Phillip was that person.

For Claire, she meant.

Reese didn’t need anyone.

Shaking her head, she looked across the studio to find Claire wiping her face and nodding. “I just want to make you proud, to show you that your money is being well spent.”

Reese was surprised that she heard Claire. She whispered the words, and the words were laced with her tears. When she looked up, Phillip’s eyes were glued to Claire and Reese could see every bit of his heart. He loved this girl so much, and Reese wanted nothing more than for their issues to be solved. It would make them both so much happier. “I’m already proud of you Claire and as long as this makes you happy then I’ll spend as much money as you want. You know that. Don’t be scared. Don’t be nervous. Just do you.”

She took in a deep breath and looked over at Reese, then she asked, “Can I have a minute?”

Reese nodded. “Of course.”

Claire fell into the middle splits and when Reese looked over, Phillip was leaning against the mirrors watching her. Despite his assurance to Claire, she could tell he was just as nervous as she was. It surprised her how much she had learned to read him. Usually she didn’t care about a man and his feelings, but she cared about how Phillip was feeling. He kept running his hands through his hair, moving his hands down his pants, and couldn’t stay still for nothing. She wanted to go over and wrap him up in her arms. She wanted to reassure him that Claire wanted him there, that she was excited for him to be there, and that ultimately, this was going to help them. Claire had worked so hard on this dance. It was beautiful, and Reese knew that it was going to blow Phillip away. Hell, it blew her away.

When Claire turned with her back towards them, Reese reached out and took his hand in hers. She squeezed it tightly before removing it and smiling up at him. “I’m glad you’re here. For Claire, I mean.”

“Me too,” he said, his eyes a stormy blue as they held her. “Thanks for this.”

She was breathless. All she could do was nod as she said, “Anytime.”

Fuck, something shifted in her chest as he smiled and she knew that was bad. Very, very, very, f**king bad.

Damn it.

Chapter 19

PHILLIP WANTED to give Claire all his attention but it was hard when Reese was looking at him like that. The night before had been one thing:

Scorching

Every single breath, every touch, every thought, kiss, everything. It was all so mind altering. It was mainly her—she destroyed him. Their chemistry was earth shattering. The way they moved together, the way they fit, was just perfect. He had never been with someone that did that to him. That made him breathless and crave everything about them, but Reese was that. At first¸ he was scared of his feelings but, looking at her, getting lost in her beautiful brown eyes, he knew he was in every shape and form falling for this woman. He also knew she was falling for him. He could feel it. He could see it and when she asked about Alana, he knew right then that she cared about him.

She was just hard headed and didn’t want to tell him. She couldn’t mask it though. He could read her like the best play in the NHL, and he knew how to break that play up and make it his own. He was ready but before he pounced, he had to show her that it was safe to fall for him. That he would be there to comfort her, catch her, and love her forever. She was his real, forever kind of love.

The impulsive part of Phillip wanted to rush in and tell her his feelings right away but he couldn’t. He just needed to tread carefully because this one could run, could throw those walls up and instead of admitting her love, be miserable. She would lock him out faster than he could blink and he couldn’t have that. He would wait because he knew it was coming. He knew she was falling; she just needed time to realize it was okay and he was fine with that. He would wait and in the meantime worry about how this was going to affect his relationship with Claire. She was more than likely going to act like her life was over and he had to make sure that didn’t happen. And to do that, he had to guarantee that he and Reese were solid and he knew that would take time.

Time he had, because he was soon realizing that a life without Reese and Claire, wasn’t the life he wanted.

Pulling his gaze away from Reese, he looked out at where Claire had just stood up and turned to look at him. She looked so bright, so nervous but happy. Seeing her like that completed him. He had waited so long to see the girl he used to know and in some ways, he believed she was standing in front of him. It brought tears to his eyes, but since he was no pu**y, he pushed those away and smiled as Claire said, “Well, here goes nothing.”

The music started, and it was the same song he always heard coming from her room. It was a cover of David Guetta’s “Titanium” by Madilyn Bailey. He had Shazamed it when he was trying to watch her once, not only because he wanted to know who the soft, beautiful voice belonged to, but also because he wanted to download it himself. The music was gorgeous, but his niece was awe-inspiring. He was breathless, mindless maybe, watching her move effortlessly across the floor. The emotion was so real that it made his heart pound in his chest. He was glad he was leaning against the wall, or he was worried he wouldn’t be able to stand.

Stopping, she looked towards him and he felt as if he wasn’t worthy to witness this beautiful girl dance in such a way that was natural to her. She then picked her leg up, balancing on her other foot, raising it by her head before falling back and then back up. He was speechless. She spun, jumped, and leaped with no cares in the world. This was the girl he remembered and again, the tears filled his eyes because he wasn’t there the way he should have been. He missed so much of this beautiful girl growing up and most of all, she didn’t have his support, his love, and that killed him inside.