“Shut up. Shut up now!” Then Gia glanced back at me, guilt in her expression. “Connor, I can explain.”
Explain what? That I’d hurt her, and she’d talked to her sister about it? That her brothers were sticking up for her, as every brother should? I was struggling with how to respond when Gia released a heavy sigh.
“Will you please talk to me? In private?” she asked.
What else could I say? I was the one who’d hurt her. I’d happily give her whatever she needed now.
“Sure,” I said. And then we headed for the locker room.
Chapter Fourteen
Gia
There were people in the locker room, other foster care kids I’d grown up with who’d made good. I introduced them to Connor, but all the while, my mind was screaming that I was losing him. That he hated publicity events and if I didn’t get him out of there soon, I’d lose whatever small chance we still had. This wasn’t really a publicity event, and I sure as hell didn’t know why I so desperately wanted him around, but I did. I’d never thought of my emotions as especially logical. Besides, the secret I shared with Cassie was killing me, and the man was denser than a brick in picking up my hints. Cassie had sworn to me that she’d tell her brother about what was going on, but the two were alike in their ability to keep their mouths shut about anything important.
Smiling warmly at my friends, I made a quick excuse and dragged Connor toward my office, but then I heard voices down the hallway. Hell, my family was everywhere. How ridiculous was it that in a place the size of the ballpark, I couldn’t find a room to have a private word.
Then I spotted the sauna and dragged him in there.
Thankfully it wasn’t on, and the cedar wood smelled good. It was almost enough to cover the scent of male sweat. But honestly, I liked that, too, especially when I nuzzled Connor. Only that wasn’t going to happen, because we’d broken up. Or we would have if we’d ever really been together.
Ugh. My brain was working overtime, and it really needed to stop. “Look, I’m sorry about Bailey. She gets overprotective.”
Connor leaned back against the door, his expression inscrutable. Of course. “It’s a brother’s job to protect his sister. Your brothers—”
“Were being Neanderthals, but this has Bailey all over it.” I swallowed. God, this part was hard to confess, but I’d resolved to watch my words more closely. To be more honest about everything because Connor had that part right. There wasn’t enough honesty in the world, and so I needed to walk a straighter line. “I know I was supposed to keep everything between us private, but she and I share a bedroom. Plus she’s scary smart and determined—”
“Sounds like her sister.”
I had to choke off my words for a second to process his. Had he just given me a compliment? “Anyway, she got me to talk. About, you know, what you said. And now she’s pissed.”
“With good reason.”
There was another short silence as I tried to figure out his words. And then I took a breath to quell the surge of hope inside me. Had he just admitted that he’d been an ass? Maybe, but first things first.
“I didn’t mean to tell her any big secrets.”
He frowned at me. “Did you tell her about Cassie? Or Sophia?”
I shook my head. “I mean, she knows that they’re your sisters, but none of the details.”
He pushed off the door. “Then we’re good.”
“We are?”
He lifted his hands in a helpless gesture. “Look, do I like that my romantic business could end up on the internet? No—”
“She’d never!”
“But that’s not the secret I’m worried about. Does it bother me that you were upset? Yes. But I’m happy that you have a sister and two very large brothers who will stick up for you.”
Yeah. I was, too. “So you’re not upset about Bailey?”
“No.”
“Then…we’re good?”
He didn’t answer at first. And when I looked into his eyes, his expression hurt enough to make me want to weep. He looked like a little boy outside in the snow, his face pressed up against a window. There was loneliness there and a desperate need. Seeing his pain twisted up my insides like nothing else. “I want you.”
