Page 15 of The Problem with Players

He narrowed his eyes. “Perhaps…”

I held a hand out toward him. “Deal.”

“There’s no way it’s that easy.”

“It’s that easy. There was a miscommunication with the whole head coach thing anyway. I don’t want the position if it means taking it from Avery. Between you and me, I just missed the game. I’d be more than happy being an assistant coach beside her.”

Alex brushed his hand against the back of his neck but then shook my hand. “All right. Give Avery her position back, and I’ll continue to consider a partnership. Thanks.”

“Not a problem. And congratulations again on the baby.”

Alex wasn’t one to smile much, but his lips turned up slightly. “Thanks. We’re excited.” You could tell how happy Yara made him. He could hardly avoid smiling when it came to talking about his family. Seeing a grump like him smile as much as he had about his partner and soon-to-be newborn was good. Maybe our grumpy Evan would find himself a Yara someday. It might ease his harsh temperament.

“Don’t screw me over, though,” Alex warned. “The moment I hear back from my wife that Avery is the head coach again, then we can chat.”

“Deal. Thanks again for the shot, Chef.”

He shook his head. “I’m still not going to get used to the MVP Nathan Pierce calling me Chef.”

“Tell Avery I’m sorry if you see her before I do,” I mentioned.

“There’s no way I’m telling her anything. I’m not getting in the middle of whatever the two of you have going on. I learned a long time ago to stay out of other people’s affairs.”

“Isn’t you telling me that you’ll only do a deal with me if I give Avery the head coaching position being involved in our affairs?”

Alex parted his mouth and hesitated for a minute. I’d stumped him. He rubbed his hand against his brows and grumbled under his breath, “sal de mi maldita cocina.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means get the fuck out of my kitchen.”

I smirked. “Yes, Chef.”

4

NATHAN

The second Saturday night rolled around, it was time to celebrate River and Grant. I loved my brothers, but I was already dreading each moment as we drove together from Mom’s to O’Reilly’s. I even tried to weasel my way out of a night of drinking by offering to help Mom clean up after the big meal she’d cooked for us boys.

She, of course, turned down the request and told me to go have fun with the guys.

“You don’t get enough brotherly time, and you definitely don’t get enough social time. Enjoy it,” Mom said, swatting me out of her kitchen. That was the second time I’d been kicked out of kitchens that week.

“Twenty-six is going to be my year,” River announced, rubbing his hands together in the passenger seat of the car as I drove to O’Reilly’s. Grant was sandwiched in the back seat between Evan and Easton, looking squashed between the two guys. No way were the three of them comfortable based on their size alone. If there was one thing about the Pierce brothers, it was the fact that we didn’t skip arm day. Or leg day, for that matter.

I told them we should’ve taken different cars, but they forced me to drive, claiming I couldn’t sneak out if I was the driver for the evening.

The three sat scrunched up back there like idiots, smiling from ear-to-ear as if they were in for the best night of their lives.

“It’s going to be my year, too, asshat,” Grant replied to his twin.

Unlike Evan and Easton, Grant and River were identical twins. If a person were to look at the two of them side by side, they’d just believe they were seeing double images of the same person. From their wide, toothy grins to their bushy brows and dreadlocks, those two were remarkably the same. It didn’t help that they dressed alike, too. They were both sneakerheads with an addiction to expensive designer clothing.

They even had damn near the same voice. If I closed my eyes and one of them said something, I wouldn’t know which brother spoke. They used to get in a lot of trouble for doingThe Parent Trapand switching spots with one another when they were kids.

Mom had her hands full with those troublemakers growing up. I missed a lot of that period because I was off playing baseball, but it was nice to see they grew up to be decent, good men.

When it came to the youngest twins’ dating lives, River and Grant were a mixture of their three older brothers. They didn’t need companionship. They were fine on their own, like Evan and me, but every now and again, they had a soft lover boy side to them, too, like Easton.

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