AllFreeNovel
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“Need me to leave you alone with the pretzel, Scar?”
“Shut up, Maxipad. Talk to me when you’re eight months pregnant and crave salt more than anything.” She thinks about it for a minute before her eyes drift to her husband. “Well, almost anything.”
“Yeah. I’m out.” I hug my sister. “I’m going to go stop by the owner’s box and a few others.”
“Don’t hold back, Max.” Jesus. Could she be louder?
“I hear you. Now eat a pretzel and try not to get too excited, okay? There are kids around.”
Scarlet flips me off, and I leave the new suite to make my rounds in some of the old ones.
I stop by Coach Sinclair’s box and check in on his family. Carys Murphy and Chloe Ryan watch me carefully. But they wait until Declan and Coach’s wives step away before they descend like vultures, ready to pick at my bones.
“Couldn’t convince D to watch the game with you either?” Carys moves next to me while Chloe grabs another drink. “Don’t feel bad. I’ve been trying to get her to sit with us whenever I’m home for years, and she won’t.”
“She said she didn’t want to mess with a lucky tradition.”
Carys rolls her eyes dramatically. “Whatever. She’d still be here, just with us. Or with you, I guess. You know, I never pictured her with a guy like you.”
“A guy like me?” This is the most the youngest Murphy has ever spoken to me. For a tiny thing, she’s got a powerful voice. She’s sang the National Anthem for us a time or two. But I don’t know if I’ve ever had a real conversation with her before.
“Yeah. Bossy. In control. A king.” She looks out over the field, and I shift, slightly uncomfortable with how well this wisp of a woman just nailed me. “I always thought D would be the one in control, that she’d pick a guy who’d go with the flow. Not a guy who’d challenge her. She never liked a challenge before.”
“Oh, she still has the control.” Why the fuck am I telling her this? “Listen, Carys. I have no desire to change a single thing about Daphne, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
The smile she gives me could light up the whole fucking stadium. “Good.” She pats my shoulder. “Because D’s fucking amazing just the way she is. And I know you’re the all-powerful Max Kingston, but I’ve got my ways. If you hurt her, I will destroy you.” This little sprite winks and walks away as if she didn’t just threaten me.
What the fuck?
She sits down, then turns back toward me. “Hey, Max... See you Saturday.”
