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I told myself the possessive streak heating my blood was rooted in keeping my friends free of Eva’s influence, but the drama was already starting. Everything about this was a horrible idea. I should channel the asshole persona she’d assigned me on our first meeting and tell her nevermind. I should turn and walk away without digging myself any deeper.
I should definitely not kiss her again.
Eva’s lips parted, and I reached up to wrap my fingers around her phone. “Why not today? We have a late practice, but you can come by anytime. Reece always leaves the door unlocked.”
I broke the connection to send myself a text. She could ruin me—discover my secrets and use them against me, destroy my friendships—all with a sweet smile, but the animosity and trouble weren’t enough to push me past one simple fact.
She’d been crying alone in a broken courtyard.
The afternoon sun passed behind the business building as I handed her phone back, stretching the shadows out to touch the fountain. Eva tucked the phone into her shorts pocket then held out a hand.
I stared down at her slim fingers for a long beat before sliding my palm against hers. “This isn’t a truce.”
“I know,” she replied quietly. “It’s a deal with the devil.”
3
“Don’t look at me like that, Henry. You know it’s for the best.” Five hours and forty-seven minutes had passed since I’d agreed to Gavin’s deal. Not that I was counting.
I’d spent the past two nights crashing on Lizzy’s bedroom floor in her sorority house. My back was killing me, Henry was acting out since Lizzy didn’t have her own bathroom, and I’d do some sketchy shit for a full fat latte.
The second Gavin had left the courtyard, I’d called my movers to get my bedroom furniture out of storage. I didn’t know the situation at his house, but if the room came furnished, I’d happily foot the bill for storing whatever mismatched IKEA disaster the guys had collected.
My inner circle consisted entirely of football players and their girlfriends. Experience dictated athletes didn’t pay much attention to their living arrangements as long as the food was plentiful. A tiny pang twisted my heart at the thought of them doing movie nights without me, but it had been my idea to leave—as misguided as it probably was.
By this point, my expectations couldn’t get any lower.
Henry gave me a disgruntled quack from her crate on the passenger seat, and I turned off the engine. She didn’t like being cooped up, but I refused to drive with a loose duck in the car.
For the third time, I checked the address Gavin had texted earlier. The numbers on the house were correct, but I couldn’t wrap my mind around four hockey players living in a cute two-story on a quiet street in Addison’s version of the suburbs.
Sunset had passed a while ago, so streetlights lit up the neighborhood. A bushy tree blocked part of the upper level from my view, and bushes lined the front under a big picture window. The houses on either side glowed with warm light, but Gavin’s windows were dark.
Everything looked so…normal. Like I expected a couple of kids to be playing in the yard.
My parents would love it, especially now that Dad had decided being rich wasn’t enough, he needed to get into politics too. They didn’t know about the duck problem, and if I had my way, they’d never find out. Bad enough they’d cornered me into letting them set me up with some respectable dates the next couple of months.
As far as they were concerned, I wasn’t using my time at college appropriately to find a husband. Dad was willing to wait me out until his campaign advisor found an old pic of me and Mac. He didn’t approve of my dating choices, and he approved even less when he found out we hadn’t actually been dating.
There was nothing wrong with not wanting a serious relationship to go with my orgasms. Dad disagreed on the grounds I was presenting the wrong kind of image. The message wasn’t new—I’d never been a good enough replacement for my brother—but the threat to pull my funding got my attention. At least he hadn’t demanded I actually marry one of them. A couple of dates I could handle.
As cute as this house was, Dad would absolutely hate the four roommates. I scooped Henry out of her crate and held her in my lap. My stomach twisted into knots as I imagined all the worst-case scenarios stemming from my spiral into madness earlier.
Henry wiggled her warm little body closer, and I stroked her soft feathers. We’d parked across from the house to wait for the movers, but I had trouble making myself get out of the car. The free fall of panic I’d been ignoring for the last week was still lurking under the surface. Thanks to my reckless actions this afternoon, I could add in dread. Gavin’s mouth was one hundred percent off limits, but my common sense didn’t stop me from reliving the kiss every time I let my guard down.
Hopefully, proximity to Gavin’s shitty attitude would cure me of any lingering curiosity about the rest of his skills. If nothing else, I could find a suitable hookup to relieve the pressure. Though I’d have to be careful about who I brought home considering my new roommates.
On cue, a nondescript older sedan rolled down the street and pulled into the driveway. All four doors opened, and a group of guys piled out. They gathered around the trunk to pull out duffel bags and sticks. With the windows open, I could hear them clearly. Two of the big guys shoved back and forth trying to reach into the back at the same time, and the driver laughed.
Even in the dark, I recognized Gavin—his gravelly chuckle raised goosebumps across my skin. The other three must be his roommates. Judging by their sweaty clothes and the faint stink wafting my direction on the breeze, they’d just come from practice. Not so different from football players actually.
Maybe this could work.
My momentary confidence was ruined when Henry waddled over to the open window and quacked loudly at the shenanigans. Gavin’s eyes shot to mine, finding me unerringly before I could back deeper into the shadows.
Not that I would. Eva Adams hid from no man.
I straightened my shoulders, lifted my chin, and mercilessly shoved the unease into the farthest corner of my mind. The guy standing next to Gavin followed his gaze, and I glanced at him, surprised to realize I hadn’t recognized Cole, who I actually liked.
