“I’m fine. I promise.” I chuckle, shaking my head. She never stops worrying about us. “Just a little bruise. I got caught between the guard and fullback, but it’s just the name of the game. I’ll spend some time with the trainers tomorrow, and they’ll check me out.”
“You’d better,” she warns. “Did you talk to Ace yet?”
“Yeah, I just got off the phone with him. Sounds like he’s celebrating tonight,” I say, keeping my voice even. “He said he had a good game, but I haven’t watched any of the clips yet.”
“Uh-huh. Celebrating. I think he enjoys himself a little too much.” She sighs, though there’s pure affection in her voice. “That boy changes girlfriends like he changes cleats. I love him to death, but I swear he gives me gray hair. He still dating that one model?”
I bite my lip to keep from laughing, thinking about Ace’s kitchen activities last night. “Soleil. Yeah, he is.”
“Whatever. I can’t keep track,” she says, laughing. “You’re eating well and getting enough sleep, right? Which reminds me, I want to expand your garden next spring. You need some more variety.”
“Yes, you know I’m on a pretty strict diet, and I also need my sleep. And I’d love to expand the garden in the spring. We can plan it out when I come home after the season ends.”
“Sounds good, honey. I’m so glad you bought a place with some dirt under your feet. A boy from Texas doesn’t need a glass tower in the sky. Oh, your dad says the fence on the far-west corner needs mending, so when you and your brothers come home, you’ll have plenty of ranch work waiting for you.”
“Can’t wait,” I say, a wave of homesickness washing over me. “Tell Dad I’ll call him on my way home after film tomorrow. And tell Austin and Jesse I said hey.”
Austin and Jesse are my youngest brothers still at home.
“I will. Get some rest and call me soon. Love you to the moon.”
“Love you too, Mama.”
The call disconnects, leaving me alone in the quiet dark of my patio. Talking to my mom always grounds me, but tonight, it also serves as a reminder that my family means everything to me. Our bond, our unspoken rules of loyalty, is the foundation of my entire life. I love my parents, and I love my brothers hard.
I pull my feet down and slip off my shoes, feeling the cool tiles beneath my feet. The backyard is probably my favorite thing about this house. I sit for a while, listening to the sounds of the night and the water splashing lightly against the sides of the pool.
My mind keeps drifting between my brother and the woman on the field. Ace is happy. He’s living his life in Florida, and it seems like Eva is a distant memory. Hearing him talk about his life so casually tonight shifted something in my head.
Ace has clearly moved on.
So why am I still struggling with the fact that I slept with my brother’s ex? Why am I letting my loyalty to my brother dictate whatIwant?
The memory of our night hits me again. The feel of her body. The desperate sound ofmy nameon her lips when I was driving into her. She wasn’t thinking about him when she came. She was looking at me. She said she always looked at me, even when her camera was pointed at the field.
And tonight, even when she was acting like she was unaffected by me, the tension between us was there, and it was thick enough to suffocate us both. She had definitely planted that question Sam asked me to gauge my reaction. She was playing with me, putting up that wall because I’d given her a reason to when I walked out on her that night.
I let out a laugh and scrub a hand over my face. The broadcasting schedule means she will be on my sidelines for at least another six games this year. She’s going to be standing there with her media badge, headphones, and her little notebook in hand, watching me with her sharp green eyes while I try to focus on my job.
I’ll see her. A lot.
I pick up my pencil and journal and look out over the yard, starting to sketch a garden design to send to my mama, and think about how I’m going to handle this situation with Eva.
I spent three months in college staying away from herbecause I was a pussy. Then I spent one year wanting what my brother had. After their breakup, I put her in a box of past drama that I had no right to touch because I loved my brother too much to ever bring her up.
But as I watch the water ripple across the pool, the guilt I’ve carried changes to something entirely different. Something that feels possessive.
Ace is done mourning their relationship; he’s moved on. But Eva and me? We could be together. Because I know the connection we had in college and at Liam and Alie’s wedding is still there.
I tilt my head back again and close my eyes.
The truth is, I won’t be able to stay away from her.
Not this time.
CHAPTER FOUR
EVA
