Page 51 of End Game

“There’s a candle in the bathroom and in the living room,” I tell her, and she takes off to light them as well.

I connect my phone to the small speaker we keep in the kitchen and turn on my favorite Spotify playlist that I like to cook to. A jazzy tune starts playing, and I feel like I’m living in one of those cooking videos I see on social media.

We move about the kitchen in sync, Sienna doing everything I ask her to without complaint. I get through all the meal prep that muchfaster since I have a helper with me, and within ten minutes, I’ve got everything in the oven.

“Smells good,” Coop announces as he enters the house from the back sliding door. Frank, Gavin, and Nico follow right behind him. “Whatcha cooking?”

“We’re having chicken and potatoes, plus a salad,” I tell them with a smile. “And Gavin, you’re more than welcome to stay for dinner. I’ve made plenty.”

“You sure? I don’t want to impose,” Gavin says.

“Oh, you’ll want to stay, bro. She’s the best cook.” This comes from Frank, who’s always singing my praises to someone.

“That’s wifey material right there,” Gavin says, earning a laugh from Coop and Frank.

Nico’s not laughing, though. And neither is Sienna.

In fact, the entire kitchen has gone quiet, and when I chance a look at Nico, I see him glowering in Gavin’s direction. Is he mad Gav said that? Why should he care?

“Um, I hate to do this, but something has suddenly—come up.” Sienna grabs her phone from where she left it on the counter, checking it for what I’m sure is a fake message. “I need to bail on dinner. Sorry about it.”

My heart drops, and I follow after her as she abruptly leaves the kitchen, heading for the front door. “Sienna, wait.”

“Hey.” She whirls on me, and there are tears shining in her eyes. Oh God. “Please know I’m not mad at you. It’s that—I do everything I can to gain his attention, and he says nothing to me that’s even vaguely flirtatious. Like, absolutely nothing. You invite him to stay for dinner with the gang, and he’s automatically calling you wifey material. I just—I can’t with him sometimes.”

“Sienna.” My heart is breaking for her. “Please don’t let Gav upset you. He didn’t mean anything by that statement.”

“I’m starting to believe I don’t mean anything to him either, you know? Oh God, this is so incredibly stupid.” A tear escapes, sliding down her cheek, and I can’t take it anymore.

“I hate that he made you feel so bad.” My voice is soft and my heart is aching.

I don’t like seeing her hurt. Worse, I don’t know if Gavin is even aware of how much she cares about him. Is he pretending he doesn’t see it? If that’s the case, he’s cruel. He needs to tell her he’s not interested at all. It’ll break her heart, but she’ll be better off in the long run.

“It’s fine. Really.” She hauls me in for a big hug, and we cling to each other for a moment before she finally pulls away, turning toward the door. “Give me the recipe for the chicken, okay? Someday I’m going to make it for him and knock his fucking socks off.”

She leaves before I can say anything, the door quietly shutting behind her, and I twist the lock into place before I turn toward the kitchen. I can hear all the men chatting and laughing without a care in the world, even Nico, and I shake my head.

Men. They are the most oblivious creatures sometimes. But I can’t say anything to them. I’m not going to call out Gavin or make Cooper aware of anything. They need to figure this all out on their own.

Which might never happen, but that’s the chance we have to take.

“Yo, Ever! You got a fancy bottle of wine we can crack open stashed somewhere?” Cooper calls.

This is another thing I’ve introduced them to. Pairing wine with the meal versus just slamming down a beer or whatever. I know I shouldn’t encourage these guys to drink—unnecessary calories—but when they kept having beers with their meals, I decided to change it up.

“I do! Hold on.” I rush into the kitchen and head straight for the tiny pantry, rummaging around until I find the bottle I bought with their money. I hide them because I like to have them with dinner and not when they’re partying. Though they never reach for wine, so I don’t know why I bother hiding it.

“Found it,” I say as I emerge from the pantry, the bottle clutched in my hand. “Can someone open it for me?”

“I will,” Nico volunteers, approaching me slowly, his dark gaze roaming over me from head to toe.

I’m still in the sports bra and leggings, and his hot gaze seems to spark on my skin everywhere he looks. I go still, my mouth popping open, no words coming out as he takes the bottle from my hand, our fingers brushing. My heart skips a beat.

He did that on purpose. I know he did.

“Thank you,” I murmur to his retreating back, wondering if Sienna is right after all.

Maybe we should do it and get each other out of our systems.

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