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“Yeah, man. You really brought it today.”
That one came from Ares, really surprising me. He was obviously the most vicious out of all of them.
But not only was he acknowledging my brother, he got in on the bro fest too. Thatcher made room for him to get in, my brother now tucked between Dorian Prinze and Ares Mallick. These guys actually looked like his friends.
“Bru?”
My brother glanced in my direction when I ventured out of the shadows, and my appearance put an ice bath on the moment like I’d never seen.
The guys dropped their arms from around my brother, Dorian stopping in his tracks. He stared right at me, full on, and I didn’t know what to do. I’d managed to escape those dark brown eyes in recent days. He’d been all but ignoring me since the “incident.”
He wasn’t now.
Those ebony pools charged black like hot coals. His chin lifted in my direction. Honestly, with that heated look, I wasn’t sure whether he wanted to strike me or kiss me. It could have gone either way.
But the thought of the latter…
Truly, it made me uncomfortable. How my thoughts could even go there after what had happened between us and what I’d ended up doing. It was like he’d brought me down to my knees again.
And the others noticed.
Most especially Ares. He passed a glance between us, his arm coming around his buddy. That one move blinked Dorian out of whatever trance he’d been in, and I took the opportunity to approach my brother.
“Good job today,” I said to him, noticing his teammates backing off. Ares kept Dorian real close, and suddenly, Dorian was on his phone. Apparently, my appearance really meant nothing to the dark prince. After what had happened, I was beneath him, hate or otherwise.
Why I felt anything about that I didn’t know.
My brother nodded at me.
“Thanks,” Bru mumbled, gazing back to his friends. The Legacy boys had moved on to their fangirls. They and the other football guys had groupies who stayed after the game to see the players. I knew because I saw them whenever I came to a game.
The groupie bitches had called me all kinds of things when I waited today, joking that I’d been waiting for Dorian to give him another pregnancy test. I put up with it so I could see my brother.
Deciding to speed this little visit up, I reached into my pocket and gave my brother the gift I’d gotten for him. I had told myself I’d give it to him once they really started to let him play.
“It’s not much,” I said, referring to the football key chain I ordered a couple weeks ago. I shrugged. “It’s to go on your key ring for your car.”
It really wasn’t much, just a little football with his initials: BHS. His middle name was Henry.
He smiled a little, the chain on his finger. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I hoped for an olive branch, idiot,” I said, tapping his shoulder with my fist. It made him laugh a little, which was good. I shrugged. “And maybe dinner. We could go someplace and celebrate.”
His smile fell a little. He pointed his thumb back. “Actually, the team and I were going to go to Jax’s. It’s a burger place in town.”
I’d seen them but had never gone there.
Bruno stared at me. “I mean, you probably could come. If you want.”
His teammates behind him maybe had girls in the distance, but I was well aware I wasn’t invited to this shindig.
And Dorian stared at me again.
His inky-dark pools eased away from his cell phone, almost a dare in his eyes. Like he dared me to come and possibly get in his way again. I really didn’t know what this guy’s problem was. What I’d done so badly by simply existing, but I didn’t want to make more trouble for Bru than I already had. I did care about him, and his happiness far outweighed mine. That was just how it was. I was his sister.
“Actually, that’s okay. You go ahead and have a fun night,” I said, facing him. “You know how I bury myself in my work.”
Whenever he found me, I was in my art room Callum had arranged for me. I was a frequent flier since I had zero social life since coming to this town.
