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Cal stops chewing and swallows. “I knew it.”
“Ethan,” I snap, eyes wide and accusing. He’s not even a little bit remorseful. Nope. He’s smiling, the sexy turkey, is smiling proudly at me. My attention returns to Calvin. “It’s for medicinal purposes.”
Cal arches an eyebrow. “This is a bad idea. And that’s all I’m gonna say on the subject.” His attention swings back to Fancy. “Anything from Phil?”
Ethan’s eyes flicker to me, then back to Calvin. “You want to talk about this now?”
Calvin takes one look at me and gets the gist. “Her? She’s family.”
Three words, two if you go with the abbreviation, three words trigger a seismic event. He thinks I’m family. My eyes slam into Calvin’s. He’s dead serious, no sign of anything other than total honesty. This does not surprise me. Calvin’s way too arrogant to be anything other than honest.
Family. Maybe it’s been staring me in the face this whole time? Maybe family isn’t something you’re born into but rather something you create for yourself. I hear people saying all the time that you can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family. Maybe we should choose our family.
“Phil isn’t stupid. I’ll let him save his pride and drag it out only because we know, in the end, you’re getting everything you asked for.”
“And if he gets stupid?”
“It’s handled. Gladiators already have an offer in. They know you want to finish your career in New York.”
Their voices fade into the background of my thoughts. So much has changed in the last five months. I’ve made decisions, claimed a sister, found a lover and best friend, and now discovered family in the least likely of places. Am I ready to leave all this behind?
To Calvin’s left, I spot a woman vigorously waving at me from her seat at a table. Deep in conversation, the guys don’t notice me move away.
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. I’ve been texting you since you walked in the door,” my very pregnant best friend semi shouts.
“I don’t have a bag. I didn’t bring my phone.”
“I’m miserable.”
I want to laugh. I really do. But I can’t. She’s two weeks from her due date and hella irritable. “How’s the bun cooking?”
“He’s overcooked! His cute ass needs to vacate the premises.”
“But he loves it in there, Fiona,” I say, annoying her further by rubbing her gigantic belly. Seems only appropriate to call her Fiona when I keep insisting that she married a real life Shrek.
“Look at my feet.” She moves the tablecloth aside so I can check them out. Wut in the ever loving…I give myself major props for not gasping in horror at the size of her feet. “They’re ruined forever. They will never go back to being as cute as they once were.”
I can’t argue. “I don’t understand. Is that where the baby comes out?”
“Scary, right?”
“Why are you here? Why aren’t you at home with your feet up?” I inquire, my expression terrified.
“We had to make an appearance. You know, remind Phil that if he doesn’t make a decision soon he’ll be left with two third round rookies and a career back-up QB and that I will send a squad of hit men after him. Besides, between the baby and the stress of the contract I’m ready to murder my husband in his sleep.”
“Wow, this pregnancy has made you a little testy.”
“Hello ladies,” a familiar voice drawls from behind me. Justin kisses us both on the cheek and takes the chair next to me. “What’s up?”
“Camilla’s feet look like baby hippos. And by the looks of her feet. I’m never having children. What’s up with you?”
“You still haulin’ that baby around?” Justin says to Cam.
“Not much longer,” Calvin answers. He’s standing next to Ethan, whose eyes narrow when he sees Justin’s arm draped around my shoulders.
“Can I have a word,” he says in a low voice. Everyone turns to stare at me.
Umm. “Can it wait?”
“No, it can’t wait.” My eyebrow nervously twitches up. The turkey is going to blow our cover. I can see it in his eyes.
“Really?”
“Really.”
Heavy sigh. Heavy freaking sigh. I stand slowly, very slowly, and say to our curious looking friends, “Be back in a jiffy,” with a tight lipped smile.
As soon as we begin to walk away, I hear Justin say, “They’re sleeping together,” and a combined, “Yep,” from Cam and Cal.
Dandy. Just dandy.
I follow Ethan along the edge of the dance floor, past the many tables filled with people giving us dubious glances, and down an empty hall.
He opens an unmarked door and pulls us inside, pinning me against the back of it. It’s dark. An emergency sign offers the only light, tracing his features in blue.
“What are you doing?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Bending his knees so that our hips are aligned, he grinds into me and I nearly lose it there and then. He kisses me then. Hard. Possessively.
