That draws a slow eye roll from her, but she’s smiling. “You know if you hurt her…”
My head is already bobbing up and down. “You’ll kill me, I know.” I’m acutely aware that Athena de la Peña probably has the connections to make me disappear forever without so much as chipping the paint on her nails.
“I don’t care if my brothers love you. I don’t care if you’re team captain. If you break my girl’s heart, I will break you.” She’s pointing her index finger at me now, and I’m pretty sure my teammates, my brothers in arms, my ride-or-die friends have all taken a very large step back from me.
Assholes.
Still trapped in some intense stare-down with the eldest de la Peña, I chance a blink or two, then a third. “Athena, I have no intention of hurting your best friend. The opposite in fact.”
Her eyes narrow again like she wants to say something else but isn’t sure she should.
“Whatever it is, just say it.”
“I’ve heard things.” The finger is wagging at my face now.
I fold my arms, determined not to let that old hurt break open in my chest again. “They’re not true.”
She jerks her head back. “Does she know that?”
My face burns. I still haven’t gotten around to telling her my side of the story yet. I haven’t really known how to approach the “Hey, your high school bestie was wrong” discussion.
“You might want to deal with that.” She regards me for what feels like a solid twenty minutes, but it can’t possibly be more than a few seconds ’cause that would just be weird. “What’s your plan for when she wakes up?”
This question I’m ready for. I’ve spent every free minute I’ve had since her diagnosis at the hospital earlier Googling what the hell to do to make her feel better. “Rookie’s on his way back from the store with provisions. We’re going to set up this room like a theater and watch a couple of her favorite movie adaptations from books.”
I hadn’t gotten around to telling the guys this yet, but I already know none of them will mind. “The guys can hang out too, if Savannah is okay with it.”
Athena hasn’t slapped me yet, and she makes a “go on” gesture, so I take that to mean I’m not going to die just yet.
“Raffi’s going to cook her something low fat for dinner. The guys are going to have pizza, so they’re going to have it while she’s asleep, or in another room, so she doesn’t feel like she’s missing out. If she wants movie snacks, we have fruit and popcorn, again low fat so it doesn’t hurt her too badly.”
“You’ve done your homework.”
That might be as close to a compliment from Athena as I’m going to get, so I just nod. She’s such an impressive woman that on one hand it’s hard to fathom how she’s not in a relationship yet, and on the other, she probably terrifies potential suitors. Few people could stack up to her family name, but add in, well,Athena, and it’s an impossible task to scale for anyone.
“What are your movie options?”
This is like a pop quiz. Which is ridiculous because if I wanted things to be long-term with Savannah I should have probably expected the inquisition from her best friend.
“I have a short list.Me Before You,Twilight, Fifty Shades.” I know my girl is a sucker for sparkly vamps and kinky billionaires. “The Hating GameandAfter.”
“And if she wants to stay upstairs?”
“Scott has a tray for her to eat dinner in bed, and I’ll play the movies on Raffi’s laptop ’cause his is faster than mine. She doesn’t have to move.” Am I sweating?
“How does she get downstairs if she’s in pain?”
“Same way she got up there.” It’s possible I puff my chest out a little.
“You carried her? That’s kind of adorable. I’m sure she loved that. What if she wants to leave?”
I can’t help but snort. “She’s not a prisoner here, Athena. I want to take care of her, not chain her to the—” Oh God.
Her eyebrows shoot up and more than one of my teammates are fighting back laughter. Someone mutters, “At least not until she’s recovered.”
I’m going to kill them all.
Athena purses her lips as though fighting back a smile. “I have an elevator.” She says that like it’s the answer to all of Savannah’s problems. “And I live closer to the hospital where she’s getting her surgery.”
