Page 247 of By His Rule

I don’t look at her, but I know that her eyebrows are wiggling in the way they do when she wants the juicy gossip.

“BestI’veeverhad,” I admit so fast it comes out as one word.

She hears it, I know she does; I don’t need to look at her and see the smug grin playing on her lips to have it confirmed.

“What was that?” she asks.

“You heard,” I snap, giving up on hiding in a stall and instead marching toward the sink to look at my own reflection.

There may be dark circles under my eyes from my lack of sleep the night before, but there is also an unmissable twinkle in them, too. Even without the chemistry between me and Kian crackling away in the car, there was no way Tate was going to miss it.

“Best you’ve ever had,” she says thoughtfully as if she needs to let the confession settle into her mind before believing it. “That’s saying something because you’ve had some hot nights.”

“Dude, are you calling me a whore?” I snap, jokingly.

“Moi?” she asks, resting her hand over her heart. “Never. We both know I’m the biggest whore out of the two of us. Or used to be, at least,” she says before dropping her hand to her growing belly.

“Good. And don’t forget it,” I tease.

“So…details, girl,” she prompts.

“He’s your brother-in-law.”

“Exactly. In-law. It’s not like you’re fucking Miles.” She gasps. “You haven’t fucked him too, have you?”

“Shut up.” I laugh, rolling my eyes at her dramatics. “I wouldn’t touch him with a barge pole.”

“He has no idea what he’s missing out on,” she mutters. “But enough about him. Tell me everything that Kian isn’t missing out on.”

So I do. Right there in the middle of a bathroom in the Chicago Chiefs stadium, I spill all the dirty details to my best friend. And fuck, do I feel better for it once I word vomit all over her.

58

KIAN

“That fucking grin, man,” King says, slapping me on the shoulder as we step into the box reserved for us.

Lorelei practically fled to the bathroom the second she saw the sign approaching, and Tate quickly followed. I can only imagine what they’re talking about right now.

“Fuck off,” I mutter, picking up speed to get away from his smug ass.

“What? It looks good on you.”

“Whatever,” I say under my breath as I grab us both a chilled beer and walk toward the windows that allow us an unobstructed view of the field. The cheerleaders are out doing their thing, helping to rile the crowd up, ready for the game to start.

Just like always, a weird mixture of excitement and nerves flutters in my stomach as I think about our little brother being down in the locker room getting ready. He'll be solidly in the middle of his weird pregame ritual.

I smile. King and I used to roast him for it when we were younger, but it never stopped him from doing it, and even adding more over the years. It works for him, so I guess it doesn’t matter how much we tease him.

“So, are you officially dating your assistant after what…two weeks?” King asks, reminding me that I’m trying to avoid his questioning.

I knew it was going to come. He knows me too well, and he’s too damn nosey to keep his suspicions to himself.

But I could really do without the one-man firing squad right now.

Lorelei wants to go home after this game. That’s enough for me to obsess over right now.

“No, we are not officially dating. We’re?—”

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