When I step out of my car and stretch my arms overhead, taking a deep breath of the fresh air, I automatically feel my shoulders drop from my ears.
It’s stunning here. Trees on one side, lake on the other. There’s a hint of smoke from some faraway wildfires, but thankfully, the sky above me is clear.
I’m still taking it all in when the front door to the cabin opens and Darling steps out, crossing the ground quickly to come bymy side. “Yami, I gotta talk to you before you go inside,” he says and it sounds urgent, for some reason.
“What’s up, man?” I move to the back of my car to open the trunk and unload my bags.
“I didn’t know ’til we got here, brother.” He rakes his hand through his hair. “But apparently, Willow invited her last night. She’s here. Inside.” He’s not making much sense, rambling and stumbling over his words. Still, it doesn't take a fool to figure out exactly who he’s talking about.
“Isabelle’s here?” I hiss under my breath, my gaze darting around as if she’s magically going to appear.
Suddenly, my couple days of R&R just got a whole lot more complicated.
“Yeah. She came up with Sin and Willow.” Darling folds his arms across his chest. “How’re you gonna play this?”
I look at him and consider the question. The obvious answer is to play it the same way we do at home. Casual, old friends from college, nothing more. But the opportunity to be more than that — here, away from the city and everyone who could see us — that’s more than a little tempting.
“I dunno, I guess the same as always. Friends from college, that’s all we’ve ever been.”
Darling cocks his head to the side and looks at me, eyebrows raised. “You and I both know that’s not true. She was more than a friend back then, and I’m wonderin’ if she’s more now, too.” He’s a little too close to the truth with his prying, and fuck if I don't want to give in and admit it all to him right then and there.
“Yeah, well, we’re sticking to the friends story.” I busy myself lifting my bags out of my trunk.
“Hmm.”
But as we walk to the front door of the cabin, I can just barely hear him mutter under his breath, “I smell some bullshit.”
Pushing open the door to the cabin, I step inside and can already hear music playing, the voices of my teammates, and the women laughing and having a good time. Plastering a grin on my face, I follow the sounds to the kitchen, spreading my arms wide as I enter.
“Party’s here, guys and gals, let the fun begin!”
“Oh my God,” my sister mutters, while someone else snorts with amusement. I can see Sin roll his eyes, while Willow looks on, a smirk on her face.
“Well, that’s not exactly the welcome I was expecting, but I’ll forgive you all.” I carefully avoid looking in Isabelle’s direction, but I’m aware of her. Fuck, am I ever aware of her. Just being in the same room with her makes me wanna go straight over and wrap myself around her, but I resist.
Why do I resist? Not exactly sure. For fuck’s sake, Coach is nowhere near us, and I can trust my boys, can’t I?
Sin hands me a beer, the top already popped off, and then lifts his own so we can clink them together.
“Cheers to not being good enough for all-stars,” he says in a slightly sarcastic voice.
I take a swig of my beer before answering. “Hey, if we were at all-stars, we’d be sweating under the Texas sun. Instead, we get to be here.” I shrug. “I dunno, I think I’m okay missing it.”
“But isn’t all-stars like some big privilege?” Isabelle asks, and I’m forced to look her way.
I take my time, pretending to drink my beer, when in reality, I’m taking the opportunity to drink in the sight of her. Wearing short denim cutoffs that hug her thick thighs and a flowy tank top that shows a tantalizing peek at her cleavage.
“Well, yeah, it is. Everyone wants to play in the All-Star game at least once in their career, but with the roster being primarily made from fan votes, positions tend to go to whoever’s mostpopular. This year, the only guy who got called up from the Tridents was Maverick.”
“Everyone loves a bad boy,” Darling comments wryly.
“A couple guys from my old team out East made it,” Sin adds, taking a sip from his beer. “But in all honesty, I’m good not making the list this year. I need a break.”
“Same. I’d rather be here enjoyin’ some time off,” Darling says, pulling my sister into his side.
“Especially since last year was not exactly an easy break,” Evie adds, and she and I share a look.
“What happened last year?” Isabelle asks, looking from me to my sister.
