already feel the tears building. Thankfully, I was able to blink them away, but they hovered in the background, waiting for the littlest provocation to fall.
“Fifteen minutes. That’s all I need, and I’ll leave.”
My brother gave me a side eye.
Ignoring him, I closed my eyes, pressed my lips in a flat line, and tried to gather my control. Then I caved like I always did when it came to Alex, but this time on my terms. “Okay. But I won’t be alone.”
A tired sigh carried over the line. “I understand. I’m on my way. Thanks, Syd, I’ll see you soon.”
The call ended, and my brother sat up to look down his handsome nose at me. “I’m not leaving.”
“I didn’t expect you to, but you need to sit in the bedroom,” I insisted.
“Really?” he deadpanned.
“Yes, really.”
“Fine,” he said a little too easily, leaving me suspicious. It seemed like barely five minutes before Alex was knocking on my door. Wanting to rinse my mouth again, I hurried into the bathroom to do it. Jake answered the door for me. Nosy asswipe.
“Oh, shit!” I heard him shout, and I went running out to see if he was beating the shit out of Alex. He was standing there bug-eyed. When I came skidding to a stop, he spun to look at me and point at Alex. “That’s Alex Kosinski.”
I blinked at him. “Um, yes.”
“Alex Kosinski is standing in your living room.”
“Yes,” I again replied.
“Alex Kosinski,” he drew the name out in way more syllables than it was supposed to have.
“I think we determined that. Now what did I say?” Jake gave me a disbelieving look when I pointed to the hall.
“For real?”
“Yes.”
He huffed, then gave me a sly look, and instead went out on the porch. He pulled one of the folding chairs up to the glass and stared inside with his arms crossed and a brow raised.
“Don’t worry! I can’t hear you!” His yell was muffled through the sliding door.
“Jesus,” I grumbled before I turned my back to him.
“So, uh, friend of yours?” Alex asked, trying not to grin as he tipped his head and scratched his short beard. We both cast a glance toward the glass door. Jake continued to stare back.
“My brother,” I said with a roll of my eyes.
“Ohhh,” he said, and his grin slipped out.
“What did you need to come here to say?” I asked, ignoring Jake.
“Can we go in the bedroom?” he asked as he tried not to look at my brother glaring through the glass. “That’s a little awkward.” He motioned toward my intense sibling.
“No. I don’t think that’s a good idea.” The thought of having him in my bedroom sent my brain into overdrive remembering the things we’d done in there the night before. A chill skated down my spine, and I swallowed hard.
His eyes dilated as his tongue traced his bottom lip, and I was pretty sure he was remembering it too. The couch was a no-go because it faced the patio. He glanced around and went to the table to pull out the two chairs. Then, he turned them so they faced away from the door my brother was staring through.
“Ugh! You’re so weird!” I shouted to Jake, who pursed his lips then mouthed, “I don’t care who he is—I’m watching him.”
I sat in the vacant chair next to Alex and waited for him to speak.
“Look, I didn’t know about the baby until yesterday morning. We still don’t know if he’s mine.”
“Wait. What?” My brow furrowed in confusion. He ran a hand through his mussed hair and exhaled unsteadily.
“Last season, I was playing in Pittsburgh. I, uh.” He cleared his throat. “Got together with Hank’s mother.”
It didn’t matter that it was before we had met; the thought of him with anyone else made my stomach churn. Then it dawned on me what else he’d said.
“She named him Hank?” I asked in disbelief, my face very much reflecting my feelings.
“Don’t even get me started. Anyway, she showed up today and dumped him on me because she found someone who must’ve had more dollar signs behind his name than I did. They left for Mexico, I guess.” He leaned forward, resting his forearms across his legs.
“Oh, shit” was all I could say. My heart was in my throat at what this might mean for us. I also couldn’t believe someone could be such a gold digger. “So now what are you going to do?”
“I have no clue. The first thing I need to do is try