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“Hey,” Andi calls after me. “Are you leaving? You just got here.”
“Unlike your husband, Nolan has women to sleep with, Andi. See, some people make the rational decision to keep sex on the menu. Irrational people, like Jesse, willingly take down an excitingly large menu all the way to one option.” He pauses, then laughs his next word. “Marriage. Kind of a silly concept, honestly.”
I half turn, watching the exchange, mostly because I’m wondering if Jesse is about to chew Carter’s head off. He’s protective as hell of Andi.
“Careful,” he says, voice low.
Carter laughs. He’s enjoying this, even though he should probably know better. Teammates or not, Jesse’s temper on this topic has become legendary already. “Careful? That’s the beauty of it. I don’t have to be. No woman behind me keeping me pussy-whipped. I can be as devil-may-care as I want, bro.”
Jesse gives Andi a serious look. “Can I hurt him?”
She smirks. “You may not hurt Carter. He’s harmless.”
“That’s not what Jesse’s sister said.”
Caroline arches an eyebrow. “Jesse’s sister is sitting right here. And you should be careful, because Jesse’s sister isn’t as nice as Andi. I’ll happily give him permission to hurt you.”
Jesse and Carter lock eyes for a few seconds. Carter finally laughs, breaking the tension. “I’m kidding.” Carter says. “No need to get your golden thong in a twist.”
Caroline bursts out laughing. “I still can’t believe you guys wear that for luck.”
“It works,” Maddox says. “I charted our win percentage with and without the golden thongs. Ever since Andi got each of us one for Christmas, we’re clearly up.”
“Yeah,” Caroline snorts. “I bet you’re all ‘up’ when you slip those things on in the locker room together.”
“I just like to get Jesse riled up from time to time. I know your wifey likes seeing you get all hot and bothered on her behalf. You can thank me later for the opportunity, Jesse.”
Andi pretends to swoon, fanning herself to cool off as she smiles up at Jesse. He grins.
Caroline notices me leaving and hops off her chair, jogging to catch up with me. “Hey, Nolan, wait up.”
I pause outside the front door, hands in my pockets. She comes out and looks up at me. “I wanted to ask you about Mia’s interview. She was heading to Taste when I saw her last. I figured it is probably over by now. Do you know how it went?”
“No idea,” I say.
She eyes me, and I realize she’s pissed. “You’re screwing everything up. You do realize that, right?”
Another lecture? I honestly don’t have the patience for this. “Alright. Noted,” I say as I start toward my car. I should’ve just gone to the cabin and risked running into Mia at this rate.
I hear Caroline following after me. “Mia is such a good person. I don’t get why you’re like this toward her.”
I finally stop with my hand on the door handle. I stare at my reflection in the frosty window of the car. There’s plenty I want to say to her. Instead, I just shake my head. “I don’t owe anything to anyone.”
“Spoken like a real great guy and amazing teammate,” Caroline bites back.
I yank the door open, sit down, and back out without looking at her again.
Has everybody in my life lost their damn minds? Or am I the crazy one?
I wish I knew I had a peaceful bed to go back to and lay down in. Instead, I know I’m walking into another battle, because Mia is probably going to be at the cabin by now. She’s going to be there, and I’m still going to be fucking stewing from seeing the way she was looking at Zander and the way he was looking at her.
This should be fun.
7
MIA
I’m humming as I cook. I decided to make something simple but delicious tonight. Ever since I became more confident in the kitchen, I’ve found the recipes I choose are heavily influenced by my mood. When I want to challenge myself or I feel low, I tend to seek out complex, technical recipes. When I’m happy and at my best, I just want something I can cook with my hair back, a smile on my face, and no fuss.
