And stop making his friends feel like they had to babysit a full adult.
When I’d gone to UT, he’d been less of a menace for four years. I’d dated whoever I wanted without any sort of oversightand it’d been great. It’d been normal. Then, Kevin moved from Whynot to Austin, and we started hooking up. Then we started dating. Then he suddenly wanted me to quit being an artist, settle down, have his children, and become his trophy trad-wife stay-at-home mom. We started fighting, and those fights spun out of control.
When Dallas and Austin found out what Kevin had been saying and doing to me, they drove across Texas and showed up at my apartment. When they saw the bruises on my arms that he gave me during our breakup, Austin damn near put Kevin in the hospital.
My entire apartment was packed in a few hours. Austin paid for movers to drive my stuff all the way to Whynot and never said anything else—just that I was coming home.
The phone call about Dad happened on our drive back.
I’d blocked out those few hours. Everything was a blur.
My therapist said that trauma did that sometimes, and then would try to prod me about it. It was like pressing a thumb into a partially healed scab and asking if it hurt. It always hurt.
To top it all off, ever since the situation with Kevin, Austin and Dallas had been cockblocking me like two cowboy nuns.
“If I wasn’t annoying you or scaring guys off, I wouldn’t be doing my job.” Austin looked directly at Levi. “I gotta protect you from jerks and guys just passing through town.”
The message was loud and fucking clear, but Levi didn’t seem affected. If anything, he just smiled a little broader. “Don’t tell me you’re still trying to keep your sister from dating. She’s an adult, isn’t she?”
Austin narrowed his eyes, his body stiffening. “Yeah,and?”
“I’m just saying.”
“Well,I’mjust saying my sister isn’t up for dating anyone. She’s got enough on her plate. She’s busy being a strong, independent woman.”
Jesus fucking Christ. Surely that wasn’t where he was going to go with this.
“A strong independent woman can make her own dating decisions,” Levi countered.
“Or, a strong independent woman has brothers to beat the shit out of anyone who bothers her.”
Oh my god.“Hi, hello. You both sound stupid and I’m standing right here?” I argued. Was this really happening? Austin wasn’t usually so blunt out of the gate. I thought after not seeing each other for so long, this would be the last conversation to come up.
Mateo cleared his throat. “This is getting a little out of hand. You’re overstepping, Austin.”
Austin ignored him. I met Mateo’s gaze again as Levi and Austin had a dick measuring contest right out here in the open on Main Street.
Levi crossed his arms. His muscles popped, the sunlight lapping at them the way I briefly imagined—before scolding myself. He was a wall of beard and muscles and had no right to be hotter in real life than he was on TV.
Had I spent the last forty-eight hours scrolling video compilations ofLevi Rayburn’s Hottest Moments? Possibly.
“I’m just saying it seems like Avery can hold her own,” Levi said casually.
My heart did that stupid little somersault again. I liked that he was standing up for me, even if it meant nothing but trouble.
Mateo cleared his throat. “Maybe we should go get some lunch? Or go get a coffee? A beer even?”
Austin released me and crossed his arms, going boot to boot with the hot hockey player. “You show up in my town after how many years, and our first conversation is about my sister’s dating life?”
“Once again,” I said loudly. “I am standing right fucking here. My dating life is no one’s business. I can date who I want.”
“When you come walking up like a fucking bodyguard, I sure do,” Levi growled.
“From my point of view, it looked like you were holding her hand.”
“Well, I was, dipshit. Because we wereshakinghands,” Levi said. “Apologizing for our interaction yesterday. Got off on the wrong foot, you see.”
“Seems like you haven’t changed in that regard.”
