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“I like your hat,” Hailey coos at Aiden, far less hostile than my sister. Her face softens in that way that it only ever does every time her eyes meet our son’s.
The ease of our surprise is short-lived as soon as her nose points up in my direction. Her deep-brown eyes probe me. “I thought we were meeting you back at the house?”
On the bright side, at least Hailey hasn’t mentioned the sunburn I know for a fact she spotted.
I grab Aiden’s arm, waving it and making noises like he’s a fan rooting in the crowd, cheering on his favorite team. In this case, the duo is very much underwhelmed.
Hailey is not amused.
“Aiden wanted to see his mom and aunt in action,” I defend when her scowl impressively drops to her feet.
It’s weird. This is weird.
Awkward doesn’t begin to describe what hangs, still clinging around us after what—or almost—happened last night.
Neither of us brought it up after she came over, dropping Aiden with me and picking up Rory in the same go. Part of me was thankful Rory had sprung up before she could’ve, but another part wished I would’ve cracked a joke or something to ease the tension.
Skepticism burns, lingering in her eyes, so I swing Aiden’s arm again, mimicking how she’d spiked the ball, hoping it does something,anything,to cause a reaction. The silence is so loud.
Maybe we should reconsider? It seems like we could both use the release.
“Mommy, potty,” Aiden wails, cutting through the silence.
She eyes me questionably since I’m the one still holding him. “You got it?”
Shaking his head with too much self-righteousness for a toddler, Aiden strongly disagrees. “No, I want my mommy!” he fumes stubbornly.
Silently her expression screams, “this is your son,” as she takes him from me and I match it with one of my own. Mine hollers, “damn straight.”
I follow their every move as they leave for the restroom because how can I not? Time is something I’ve lost, and I don’t plan on wasting any more of it.
“You going to tell me what that was all about, or am I going to have to figure it out on my own?”
I blink, taking a seat beside my sister and I can feel her overgenerous smirk. Shit. She’s caught me, my jumpy shift in posture embarrassing as it retracts away from Hailey’s ass.
“I knew it!” Rory’s amused brow arches higher as she leans her weight forward.
Shit again.
“You don’t know anything. You can barely set a ball,” I deride, mortified at just getting caught checking Hailey out.
Rory shoots me an eye nudge. “Whatever, Finn. Keep lying. I know what I saw.”
I swallow. I know what I saw too. A perfect butt squeezed underneath a pair of black spandex shorts.
Swinging my arm over Rory’s neck, I put her in a choke hold. She laughs, trying to shove me off, complaining she’ll go blind from the burning torture, and I let her go. My armpits and I both offended.
“You guys are still going to be able to make it to the tournament, right?” she asks dramatically, scrubbing her face with her towel.
“Already penciled it in.”
“Next week. Don’t forget,” she says sternly.
“I gotcha, Lil Sis, don’t worry.”
She nods, pacified by my answer. “But seriously, what was that, I mean,beforeI caught you checking out my best friend’s peach?”
I sigh, answering only because it’s clear Rory isn’t willing to drop it. “That, Lil Sis, was Hailey knowing her value andstilladding tax.”
