Page 16 of The Problem with Players

River was one to fall fast for a woman. That didn’t always bode well for his sensitive heart. Yet after every breakup, he always hit his personal records with deadlifting in the gym, so that could be seen as a silver lining. It was only about a week ago that he found out his ex-girlfriend Sarah had been cheating on him with his so-called best friend. I figured that was why the guys were so hell-bent on having me stay out with them. Ourlittle River needed to get his mind off a girl who wasn’t good enough for him.

That kind of made me want to stop being a jerk about going out. There wasn’t much that I wouldn’t do to make sure my family was safe and good. If my going out would’ve helped make River happier, then I’d do it. He had his fair share of heartbreak, even at a younger age. I’ve only gone through one heartbreak myself, though I have been known to break others’ hearts without trying.

Which was why I’d kept my heart—and my dick—to myself as of late. I didn’t see any reason to send any woman mixed signals.

As we pulled up to O’Reilly’s, I parked the car, and the guys hopped out, clapping their hands with excitement. They walked into the bar as if they were walking into some Vegas strip club instead of a small-town, hole-in-the-wall bar that served their drinks in plastic cups.

The amount of swag dripping off the sets of twins was ridiculous.

I hated how good they looked, too. They knew they were handsome, looking like our father. Evan was damn near a heartthrob with his thick-ass beard. If he didn’t love his solitude so much and put off that stay-the-hell-away-from-me energy everywhere he went, women would throw themselves at him.

I followed them, still dreading the whole evening. That was until I looked over at the bar and saw a doe-eyed bartender standing there serving drinks. Probably the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

Avery Kingsley bartended at O’Reilly’s?

Well, that shifted my mood a good amount.

“Doesshe still think you’re a dick?” Evan murmured toward me as we sat at a back table, watching the other guys taking yet another shot at the bar.

“Who?”

He gave me a you-know-who look. “Avery. The woman you’ve been hung up on since you were nineteen.”

“Eighteen,” I corrected. “And watch your mouth.” I shoved him in the arm. “I’m not hung up on her. Never have been,” I lied. “Don’t go around spreading that rumor.”

“Can’t spread rumors if I keep to myself. But you’ve been staring at her nonstop since we walked in here. I know I’m the only one who knows you had a short thing with Avery, but if you keep staring at her like you are, everyone in town will know.”

Evan was the only brother who knew about Avery and me. It wasn’t that I was trying to keep her a secret. If anything, at one point, I wanted to shout from the rooftop about Avery and how much I loved her. But it was so short-lived that I didn’t even get a chance to do so. Evan only knew about the whole situation because he walked in on Avery and me once when I was helping her around the farm. He found us making out next to the horse stables.

I averted my eyes away from Avery and grumbled as I took a swig of my beer. “I’m coaching baseball at the high school.”

Evan arched an eyebrow. “No shit. To be closer to Avery?”

“No,” I urged. “To get back into the game I love. I miss it. When the school district came to me with the idea, I ran with it.”

“It didn’t hurt that she’s a coach there, too, huh?”

No, it didn’t.

He didn’t need to know that, though.

“I missed the game,” I explained. “That’s it, that’s all. But I’m pretty sure Avery hates my guts now. The school put me as thehead coach. I was under the impression Avery knew about that until she snapped at me.”

“Is that why she’s giving you a solid fuck-off stare whenever she looks your way?”

“That could be the reason, yeah. She still doesn’t know I’m not taking the position. I’m going to be her assistant coach. Alex said he wouldn’t consider partnering with us if I didn’t step down.”

“That’s pretty messed up.”

“It’s loyalty to his sister-in-law. I can’t be mad at a man with family values. I would’ve done the same thing if the roles were reversed,” I said, looking back in Avery’s direction. When I did, she locked eyes with me, and a deep scorn fell on her face before she looked away. She turned to my brothers and smiled brightly, pouring them another shot.

Why did they get her happy smiles?

That didn’t seem fair at all.

“Just a heads-up, she’s engaged,” Evan mentioned as he took a sip of his beer.

I arched an eyebrow. “Why would I care that she’s engaged?”

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