Page 44 of Sworn to Protect

I grin. “It means you’ve got taste. Classic. Timeless.” I pause, letting my eyes sweep over her deliberately. “And strong.”

She scoffs but doesn’t hide the way her lips twitch upward. “Nice recovery.”

“Wasn’t a recovery.”

She hums but takes a sip anyway.

I let the moment stretch, then nod toward her drink. “Well?”

Her tongue darts out and catches a stray drop on her lip. I track the movement, fighting the urge to shift in my seat.

Finally, she exhales, setting the glass down. “I’ll allow it.”

“Good to know I have your approval.”

She tilts her head. “Cocky, aren’t you?”

“I prefer confident.”

Shaking her head, she points to my bottle. “What did you settle on?”

“Double Goose. It’s a local craft beer. I thought I’d keep it light tonight since I’m driving, but I’ve been known to like my bourbon. I’m more of a neat guy, though.”

“As you can probably tell, I’m on the opposite spectrum of neat.”

“I may have noticed.”

We talk. We drink. The weight of her shoulders eases just a little. But when she goes quiet and traces the rim of her glass, I know it’s coming.

“What’s bothering you?”

She hesitates and then blows out a breath. “It’s my brother.”

My insides steel. I should’ve known if Jordan had something to say to me, he’d have something to say to her.

“Yeah, he paid me a visit earlier at practice.”

Anger flashes in her eyes as they snap to mine. “He what?”

“Warned me to stay away.” I gesture toward her. “As you can tell, I listened well.”

That earns me a half-hearted laugh. “I’m sorry. My idiot brother thinks you have some ulterior motive. He’s beyond ridiculous.”

I don’t answer right away. Because the thing is, he’s not exactly wrong.

I may have started this whole thing with an ulterior motive, but things changed along the way—I’m not sure when.

“He’s just looking out for you,” I say instead.

She huffs. “More like trying to run my life.”

I let her vent, watching as she relaxes the more she talks.

I shake my head when she mentions Liam’s birthday and the dirtbike debate. “That’s not an unreasonable concern. Has Liam even asked for one?”

“No! He doesn’t even watch Motocross. I swear, Jordan gets on these whims and won’t let them go.” She swirls the drink around her glass and then takes a sip. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m overprotective. It’s not like he has a male influence in his life.”

Ouch.

---