“That’s good of you. I respect you a lot more.”
“Thanks,” I replied but hoped to end the conversation. It didn’t sit well with me and the atmosphere in the car had got heavier. The rest of the drive was in an awkward silence, but I learned two things about Fiona that car-ride.One—she doesn’t acknowledge her feelings and if she tries, she turns into an asshole. Two—my charity work matters to her, she just doesn’t know how to show it.She wants to keep it casual and all about the sex. I can play by her rules. For now.
“Let’s go meet the family. Big step for us,” I teased after I parked the car on a long driveway. I needed distance between us. Fun and flirty distance, because we’d crossed a barrier we hadn’t before—our morals and values in life. Fiona’s entire body tensed and she gave me a tight smile, her disliking of my joke clear as day. I joined her as we walked up the paved path, shrubs and flowers lining it, to the door. Each step echoed on the cement and I swore Fiona’s guard went up higher and higher the closer we got to the door. I stopped her, putting my hand on her shoulder. “Why are you so nervous?”
“I-I’m not.”
“Liar,” I replied, lowering my voice to try to comfort her. “We’re a team, remember?”
“I’m not into team sports, Gideon. I do better at solo events.” She shrugged my hand off and marched up to the front porch. Attitude, sadness and an independence that blurred into defense poured off her. My chest tightened and my stomach dropped at my thought.
I don’t want her to be a team of one.
* * * *
“Tell us, Gideon, how is it working with my pain-in-the-ass sister?” Bea, the older version of Fiona, asked me after she’d refilled my second mimosa. I preferred a stiffer drink, but I didn’t want to be rude. Champagne and orange juice it was, even if Amanda—the one with the annoyed expression permanently stuck on her face—gave me a scornful look.
“Challenging. An adventure. Frustrating,” I replied and snuck a glance at my darling co-coach. The same co-coach who’d refused to look at me since her team of one bullshit a half an hour earlier. “How would you classify our time together, Barbie?”
“Jazzy. Just jazzy.”
Jade and Bea snickered while Amanda still remained silent. I reached under the table to squeeze Fiona’s knee. It got a slight reaction out of her—her cheeks blushing—but she didn’t give me a smile. I wanted one.
“Now, the real reason I wanted to chat with you, Gideon—well, all of you—is about our first real charity event in March. We’ve reserved the venue, got an auctioneer and DJ—all that stuff is planned. We’ve invited all sorts of local Boys and Girls clubs, small organizations and big donors for our big event. We were hoping…” Jade gave Fiona a sweet smile.
“I was hoping to recruit you, Bea, to bartend the event and Amanda to help run registration. We couldn’t pay you yet—we’re still growing. But I know how important this group is to Fiona and thought you would want to help.”
“Of course I’ll help. Anything. Set up, take down. I’ll do whatever I can,” Bea replied and patted Fiona’s arm. Amanda cleared her throat and both Fiona and Bea tensed.Interesting.
“Sure. I can help. Just give me the date.”
“Great. Thank you, ladies. Now, Gideon, I’m hoping you’d be willing to be a keynote speaker. Could be an opening, a closing. Maybe just announcing. If you can’t or would prefer not to, it’s not a big deal. Fiona told—”
“Let him answer. He doesn’t need an explanation,” Fiona interrupted.
I gritted my teeth for a second, annoyed I didn’t get to hear what Jade was saying.
“Are you in, or out?”
“Uh, let me hear more about it.” I glanced back at Jade and fiddled with the silverware on the table. An uncontrollable urge to fidget took over. “What are the details? I would love to help, but the date makes a difference.”
“It would be the second weekend in March. Not a huge commitment, maybe an hour or two tops. You could stay for the after-party and hang out, but the presenting would only be a small portion. All the donations go toward the TTL and funding more school counselors. That’s our new goal this year,” Jade said and puffed her chest out. It was clear how proud she was—Fiona too.
“You do amazing work. I’ll have to check with my agent but, yeah, count me in.” I held my hand across the table for a shake, and she gave me a firm grip. I wanted to ask Fiona about her flustered appearance or her sudden departure to the kitchen. “I’ll be able to make a donation if needed. I’d love to help out with it. Fiona hasn’t said much about it, but I’ve done some research.”
“Hell, yeah. We’d appreciate it,” Jade replied and held a fist-bump to me. We shared a grin and I cleared my throat to go check on my co-coach. “Don’t worry about cleaning—we got it.”
“No worries. I have manners, despite what the media says. You cooked, I’ll help,” I said but Jade gave me a sly smile. I shrugged and went behind the white swing door. Fiona was leaning against the counter with her fingers on her temples. My heart lurched. “What’s wrong?”
She let out a long sigh and gave me a side glance. “Needed some space.”
“Family too much?” I asked.
“No, you’re too much.” She crossed her arms and sucked her bottom lip into her mouth. Her pink cheeks and wide eyes gave me all sorts of mixed messages and I had no idea what to say. I blinked, hoping words would come together in my mind, but it remained blank. She studied me in silence, giving me an unreadable look. “Let’s clean and head back, please.”
“Okay. Yeah, let’s clean.” I joined her at the sink and we fell into a rhythm of rinsing and setting the dirty crockery into the dishwasher. Her hip hit mine and I splashed a little water on her. She laughed, and I did it again.
“Hey, man, I’m wearing a white shirt. You don’t want my nips to perk up, do you?”
