Page 59 of Rival Darling

I, on the other hand, couldn’t get enough of her. When she was close, like she had been at the restaurant, I found it almost impossible not to try to get closer still. Every time she held my hand, touched my arm, or even just brushed against me, my stomach flipped, and every time I breathed in the sweet scent of her shampoo or watched her tuck her bright red hair behind her ear, I had to remind myself she wasn’t truly mine. I hung off her every word when she spoke, and when she smiled, I could feel myself falling deeper and deeper. I was in serious trouble because I was only becoming more certain she was never going to look at me the same way.

I sighed as I reluctantly summoned the energy to climb out of the safety of the truck and head inside.

“How was dinner with Violet?” Parker asked as I entered through the back door and came into the kitchen. It was a simple question, but Parker had somehow packed it full of suggestion and innuendo.

“Dinner was good,” I grunted, trying my best to ignore the smug grin on my brother’s face.

“Who’s Violet?” Cammie asked as she pulled her head out of the fridge and closed the door. I hadn’t even noticed she was there.

“Reed’s girlfriend,” Parker answered, his grin only growing smugger.

Cammie’s mouth dropped open as she turned to me. “You have a girlfriend?”

“You don’t have to sound so surprised.”

“Of course, I do,” Cammie replied. “I thought you didn’t date. Who is this girl that’s finally tied you down?”

“She goes to Sunshine Prep,” Parker said. He was enjoying this all way too much.

“What?” Cammie gasped. “Why? Isn’t like every girl at Ransom chasing you?”

“No, of course not.”

She laughed. “Are you really that oblivious?”

“He’s not oblivious,” Grayson said, entering the kitchen. “Reed’s just too focused on hockey to worry about shit like that.”

“Oh god. Not you too,” I grumbled. Gray was, at least, coming to my defense, but I still didn’t feel like having a kitchen meeting with all my siblings to chat about my love life. Especially not when my relationship wasn’t real, and I was starting to lose hope it ever could be.

“Well, I’m just glad to see Reed’s finally focused on getting into someone’s pants,” Parker said.

“I’m not getting into anyone’s pants!” I yelled. It was bad enough people I didn’t know said that crap about me. I didn’t need to hear it from my family even if they were just winding me up.

To make things worse, my mom took that moment to enter the kitchen. “Glad to hear it, Reedy,” she said, giving me a pat on the shoulder as she grabbed her keys off the table and left the room again.

Silence followed, but then my siblings all burst into laughter once she was out the door. Even Grayson couldn’t contain himself. Parker was laughing so hard he was clutching his belly. I hoped it gave him a stomachache.

I glared at them all. “I don’t know how any of you have friends,” I said before following my mom out of the kitchen.

I headed straight for my room, desperate to get away from everyone, and flopped down on my bed. Unfortunately, Grayson didn’t get the message.

“You all right?” he asked, leaning against the doorway. I really should have closed the door.

With a sigh, I rolled to face him. It took a lot to make my brother smile, let alone laugh. But he was still smirking after Mom’s comment downstairs.

“I’ll survive,” I replied. It was hardly the worst thing my mom had heard come out of my mouth over the years. If anything, she’d probably be disappointed by the idea I wasn’t intently pursuing women. Our mom gave the Bennet mother in Pride and Prejudice a run for her money. She was far too eager to see her kids in happy, meaningful relationships, and if we’d been born a few centuries ago, I had no doubt she’d have us all married off by now.

“Think I’m just glad she didn’t hear the part about the girlfriend,” I said as Grayson entered the room and sat on my desk chair.

“Yeah, she’d be planning the wedding already.” Gray chuckled under his breath. “At the very least, you’d be forced to bring her to family dinner on Sunday night.”

“I really don’t want to subject Violet to that.”

“I wouldn’t either although Paige would probably like someone to keep her company. Darling family dinners can be a lot.”

“Nah, Paige loves it.” She had been coming to our family dinners every Sunday for years. She was the only one of our friends Mom allowed us to invite, and I was convinced it was because she was secretly trying to get Grayson and Paige together.

“Well, maybe you’ll think about bringing Violet when you’ve been dating a little longer,” Grayson added. “Though, I think you’ll struggle to avoid it once Mom finds out about her. It’s a miracle she hasn’t heard already.”