Page 26 of Heartbreaker
“Shut up, traitor.” Rae pushes him. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”
Savannah’s mother sighs, shaking her head with a slight smile. I get the distinct feeling this is her normal, but she loves every second of it. When Nash and the twins leave, promising to return for the rest of the bags shortly, she turns back to us and says, “I’m sorry about them. They’re still getting used to the whole…their sister works on television thing.” She does another once-over of the group before she extends her hand toward Harper. “I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure of meeting before. I’m Laine, Savannah’s mother.”
“Harper.” She introduces herself. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Williams.”
“Harper?” Laine glances at Wolf. “TheHarper? I’ve heard all about you.”
Harper’s brow reaches the sky, and Wolf turns a bright shade of red. She’s heard all about her? How many times has Wolf been here? I knew he and Savannah were close, but I guess I didn’t realize how close.
“I’m Brody Wilder, ma’am,” Brody says when Laine turns her attention to him.
“Laine, please.” The older woman smiles up at him, and I suddenly realize how far we tower over her. She can’t be any taller than five-foot exactly, and when she looks up at me, a different smile spreads across her lips—a knowing smile. One that says she knows exactly who I am without any introduction. “That must make you…”
“John Brooks.” I extend my hand.
“Brooks.” She chews on the word for a moment. “Why does that name sound familiar?” The small smirk in the corner of her lips tells me that she knows, but she doesn’t want to out her daughter in front of everyone.
“Brooks Taylor,” Brody says, oblivious to what is going on.
“Oh! Yes, my boys love you.” Laine covers our still-joined hands and laughs. “You’ll have to forgive me, I don’t know much about all of this. It was never my thing…My husband, however, he’s the one who got the kids into it.”
“Savvy, too?” Harper asks.
“Oh no, Savannah was never that much into it. She’d watch occasionally when she was younger, but lost interest.” That must be why she didn’t recognize any of us at the bar a few years ago. “She was much more involved in cheerleading. From the moment she picked up her first set of pom-poms, she knew she wanted to be a professional cheerleader.” A nostalgic smile graces her lips before she wraps her arms around her torso against the cool December breeze. “Anyways, she and Crew should be back soon. It’s a bit chilly today. Come inside and get warm.” She holds her arm out to Raelynn, who steps into the embrace, and they walk toward the house.
Brody and I hang back to sort the rest of the bags. “Rae seems pretty close with them,” he says, picking through the bags, but never settling on one.
“You mean she andNashseem close,” I say, and laugh when he glares again. “Why don’t you just say something to her?”
“Why don’t you?”
Touché.
He picks up his half of the remaining bags, and I close the back of the SUV when the roar of music tears through the tranquil air.
A Jeep barrels out of the tree line at the far end of the property, and even from this distance, I know who’s sitting in the front seat. Her hair whips around from the wind and speed, only settling on her shoulder when the Wrangler comes to a stop beside Nash’s pickup. She climbs out, and all I can do is stare. The dark denim jeans show off her delicious curves, even beneath the oversized plaid jacket. I fold my hands into my arms, trying not to think about how it feels to run them down her sides, remembering the sounds she made as I traced the planes of her body.
She plucks a hat from the back seat and sets it on her head before the man beside her hits the brim, knocking it off. Savannah swats at him, picking it up and laughing at something he says. Crew, I assume. She shoves his shoulder, trying to stifle her laughter when her gaze finally lands on us.
This is the first time in months that I’ve seen her, and I’d be a liar if I said I haven’t been thinking about her. I’ve watched her matches—every one that I could—and occasionally I send her a quick text with feedback when I feel like she needs it, but we haven’tseeneach other. EWE is like that, though. You could go a long time without ever seeing someone in the same building, if you really wanted to.
Her lips fall into a soft smile, and she embraces Brody first. It’s quick and friendly, and I wonder if she meant to do the same thing to me because ours isn’t anything like that. From the second I pull her into my arms, inhaling the heavenly scent ofher—a musky yet floral and citrusy scent that’s fresh, warm, and captivating—I know I’m in for a long weekend. Arms tighten around my neck, her face buried there, and she releases a contented sigh, like she needed this just as much as I did. Only the clearing of her brother’s throat breaks us apart, and even then, her fingers remain wrapped around my wrist. We haven’t been this close since the first night we spent together, and now that I’ve gotten a small taste to remind myself what it’s like…I don’t know how I’m supposed to keep my distance from her. I know I should, but I don’t know if I can.
“Brody, Brooks, this is my oldest brother, Crew,” Savannah says, introducing us, and I hate the choice of name she used for me. Her hesitation before she says it tells me that she isn’t sure how to introduce me. We never talked about it.
“Nice to meet you,” Crew says, much calmer than his younger brothers. He extends his hand, and Savannah drops her hold on me so I can return the gesture. The oldest Williams sibling keeps an observant eye on his sister, while watching every move I make, almost like he’s analyzing even the breaths I take.
“Did my other brothers see you already?” Savannah asks.
Brody laughs. “Yes, it was…interesting.”
“Damn,” Crew groans. “I wish I could’ve seen the look on their faces. We tried to get back before you guys got in, but got sidetracked.”
Savannah rolls her eyes. “What Crew means to say ishewas too busy yapping, and we lost track of time.”
“That’s funny coming from you.”
She sticks her tongue out at him, repeating the words in a mocking tone. Crew only laughs, adjusting the backwards cap on his head. He and Nash look the same, except for Crew’s much larger body mass. Their complexion is lighter than Savannah’s and their mother’s, similar to the twins. I assume that comes from their father. Their rugged features are a stark contrast to the feminine ones of their sister. But the one thing they all share for certain is the dark brown color of their eyes.
