His mom’s eyes are shining. “Oh my gosh, she’s adorable!”
“Wait until you see her—”
“Hey, guys. Is it me, or do you guys smell burning?”
The Cardinals’ coach is blocking my view, but I know who just walked through the door. It’s written all over Donovan’s face.
I don’t think he realizes, but he just took a step closer to me, and his breathing is faster now, heavy. His game face is solid, though—if I didn’t know exactly what’s at stake here, I might not even notice anything’s wrong.Shit just got real.His fingers brush my wrist, and without thinking, I caress his palm with my thumb. He lowers his eyes and slips his hand in mine. I feel tiny by comparison, and it’s such a small, simple thing—but he’s never held my hand before.
Just like that, all my worries evaporate. Suddenly, I’m right where I’m supposed to be—my hand folded into the warmth of Don’s palm. It all feels so incredibly right, and he wasn’t lying—he needs me here, no question.
I drag my eyes away from him and take a deep breath in.
Ellen makes for the kitchen. “Amelia, go say hi to Carrie!”
I had pieced together a picture of Don’s sister based on everything he told me. I was imagining some delicate little flower, but the girl standing in front of me is anything but. She’s got the same brown eyes as Don, I notice, as I catch her lingering over our hands, her gaze trailing up to meet mine. I attempt a smile. And get nothing back.Nice to meet you, too…
“Hey,” she says.
“Hey.”
And that’s it.
She doesn’t so much as look Don’s way, and when she turns on her heel and sashays over to the staircase, her handbag swinging as she goes, pure, unbridled rage bubbles up inside me, for some reason.I’m not trying to minimize everything that happened to her all those years ago—but it’s not like her brother is directly to blame, is it?NowI get why Donovan asked me to come and support him tonight. I had no idea things were this bad.
Eric ducks out the room, and I tug my hand free, turning to face Don, standing on the tips of my toes to rub his shoulders.
“Just breathe, okay? Let’s go set the table.” I smile uneasily. “Did you plan to have balloons?”
“Who are you, and what did you do with the grinch I brought here?”
“Let’s just say I finally get it.”
“Told you.” He sighs. “She really fucking hates me.”
“It’ll be okay. Just wait till she sees how hard you’re trying to change.” I elbow him. “I couldn’t stand you at first—and look at us now!”
“Talk about a backhanded compliment!”
“You’re the big brother here, right? So, stop freaking out. Go show her you’re not backing down,” I insist. “I mean, you’re supposed to be the Cardinals captain—but you’re acting like a scared little kid. You know better.”
I keep the tone light. I need him to know I’m just trying to get him psyched.
“Who’s a big boy, then?” I croon, pinching his cheek.
“You’ve lost it,” he jokes, his eyes crinkling.Good.
He clasps my wrist between his hands but doesn’t push me away. And I don’t step back.
When he looks that sheepish, I want to comfort him—wrap my arms around him, feel his arms around me, let him undress me and—
Stop it!
“So—how about those plates?”
I wrestle free, keeping my eyes lowered, doing my best to be unreadable. There’s no way I’m letting him see just how much he’s getting to me, especially since he told me about this new girl he’s got hiseye on. Is this the one they were talking about the other night at the Java? The new potential Campus Driver? Okay, so picturing him with some other girl is messing with me a little, but I still want him to go ahead and get himself a girlfriend—right?
Wrong. And that’s a problem.
