Page 102 of Rebel Bride
“I told her she was out of her mind,” Jason added.
I looked at my uncle sharply. “You talked to her about it?”
“I was driving home from dinner at Ro’s and Addy’s and saw her walking to her car.”
“And?”
“And I stopped to ask her what in the hell she was thinking. If she wants a baby so much, surely there are other options. People who would be crazy enough to have a kid with her.”
Conor squinted at him. “Isn’t that the point? She feels she doesn’t have the usual options, so she’s resorting to sperm requests from the eligible men of her acquaintance.”
Jason snorted. “Eligible? Right. You know she has a list.” Before I could ask, he said, “You’re not on it, Hatchling. Too young. Neither are you, Connie. Definitely too young.”
That was a relief, I supposed. But something about the way he was acting prompted me to respond with, “Are you on it?”
“Apparently, but only as a formality. I don’t meet her lofty standards.”
Oh, this was only the fucking best. Catching Conor’s eye, I could tell he was hearing an angelic chorus of tea-sipping angels.
“You mean your superior athlete genetic material isn’t sufficient?”
Jason looked very put out. “Some jocks might make the grade. But this one”—he thumbed at himself—”isn’t evolved enough. Which is fine because if I had a kid, the entire Rebels roster couldn’t keep me away. I’m not like Nick.”
That would be Grandpa Nick, Jason’s and my dad’s father. He had put Dad’s mom in the family way as a teen and then left her in the lurch. When Dad tried to contact him after she died, Nick wasn’t interested. They eventually made up, but it had rubbed Jason the wrong way to see how his father treated his eldest son.
Conor shook his head. “It’s just sperm, man. People need to be less attached to it.”
I pointed at him. “And that’s the kind of attitude that’s going to get you into trouble. You’d better be wrapping it before you’re tapping it, Connie.”
I’d seen my little brother in action. If there was a league table for scoring tail, he’d be at the top of it. Plus my own recent mishap with Ava had alerted me to the dangers of unprotected sex.
Yet I wasn’t nearly so worried about going raw with Summer in the Rebels locker room. Those filthy memories had fueled every jerk off session since. A part of me was almost hoping that something came of it. A baby with Summer—bonus: one conceived on Rebels territory—didn’t scare me in the slightest.
I was so fucked.
“Don’t you worry about me,” Conor said. “If anyone needs guidance on his sex life, it’s you. Is that why you want to trade out? Because you’re scared of Carter? Or because Summer turned you down?”
I rolled my eyes. “That woo-woo Jedi mind fuckery isn’t gonna work on me. Let’s get back to work and see if we can get past the Green-Eyed Monster here.”
An hour later, we were back in the locker room when one of the front office assistants, Shona, popped her head around the door.
“Hatch, do you have time to talk to Ryder? He saw you guys on the practice rink and wondered if you could spare a few minutes.”
“Sure, I’ll be up in ten.”
Conor grinned at Shona and made to get up. “Hey, I don’t think we’ve met.”
Grasping his arm, I pulled him back to the bench. “Slow your roll, child. Shona, tell Ryder I’ll see him soon.”
Shona blinked, blushed, and backed out in a Conor-induced daze.
“Do not be messing with the front office, Con. When it all turns to shit, they’re the ones who’ll suffer, not you.”
Conor grabbed a towel and stood, the showers his goal. “Hey, Summer knew what she was doing messing with Carter. But apparently she didn’t learn a thing, if she’s messing with you.”
I shook my head as he moved out of earshot. “When did the youth become so wise?”
Jason chuckled. “He comes off as a total bro, but he’s the smartest guy in the room. And he does kind of have a point. I noticed you two were pretty careful around each other at dinner the other night, so I’m guessing that means nothing’s happening? Or everything’s happening?”
