Page 114 of How to Score Off Field

Drew hasn't responded to my texts in hours. Did he already regret agreeing to visit?

Was he coming to talk about the mess my brother created, or was he planning to cut ties with us altogether?

My heart races, and I sink onto the couch, burying my face in my hands.

And just like clockwork, there’s a knock on the door.

I rise, wiping my hands on my leggings.

But when I open the door, it’s not Drew standing on the other side like I expect.

It’s Grady.

"Hey, Tess.” He lounges against the doorway, a smug grin on his lips. “You weren’t going to tell your older brother you were coming to town? How rude.”

"What do you want, Grady?" I snap, my frustration reaching a boiling point.

He saunters into Miranda’s apartment without an invitation, completely unfazed by my obvious annoyance.

"Just checking in on my favorite soon-to-be niece or nephew."

Oh, he’s a comedian now?

“You are literally the last person I want to see right now.” My hand still grips the door.

I don’t want to close it. I don’t want to be trapped inside with this asshole. I thought I knew him, but money does crazy shit to people, and my brother has proven he’s no exception to that rule. He took the first chance he could to make money off me.

Off his best friend.

“Maybe this wouldn't have happened if you weren’t sneaking around. Did you consider that?”

“What I do in the bedroom and who I do it with is none of your business.”

He makes a sound like a buzzer. “Wrong. It is my business. I’m your brother. And Drew was my best friend. Don’t you think I have a right to know if you’re screwing around behind my back?”

“How did this become aboutyou?”

Seriously. I’d like to know.

“How does our sleeping together remotely affect your life?”

His eyes rake down my body. Of course they do because he’s immature and out to prove a point.

Grady raises his brows.

“Who even are you? Where is my caring brother? Why are you acting like this?”

Our parents are appalled too. It isn’t just me. Especially the afternoon they were served with a gag order from the matriarch of the Colter family, Isabelle Colter, so none of my family members speak to the press.

Well, too late for that…

"You fucking ruined everything, Grady. Drew and I had a chance, and now... now I don't even know where we stand."

“Whoa. Language.”

I couldn’t give a crap about my foul language. “You betrayed me.”

Grady meets my eyes.

---