“Nice to meet you, too, River.”
His hand settles in mine and it's like a jolt of energy zipping straight up my arm, making me catch my breath. My eyes widen as I glance at him, searching for any sign that he feels it too.
He only grins, slow and utterly self-assured, while his thumb softly and very deliberately brushes the top of my hand.
The world narrows to the point of contact between us, and for a moment, it’s just River and me, the silent current arcing between our palms. Licking my lips, his gaze drops to my mouth, then he mimics my action.
I have to fight back a moan as heat floods my face. My palm becomes sweaty, and I try to pull it back, but he holds firmly.
“Careful,” he murmurs, low enough for only me to hear, “I’ve been told I have that effect.”
Fuck me sideways with a keyboard.
I try to summon a witty reply, but nothing comes out, so instead, I manage a shaky exhale and a lopsided smile, silently cursing the way my heart drums in my chest like it’s trying to break free.
He releases my hand with a reluctant slowness, fingertips lingering a second longer than necessary.
We are still staring at each other, and something passes between us, but I have no clue what it is. I was never good at social cues but did enough to get by without making a fool out of myself, unlike right in this moment.
“Oh, River, Theo is gay also. Maybe you could show him around all the gay spots.”
Fucking hell, shoot me now.
My face burns with embarrassment, while River just laughs it off, waving a hand around in front of him. He leans forward, winking at me before he addresses Patty.
“Patty, I would love to spend time with Theo. Showing him around town.” The way he says my name is like a promise that he will do more than show me the town.
Holy fuck, could I have a random sex hook-up? I mean, I am leaving in the new year.
“I like that idea, don’t you, Theo?”
I blink, then force a smile.
“Oh, yeah, sure.”
“Sounds like a date.” He winks and turns to leave, taking some of the heat with him.
What the hell is that?
I push it down and help my grandma into the coffee shop, where she is meeting with her friends while I go and do some training at Sidelines.
Thinking back to the family plan for me to help Patty while I am here now seems like a setup. Sure, she has had a bout of flu but nothing that would require me to stay for a month-long visit to help her.
I need to dig deeper, I think, into why I was brought here.
Four
COLT
My brothers banter around me while we are at the back of Sidelines playing pool on one of the four tables.
The only brother missing is Huxley, who had to work at the hospital. Our parents are babysitting—which is the norm when he’s scheduled for those marathon shifts.
The rest of us are unwinding after a long day, though technically Tatum and Tristan can’t call this downtime since they own Sidelines, but they take time to hang out and enjoy what they have built.
Classic rock is humming from the jukebox that they had installed. They went all out with the sports theme but also kept it classy.
“Did you see that chick who rolled in with her Audi R8 Spyder?” Ridley asks me, and I look up at him from beneath my lashes as I am bent over, ready to take my shot.
