Page 27 of Endlessly Yours
I shifted slightly on the outdoor chair that I had borrowed from somebody, my cutoffs feeling far too confining. Every time I moved, my thighs pressed together, my clit rubbing, all because of the shirtless man in front of me.
I pulled an ice cube out of the plastic glass of water and slowly began to run it over my collarbone and chest, needing to cool down.
At that moment, however, Brooks turned to me, his gaze following each movement. I swallowed hard before my tongue darted out, swiping over my lips.
I watched as a bead of sweat slid down his chest, over his pecs, down through his rock-hard abs, and the tiny trail of hair that went down below his gym shorts.
I took another gulp of water, telling myself to calm down.
Just because it was a bunch of sweaty, naked men sliding against one another while playing with balls, didn’t mean that this was my version of a nightmare.
Or a wet dream.
Why was it so hot in Texas?
Brooks gave me a look that I didn’t want to interpret before going back to the game.
“So, you want to tell me exactly what is going on between you and my brother-in-law?” Ava asked, and I drained my glass.
“Nothing. It’s just hot out here.”
“I’m pretty sure the heat went from 95 degrees to at least 200 with the look that you two shared.”
I raised a brow at her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s just Brooks. And apparently it’s been a while for me since I’ve been so busy. It just got a little overheated. Plus, I’m worried that I haven’t heard from the girls in the past twenty minutes.”
I checked my phone again for a text from them or Alexis, but nothing. I was a terrible aunt. The first chance where I’d been able to take a breath and a moment by myself, I’d run. The girls had started school, and while things were going well, as in they weren’t talking to me about it, and their therapist was hopeful. Yet it didn’t feel like enough. Because when the girls had been invited to spend the night with Alexis and the others as part of a party planning practice, I’d jumped at the chance.
Yet, really, I’d only done so because Alice had looked so excited, and Cameron had only rolled her eyes once. That had to count for progress.
Or perhaps I was a terrible aunt turned guardian.
Ava gave me her glass of water, taking mine from me. “Drink that. And maybe I’ll get you drunk on wine later.”
I pressed my lips together, worry once again winning out over whatever feeling I’d had while watching Brooks… well, do anything. “Are you sure that we should be having a girls’ night? I know that Alexis and the others said that it was okay that Cameron and Alice spent the night at their place so the girls could have a different environment for the evening, but I feel like I’m abandoning them.”
The Wilder women had girls’ nights at least once a month. Before everybody had started to have children, it had been more often, especially because they had all lived on the property, and they literally owned a winery. In fact, one of Ava’s cousins-in-law was the actual winery expert and always had a vast selection of different wines for us to try. Not to mention that Kendall was now a world-renowned chef, so there was always something yummy to eat.
Over time, the dinners had slowed down to just once a month, if they couldn’t get any more time in, but they put in the effort to make it work.
I had been invited a few times, or rather, I was invited every time that Ava went, but I didn’t always make it. Sometimes, I was on deadline, and frankly, sometimes, being on the property at the same time as Brooks was a little too much for me.
But considering I was sitting here in the heat surrounded by his family and friends and watching him play football all sweaty-like, maybe I was a lost cause.
Again, though, it wasn’t as if my brain could make this work. Everything was already too much when it came to my life. Yes, having him hold me and telling me that I could do this and that I wasn’t alone was nice, but in the end, that couldn’t mean anything.
Brooks wanted nothing to do with me or hadn’t before this, and we had been circling each other for far too long to even think about what it could mean.
So no, I wasn’t going to let myself want more.
Especially because Alice and Cameron had to be my first priority.
And Cameron hated me, so it wasn’t as if I was gaining any headway there.
“You know that the girls wanted to spend the night and have a girl-time sleepover. Alice is a little spider monkey that will cling to anyone in our family because she’s so adorable, and I know she needs that touch. Cameron?” Ava shrugged before she leaned down and pulled out a soda from the cooler at her feet. “Cameron will come around.”
“You say that, and yet I don’t quite believe it. She hates me.”
“She doesn’t. She’s just hurting.” Ava paused before flipping the tab on the can. “She’s grieving, but are you?”
