Page 53 of The Mating Game
I think back to Tess’s alarm after first shifting, nodding idly. “Yes, I imagine so. She seems to be doing better now though.”
“And you’re just…helping her? Out of the goodness of your heart?”
My brow furrows. “Is that so hard to believe?”
“Well…” Jeannie chuckles to herself. “You aren’t exactly known for doing anything out of ‘the goodness of your heart,’ so…”
I roll my eyes. “You make me sound like an asshole.”
“I prefer the term ‘stern,’ ” she says.
“Whatever. There’s no one else around to show her.”
Her brow cocks. “You could have asked me.”
That gives me pause. Mostly because it’s the simplest solution,but it didn’t evenoccurto me until this very moment. Even now, considering it, something inside me withers at the thought. As if my instincts have decided it’smyresponsibility to help Tess.
Jeannie, sensing my internal struggles, just laughs.
“Goodness of your heart.” She hums. “Right.”
“Don’t you have something you should be doing?” I grumble.
She pats my shoulder. “Yes, bothering my favorite nephew.”
“I’m your only nephew,” I mutter.
Which is true, since she’s my only aunt on my dad’s side.
“Still.”
Movement catches my eye, and my heart rate picks up slightly when I notice Tess heading toward us from the other room. Then I have a mini internal inquisition about why my heart rate would be picking up at all from such a thing. I conclusively reason that it’s definitely because I know what she looks like naked.
Which is to say…good. Very good.
Jesus, it’s been too fucking long since I’ve been with someone. I’m practically acting like a virgin when it comes to Tess.
“Hey,” she says. “Thomas and Chase have finished sanding down the floor in there. Want to come look at the stain samples we brought? I’m leaning toward a cedar-esque shade; I think it will go really well with all the rustic elements we’re keeping original without overpowering the shiplap we’re putting up on the walls. But I want to make sure you agree before we move forward with staining.”
I’ve noticed she talks with her hands a lot when she’s excited about something, which is usually only when it has to do with the project. Even now her slim fingers are waving around her face and her animated expression lights up while she’s describing something as simple as wood stain.
I glance over at Jeannie, who clearly caught me staring at Tess while she talked, ignoring her smirk as I answer, “Sure, I can do that.”
“Great,” she answers with a grin, one that makes her cheeks dimple and her eyes crinkle at the corners. They’re a few shades lighter than mine, with green flecks near the iris, which somehow makes her eyes seem even larger than they are, and her moods easy to read just by the shape of them.
“You should come see too, Jeannie,” she says.
Jeannie shakes her head. “No, no, I need to get started on lunch. I’m sure Hunter has everything covered.”
She winks at me as if sharing a joke, and I roll my eyes again. Of course she would have fun with this entire situation. Heaven forbid she ever finds out about Tess’s mini heat situation; I’ll never hear the end of that one. Jeannie will have us mated off in her head by sunset.
I hop down from the stool at the counter, circling it and following after Tess as she explains the shots Kyle needs to get while they’re staining the floors. I have to admit, I know absolutely nothing about the TikTok side of the things she’s doing, but she sounds so confident when she talks about it, so sure of herself, that it’s a little hard not to sit up and pay attention. It’s a far cry from the uncertainty she exudes regarding her sudden change of designation.
Her brothers are in the opposite corner of the room, by the fireplace; the new stone they’ve brought in admittedly makes the old thing look warmer and more inviting even being only half-done.
The largest brother, Chase, nods at me when our eyes meet. “Hey, man, tell my sister her cedar is too light, yeah?”
“Don’t listen to him,” Tess grumbles. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
