Mismatch - By Nana Malone Page 0,67
glanced at Jessica quickly before bringing his attention back to Jason and Izzy on the court. Jason’s strokes were smooth and powerful. Izzy’s were no less powerful, but she played more from a place of heart. She was aggressive and went after every ball. Hell, she could have gone pro herself. Not to mention that kid of theirs. Aaron was a tennis weekender, but also hyper competitive, so the game below was lively.
“Nothing’s eating me. I’m fine. This was really fun. Thank you for bringing me along.” That wasn’t a lie. It was one of the few things he’d said these last few days that didn’t have a tinge of a lie attached to it.
“You might be having fun, but you’re also deflecting. What gives? You’re in super charming mode, and it’s awesome, but I can tell that something’s up with you. Come on.” She nudged his shoulder with her own. “I can be a good listener. I know most of the time we’re together it’s either work or blazing hot sex, but I am capable of talking, too.”
Leaning on the railing, Eli turned to face her. “I know you’re capable of talking.”
“Then come on.” She beckoned him with her hands. “They say confession is good for the soul.”
The hell it was. In his case, confession would lose him his brother and the woman he cared about. “It’s nothing. Just a little family squabble.”
She blinked. Once then twice. “With all my crazy family antics, I don’t think I’ve heard you mention yours once.”
“I don’t talk about them much.”
“Well, what’s going on? Do you have a crazy stepfather-to-be who is trying to steal your mother’s sizable fortune? Perhaps a struggling gallery that you want to save? Come on, let me help.”
God, his shoulders ached with the secrets and lies he was carrying around. He wanted to tell her everything, but no matter what, he still owed Samson. “My brother and I aren’t exactly getting along right now. We're not seeing eye to eye on a couple of things.”
She wrinkled her delicate brows. “Older or younger?”
“Younger.” By minutes, but he wasn’t going to spill that little tidbit. “I’ve been looking out for him my whole life. My mother and I have. I haven’t always done a good job of it.”
“Well, what makes you think he needs looking after? Is he over eighteen?”
Eli nodded.
“Then why are you still taking care of him?”
“When we were kids, our parents separated. I went with Mom, he went with Dad. He ran into trouble with a rough crowd. Drugs. The whole thing. It messed him up pretty good. I helped him get clean, but I think he’s in trouble again. I tried talking to him about it, but I guess I fucked that up.”
“You guess?” She nodded. “Oh, you did that thing that you do where your voice gets all authoritative, and you start demanding instead of asking nicely?”
“I pretty much accused him of using again and accused him of lying about it.”
“Ouch.”
Eli nodded. “Tell me about it. It didn’t end well.”
“Hence the jaw.” She lightly touched his chin. “Do you honestly think he's using?”
He puffed out a breath. “It's the only thing that makes sense. You get used to seeing everything as a lie. Looking around corners, waiting to be disappointed.”
“I'm so sorry. Though a wise man once told me that's no way to live your life, and sometimes you have to give people the benefit of the doubt.”
“Whoever told you that was kidding himself.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. He might have had a point in some situations.”
“So you think I should trust him?”
“I wish I could give you a clear cut answer. I know how you thrive on those.”
He couldn't help the chuckle. She already knew him so well.
“But it's family, so I can’t give you any real advice. Except he's your brother, so you have to keep reaching out. One day you'll look around and be all alone, and that sucks more than you can know. You have to just keep trying to help him no matter what.”
He stared in her wide blue eyes and frowned. Something was different. “What happened to half your piercings?”
“Took some out.”
He couldn't help himself—his eyes darted to her right breast. Clearing his throat he asked, “You didn’t get rid of all your piercings, did you? ‘Cause I was really starting to like one of them.” Blood immediately rushed to his groin, and he wished he'd been able to keep the conversation away from her smoking body for just