“I’m so sorry! My sister’s just excited for a game tonight,” I told the rest of the café.
Molly climbed off her chair and rushed behind the counter to Nathan, wrapping her arms around his legs. “It’s okay if you want to be Brenna’s boyfriend.”
Unfortunately, her whisper was loud enough for Bertram to hear. He raised an eyebrow, his mouth open to, no doubt, say something inappropriate for seven-year-old ears.
I jumped in. “Thank you for the tickets, Bertram.”
“It isn’t a gift,” he grumbled. “The kid won them off us in our last poker game.”
“Maybe that will teach you not to gamble.”
He pointed at me and busted out another laugh. “Good one, missy. The day I stop gambling will be my last day on this earth.”
Tears pooled in Molly’s eyes as she returned to her seat.
“I take it you’re a Wolves fan.” Bertram made another attempt at conversation with her.
Molly’s glare screamedduh.
“All right, kiddo. Let’s see how well you know the team.”
She inhaled the last piece of her cinnamon roll before shifting to face him. I rolled my eyes at the two of them before retreating to the other end of the counter to take a customer’s order. In the background, I tracked their conversation.
“Who’s the captain?”
“Easy,” Molly answered. “Matt Harris.”
“Highest goal scorer?”
“Alexei Volkov.” Molly stuck out her tongue in triumph.
“How about the youngest player on the team?”
“Zach Briggs.”
I tuned them out when Nathan’s hands found my hips. “Did you hear I got approval to be your boyfriend?” He rested his chin on my shoulder. “Someone told me you wondered if we are in a relationship.”
I elbowed him in the chest. He stumbled before returning to the same position.
“That’s not how the conversation went at all,” I countered.
“No?” He pressed a quick kiss to my neck. “So you aren’t wondering if I’m your boyfriend?”
I shook my head. “You’re the worst.”
“That’s not what you said last night,” he whispered into my hair. His hands tightened on my hips, as if the memory brought the same flood of lust to him as it did to me. “I want to be in a relationship with you, Brenna.”
My breath caught. I wanted a relationship with Nathan Sharpe, badly and against all logic and reason. Regardless of our circumstances, not one part of me wanted to hesitate or think about this for longer than a millisecond.
I shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “Okay, sure. Why not?”
“You’ll pay for that later, Quinn,” Nathan said directly in my ear.
I couldn’t wait.
40
BRENNA
