Page 35 of Down & Dirty

I started to crack up, genuinely tickled by his reaction. There was no way he could have read that much off that singular interaction. And he was clearly wrong—I wasn’t enjoying any part ofthis. But to see him so rattled as it hit him that something was going on was downright comical.

“What the hell is so funny? Are you fucking my teammate?”

All the humor evaporated instantly. “First of all, don’t talk to me like that. Second of all, that’s none of your damn business.”

Ronnie had been too young when I’d started dating Tommy to have much of an opinion and he’d been too involved in his own fledgling career to care who I was with. Whatever this outburst was, though, it was only going to happen once.

“I work with that guy.”

“What’s your point, Captain Obvious?”

He scraped his hand through his hair like he was really thrown. “What if he’s a dick to you and I have to fuck him up?”

Oh Ronnie.He had to know that logically he’d never have a shot at taking Cory down. The man was five inches taller and thirty pounds heavier. And that was ignoring the fact that I didn’t think my brother had ever even thrown a punch—at least, one that wasn’t directed at me.

“Is this you being protective?”

“Sky, he’s a known dickhead. You fucking hated him a month ago. What the hell are you thinking?”

I took a step back, leaning against the wall. “I’m not sure he’s as bad as I thought.”

That was the truth, hard as it might have been to admit out loud. After spending so much time with Cory the last couple of weeks I’d seen a different side of him. He might still seem to prioritize the wrong things, but he wasn’t as shallow as I’d once believed.

“So, this is happening? What everyone just saw back there, that’s really happening?”

Not once in my life had I asked anyone for their opinion on my love life. I wasn’t going to start now, even if this was a farce we were constructing.

“Yeah. We’re hanging out. Seeing where it goes.”

Ronnie huffed out a breath, tilting his head back as he closedhis eyes. I hadn’t imagined such a strong response from him. But I took it as a good sign that Cory and I were convincing if he was getting this upset.Go us.

He looked back at me. “And there’s nothing I can say to talk you out of it?”

I slanted my head, giving him a questioning look. “What do you think?”

“I think you’re going to regret this.”

Shaking my head, I turned back toward the door. “Thanks bro. Real nice.” Ronnie didn’t try to stop me, which was good. I’d had enough of his little brother macho routine.

As soon as I stepped into the garage Cory’s eyes were on me. He’d clearly been staring at the door we’d left through waiting for me to reappear. Concern and irritation cut a hard line on his face, and he took a step toward me. I shook my head, silently telling him I was fine.

I didn’t want to make a scene. OTM was unlikely to care about our little romance, unless it caused issues at their office. And Cory running over to console me or finding Ronnie to have it out would fit the bill.

Holding Cory’s gaze I raised the phone in my hand and he nodded. I’d fill him in later. When all eyes weren’t on us. I grabbed my stuff from my brother’s workbench and headed for the exit.

I figured I’d be able to slip out without any more drama, but as soon as I got to the parking lot, I spotted Ronnie leaning against my car door. He’d bypassed the garage to ambush me, and I didn’t like it.

“More to add?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

Ronnie mimicked my stance, his eyes narrow as he regarded me. “Sorry for barking back there. I’m just not used to you bringing personal shit to work.”

“It wasn’t a thing until you made it one.” I wanted to be impressed with my little brother for owning his outburst so quickly, but I was still annoyed.

He nodded, his eyes drifting to the pavement between us. “Fine. You keep,” he waved his hand in the air, “whatever this is with Ellis out of the work and I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

It amused me that he thought this was something he could negotiate. I didn’t care what he had to say about my choices. My ability to remain professional had never been called into question before, and I wasn’t about to defend it now.

“I think you keeping your mouth shut sounds good.”

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