Of course, RJ was on me the second I walked through the door. And he only added to my irritation and my embarrassment by introducing me to his teammates as his baby sister, with his arm around my shoulder, while he glare-smiled at most of them. It was ridiculously uncomfortable. Also, babies don’t have boobs or master’s degrees, thank you very much.

Thankfully, I had a valid reason to bail. And then I ran into Bishop. Who was wearing dress pants and a polo. I didn’t realize that clothing combination could make my lady parts so excited. He also smelled really, really good. It only reinforced my irritation with my brother over the fact that he’d planted those stupid seeds of doubt in my head.

Which don’t seem to apply to Bishop. He doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who would go to that much trouble to piss someone off.

“Why are boys so complicated?” I ask Kody as I change him into his sleeper back at RJ’s house.

He babbles at me, random words sprinkled in with nonsense, his expression serious as if he’s truly giving me advice. Once he’s changed, I give him his nighttime snack and read him a story before I put him to bed. It’s past his bedtime, so he goes down without a fight.

I turn on his monitor and head back downstairs to chill out. The fridge is full of my favorite foods accompanied by a note in RJ’s rushed scrawl to help myself to whatever I want. I pour myself a glass of his expensive, organic, freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, grab a snack, and flop down in front of the TV. I spend a good twenty minutes flipping mindlessly through channels, but my mind keeps wandering to Bishop and the fact that he’s only a few houses away from me right now, hanging out with his teammates and their wives and girlfriends. I wonder if he’s miserable there. He’s not big on crowds or small talk, and he has no tact. I smile, thinking about how he might accidentally stick his foot in his mouth with one of his excessively honest comments.

Joey was never good in those situations. The few times he met my brother’s teammates, he fanboyed so hard it was mortifying.

As if Joey can sense me thinking about him from across the city, his name flashes on my phone. Tomorrow I have to deal with him, and I’m not excited about that at all. Before I can check the message, the alarm system gives off a warning beep, and the front door opens and closes.

“It’s just me!” Lainey calls out softly from down the hall. She appears a moment later in the kitchen. “Is Kody down?”

“Sure is.”

“Did he give you any trouble?” Lainey shrugs out of her jacket and drapes it over one of the chairs lining the kitchen island.

“Tons. Drank his bottle, let me read him a story, then told me he was tired and forced me to cuddle with him until he passed out.”

She smiles, opens the fridge, and pulls out a few things. “I wonder if the next one will be half as easy as he is.”

“I’ll cross my fingers for you.”

“I appreciate that.” Lainey opens a tallboy and splits it between two glasses, then tops them off with grapefruit juice. She passes me a glass and drops down onto the other end of the couch. “RJ thinks you’re still angry with him.”

I shrug. “He thinks it’s always about him.”

Lainey nods and smiles behind the rim of her glass. “Often it is.”

I roll my eyes. “Not you too. Bishop isn’t using me to get back at RJ. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement, and we both get something out of it.”

“Mmm.” Lainey’s eyebrows rise.

“His man stick is pretty much broken. I’m not getting a ride out of this, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

Lainey’s smile widens. “Well, that’s what your brother is worried will happen.”

“It’s none of his damn business who I ride.”

“I agree. However, he and Bishop have a bit of a standing rivalry, and you did just get out of a bad relationship, so his worry isn’t completely unfounded.”

I sigh and tip my head back, staring at the whirring ceiling fan. “I hate it when you do this.”

“Be reasonable?”

I roll my head in her direction so I can glare effectively. “Make me feel guilty for being mad at RJ. You weren’t there last night. He basically ordered me not to date Bishop, which is ridiculous, and that’s not even what’s happening, so his dramatics were totally unnecessary.”

She arches a perfect eyebrow, her chocolate eyes lighting up with mirth. “Oh, Stevie, who do you think you’re fooling here? Because it certainly isn’t me.”

“What are you talking about?” My voice is all pitchy.

“Bishop is a good-looking guy, and you two have been spending a lot of time together. Besides, I saw the way he looked at you.”

“And how does Bishop look at me?” I try to sound flippant, but really I’m curious as to what she sees, because at this point I’ve convinced myself that any flirting is all in my head and a result of Bishop’s raging testosterone and his inability to manage his situation.

“Like he wants to hold your hand.” She pauses, her smile widening at my eye roll. “And shove it down the front of his pants.”

I bark out a laugh. “Lainey!”

She shrugs. “It’s true. I’m sure he wants to do both things.”

“Well, he’s broken right now.” I motion to my crotch area.

“He won’t be forever.”

“There’s still nothing going on.”

“Yet.”

My phone buzzes on the table, and we watch the screen light up. I half expect it to be Bishop, messaging to ask again if I’ll still work with him, since I never really gave him a straight answer. It’s not Bishop, though; it’s Joey. Again.

Lainey motions to my buzzing device. “What’s going on there?”

“Nothing.”

“Based on the way it looks like you want to blow that phone up with your eyeballs, I’m going to go ahead and say I don’t believe you.”

“He still thinks we’re going to get back together.”

“Is that something you’re considering?”

“Absolutely not. I will never get back together with him.”

“Does he know that?”

I pause at that. I mean, it should be obvious, but I haven’t had this conversation with him yet. Up until now I’ve been avoiding it.

As if seeing my discomfort, she continues. “It can’t be easy to work with him.”

“I’m managing fine. I don’t see him that often.” I can avoid him for the most part.

“It’s okay if you’re not managing fine. You gave up a lot to come here, and things didn’t exactly go as planned.”

I sip my drink, trying not to let the visual of what I walked in on form in my head. “At least I didn’t move in with him and find out after the fact that he was screwing around on me.”

She gives me a soft smile. “That doesn’t necessarily make what happened between you any easier to get over, though, does it?”

My phone lights up with another message from him. I flip it over so I don’t have to see them. “No. Not really.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, I think it’s good that you’re spending time with Bishop, even if it’s for rehab.”