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Naomi covered her eyes behind her hand for a second. “Um, sure. I’ll be leaving in a few minutes.” When she moved her fingers, she mouthed, “I’m sorry.”
I frowned, annoyed that Nixon expected his sister to cater to his every whim. He seriously expected her to just drop everything and bring him some candy?
“Awesome. I owe you,” he replied. “I’ll get double next time and even let you pick the movie.”
“You’re going to regret that,” she laughed. “Ember is coming over next month, and you know she’s going to talk me into picking a foreign film.”
Nixon was silent for so long that I almost asked if he was still there.
“Doesn’t Ember have studying to do or something?”
Naomi sighed. “She can take a night off, Nix. And you promised to be nice. Why the two of you can’t get along is beyond me.”
“We’ll talk about it later. See you soon, Mims! Love you!” He hung up, and Naomi shook her head as she put her phone back in her pocket.
“I’m so sorry I have to leave without finishing dinner. Nix and I have a movie night once a month, and we’re only allowed to miss it if one of us is dead or he’s running extra drills because he did something stupid at practice.”
Ah, that made more sense than her brother treating her like his own personal servant.
“It’s no problem, baby,” I said with a wave of my hand. “My brothers and I try to reconnect every month or two as well. I think it’s great that you and Nixon are so close.” I leaned in and gave her a quick kiss—not allowing myself to linger because I’d never let her leave if I did—then lifted her up and set her on her feet. “I’ll put the rest of your dinner in a container, and you can take it with you.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, her eyes bright and happy.
“Will I see you tomorrow?” I asked nonchalantly as I went about packing up her meal.
“Of course, I’ll be there to take pictures.” Her lips curled down a little. “Or did we miss something tonight?” she asked, her brow furrowing like she was thinking hard.
“No, baby. But I have some ideas that I’d like to run by you.”
“Me?” she squeaked, clearly shocked.
“You’re the expert,” I confirmed as I placed my hand on her lower back to guide her to the front door.
“I don’t—”
“Don’t sell yourself short, baby,” I interrupted with a frown. “Nixon is right. You need to be more confident.” I stared into her eyes and added, “You are an incredible woman, Naomi. Gorgeous, smart, sweet—the whole fucking package.”
She looked like she might melt right into my arms, and I gave myself a mental pat on the back for saying the right thing. Hopefully, I’d make her fall in love with me with record speed. Because I was ready to claim her.
“Thank you.” Her voice was soft, her cheeks pink, and I wanted so badly to pull her into my arms and kiss her. But she went up on her toes to press her lips to my jaw—she couldn’t reach my cheek—for just a second, then dashed off to her car.
I watched her get in and drive away before heading back inside to my cold, lonely bed.
Not for long.
7
NAOMI
Coming to the stadium when the Nighthawks were practicing was a totally different experience from being here for Sunday’s game. Without the reverie from all of the tailgaters, it felt as though I was walking through a ghost town. There weren’t any cars in the parking lots except for the one reserved for players and staff, and I didn’t see a single person until I reached the security guard at the door. “How can I help you today, miss?”
“I’m Nixon Scott’s sister.” I pulled my driver’s license out of my purse to show him. “He wanted me to come and take some photos for his social media.”
The guard glanced down at my identification before checking something on the tablet he was holding in his left hand. Then he nodded with a smile. “Yup, I have you right here.”
Even though I knew I had permission to be at the stadium during practice, I felt a rush of relief at the confirmation that the guard wasn’t going to question me. “Good.”
“It wasn’t your brother who put you on the list, though,” he added as he handed my license back to me.
