“Christ,” she says on an aggrieved sigh. “I knew you’d be like this.”
My eyebrows drag together. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“You care about her and you’re losing it.”
“About who?”
And, fuck, but that sounds exactly like the lie it is, even to my own ears.
“Nice try, big bro,” she says. “Now save us both some time and lay off the excuses. Just tell me why you’re freaking out about Joey.”
“I’m fine.”
Another lie.
And she doesn’t buy this one either.
“Bullshit.”
“Ky,” I say. “It’s getting late. I have to get ready to meet the plane.”
“You do. But the game’s only been over for thirty minutes. Half the guys aren’t even showered yet, so there’s no way anyone is waiting for you.”
It’s annoying how much my sister knows about my life—including how much she knows about my job.
I scowl then push off the door, rubbing the ache in my temple.
But I don’t reply.
I don’t need to.
She’s still going.
“You and Joey,” she presses. “I was at brunch, honey. I saw the sparks, and Beth agrees with me. You two…” She whistles. “The heated looks. The way your bodies orbit around each other. How you’re always keeping track of exactly where she is?—”
My lungs inflate on a rush of air.
But my sister’s words don’t stop.
“I know I told you to fix it for her and I honestly thought it would be like what you did for Ivy, for me, but Damon…there’s more between you two.” A beat. “And just swooping in to make things right and backing off is never going to be enough for you—not foreitherone of you.”
She’s not wrong.
The intractable draw. The unquenchable need.
The desire to claim and ravish andkeep.
“And because of that—and the likelihood of alone time near horizontal surfaces by having your choice of hotel rooms—” She laughs lightly. “I’m guessing things changed for the better.” My sister’s voice gentles. “Even if you don’t believe that right now.”
Still not wrong.
Dammit, why does she have to be so fucking smart?
Why does she have to know me so well?
“You’re scared, Damon.”
“I can’t let this happen, Ky. Ican’t. One of the players looked at her butt tonight, and I almost rammed my fist down his throat. It took everything in me to walk away. If someone does more than look, if I see Hiller?—”
