Page 100 of Just Say Yes

Without thinking, I looped my arm over her shoulder and pulled her close. Together we walked toward the dining room to find Duke taking Gus from Sylvie’s arms and disappearing down a back hallway.

The Sullivan home exuded cozy comfort. From the flowers on the table, to the kids’ toys scattered in the adjacent living room, the house was lived in. The large rectangular table was made of sturdy wood. I pulled out a chair for MJ.

Duke returned, without Gus, and took a seat at the head of the table, next to his wife.

“Thank you for dinner. It smells amazing,” I said.

“You are very welcome,” Sylvie answered. The dinner was served family style, and we all took turns serving ourselves pot roast, mashed potatoes, and roasted carrots. “Any friend of MJ’s is a friend of ours.” She looked at Duke. “Isn’t that right?”

A muscle in Duke’s jaw popped, but he finally made a face I imagined was his version of a smile. “Of course.”

Conversation was light. They asked about how I’d gotten started in rugby, and I recalled the story of how I’d come up in the sport. I wondered about the farm now that the weather was turning cool. Duke relaxed enough to tell me about the fall preparations they’d been doing and plans for how they overwinter the crops. It was a totally different world than the one I’d grown up in, and I found it fascinating.

To my right MJ smiled, and it was clear how loved she was. My knee brushed against hers, and her soft hand on my knee sent a jolt through my chest.

As I reached for another helping of mashed potatoes, MJ’s phone buzzed on the table. She glanced at the screen, and her smile faltered for half a second before she turned it face down. My stomach tightened.

Who the hell was that?

Dinner ended and I stood. “Let me help with that.” I grabbed MJ’s plate from her hands.

“Oh, we’ve got it,” Sylvie said, but Duke was already taking her plate from her too.

“Go on,” he said to his wife. “I know you’ve been dying to grill MJ over meeting Russell’s kids. We’ll clean up in here.”

MJ chuckled, but something about it told me she wasn’t looking forward to the conversation with her sister. I glanced at her and pinned her with a look. I didn’t know what I could do about it, but if she gave the signal, I’d come up with something to help her avoid talking about it.

MJ placed her hand just above my elbow and squeezed, silently letting me know she was okay.

She looked between Duke and me. “How about some wine by the fire when you two are done?”

Duke nodded. “You got it.”

Content that she’d be fine, I followed Duke into the kitchen. When he placed the dishes into the sink, he turned to me.

His arms crossed over his huge chest. “Is this going to be a problem?”

I looked behind me. “A problem?”

Duke was back to frowning. “I’ve got to be honest with you. She may not be my sister, but she’s my family now.”

Ahh ... the protective older brother.

MJ was not in short supply of those, it seemed.

I opened the door to the dishwasher and waited for him to hand me a dish. “I don’t think there’s a problem.”

“MJ is young. Tenderhearted. I just don’t want to see her get hurt.”

I nodded, stacking the dishes he handed me. “I can appreciate that. I have no intention of hurting her.”

“But no intentions of staying around here either.” Duke didn’t ask a question. He simply stated it as fact. “She’s been let down before, Logan. You leave, and it’s just going to prove to her that she’s right not to trust men like you.”

“Men like me?” I shot back, my voice tight.

Duke held my stare. “The ones who love the game more than they love the people waiting for them at home.”

I wanted to tell him he was wrong—that I wasn’t the kind of guy who walked away when things got hard. But deep down I wasn’t sure I could promise that. Rugby had always come first.

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