“…And then Logan showed me the weight room, and I totally didn’t realize how late it had gotten. But it was awesome. He’s super cool, and he wants to take us out to dinner.”
Reed’s excited words echo through the hall as I turn the corner and see them together. I don’t know how I didn’t make the connection the first time I saw the kid. He looks nothing like the dark-haired woman at family night. He and Blair are practically dead wringers for each other. Sure, Reed’s hair is a lighter shade of brown, and his curls are a little looser, but their features are so similar. I should have seen it right away.
Blair’s pretty, umber eyes meet mine. Her eyebrows rise as Reed tells her about what seemed like a good idea before, but now I wish I had kept my damned mouth shut. Because dinner with Reed and Blair? It will either be the best thing that’s happened to me all week, or it’ll kick off World War III.
“Oh, he does, does he?”
Clearing my throat to dislodge the huge lump stuck there, I smile at the woman who’s been taking up way too much of my headspace lately. And that was before I knew she was the kind of woman who would take care of her brother all by herself, who’s so used to doing it alone that she doesn’t know how to accept help, who clearly does such a good job at making her brother feel safe and loved that he’d sing her praises.
I’m so fucked.
“Hey, Blair.” I ignore my racing heart and rub the back of my neck. “Uh, yeah. I’d love to take you two out for some dinner if you don’t have plans. You’d be doing me a favor because I don’treally have any groceries at home, and I hate going out to eat alone. Plus, Reed trained pretty hard, so he’s probably going to eat you out of house and home, which is my fault. The least I can do is feed him. And you.”
I’m rambling, which is much more like the awkward boy I was at Reed’s age, before girls decided they liked me, than the way I normally behave with women now. But damn, if this woman doesn’t destroy my equilibrium at every turn.
“I don’t know,” she says, letting her words trail off. She sucks her bottom lip between her teeth and worries at it.
“Oh, come on, Blair-Bear. I know you’re tired of cooking, and like Logan said, we’d be doing him a favor.” Reed levels his sister with such exaggerated puppy-dog eyes that I have to clamp my lips together so I don’t laugh.
I join in, mimicking his expression. “You really would.”
Blair sighs, lifting her gaze to the ceiling as if asking for divine help. “You’re both ridiculous.” Her lashes flutter as she closes her eyes for a moment, then she deflates a little. “Fine. We can go to dinner. We wouldn’t want Logan to be all by his lonesome.”
Her tone holds some of that annoyed snark I’m coming to love, and satisfaction spreads like warmth throughout my whole body.
“Great. I’ll drive. We can come back for your car after.”
Reed claps his hands. Blair pinches the bridge of her nose.
“I’m going to regret this,” she mumbles to herself.
There’s a very good chance I’ll end up regretting this, too, but I suspect for a very different reason than Blair.
nineteen
BLAIR
How in thehell did I get myself roped into this?
I’m sitting in the front seat of Logan’s very nice SUV, trying not to be jealous of the heated seats, while Reed chatters away in the back. Luckily, he and Logan have kept the conversation going while we drive to some hole-in-the-wall place Logan swears is a hidden gem. Apparently, they have the best pho anywhere in the Twin Cities. Considering how much I love pho, we’ll see if his choice lives up to the hype.
“Here we are.” He pulls into a small parking lot and clears his throat before throwing me a quick glance.
The building is nondescript. The red brick exterior is nothing special; they covered the windows with that reflective stuff that makes them look like mirrors, and the neon sign at the roofline simply readsNoodles. I definitely would have driven right past this place.
“Dude, I’m so hungry,” my brother says, climbing out of the car excitedly.
I can’t help it. I grin. Because it’s been so long since I’ve seen Reed genuinely excited or act like the teenage boy he is. And I can’t believe I have Logan freaking Byrne to thank for it.
“Blair?” The aforementioned hockey player’s voice is uncertain. “Is this okay?”
I need to get out of my head. The last person I want to see me all vulnerable and soft is the man who’s convinced I’m some kind of gold digger or spy or… Well, I don’t really know what he thinks I am. So I paste a smile on my face, ignore the strange wobbly feeling that’s throwing off my equilibrium, and turn to him.
“Yeah, this is great. Thanks for bringing us. I haven’t seen Reed this excited about dinner in, well, ever.”
Logan chuckles, and damn him, but the sound is pure sex. It rolls through my body, lighting me up as I recall the way he made me feel. “I think all teenage boys get excited about food. Especially athletes. He probably eats you out of house and home.”
“He can,” I agree as we both climb out of the SUV. “I cook enough for four people most nights, and sometimes that’s not even enough.”
