Blake tapped his beer mug against Rook’s. “Amen, brother.”
“Gotta admit, I’m glad to hear about the new woman. I was starting to worry you’d never put yourself back out there. Who is she?” Preston asked almost hopefully. He’d always been one of the nicest guys on the team, which was somewhat ironic, given the man’s take-no-prisoners style of play.
Victor stared at the table again. The wood grain blurred slightly as Belle’s face filled his mind—her joyful laugh, the way her eyes warmed when she looked at Pip, the way they darkened with arousal when she looked at him.
“Belle.”
His response was met with utter silence.
Tank recovered first. “Belle? As in…Pip’sBelle?”
Victor winced at the descriptor. “Yeah.”
“Pip’s nanny?” Rook asked, looking less shocked than the other guys and way more amused. Rook was the newest member of their group, so he was still learning their history. “The one you referred to as Mary Fucking Poppins?”
Victor scowled, pissed off by the nickname, even if he did come up with it. “She’s not Mary Poppins. She’s just—” Victor stopped short, blowing out a frustrated breath.
“She’s just…” Blake prompted, waving his hand, inviting Victor to say more.
He didn’t want to, so he just shrugged.
“So how long has Belle beenjust…” Tank mimicked Victor’s shrug in true smart-ass fashion.
“Almost a month.”
Tank’s smirk faded into instant annoyance. “A month?! And you’re just now telling us?”
“I don’t have to tell you fucking gossipy, nosy cunts everything about my life,” Victor snapped.
It spoke to the level of friendship he and his teammates had established that not a single one of them took offense at his insult. Probably because they knew he didn’t really mean it.
“You don’thaveto tell us everything,” Tank replied. “But you should want to.”
Victor shook his head, though the edge of his lips quirked at that. “Didn’t think it was anyone’s business.”
“Bullshit,” Blake said. “You fucking told us when you switched brands of protein powder.”
“And when you lost one of your fake teeth in Pip’s birthday bouncy castle, trying to do a somersault,” Preston added.
“And when you accidentally sprayed yourself with Viv’s pepper spray, trying to get that big-ass spider out of her pantry.”
“It was dark in that stupid closet, and I thought the stuff would kill the thing. Didn’t know the fucking nozzle was pointedthe wrong way,” Victor grumbled, suddenly regretting sharing so much with this bunch of yahoos.
“Regardless,” Tank said. “You told us all that. And this is way bigger.”
Victor raked his fingers through his hair. “Belle and I didn’t want to make it a thing.”
Blake laughed. “Jesus, Vic. Sleeping with Pip’s nanny? Trust me when I say, that’s a thing.”
Victor shot his buddy a dirty look but didn’t reply because what the hell could he say. As far as he was concerned, he and Belle weren’t justAthing.
They wereTHEthing.
“So did it fall apart or something? Because you know,” Tank waved his hand toward Victor, “that dead dog face has me concerned.”
“It didn’t fall apart. We just haven’t really talked about it.”
“Talked about what?” Rook asked, confused.
