Page 73 of No Rhyme or Roughing
“For fuck’s sake.”
“Language,” they both said at the same time.
Teddy held up a hand, and Ryder slapped it in perfect sync. If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought Sullivan and Ryder had swapped places. He was too… smiley tonight.
I knew what it meant. Forgiveness. He was finally putting Sam and Sullivan behind him, finally getting his brother back. It didn’t mean I wanted him all up in my space while I worked.
The video had to be perfect. This time, I was determined to make it go viral. I’d call in every favor I had, which Ishould havedone last time. I just hated asking for anything.
“Can you guys, like,go?” I pointed toward the door.
“You don’t want us here?” Teddy pouted. “After we shook our asses all over the ice tonight? We did it for you.”
I rolled my eyes, still scrolling through clips. “You did nothing for me. Get that right out of your head.”
“I think I liked you better when you barely spoke.”
I paused for a moment, fingers stilling on the trackpad. We both knew why I’d changed, but neither of us wanted to talk about Thanksgiving. It was easier to pretend everything was fine, so itcouldbe fine.
“Ted, this isn’t even your project,” I said finally. “You butted into what Ryder’s doing to save the team. You don’t get control here.” I looked sideways at him. “And I’m not even beingpaidfor this, so just let me work.”
“Rude.”
“Annoying.”
“Rude again.”
I snorted. “Creative.”
“They fighting again?” Rowan asked, stepping into the room. “I thought we solved this last time Teddy interrupted her.”
Ryder bit back a smile, though the corners of his lips twitched upward. “Reminds me of very old times.”
“Shut up, Ry,” Teddy said.
“Ryder, please shut up,” I chimed in at the same time.
Rowan bent over, laughing. “At least she saidplease.”
There was a sharp flick against the back of my head, and I turned to glare at Teddy. “Did you just flick me?”
“Maybe. You deserved it.”
“Don’t flick me.” I shoved him harder than I meant to. He toppled into Ryder, sending him tumbling off the bed.
Both Teddy and I burst out laughing as Ryder’s head popped up over the edge, glaring at us. “Really? Violence against me is what it takes to get you two to get along?”
Rowan leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. “I think we need to separate them.”
Ryder seemed to agree, crawling back onto the bed and shoving Teddy toward the edge. He took the space between us, his leg pressing against mine. My breath caught, and suddenly, I wished my brother and Rowan would disappear. It took every ounce of my willpower not to press back.
I slouched lower into the pillows as Rowan climbed onto the bed too, forcing the others closer to me.
“You need a bigger bed, Ry,” Teddy complained. “Gonzo, you’re practically sitting on my leg.”
“You know you like it.”
“I do,” Teddy deadpanned. “You caught me.”
