Little girl Edith is pissing her pants with excitement right now.
Athena de la Peña is everything I strive to be. Strong, composed, smart, talented, and a leader. She’s also stunning. If I wasn’t in love with her brother, I’d at least be bi-curious for that woman.
Tori hands me my cup of pop, and I take a slurp before thanking her, then burping, because I’m a fucking lady.
“Do you need help finding a tenant for your apartment?” Athena chews on a Red Vine. I don’t know that they sell them here, but she’s got an entire packet on her lap, and I’d love to see someone try to wrestle them from her.
“Actually, we’re going to stay in my apartment and rent out Apollo’s. Mine has a better view, and is ever so slightly bigger.”
“So my brother saw how much shit you have and thought it’d be easier to move his shit into yours instead of vice versa.”
That’s exactly what happened. I laugh. “Yup. He’s having paperwork drawn up to put both our names on the deed to his place. I don’t know what’s gotten into him since the crash, but he’s been fiercely protective. He’s nesting like a pregnant woman.”
Athena nails me with that x-ray vision stare she uses on her brothers. On them, it’s highly amusing watching as they scramble to figure out what they did to deserve it. On me... I’m glad I have a strong bladder.
“Girl.” She nudges my knee with hers. “He’s been fiercely protective of you his whole damned life. If that car accident didn’t knock your heads together, I was going to have to do it myself.” She holds out her hand to inspect her nails. “And you know how I love getting my hands dirty.”
I fucking love this woman.
“Do you remember that little fucker who used to trip you up at recess in kindergarten?”
Barney fucking Keith. The little asshole with two first names who made my life hell for weeks before he magically stopped.
I nod.
“Apollo.”
My eyes widen.
“And the girl who talked smack about you in middle school?”
Mute. I nod again.
“Also Apollo. And when Fletcher Fowler broke your heart in high school?”
My stomach drops, knowing where this is going. “Uh huh?”
“His broken arm was no accident.” She smiles at me like it’s completely obvious that Apollo has been mine since we met. How blind have I been?
“H-he broke Fletcher’s arm? For... me?”
“Amiga, he’d burn the fucking world for you.”
Tori leans into our conversation fanning herself. “It’s so fucking hot.”
I am such a goddamn idiot. “You’ve known this whole time?”
“We all have.” Athena pats my leg. “We’ve all been waiting to see how long it would take you both to figure it out. I was starting to think it might be too late.”
My face, my whole body warms. “I had no idea.”
She laughs out loud at that. “I know. And I have no clue how. He’s been a goner for you since day one, Edith.”
Her words curl around me like a warm blanket on a cold day, or, as is more accurate right now, inside a cold rink. The door to the tunnel opens and Ares steps out onto the ice. My guy is always the first out behind the goalie, always, and when his skates hit the ice, Athena slides her hand into my left hand, and Tori takes my right.
It’s game time.
CHAPTER34
