Page 19 of Tame the Player

“Tell me about her boyfriend.”

Chrissy huffs her breath, and I realize she’sprobably not going to spill the beans, but I can’t resist asking. “You should ask her.”

How do I explain to her that I’m doing my best to keep my distance from Cat? I want to know what she sees in Jeremy, but I don’t want to know really. Hell, I don’t even want to think about her with another man. “I could ask her, but I figure it’s safer asking you.”

She doesn’t get it. “Safer? What’s that supposed to mean?”

I groan, not completely happy with myself. “It means I like her. I like Cat, and if I talk to her about her fuckin’ boyfriend, then I’m going to go off.”

Chrissy gets that look in her eye. “You like her? Of course you do. You were deadset on no one moving in here, and you didn’t hesitate moving her—and her son—in immediately.”

I cross my arms over my chest and stare at Chrissy. I know I’ve already asked her about Jeremy and she said she couldn’t tell me, but I knew once I got her in person, she would give in.

She groans and throws her head back. “Holden! Fine! His name is Jeremy Tabor, he’s an accountant, and I’ve only met him a few times, but he’s super dry. No sense of humor at all.”

I frown. “Is he good to her?”

She shrugs, scrunching her nose up. “He’s… fine, I guess. He’s not mean to her, but look, honestly, they seem more like friends than anything else.”

At that, I hear the screen door open, and when I turn, Cat is walking out of the house. She’s still in her dress and high heels, and I’m not sure how to explain it, but she looks frazzled. Immediately, I walk over to her. “You okay? How was your date?” I try to leave the displeasure out of my voice, but I can hear it.

She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “It was… fine. What’s going on out here?”

With my hand on her lower back, I lead her off the porch, and my family all comes to stand with us. “Cat, I want you to meet my family. You know Chrissy. And these are my brothers Gabriel, Dom, and King and my new sister, Haven.”

“My wife,” King adds.

We all laugh because the man is all kinds of obsessed over his wife. “Right, your wife.”

Cat is looking between all of them. “Wow, there’s so many of you. Okay, Chrissy, Gabriel, Dom, King, and Haven. Right?”

I nod. “There’s one more, actually. Ledger is enlisted right now.”

She repeats his name. “Ledger… got it.”

“Mom, go get your glove and come play.”

My mouth falls open. “Your glove? You play?”

Before she can answer, Cole chimes in, “Mom plays with me all the time. She’s pretty good.”

I look at the woman in awe as she holds up her finger. “Okay, I’m going to change and be right back.”

She jogs away, and as everyone goes back to the game, Gabriel nudges my shoulder. “Close your mouth, you’re drooling.”

I snap my mouth closed, and Gabe has his arms over his chest, watching Cat walk away. “Have you told her how you feel?”

I roll my eyes. “No, I haven’t told her I want to fuck her.”

He laughs. “I think there’s more to it than that.”

“I don’t do long-term.”

He widens his stance, nodding his head. “Right. Well, if that’s the case, stay away from her. She has a kid. She doesn’t do flings.”

I know he’s right, but there’s no way I can stay away from her. It’s like she’s in my blood. I have to have her. Maybe, just maybe I can be up front withher and tell her what I want and get her out of my system. I turn to my brother. “What about you? What’s going on in your love life?”

Automatically his eyes shift across the yard toward Chrissy. “I don’t have one.”

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