Page 83 of Tight Spot

“Thank you.” Hailey leaned forward and squeezed her sister close to her with one arm, still not slipping her arm from me.

I wasn’t about to let her go. Tate or Charlie would haul her off and give her a numbered list on reasons why I sucked. Probably in order of least important to most, to really seal the deal.

“Now that that’s settled, let me go get all of us one of those free drinks. What would you like?”

“White wine,” Hailey said.

“I’m good,” I told her. With this family’s eagle eyes on me, I wasn’t drinking. Plus I was driving.

Further, why did I care? I’d prove them all right soon enough.

Charlie appeared, two fresh glasses of alcohol in his hand and scanned his entire family. “Did I miss the drama already?”

Tate rolled his eyes. “You are the drama.”

Charlie pouted. Ken chuckled. Sue gave both of her boys a loving little shove and Hailey gave me a look that made a chill creep up the back of my neck.

She leaned toward me and whispered, “If I would have known they were here, I wouldn’t have asked you to come. Sorry you have to deal with them.”

Right. Why bother introducing me to the family or wanting me around them when we both knew I was leaving anyway.

God, this whole having feelings thing really sucked.

* * *

It was after the awkward introductions. After Hailey had a glass of wine and after her brothers lost their overprotective role and asked me about our upcoming season. Tate asked that one. Charlie asked me about my tattoos, and we spent several minutes going over some of the ones on my arm. His. Some of the ones he did himself when he was still learning, others he’d had done. Meredith and Hailey’s friends swooped in, shoving most of us guys to the background while they oohed and aahed over all the women’s dresses. Hailey stayed as close as she could, selling it to her family that we were good, we were comfortable with each other, but we were still new and weren’t all over each other.

It sucked. Every time she shot me a smile, I wanted to kiss her. Every time she laughed, eyes shining on me, I wanted to cup the back of her neck and bring her as close to me as we could be in public. Every time her hand grazed mine, I wanted to pull her in tight against me.

“She’s a good girl,” Charlie said, catching me watching her laugh at whatever Meredith said. “We come on strong, I know, and I also know she hates being called our baby sister, but she is. Always will be, you know.”

Yeah. I knew. “I have a sister,” I told him.

“Dad mentioned her. Sounds like it’s not the same thing, though.”

I couldn’t hide my sneer. “And how much did he tell you?”

“When it comes to the Parillos, we don’t have secrets. At least not for long, so prepare.”

“More worried about if I should be prepared for one of you to sell that shit.”

“Damn.” Charlie rocked back on his heels and frowned. “That sucks you think we’d do that. We wouldn’t. Even if we didn’t like you.”

“You telling me this interrogation is because you like me?”

“No. I’m saying Hailey’s had a shitty year and none of us saw it coming even if Tate and I never liked Darrick to begin with. But we were the ones who held her through that when she crumpled in her bridal suite after she realized he and Bianca were gone. We were the ones she leaned on. She loves Holly, but if she needs to talk, it’s me she calls, then Tate. And we take our big brother roles seriously. I won’t apologize for that.”

He sipped his drink that looked like cranberry vodka.

If I wasn’t planning on doing the exact thing Charlie was afraid of, I might like the man. Every woman deserved to have men like that in her life.

“We’re new,” I reminded him. “Can’t tell you I won’t hurt her, and I won’t make promises I can’t keep.”

“Good. Then you’re better than Darrick already. And speak of the devil, I might be gay, might like art more than sports, but I do work out. Want to help me kick his ass?” His gaze slid to the right, and he aimed his drink in the direction of a guy who looked like a living Ken doll.

The perfect match to Hailey.

He was polished. More fake than the implants and chin lifts Tate probably put into his patients.

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