I panic a little. “Do you want me to hide in the bathroom or something?”
Phoenix’s head whips toward me, and I think maybe he’s consideringit, but then he chuckles. “No, you’re not hiding in the bathroom, McNamara. It will be fine. We’ll just?—”
“Well, well, well. I guess we know what our brother does on his mysterious Tuesday night rendezvous,” a deep voice that sounds remarkably like Phoenix’s says.
I glance up to see two impossibly handsome men standing beside our table with their trays of food. Seriously, what kind of prenatal vitamins did their mother take while pregnant because all three of her sons are off-the-charts hot. Remington’s brown eyes and Helix’s blue ones ping pong between me and Phoenix, and they’re both wearing amused grins like they just won the lottery. I foresee some brotherly teasing in the near future.
“Oh, hey, guys,” Phoenix says with false cheeriness. “Jordie and I were just…” He flails a hand around uncomfortably, unable to come up with a valid excuse as to why we’re together.
“On a date?” Remington purrs, his grin widening to show perfect white teeth.
“No,” his brother snaps. “We, uh…”
Deciding to save him, I speak up. “Phoenix and I ended up at the gym together in Philly, and we found we work well together. So now we meet up once a week to work out. We’re not on a date.”
Helix’s eyes narrow on me. This dude misses nothing, which makes sense since Phoenix told me his twin is basically a genius. “Don’t you have a personal trainer through the team? Why would you want to work out with Phoenix?”
Shit. He’s right. Why the hell would I be working out with the marketing director of a company I have an endorsement deal with? It doesn’t make sense. But I run with my story.
“I do. And a nutritionist,” I reply brightly. Probably a little too brightly, so I tone it down. “And since I have access to those people, I offered to share that knowledge with Phoenix. So that’s why we’re eating a high protein meal with lots of vegetables after our workout.”
I’m a horrible liar, but dance classes can be considered a workout, right? And we have discussed my fairly strict diet a couple times.
Remington’s grin widens, crinkling his eyes at the corners. “Riiiiightbecause poor little Phoenix is destitute and could never afford his own personal trainer.”
Helix picks up the gauntlet. “Since this isn’t a date, I guess y’all wouldn’t mind if we joined you?”
He starts to set down his tray at the empty spot to my right, but Phoenix quickly stands and moves his own bowl to the space beside me, gesturing for his brothers to sit on the opposite side of the table. My “workout partner” and apparent “nutrition protégé” takes the seat beside me, widening his legs to press his knee against mine in a secret communication of… something. Gratitude? Apology?
I’m not sure, but I can’t say I hate the possessiveness of him wanting to sit beside me.
After the brothers have unloaded their trays, they sit across from us, still smiling wickedly. “Please,” Remington says, “don’t let us interrupt yournutrition lesson.”
“We were done discussing it,” Phoenix grumbles. “By the way, this is Jordie McNamara. Jordie, this is prickface number one, Remington Hale. And you’ve already met prickface number two.” He indicates his brothers one by one.
“Nice to meet you, prickface number one,” I say, extending my hand across the table.
Remington shakes it with a chuckle. “Nice to meet you, Jordie. And you can call me Remi. I was at the Orlando game last week. You are so talented.”
“Thank you. We’re having a good season so far, but there’s still a long way to go.”
“We watched the New Orleans game on TV,” Helix says. “Did you have a chance to explore much of the city?”
I laugh. “Since our game was on Sunday, we had a curfew Saturday night. A bunch of us went out for seafood, but we avoided Bourbon Street at the insistence of our coaches.”
“Probably wise,” Helix remarks with a smile. “It can get crazy down there, and it’s not exactly conducive to getting a good night’s sleep. Where are you playing this weekend?”
“Chicago,” Phoenix answers before I can, and his brothers share asmug look. He rushes to add, “I looked it up because Reecie loves watching the games.”
“Ah, yes.Reecielikes to watch,” Remi says with a knowing smirk.
Good grief. They are definitely suspicious.
“Did you see Reece earlier?” Phoenix asks, deftly changing the subject. “Since you’re staying at Mom’s house while you’re in town?”
“For a few minutes. She and Mom left to go shopping right after I got there.” He picks up his fork, and we all do the same. My food isn’t hot anymore, but it still tastes okay.
Helix chews and swallows a bite of chicken before asking his twin, “How’s the kitten, Phoenix?”
