Page 143 of Whistle

Jamie pressed his hand to his chest. “Rude.”

Rory turned to Ryan, gray eyes astonished. “They wanted you to do the auction?”

He shrugged. “Well, yeah, baby. I swim lane four.”

I rolled my eyes. Lane four was the “best” lane to get when swimming and was usually reserved for the top swimmer. Normally, I would call him out for being a showoff, but I’d seen the way people looked at him around here. Like he was some sort of swim god. Elite all got preferential treatment, but Ryan seemed to get it the most.

“And you said no?” Rory asked.

“Of course.”

Jamie tossed his arm around her shoulders. “We thought it might be better with your jealousy issues if your big brother did it instead.”

Rory’s mouth fell open. “Jamie Michael Owens, what did you just say to me?”

“That I’m your big brother?”

And you people think he’s charming?

“Now, baby…” Ryan began.

“Don’t you start, Ryan Stephen Walsh.”

Kruger sucked in a breath. “She’s pulling out all the names tonight.”

“I need another drink,” Max muttered, snagging a glass off a passing tray.

Rory turned, planting her fists on her hips to glare at them both. “You two seriously think I have jealousy issues?”

“You coined a whole term for the girls that come around,” Ryan said.

“It’s far nicer than the other stuff we could call them,” Landry put in.

“Calm down there, scrappy,” Jamie warned.

Rush snickered.

I glanced at Landry, clear question in my eyes.

“I threatened a man’s balls one time…” Her voice faded, and then her eyes went wide. “Oh! They were yours.”

“I deserved it,” I mused, remembering that night.

She sniffed. “You’re right. You did.”

I smiled. She was definitely her father’s daughter.

The thought made me wonder about Emmett, and I gazed around to see if he was there yet. I was glad he wasn’t doing the auction. Just the suggestion made me covetous as hell. I couldn’t even try and deny it.

“I’m not jealous,” Rory announced. “I just don’t enjoy when girls throw themselves at guys they know are taken.”

“Mm-hmmm.” Madison agreed.

“Makes sense to me,” Arsen said.

“Of course it does,” Kruger mused. “You went on air at the campus radio to tell everyone P belonged to you.”

Arsen looked proud of himself, and Prim blushed.

---