Page 17 of Deal Takers

Emmett being the wiseass he is, boldly runs his eyes down the length of Devyn’s lithe frame. “Sorry, Rain, there’s no way in hell I’m agreeing to that.”

The twins, Calvin and Joey, are much smarter and busy themselves with the grill. Don’t let my small frame deceiveyou—growing up with five brothers will make any girl scrappy. I’ve knocked every one of them on their asses at one point or another.

“I could use a beer,” I say to Devyn. “You want one?”

“Sure,” she says.

We each grab a bottle from the cooler and make our way over to the built-in benches. Devyn sets the baby monitor on the ledge and pops the tops using the opener on her flip-flops.

“I told you these shoes would come in handy.” She smiles.

I clink my bottle to hers. “Totally worth the extra ten bucks.”

She leans back and looks toward the ocean. “God, the view is incredible.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Brody says, sliding onto the bench beside me. Taking the bottle right out of my hand, he adds, “Although I think we’re looking at two different things.”

“Excuse me,” I complain as he takes a big swig. “Get your own beer, buddy.”

He takes another drink, eyeing me the entire time. “Yours tastes better.”

“Here we go again,” Devyn mutters. “Lorraine, I’m going inside to see if your sister-in-law needs help with the salads.”

“Traitor!” I shout as she walks away.

Brody, undeterred by my snark as always, scoots closer and offers my bottle back.

“Thanks,” I grumble, even though the damn drink is mine. I take a sip and pass it back to him. Before you ask, no, I don’t know why I just did that.

He leans back and looks over the crowd gathered on thedeck. “So, here’s a question for you: Why do all of your brothers look like linebackers?”

“Pfft, that’s ridiculous,” I scoff. “Only one of them is.”

“What?”

I point to the elder brothers. “Junior’s the only one who went to the NFL—he’s a middle linebacker for the Mustangs. George played in college, but he’s an attorney now.” I move my finger to the younger three. “Joey’s a receiver for Ohio State, and Calvin plays soccer for Clemson. Emmett, always the odd man out, chose to play with pucks instead of balls. He’s a forward for Toronto.”

Brody chokes a little on the sip he was taking. “Are you telling me four of your five brothers are professional athletes?”

“No,” I refute. “The twins have two more years of college before they can even think about going pro. My mom would kill them if they didn’t get their degree first.”

His eyes widen. “Holy shit! I knew that guy looked familiar. Junior’s real name is Martin, right?”

“Yep,” I confirm. “He’s named after my dad.”

“Why am I just finding out about this?Yourbrotheris on my Madden roster, for shit’s sake!”

“I don’t know,” I say with a shrug. “It’s not like we spend a lot of time together.”

He cocks his head to the side. “Are you high?We see each other all the time.”

“Yeah, but in a group setting. It’s not like we ever get any quality time.”

“Well, that can be easily arranged.” He wags his eyebrows suggestively.

Jesus, this guy can never resist an opening.

“Taken, remember?” I wiggle my ring finger for emphasis.

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