“I know my youngest son like the back of my hand. The way he kept glancing up at us, which he never does during a game, was the first clue. And I know the look of infatuation.” Evelyn gave me a knowing smile, the kind that told me nothing got by her.
I flushed under her gaze. And here I thought she was focused on the game the entire time.
Before I could figure out how to respond to that, she nodded toward the living room where the sound of laughter drifted in.
“And don’t mind them,” she added, lowering her voice slightly. “His brothers will find any excuse to tease him.”
I glanced over just in time to hear someone accuse Trevor of cheating at something.
“But,” Evelyn continued, “they’re also fiercely protective of him, especially Landon. Don’t take his hard exterior to heart.”
That explained the looks he gave me during the game earlier.
“If they give you a hard time, it just means they’ve decided you’re worth keeping around.”
24
EMMIE
“So, Emmie,” Wyatt said, leaning across the table to grab a slice of garlic bread to go with our dinner of spaghetti. “Josie said you’re a figure skater?”
I covered my mouth with my hand as I quickly swallowed my bite. “I am.”
“Figure skater?” Wrenley asked beside me, confused at the words. For some reason, when we all sat down to eat, Wrenley decided her seat was next to me. She proceeded to talk my ear off after that. I didn’t understand half of it, but I nodded along and gasped when it felt needed.
“Well, I wear ice skates, kind of like your dad, cute dresses, and skate across the ice to music.” I explained it the best I could to a four-year-old. The way Wrenley stared up at me, blue eyes wide and in awe, made me feel like something I just said clicked within her. Kind of like the first time I saw a girl skating on the rink and knew I wanted to do exactly that.
“Are you a professional?” Landon asked down the table, sounding curious.
“I’m a decent skater. I—” I started to say when a hand covered my mouth.
“Don’t let her fool you. She’s incredible,” Mateo said, unfazed at the glare I sent his way. “She’s a two-time Olympian and has won four medals.” I nipped at his hand in retaliation.
“What?!” Across from me, Tasha stared with awe. “You have Olympic medals?”
Mateo dropped his hand from my mouth so I could answer. I jammed my elbow into his arm as I turned to Tasha.
“I do.”
“Gold medals?” Mila asked, an edge of excitement in her voice.
“Well, I have two silver and two bronze.” I glanced down at my fork, twirling it in the noodles. “I’m hoping to compete again and win gold—hopefully.”
“Wow, you’re way more impressive than anyone else at this table,” Josie stated. An onslaught of responses came from the guys. Each one more offended than the last.
“Excuse me!”
“That was uncalled for!”
“We’ve wonfourCup Championships. Do you know how hard that is?” Wyatt told his wife.
“It’s impressive, babe, but an Olympic medal tops that every day of the week.” Josie patted his arm.
“Yeah, do you know how hard it is to make it to the Olympics?” Tasha asked. “It’s every FOUR years, so you have to be at the top of your game foryearsand then beat out every athlete in the world in your sport. It’s insane.”
“Since when have you been so invested in the Olympics?” Trevor asked.
“Since it's coming up, and I’ve been seeing a lot of stuff on social media about it,” Tasha huffed, crossing her arms.
