Lo shook her head, her shoulders slumped as she went back inside. My gut ached at the horrified, guilty look on Dean’s face. His brows furrowed, and his lips parted, like he forgot how to speak at how upset Lo was. The sliding door shut, leaving me, Dean, and Luca on the patio.
“Fucking talk to her. I’m not asking.” Luca pointed at Dean, his gaze darkening. “You told me you’d punch me in the face if I ever hurt your sister, and I agreed. But you know what? That goes both ways. You’re upsetting her, and I’m a day away from punching you.”
“You’d hit your quarterback?”
“Yeah. I’d hit my quarterback if it meant getting his head out of his ass.” Luca glared, then eyed the food. He aggressively picked up two doughnuts and shoved one in his mouth. “Thanks for this.”
“Sure thing.” Dean sat straighter as Luca went inside, the playfulness I saw earlier disappearing. “I should go.”
“Hey,” I said, unable to stop myself. His gaze met mine, and his large brown eyes were filled with grief. Ihatedseeing Dean like that. I mean, I hated the fact Lo was upset more, but Dean was always the untouchable, aloof, confident badass who led the team in playoffs and had almost a million followers on social media. Seeing him sad meant the earth was out of sync. “You have people who love you. You’re lucky. Not everyone has a sister like you, a team like you do, a family like you do. The point of any relationship is to be there for the upsandthe downs. You can’t pick when they are there for you or when they are not.”
His jaw tightened, like he chewed gum, but his stare only intensified. “Lo is lucky to have you. You’re a good friend, Mackenzie.”
He hit the table softly before standing and staring over the garden. “Want to place a bet on if Luca hits me if I go in there?”
“No. I’d place a bet on if I hit you if youdon’tgo in there.” I pointed to the door, hard.
His lips twitched. “Spicy Mack. I like it.”
“Do I need to do a countdown?”
His eyes flashed, and he stared at my mouth. His nostrils flared as he caressed my body with his gaze. I had never felt sexier than I did in that moment, all from how he looked at me. He started at my toes, letting out a little snort when he eyed my toe ring. He traveled up my legs and over my stomach, stopping on my chest before meeting my eyes again. His were like an inferno of lust. “You’re my favorite kind of trouble. What are your plans tonight?”
“Tonight?”
“Yeah. I’m going to talk to Lo for a bit, convince Luca not to kill me, then shower. You want to hang out, or do you have plans?”
“I’m probably gonna hang with Lo.” I shrugged, unsure if it was too soon to spend time with him. I didn’t even know what I’d agreed to, per se, and I wanted a night to clear my thoughts, check in on my best friend, and breathe.
“Tomorrow.”
“Was that a question or a demand?” I arched a brow, loving this banter between us. I’d seen the way girls fawned over him. Sure, I had a crush that was epic and dangerous, but every time I challenged him, his eyes got dark and his voice all deep. He never did that with other girls. He liked it, and I enjoyed pushing his buttons.
“Could we do something tomorrow?”
“Is there a please in there?”
“You.” He laughed, the sound magical. “You are fucking trouble, and I am here for it.”
I tilted my head up toward him, pursing my lips in confidence. “I might be able to move things around for you tomorrow. Maybe.”
He walked toward me, rubbing his thumb over my bottom lip. “Move things around.Please.I’m not a patient person, and I really want to kiss this mouth.”
He winked, let go of my face, and walked inside the apartment.
CHAPTER
TEN
Dean
If I channeled my inner Callum, I’d joke this entire thing off and make my sister laugh. If I was Luca, I’d just grump and provide her one-word answers. If I was Oliver, I’d give a pro and a con list and then have her set up a meeting with me to discuss afterwards. I wasn’t any of my teammates though. It was Lo and me.
Twins.
Best friends.
Athletes.
