Page 28 of Broken Player

My dad sat back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. He was studying me, and I could tell he was considering my words. It wasn’t entirely important to me to get my parents’ blessing on this marriage. It wasn’t going to last, and I was going through with it no matter what they said, but it’d make the whole thing more comfortable if I didn’t have to deal with attitude and anger the whole time.

My mom walked over and sat on the arm of the chair my dad sat in, resting her hand on his shoulder. “Don’t give the kids a hard time, Alex. We have to let them live their lives,” she said softly, and then she smiled at me, and I knew she’d get him on board. My mom had always been loving and supportive, guiding my sisters and me to make our own decisions and helping us through when those decisions went wrong.

My dad grumbled a bit but took a sip of his lemonade and seemed like he let his line of questioning go. After several minutes of awkward silence mixed with small talk and Quinn’s stare burning into the side of my head, I decided I’d had enough.

“We should go,” I said, standing from the couch with Yates and Quinn both taking their places on either side of me. I could feel the tension radiating between the two of them, and I worriedabout what might happen if we didn’t leave. “I’ll be home tomorrow.”

I looked up at Quinn. He wore a scowl, and I could tell he was biting his cheek. I knew he wanted to come with me more than anything. He was looking at Yates like he wanted to punch him in the face, but he held his tongue, and I’d never been so grateful for anything in my life. He tore his glare off of my fiance and bent down, wrapping me in a tight hug. He whispered in my ear, “If you need anything at all, you call me and I’m there. I mean it, Lancelot. Call. Me.”

I nodded before tearing myself out of his embrace and forcing a smile onto my face. I shook off Quinn’s overprotectiveness and stepped around him toward the door. Yates followed me out, saying goodbye to my parents, and I grabbed my bag off the floor by the front door before walking outside into the Texas heat.

“Well, that wasn’t too bad,” Yates said, flashing me a crooked smile before moving in front of me to open the passenger door of his vintage blue convertible.

I chuckled, rolling my eyes. “Compared to what?”

Darkness crossed his face for a second that had my stomach in knots all over again. “Meeting my parents.” Once I was in the car, he shut the door, and I felt like my fate had been sealed.

"Let's play twenty-one questions," Yates suggested after turning down the music. We were halfway to Dallas, and the ride had been quiet and awkward, much like our first car ride together to the restaurant. I'd been lost in my thoughts the whole time.

Perking up, I glanced over at him, watching his dirty blonde hair blow around in the wind. He really was handsome, but something was holding me back from feeling that spark with him. I wasn't sure exactly what it was, but I suspected Maddox had something to do with it.

"Yeah, that sounds fun," I agreed. "You go first."

He shifted his grip on the steering wheel, so he had just one hand wrapped around it, and he propped his elbow up on the door, resting his chin on his fist. Suddenly, he sat up straighter and grinned at me before putting his eyes back on the road. "What's something most people think is true about you but actually isn't?"

I thought for a second. "That I'm a tomboy. People assume because I have a boy's name, and I work on a ranch all day that I don't like pretty dresses or smelling good or feeling feminine. They would be wrong." I chuckled.

"Well, I for one think I'm going to like you in dresses if this is any indication," Yates flirted, his bright smile making me laugh as his eyes roamed the exposed skin of my legs.

"Okay, my turn," I said, changing the subject. I tapped my chin, thinking. "How useful would you be in a zombie apocalypse?"

Yates burst out laughing. "Not as useful as you, I'd imagine." I smiled at him and motioned for him to continue. "Let's see. I'm in decent shape, and I can throw a solid punch, so if I had a weapon, I could probably do some damage. I'm not going to be good at the things you are, like growing food or fixing things. But I'd like to think I'd be a good leader and also a good planner. I think if it came down to it, we both have skill sets that would compliment each other pretty well."

I had to hand it to him, he convinced me that I'd want him on my team even if he looked like he'd never done any hard work in his entire life. As we kept asking each other questions, I felt myself relaxing in his presence. I had no doubt this game would help us get to know each other better, which would help us pull off convincing everyone that we were in love.

I turned to Yates. "I feel like I need to warn you."

He turned to look at me, his eyes narrowing slightly. "About what?"

"My sisters. My parents are the easy ones. My sisters, well… They're going to give you a hard time. Just prepare yourself," I warned.

Yates just chuckled and took my hand in his, resting it on my thigh. "I think I can handle your sisters. It's my mom you've got to be worried about." I could already feel the lump forming in my throat about tomorrow, but I shoved it down. That was tomorrow's problem. I already had enough to worry about today.

I spottedmy sisters as soon as we walked into the restaurant. Justice waved her hand frantically in my direction. She was always so energetic, but usually, it was contagious. Charlie was the more serious sister and the one I was most worried about today. However, the glint in Justice's eye as Yates and I walked up to the table didn't make me feel good about her plans for this lunch.

"Hi guys," I said, sliding into the chair Yates had pulled out. "This is Yates." He nodded at Charlie and then Justice before grabbing my hand and pressing a kiss to the back. "These are my sisters, Charlie and Justice."

Yates chuckled before resting his arm across the back of my chair and scooting closer to me. He was taking this whole fiance thing really seriously already, and I was totally uncomfortable. I needed to get over it soon because I was sure my sisters would see right through it. Keeping that in mind, I took a deep breath and leaned closer to Yates, so we were almost pressed together. He smiled down at me and ran his thumb down my cheek, pressing a kiss to my forehead. He smelled good, but I felt indifferent. There was no spark. I didn't want to get closer or bury my nose into his chest like I did with Maddox.

My pillow still smelled like him, and at this point, I'd probably never wash it. Charlie was watching me with her eyes narrowed, and I shook off thoughts of the sexy rock star next door. I couldn't afford to give Yates and me away at this lunch. I needed him to help me too much.

After we all ordered our food and the waitress dropped off drinks, I braced myself. I knew we were about to face the inquisition that was my sisters. Charlie cleared her throat and folded her hands on the tabletop. "So, Yates. Why have we never heard a single thing about you until about two days ago?"

Straight for the jugular. Classic Charlie. There was a reason she'd been top of her class in medical school. Charlie was astraight-up badass who didn't miss a single damn thing. She was sharp and witty, and I bet she saw straight through this ruse. But if I was lucky she'd keep it to herself. I shot her a pleading look, begging with my eyes to keep her conclusions to herself. We needed Yates even if she didn't know it right now, and I couldn't tell her. I hoped she trusted me enough to know I was doing what I thought was best.

Yates smiled and leaned closer to me. "Ryan and I hadn't had time to meet the families yet. It's been an intense year training under my dad to take over, and I haven't really had any spare time outside of the time I've spent with Ryan." He pressed a kiss to my temple again before he continued, smooth and confident in his answer. I almost believed him myself.

"But I was tired of staying away from her, so now we're meeting everyone and making things official."

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