Page 66 of Anti Player

We make it to the restaurant. It’s a trendy place. It’s also packed. Ellie knows the hostess and when she sees Ellie, she hugs her and tells her she has a special table for her.

The restaurant is vegan and decorated like a tropical rainforest. We are seated at a table for two next to a waterfall. Ellie recommends a salad and a pasta, and we decide to share both dishes. I order an iced coffee.

It arrives in a tall glass with a straw. I take a long pull, feeling thirsty from our walk.

“What’s up with you and Kaleb?” Ellie blurts like she’s been holding on to that question a while.

My brows hit my forehead. “What?”

“Something is cooking between you and Kaleb. You better spill the beans,” she says with no malice, only genuine interest.

“I… Uh. . .”

“Maddie, whatever you tell me stays between us,” she assures as she sips her iced coffee.

“It’s complicated.” My teeth dig into my lower lip.

The waitress brings our entrées.

“This looks really good,” I say.

She places a clean plate in front of me and one in front of Ellie.

“Complicated, as in there’s something going on? I saw how he was watching you like you were his next meal. I watched his pinky moving back and forth caressing your thigh,” she states gleefully.

“Crap.” I sulk. “If anyone else saw. . .”

She shakes her head. “They’re guys. Nobody noticed anything. Kaleb has come by to hang with Connor on occasion. He’s a sweet guy. He’s a catch.”

“He’s best friends with both my brothers.” My palm comes up to my forehead. “Brett is very overprotective. Henry, that’s my other brother, he is too. My brothers would go ballistic. I don’t even know what is happening between Kaleb and me. It was supposed to be a one-time thing.”

“And . . .” Ellie waits.

“I don’t know. We can’t keep our hands off each other,” I confess, feeling my stomach flutter just from the thought.

“Whoa. Connor and I were the same. I was Syd’s nanny,” she says, surprising me.

“Seriously?” I ask.

“Oh yeah, Connor was very guarded and all about Syd,” she shares.

“What changed?” I ask, truly interested.

“I got really close with Syd and I began to feel protective of both of them. I can’t really pinpoint an exact moment, other than the attraction between us was simmering and we couldn’t keep it under control.”

“Wow,” I say.

“We should eat.” She giggles and then we both take some salad and pasta.

“Kaleb and I are having a hard time resisting each other, but that’s going to change. I’m a single mom, Kaleb is young and has so many young beautiful women after him,” I say.

“And yet, I’ve never seen him with anyone, but I did see how he was looking at you. How he had to sneak that small touch,” she squeals. “There’s something so exciting about the start of a relationship.”

“Ellie, Kaleb and I can never be. Number one, he wouldn’t want it.” I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to reveal I was away to relieve him of his virginity. “Number two, my brothers would lose it if they found out Kaleb and I were together. It would end their friendship. They would consider it a betrayal. I could never be responsible for that. We all grew up together. Kaleb is family to us, and I’ve applied to culinary school. I may be leaving New York.”

“Yeah, that’s complicated, but I don’t know. I think when something is meant to be it happens,” she chimes, clearly freshly married and in love.

“And when it isn’t, it can be so explosive it burns everyone in close radius,” I correct.

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