Page 17 of Fool Me Once

Tilting my head to the side, I dip my gaze lower. “Really? You’re actually serious?” I huff out. “And just what do you think he would think of this idea of yours? He couldn’t wait to get away from me when he was eighteen, so I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t want me following him to where he lives now.”

My nerves only grow when her eyes look away from mine.

“He already knows, and he’s fine with it.”

“Oh. My. God,” I blurt out. “Saylor, what the fu—”

Pushing off the couch, she walks into the kitchen and cuts me off. “Smith’s house has an actual gate to get up the driveway. There are cameras all over the premises and a state-of-the-art security system.”

She shrugs. “The truth is, Gem, you don’t know if Richie is going to come looking for you or not. If you ask me, a man that fucked up in the head”—she points to her forehead—“he isn’t going to just let you go that easily. I don’t want to be in South Carolina, worried about you. But if you go back to your parents’ house or get a place of your own, that’s exactly what will happen. I’ll be worried sick.”

She inhales through her nose, pushing her shoulders back. “I’m due to leave next week, but if you won’t move in with Smith—in a place I know you’ll be safe, with a man who I know will protect you at all costs—I’m going to call my new boss and tell her I’ve changed my mind.”

I simply stare at her, trying to call her bluff. The thing is, there’s no bluff to call because she means every word. Saylor would throw away this dream to make sure I was safe, and as much as I hate this entire arrangement, I can’t let her do that.

“How big is his house?” I grumble, my entire body growing annoyed at my new reality.

“Huge,” she says instantly. “So big that you could basically have your own wing.”

Slamming my bottle down, I narrow my eyes at her. “Fine. But you’d better not be exaggerating. If I have to live with your asshole brother, I’d better not be across the damn hall or sharing a bathroom. I’ll tell you that right now.”

Running toward me, she throws her arms around me and jumps against me. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” she squeals. “I’m sorry! But I love you!”

“Yeah, yeah,” I utter, not letting myself fully process what I just agreed to.

I’m going to move in with a man I can’t stand to even look at. And the reason why I can’t stand to look at him is because, deep down, I’ve never stopped loving Smith Sawyer.

Good thing he doesn’t love me. That would make this situation a helluva lot more complicated. This way, it’s cut and dry … ish.

The small room is packed with my sister’s family and closest friends. Most of the latter consists of people she’s met while working because, aside from Gemma, she doesn’t go out of her way to make friends. Like her best friend, she’d rather spend a Saturday night in pajamas, watching trashy shows.

Ryder takes a seat on the stool next to mine and tips his beer against the neck of my own. “So, is this your sister’s favorite place or what?”

“Yeah, something like that, I guess,” I say as we wait for Gemma and my sister to show up to Saylor’s surprise going-away party.

“Sweet. I like it. Can’t believe this place is so close to the stadium and we’ve never been here.” He chuckles, looking around. “Hell, I’d never even heard of it.”

“Me neither, aside from when my sister told me she was here,” I utter, taking another swig from my beer and knowing I’m going to switch to water after.

My sister is going to get fucked up—I know she is—and I want to make sure she gets home safely.

Gemma too.

Even though he isn’t that close to my sister, Ryder rode with me tonight to this small dive bar. It’s a place Saylor and the other hospital staff go after a long shift and where Gemma chose to have my sister’s going-away party. Which brings me back to how I even found out about this damn party.

A few days ago, a blocked number called my phone. Normally, I wouldn’t answer, but given that Gemma was back in town and seemed sketchy as fuck the few times I’d seen her, I felt some pull to pick it up. Turned out, it was Gemma, blocking the number before calling so that I couldn’t contact her. Not sure it mattered much, seeing as, after today, she’ll be my roommate anyway. She gave me a very genericinvitation and told me to invite my family and whoever else I thought would want to help send Saylor off before she left for South Carolina. Before I could ask her how she was, she hung up the phone.

After Saylor told me that Gemma had agreed to move into my place for the time being, she also said that my house was big and there was “no damn reason” that Gemma couldn’t have her own wing. That wasn’t exactly what I’d had in mind when I learned she’d be shacking up with me, but I also don’t want to piss off my little sister—or Gemma Jones for that matter.

Especially now that she’s ice cold. Shit, even her eyes are dead.

“They just pulled in!” Scarlett, my sister’s colleague, calls after peeking out the window. “Everyone, get ready!”

“Does your sister like this type of shit?” Ryder mumbles. “The whole, like … attention type of shit.”

I snort at his question because that’s really fucking hard to answer when talking about my sister. She does things that contradict each other. She also does shit that’s out of character sometimes. For instance, usually, Saylor doesn’t date. She’s a bigger player than most of my teammates could dream of being. But not long ago, for a short time, she dated debatably one of the biggest douchebags in the entire NHL, who also happened to be one of Ryder’s best friends. Well, he was one of Ryder’s best friends, and now, Ry can’t stand him either.

“Let’s see … aside from those she cares for as a nurse, she genuinely doesn’t like peoplethatmuch. She could spend a month at home—alone or with her best friend, Gemma—and not leave and be perfectly content. But when she’s out and about, everyone thinks she’s hilarious and the life of the party.” I shrug. “Fucking confusing, I know. But that’s my sister for you. Oh, and she’s weirdly obsessed with Disney, so that right there makes her a nutjob in itself.”

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