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Aw, hell, I can win this.
I am not ever sleeping with Arden’s sister.
And because I plan to be victorious, I up the ante. “Okay, agreed. And if you lose, then I get your Escalade.”
He nods thoughtfully before proclaiming with a level of self-confidence that’s downright worrisome, “You’ve got yourself a deal, my friend.”
We shake on it, before we hop into the two vehicles now in play and up for grabs.
Hands on the steering wheel, but before I put the Rover into Reverse, a feeling of dread washes over me.
What if I lose?
Shit.
I let out a snort.
No, I’m not worried. I know I’ll win. Not only do I have impeccable self-control, but there’s no way I’m giving up my prized Range Rover.
Yeah, I got this.
Ellie
Willow arrives home from work before Arden gets back from his afternoon practice. The guys are leaving for a three-game road stint tomorrow, so my brother and I agreed that it’d be best for me to move into Nils’s house before they head out.
I’m pumped to get over there, but I’m also a little sad that I won’t have more time to hang out with Willow. She’s so nice, and we get along just as well in person as we did over the phone.
To my surprise and delight, since I’m starving, she brought home delicious—and huge—grilled chicken salads.
There’s one for Arden for when he gets home, but she and I just couldn’t wait to dig in.
We’re seated in the kitchen now, chowing down.
“How’s this going to work tonight?” she asks. “Are you going to follow Arden over to Nils’s house?”
“Yeah,” I reply as I spear a lettuce leaf along with a piece of chicken. “Originally, I was just going to put Nils’s address in the GPS and drive over myself, but Arden wants to make official introductions and all that.” Raising the fork to my mouth, I laugh. “You know how he is.”
Nodding, her strawberry blonde curls bouncing, she says, “Oh, I know. That sounds very Arden-like.” She takes a small bite of her salad, and once she swallows, she sets her fork down. Sighing, she goes on, “I wish I could go with you guys, but we’re really backed up with our end-of-third-quarter reports. Much as I don’t want to, I’m going to have to stay here at the house and do some work on the computer.”
Willow is an accountant for the Thunder organization, and at this time of the year, with the season starting and the financial third quarter ending, work has been really hectic for her.
“Aw, I understand,” I reply, waving my fork. “But once things settle down, we’ll have to do something just the two of us.”
“For sure,” she agrees. “I bet we can find some kind of trouble to get into.”
I laugh, as she’s probably right.
That makes me even more certain that not living here at their house is definitely the right call. Not only do I now get to stay with Nils—yes!—where I can work on my secret plan to seduce him, but also, if I were living here, I’d definitely want to hang out with Willow a lot.
I doubt Arden would love that. Sure, he’d be cool about it at first, but it just wouldn’t be good long term. Like I told him from the start, he and Willow need time alone to fully bond and grow as a couple.
I truly believe that.
And I want them to work.
Having Willow as my sister-in-law someday would be amazing. I hope Arden marries her.
Yeesh, now that I don’t have school and work to occupy my mind, it seems thoughts of romance are filling in the gaps.
