Page 11 of The Anaconda Downstairs

“She’s not my girlfriend,” he mumbled, but the smile tugging at his lips told a different story. “Yet.”

“Sure, sure,” Isak chimed in. “And I’m not grounded.”

The brothers continued to rib Hayes, but I was distracted by Everett’s quietness. He was watching Hayes with an almost wistful expression.

“Lay off, guys,” Everett finally said. “Hayes seems to know what he’s doing.”

The room fell silent for a moment, everyone looking at Everett in surprise. He shrugged, a small smile playing on his lips.

Sensing the shift in mood, I decided it was time to make my exit. “Well, boys, it’s been fun, but I should head home.”

Immediately, all five Kingman brothers were on their feet.

“We’ll walk you,” they said in near-perfect unison.

I laughed, shaking my head. “Guys, I live two doors down. I think I can manage.”

“Nonsense,” Everett insisted, and for a moment, I thought I might get another minute alone with him to discuss our new arrangement. “You haven’t lived in Colorado long enough to know that there are dangerous animals here.”

I huffed out a laugh. “Like the killer rooster who lives across the street?”

“Luke Skycocker knows how to hold his own.” Everett folded his arms, and my what big biceps he had. Why hadn’t I noticed that before? “But there’s coyotes and mountain lions and?—”

“Snakes. So many snakes,” Flynn cut in, but he was looking at Everett and not me. “Big ones. Anacondas.”

Ev glared at his younger brother who was ready to burst with laughter. “Billy swore he’d keep that thing contained, so no. There are no,” he shivered, “anacondas.”

“Except you of course,” Hayes chimed in.

Declan had rescued Pooh from a rattlesnake once. I just didn’t think of any of those kinds of things being in a city suburb like Thornminster. “Wait, are you guys serious?”

“Yeah, we insist. Because it’s the scariest animal of all that creeps around here at night,” Isak added. “The paparazzi.”

We all shivered. And before I knew it, five Kingmans were escorting me the short distance to Declan’s house. A girl could get ideas with that many muscle-bound golden retrievers surrounding her. Phew.

“You know,” I said, unable to keep the amusement out of my voice, “this is probably the safest neighborhood in all of Denver. I’m not sure I need a five-man security detail. One would probably do.”

“Better safe than sorry,” Isak said seriously, and I had to bite back a laugh at his earnest expression.

It was endearing how protective they all were. On the other hand, it was a stark reminder of how they saw me—as a little sister to be looked after, despite the fact that I was older than all of them except Everett.

We reached the front door, and I turned to face my entourage. “Well, gentlemen, thank you for ensuring my safepassage. I don’t know how I would have survived those treacherous fifty feet without you.”

They all grinned, clearly pleased with themselves. As I was about to step inside, Everett leaned in close, his breath warm on my ear as he whispered, “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

A thrill ran through me at his words, and I quickly attributed it to excitement for our upcoming lessons. Still, as I closed the door behind me and leaned against it, I got a little, teeny tiny butterfly in my stomach at the warmth of his breath, the intensity in his eyes when he’d whispered to me.

“Stop it.” I chided myself in a whisper. He’s my dating coach. Nothing more.

A traitorous part of my brain insisted on noting that while all the Kingmans were undeniably handsome, Everett was in a league of his own. He was the underwear model after all. Not that I’d looked up those pictures more than a half dozen or half a million times. The thought of spending one-on-one time with him, even if it was just for dating lessons, sent that butterfly in my stomach on a warpath.

I shook my head, trying to clear it. I needed to focus on the goal—learning how to navigate the dating world and finding a great guy to take to the Grampys. The last thing I needed was to develop a crush on my coach.

With a determined nod, I pushed off from the door and headed to my room. Tomorrow, Operation Dating Lessons would begin, and I was going to ace it—without falling for Everett Kingman in the process.

But the next day turned into a shit show from the moment Kelsey came knocking on my door at seven in the morning. “Pen, Penelope, Pen, Pen, Pen.”

I tumbled out of bed, shaking off the dream I was having. I was hot and all tangled up in my sheets. I was too young to havenight sweat hot flashes, wasn’t I? Oh my god. I’d been having a sex dream.

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