeded to tell him that her life was chaotic right now and she needed to get things in order before she dated him or anyone else. He had been more than gracious, telling her to let him know when she was ready for another date. He promised to make it a night when he wasn’t on call.
Jill hated to admit it, but she had hoped Derrick would appear at her door last night at eight o’clock as he said he would so they could talk. She had definitely fallen in love with him. How and why, she could only guess. Despite Derrick being a no-show, she’d managed to sleep through the night. Ryan was over a month old now and he’d slept until five this morning. She felt rested and eager to start the day.
Today was Thursday. The mediation was scheduled for Monday morning. Once that was over with, everything would be spelled out in black and white, and she would be able to move on. There would be no more guessing games. Knowing she wouldn’t have to worry about Ryan being taken from her would be a tremendous weight off of her shoulders.
Jill pulled into the parking space and saw that Derrick’s car was still there. Her heart raced at the thought of seeing him. She couldn’t help it.
With Ryan in the carrier and the baby bag thrown over her shoulder, she made her way up the stairs. A light breeze cooled her face. A hummingbird drank from the feeder outside her neighbor’s window.
Once she was inside her apartment, she took Ryan out of his carrier and carried him to his room, smiling at his wiggling form as he kicked his legs and stretched his arms. Leaving him in his crib, she headed for the kitchen to get his bottle. As she filled a pan with an inch of water to heat the bottle, she saw the door to Derrick’s apartment open wide.
It was Derrick and Maggie. They were talking, both of them looking serious until Maggie grabbed his face and kissed him. After the kiss ended, they embraced for what felt like an eternity.
Her heart dropped. Her breathing stilled. Yesterday, she’d begun to think that maybe she was being too hard on Derrick. Maybe, despite everything she’d seen with her own two eyes, the two of them stood a chance.
God, how dense could she be
? She’d been such a fool. She’d tried to get past his obvious infatuation with the woman, but now something told her there was much more to the story. As if he sensed her watching, Derrick looked up and saw her through the window. He wasted no time heading for Jill’s apartment.