Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 114951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 575(@200wpm)___ 460(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 575(@200wpm)___ 460(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
“Brat,” I shot back.
And then he gave me another squeeze, his adoration for me palpable. “Missed you.”
“Missed you more.”
It was the wildest thing, to look at the man Georgie had become. I still remembered the tiny baby sleeping in a crib in my bedroom. I remembered the frightened little boy who came under my guardianship. I remembered the awkward teenager trying to figure it all out.
And I saw so much in him.
I saw my mother, her bright blue eyes and wide smile. But I also saw Jay, his impressive height and shocking dark hair. I saw years of fear and terror, a child just trying to survive. And I saw the man who emerged, who went easy on me as I stepped in to care for him, who became the best man despite the horrible one who’d spawned him.
If anything was missing from tonight, it was him — and now that he was here, my heart felt whole.
“Nathan,” Georgie said next, still beaming as he went in for a hug.
I didn’t miss how stiff Nathan was when he returned the gesture. His eyes were hard on mine, an unspoken promise that we weren’t done talking yet.
“Great to see you, kid,” Nathan said when he pulled back, framing Georgie’s arms and smiling with pride. “Or should I say Doctor?”
“Not yet,” Georgie said, smiling, but I swore he looked uncomfortable. He shoved his hands in his pockets, his smile becoming a closed-lip one as he looked from Nathan to me and back. “What do you say, sis? Forty years old… does that mean you can’t hang and take a shot with your little brother at the bar?”
“Oh, she definitely won’t be taking any shots tonight,” Nathan answered for me. “There are a lot of important—”
“Please,” I cut in, looping my arm through Georgie’s without acknowledging Nathan. “I’ll take two shots, and I won’t grimace like a little baby the way you always do.”
“It was a pickle back!” he defended.
I laughed, and then we were floating away, and Georgie waved at Nathan over his shoulder, promising to bring me back.
When we were far enough away, he covered my hand where it was holding his arm, arching a brow at me. “Trouble in paradise?”
“You and I both know damned well it’s far from paradise.”
That made Georgie stop. He pulled me to face him, concern etched between his brows. “I don’t know, actually. I’ve always suspected, but you made it seem like…”
“I know,” I said, unable to look at him. “I know. I pretended things were fine. I downplayed it.”
“Is it bad?”
My stomach knotted. “It’s not good.” I finally looked up at him again, a small smile on my lips. “But it’s ending. Tonight.”
“Tonight?” He looked at where Nathan was locked in conversation across the room now before his gaze found me again. “I don’t think he is quite on the same page as you are.”
“He will be,” I promised, and then I tapped his hand and pulled him toward the bar. “But enough for now. My little brother is in town and we’re doing a shot.”
“My choice.”
“As if! It’s my birthday.”
“Fine, but only because I’m always considerate of my seniors.”
I pinched his ribcage, leading him to the bar, where I didn’t actually take a shot because I wanted to keep my wits about me. I did, however, slide the bartender a twenty and ask him to pour me a water shot so I could still show up my little brother.
And when we slammed the glasses down, Georgie wincing and shaking his head as he called me an animal, I laughed.
Right as my eyes collided with Shane’s.
He was at the other end of the long bar, wrapped in a semi-circle with some of the other coaches.
His full attention was on me.
It was the first time my heart stuttered all night, and it had nothing to do with fear. It was the way he watched me. Like he’d been tracking me through the crowd. Like he knew every inch of me and was aching to touch it again. Like restraint was a physical thing binding him in place.
Like he loved me.
And I knew he did.
Butterflies sprung to life inside my stomach, making the smile that bloomed on my face impossible to fight. Shane was dressed to kill in a tailored beige suit with crisp lines that hugged his broad shoulders, the jacket sitting open just enough to hint at strength beneath it. His hair was styled with casual precision, stubble edged sharp along his jaw, his blue eyes dark with intent as they cut through the crowd and stayed fixed on me.
I felt the blush on my cheeks before my brother clocked it.
Georgie narrowed his gaze at me, then looked over his shoulder, and when he turned back to me, it was with his tongue in his cheek and a little pop of his brow.