But our oldest brother never did learn to keep his mouth shut. “What do you expect us to think? You and Winter Allen have always been combustible.”
“I know that,” I say curtly.
“And if you fuck her,” he says in a tone that edges on concern, “It will end badly.”
I roll my shoulders and wait until we’ve all ordered our beignets and café au laits before I speak. “It’s different now,” I say.
“How?” Jared asks curiously.
“It just…it is.” I choose my words carefully, but I can’t keep the emotion out of them.
Last night with Winter pushed every single one of my buttons. The way her mouth felt on mine, and then when she wrapped her lips around my dick—I nearly came right down her throat.
But that would have been the wrong thing to do. Winter wasn’t acting like herself. And I could tell. Despite how little blood flow was in my head, I knew she was acting differently. Off. And it was a sucker punch to the gut when I found out the truth. If I could destroy that fucker who assaulted her, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second.
“What do you mean?” Liam presses me.
I suck in a breath. “You’re testing the absolute limits of my patience. Back the fuck off.”
“What’s up with you and Cath, Liam?” Jared pipes in. “She seemed pretty pissed last night when we got back to your place.”
“Save it.” Liam’s eyes turn to stone. “She’s tired. You try taking care of a kid all day long.”
“Hey, I wasn’t criticizing Cath,” Jared says as he, Max, and I exchange a glance. “I just meant—are you two okay?”
“Fine.” Liam nods thank you to the waiter as he delivers our drinks and beignets.
And then, we all shut up so we can eat. That, and to potentially avoid a fistfight.
The four of us love each other, no doubt. We’d have each other’s backs in a knife fight without question. But we don’t communicate all that well. Okay, our communication skills are pretty much shit.
Not having a mother around since we were kids probably didn’t help us in the emotional expression department. Not that all dads are closed off, but ours was. Mama was the nurturer. She wanted to know about your day and if anything was going on that you wanted to share. Dad was the most supportive father a kid could ask for, but his idea of a heart-to-heart was to grunt, hand you a deck of cards, and tell you to start shuffling because we were about to play a game of poker.
My brothers and I stuff our faces and chat a bit more about the season, and then we all stand up and head for the sidewalk. Max and Jared need to go to the airport, and the Storm brothers are about to split up once more. None of us act like we’ll miss each other, but we’re all lying.
The truth is that it’s hard playing on opposing teams. And it’s even harder living so far apart. The four of us have been tight our whole lives, and after Dad was killed, we just got closer.
We around the corner of the building hoping for some privacy, but a few fans manage to find us anyway.
I take a photo with an appreciative couple, and when I turn around, Max is being hounded by a zealous blonde who wants him to sign her hat. He does so with a quick grin, but when she goes to hug him, he steps backward so she can’t touch him.
“Typical Max,” Liam mutters to me as Jared diverts the blonde’s attention by offering to take a photo with her.
Max is definitely the most introverted of the four of us. Unlike some of the players I know who crave the attention, especially from their female fans, Max prefers to go under cover as much as humanly possible.
The fans drift away, and the four of us are alone again. Liam and I say our goodbyes to the twins with a couple of hugs and back slaps.
“Hold up.” Liam reaches out to stop Jared from hailing a cab. “I may have news soon. The detective contacted me last week.”
“He did?” I spin on him. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell anyone?”
“Telling you now,” is all he says, and Jared curses.
“He’s considering reopening the case.”
The three of us stare at Liam.
“Why?” I say. “That must mean…”
