Page 85 of The Problem with Players

“Should she be worried, though?”

With a quizzical lift of his brow, he slanted his head slightly. His piercing look caused a tightness in my chest that was hard to breathe around.

“Now it’s your turn not to do that,” he whispered, his voice a blend of warning and pleading.

“Do what?”

“Make me tell you the truth,” he said, his stare unwavering. The air between us felt heavy with the weight of his impending confession. My mind spun with what his truth may have been.

Before I could reply, Easton walked over and slammed his hands onto Nathan’s shoulders, breaking the tension between us. “Sarah’s here,” Easton stated.

Nathan turned to face his brother. “No shit. Sarah’s here?”

“Yup. She walked in like she still had a right to walk on in,” he explained, sitting beside his brother. Easton looked at me and grinned. “Sorry to interrupt, Avery. It’s just that Sarah’s here.”

“Oh, no. I understand,” I said. I blinked a few times. “Who’s Sarah?”

“The woman who broke River’s heart,” Nathan explained. “She cheated on him with his best friend.”

“That’s not much of a best friend,” I muttered.

“You’re telling me,” Easton said, snatching a piece of bacon from my plate. “Can you believe that she had enough nerve to walk in here? With his whole family around?”

“Knowing Sarah, I’m not that shocked. Tact wasn’t her middle name,” Nathan said as he pushed himself up from sitting. “They are right outside?”

“Yeah. He’s trying to get Sarah to leave, but she’s having a full-blown freak-out,” Easton explained. “Evan said he’d get rid of her, but you know Evan…”

“Yeah, I know. It would make a bigger scene if he handled it. Don’t worry. I got it.” Nathan glanced my way and gave me a small grin. “I’ll see you later, Coach.”

I stood from the table and shook my head. “Wait. Let me handle Sarah.”

The guys looked at one another, then at me.

Easton grimaced. “You don’t know Sarah, Avery.”

“Exactly. And she doesn’t know that River and I aresoinlove,” I stated, placing my hands on my hips, batting my eyelashes toward the guys.

Easton’s grin stretched as he realized my plan. Nathan frowned.

“No way.”

“Yes!”

They both said it at the same time, but I went with Easton’s “yes” instead of Nathan’s “no way.”

“All right, Avery.” Easton patted me on the back before he rubbed his hands together in bliss. “Batter up.”

24

NATHAN

Ihated this plan.

But dammit, it was a good plan. A great plan, even.

Sarah was the definition of a bad ex-girlfriend. Ever since River found out about her hooking up with his best friend, she’d been trying to get back with him on an unnatural level. Even with him blocking her number, he’d get calls from random phone numbers, only to find Sarah was trying to weasel her way back into his life.

I followed Easton to the front of the barn and peered out of the window as we spied on Avery walking out to where River and Sarah stood. Sarah, of course, was in a fit of emotions, tears streaming down her face, and poor River stood there looking as if he’d kicked a puppy. I knew whatever crap Sarah was feeding him was making him feel guilty, and that infuriated me. The poor guy had a heart of gold, and it made me angry that Sarah was manipulating his emotions post-breakup the same way she had during said “relationship.”

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