Page 31 of Anti Player

Asher rolls his eyes. “Fine.”

I give my brother an impressed look.

Brett smiles back and shrugs, proud of himself.

“You do have the touch with kids,” I say to him.

“Only because he’s my nephew and I love him,” Brett says.

“See, I knew you had it in you,” I tease him.

“Where did you go last night?” he asks, his brows bunching and his forehead creasing. Sometimes he feels more like a father than a brother.

“I was hanging out in the nook in the hallway,” I tell him.

“I came to check on you and you weren’t there,” he says. Now it’s my turn to roll my eyes.

Asher is in the bathroom getting ready, so I assume he is out of earshot. “I went by Kaleb’s,” I explain. “I work with that woman he was seeing. I had it out with her yesterday.”

“Oh no,” Brett says, giving me a deer in the headlights look.

“Don’t, oh no me. She didn’t know I was in the bathroom changing and she was saying all kinds of shitty things about Kaleb. She was using him for his money and status. She mentioned you too,” I poke him in the chest. My brother is a big ogre of a guy. “She said she almost hit on you but knew better because you’re too much of a player."

“Shit.” Brett winces. “Bro probably didn’t take that well.”

Clearly my brother knows about some of Kaleb’s issues.

“He already told her where to go by the time I told him the story. Woman was unhinged and flipped on him during their date.”

Again, my brother winces. “Shit, that sucks.”

“She also threatened to fire me, but I told her she couldn’t because she’s not my boss,” I tell him.

Brett lifts his hand to high-five me and I meet him halfway. “Go, sis. You don’t take crap from anyone.”

“Damn straight.” I nod.

“Even though if she fired you then you could go to culinary school. I was googling it last night and there are so many options in the city,” he says, surprising me.

“Aw, I can’t believe you did that.”

“All ready, Mommy,” Asher declares when he leaves the bathroom. He’s wearing a mismatched T-shirt and shorts, but I’ll take it.

“Good job, honey,” I cheer. “Let’s go make some breakfast. Is oatmeal and fresh fruit okay?”

He nods.

“Can I have a spoon of brown sugar?” he asks sweetly.

“You sure can.” I ruffle my son’s hair.

I head to the kitchen to prep the oatmeal on the stove. While it’s cooking, I wash some fresh berries. I need a shower, but I’ll take one after I take Asher to camp.

The three of us eat breakfast together and then Brett says, “What do you guys think of going to Florida for a couple of weeks? I go every summer with some guys from the team.”

“Um, that sounds like a guys’ vacation,” I reply hesitantly. No way do I want to be around my brother’s antics.

“It is,” Brett agrees. “But you guys can tag along, stay on the other side of the hotel.”

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