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Reid hums, and I wish I could read his mind. “And you don’t think that’s the definition of having feelings for someone?”
“I think it’s the definition of a friend,” I counter firmly. “Because that’s all we could ever allow it to be.”
“Fine.” Reid pulls out a pair of bookends from another bag. “But there aren’t any rules about having fun, right? That’s not off-limits?”
“What does that mean?”
“Fun,” Maverick says. “It’s something you do with your friends who you definitely don’t have a crush on. And, in this case, maybe you flirt a little, too.”
“Daddy!” June calls out, interrupting us as she runs into the living room.
“Hey, June Bug.” I lift her up and bounce her on my knee. “What are you up to?”
She hands me a stack of friendship bracelets. The beaded jewelry matches the one she gave me last week as a good luck gift before my game, and my smile stretches wider. “For Mae Mae.”
“Wow.” I turn the bracelets over and see MEA MEA on the other side. “These are so cool.”
“Will she like them?” June asks.
“Nope. She’s going tolovethem,” I say. “You can give them to her soon. Remember how I told you she’s going to take the extra room next to yours?”
“Like a sleepover with Aunt January.”
“Exactly like when Aunt January comes to visit.” I hug her, happy she remembers when my sister stayed with us. “Uncle Mav and Uncle Reid are trying to help me pick out candles for her room. Which do you like?”
Reid hands the options over, and I bring them to June’s nose. She makes a face at the first one, and all three of us burst out laughing. She shrugs at the second one, indifferent, and I agree. It smells like wet laundry. The third makes her grin, and she bobs her head up and down.
“Flowers,” she says. “That one.”
“Should we have gotten flowers?” I ask, and I toss the candle back to Reid.
“I mean, everyone likes flowers but?—”
There’s a knock on the door.
“She’s here,” Maverick says, and my hearts leaps up to my throat.
I jump off the couch and set June down. I check the mirror hanging on the wall and run my hand through my hair, hoping I don’t look as disheveled as I feel.
I’ve never lived with a woman, and I’m out of my element.
Maven and I are going to be around each other constantly; in the morning before I leave for practice then again at night. On Sundays at the stadium and then after when we drive home together.
Home.
It feels oddly intimate. Like something I wouldn’t want to do with any other person in the world.
Before I can register what the hell that means, there’s another knock.
Reid and Maverick stare at me. June skips over to the foyer and stands on her tiptoes, trying to open the door. I shuffle forward and follow behind her, rolling my shoulders back and telling myself this is no big deal.That it’s okay we’re keeping our living arrangement a secret. That everything is going to work out perfectly.
Famous fucking last words.
I open the door and the wind gets knocked out of me.
Maven’s standing there in a navy-blue dress with thin straps that show off the curve of her shoulders and the tan of her skin. Her hair is pulled back into a high ponytail that lets me see the length of her neck and collarbones that have no right to be as attractive as they are.
She tilts her head and smiles at me with warmth behind her eyes. I feel it in my chest when she looks at me. It’s like a spark is catching and turning into a raging wildfire I can’t control.
