“You and Daddy together, then! I’ll have Uncle Alex’s six.”
Oy.I worried at how easily Chase paired my name with Trevor’s, like there was a little hope for reconciliation clinging to the edges of his words.
This right here just became my new concern about the dangers of sharing a roof with Trevor. Chase would never want me to move out. He had his parents together again, and he didn’t understand that didn’t mean we weretogethertogether.
This was the definition of the “start over” I knew Chase was secretly hoping for when Trevor had first asked us both to move out here last year.
“How about boys against girls?” I asked. “I’ll pull Aunt Eden onto my team. Two against three.”
Chase laughed, already sprinting down the hall.
Alex watched him go, the smile slipping from his mouth as he turned back to me. His hand braced lightly on the doorframe, head tilted in question. “Are you okay?”
The warmth in his voice made my chest ache, same with that sincere expression crossing his face.
“And I’m not talking about what happened to you last night,” he clarified, eyes shooting to my temple as if now noticing where I’d been whacked and regretting not playing doctor sooner to see if I was okay.
With his free hand, he reached out, brushing my hair away to inspect the damage without touching my skin.
I angled my head, allowing him to see the bruise and knot.
“A man that hits a woman deserves, well ...” He briefly closed his eyes, mouth tightening.
Yeah, tell me about it.
“Trevor’s right. You should watch only, not join.” His throat bobbed with a deep, anguished swallow before he reset his attention on me, his hand falling to his side.
“I’ll be fine, don’t worry. Just don’t go whacking me too hard.”
“I wouldn’t dream of whacking you hard.” His eyes lit up, then he gave me a hesitant smile. “Anyway, I was asking you something, right?”
I forgot myself, too distracted by the gentle way he’d checked on my injury.
“Right, I, uh, was saying that this can’t be easy for you to be here together. For any of you.”
“We haven’t been under one roof in a long time,” I admitted, my body relaxing a little despite the fact I was doing something I hadn’t done with a man in forever: opening up. Heck, I hadn’t even done that with Ryder yet. “I need to be here with Chase, but it’s going to be hard for him when it’s time for me to leave.”
I had a feeling Alex was about to share some words of wisdom, but Chase’s “Hurry!” killed his chance.
“We should get a move on so we can head to my place afterward.” I glanced at our bare feet. “You have boots?”
Alex smirked, that dimple flashing again. “What kind of operator would I be if I didn’t?” He gestured toward his room. “Meet you downstairs. Might want to warm up that throwing arm. I have excellent aim.”
“I would hope you do.”
His answering look made my stomach flip.
And also, did I just flirt? Mildly successfully, too?
“Audrey?” he said quietly.
“Yeah?” I whispered right back.
But before he could say anything more, Chase returned, full of energy and exasperation.
“What’s taking so long?” Without hesitation, he hooked his arm with Alex’s and tugged him down the hall.
Alex shot a parting glance my way, and I couldn’t help but smile, watching how easily Alex fit into our world. I also couldn’t help but notice the way his mouth tilted into a helpless grin as he surrendered to Chase’s commands.
