Page 44 of How to Prevent a Fumble

“I’ve been doing fine here,” I cut him off, giving him a look that clearly suggests he needs to stop.

And he does.

My brother knows me so well.

Owen and I have always been close, mostly from bonding over trying to meet our mom’s expectations. He was the one who convinced me to move closer.

“Leo has been professional—” I cut myself off. “As professional as Leo can be, and Elara likes living here.”

“Bruh I was wondering about the plants,” Emmett shakes his head, laughing. “Ain’t no way that asshole bought plants, no matter what he told me. I was convinced he was seeing someone.”

Ignoring him, I turn back to Leo. “When was it?”

“The night you picked me up,” he says, his shoulders dropping.

I stop, thinking back to that night. “You didn’t have anyone with you. You didn’t even smell like perfume or anything.”

He nods. “They were leaving and asked me to walk them to their cars since they didn’t have anyone else to.”

“And you thought that was a good idea for you, a famous man constantly in the news for one thing or the other, because…?” I ask.

“Because everyone else was shitfaced and I wanted to make sure they got to their cars safe! They were there for hours, Briar. I sat in the corner by myself. Didn’t even touch them.”

“That’s… weird?” Emmett comments, brows furrowed.

“How is that weird?”

“Like a year ago you would have had fun with the guys no matter what.”

“I had fun. In the corner. With my beer.”

Owen snickers, and Leo shoots him a look.

“Bottom line, I didn’t do anything with them. And walking them to their car was innocent. I guess there was someone behind us who took a video. I don’t know.” His hands fly up in the air before coming down at his sides loudly.

“I just don’t understand how you get yourself into these situations, Leo.”

My gaze shifts to Owen and Emmett as they exchange a look, getting up from their spot on the couch. “I think we’re going to head out,” Owen mutters, not looking super pleased about it. “But later I do want to know why you guys didn’t tell me about this.”

I roll my eyes. “Whatever.”

As the two massive men walk by Leo, Owen pats him on the shoulder. “Good luck buddy, you’re gonna need it.”

16

LEO

“You ready to go?” I call to Briar, who’s still cooped up in her room getting ready.

We have a meeting with a new publicist today. With the help of Briar, my agent was able to find one within a week. The only issue is they want to seriously talk about an action plan to repair my image.

The more things I can fuck up, the more Iwillfuck up. I’m not quite sure this is a great idea, but I’m willing to think about it.

“Yeah, one sec,” she calls.

Elara is with one of my sister’s friends, the ditzy redhead, who also offered to take Champ as well. They were going to explore a park somewhere.

The second I started worrying about Elara with someone I didn’t know well, I shut my brain off. She’s not my kid. She’s adorable, and she loves me. But she’s not my kid. The only responsibility I have to her is to make sure she’s safe when her mom isn’t around.

---