Page 233 of Scoring the Player
I insist on ordering dinner for us so Salem can continue relaxing.
It was hard to feel him tremble against my side earlier as he tried to hold it together.
He seems like he’s the rock for his family. It’s a lot for one person to carry.
But he’s not alone, and I’ll do what I can to help create moments like this.
He’s settled into the couch, laughing at Anaïs’s secret—and fake—sibling language.
How the hell am I supposed to decipher her sticking a finger in each ear while she’s cross-eyed and trying to lick her nose?
We’re playing spades—siblings versus siblings.
And they might be tens and all that, but screw them for the silent assassin tricks they’ve got going on.
The score is 7–2.
“You know there’s a room upstairs for you too,” Salem says to Anaïs.
She hides her wide grin behind her cards. “You got earplugs, Denzel? Have a feeling we’re gonna need ’em, the way these two keep looking at each other.”
Denzel nods, eyes bright. “You catching that too?”
“So, doubling back to what you said earlier,” I direct at him. “This crush he had…”
“Did you show him the vision board?” he asks Salem, who bursts out laughing.
“Shut your face,” Salem replies.
“There’s a vision board?” I ask, interest piqued. “I wanna?—”
“No.” Salem shuts it down.
“Come on,” I cajole.
“Hell no.” He shakes his head.
“It has ‘Marry Arnaz’at the top,” Denzel snitches.
My mouth opens wide as Anaïs croons, “Aww.”
“Unbelievable.” Salem blushes. “You’ve literally been trained to keep classified intel.”
“It’s cute,” Denzel says. “He’s a planner.”
That makes us laugh.
When Salem shyly meets my gaze, I wink at him.
Yeah, they’ll definitely need earplugs tonight.
CHAPTER 57
ARNAZ
TEN DAYS LATER
“Knives”
