I wasn’t sure I was capable of that—not really—but there was a sharp pinch of betrayal over the fact that she hadn’t even lasted a week without telling someone. “I’m not mad,” I said carefully. “But I did ask her to keep it a secret. It’s important that I protect my sister.”
“Yeah, so she said.” He adjusted his glasses. “I was in the middle of a phenomenal rant about why she should keep Gavin away from you, andherprotective instincts kicked in too,” he said pointedly. “She didn’t much like what I was saying about you.”
The way satisfaction seeped through my entire body was absolutely fucking pathetic. I should’ve been pissed. Should’ve been furious that she’d betrayed my trust. Except the only thing blaring through my head wasTell me fucking everything.
What did she look like?
What did she say?
How—and tell me in great detail—did she say it?
I couldn’t remember a time anyone had been protective of me, and God, it felt like executing the perfect pass just before a sack, runningin a touchdown when the defense doesn’t see me coming, the winning moment that unfolded against all odds.
A skin-tingling high that you’d chase over and over and over.
I kept my expression even because he’d probably cuff me on the back of the head if I told him any of that. “Ah, please don’t ... please don’t tell anyone.”
“I’ll agree to that,” he said. “As long as you don’t stare at my granddaughter’s ass while I’m around. I might be a lot older and a lot slower, but I could still whip you, boy.”
“Yes, sir.” I winced. “I’ll do my best.”
He nodded. “See that you do.”
Chapter Twenty
Remi
The amount of time it took me, Gavin, and the two strapping athletes to unload Pops’s entire life was not indicative of how long it had taken us to pack, sort, and donate his entire life prior to move-in day.
All four of us had vehemently denied his request to help unload, so he was the traffic director instead, perched on the edge of his new bed, instructing us on where he’d like everything to go. While Archer and Grant (I refused to call him by his last name) moved the larger pieces into the house, Gavin and I started unpacking the wardrobe boxes.
We had already gone through two, and I shifted hangers around as Gavin passed them to me, keeping the colors grouped together the way Pops liked them.
“No, no, not that way. I want the dresser on the other wall instead.”
Grant and Archer froze, as they’d almost set the heavy wooden dresser into place where I’d instructed.
“Are you sure?” I asked. “This is a bigger wall.”
Pops nodded. “We can put my chair by that wall instead. Then I can see into the front yard when I come take my afternoon quiet time.”
I snorted. “You mean when you snore for four hours, all the while pretending you don’t ever nap?”
“I’ve never napped a day in my life,” he said, utterly affronted. Archer turned his face into his arm, clearly hiding a growing smile. “I’m just resting my eyes.” He tapped his cane on the floor. “Dresser over here, gentlemen.”
Archer swung his end around, the two of them pivoting positions. Against my better judgment, my eyes took a lazy perusal over the way his muscles flexed as he carried that piece of furniture like it weighed absolutely nothing.
The curves of his biceps were obscene, like someone had wedged perfectly round boulders underneath the skin. It really was no wonder his ego was the size of a small nation. If I were a man walking around looking like him, I’d probably be full of myself too.
“Is there a bathroom I can use?” Grant asked.
I smiled. “Gavin, can you show him where it is?”
I was on a roll this week. A second NFL player waltzing through my home and I wasn’t worried about scuffed trim or the fact that my end tables didn’t match.
All that was left to be moved into the room was Pops’s chair. While he waited for Grant to return, Archer picked up a dustcloth and wiped down the top of the dresser, then the face of each drawer, spending a little extra time around the aged brass handles. The veins along the tops of his hands shifted as he rubbed.
I swear to God, I felt it between my legs.