Page 111 of Never His Girl

“You practice today?” Ricky bites into his burger after asking.

“Of course. First game’s scheduled for right after Christmas break.”

He nods, swallowing before giving a response. “Can’t wait to see you on the court again.”

The statement makes my heart skip a beat, because I know West will definitely be there, too, and I also know these two absolutely hate one another.

I don’t speak on it, though, because that conversation wouldn’t end well. Instead, I settle on just crossing that bridge when we get to it.

My gaze drifts to the front of his dark t-shirt and I point at the nametag stuck to his chest.

“You visited someone at the hospital?” I ask, reading the wordsCypress Pointe Memorialprinted above his name.

He glances down when I call attention to it.

“Oh, yeah. Maria went into labor this afternoon,” he shares, bringing a smile to my face. She’s one of his many cousins I’ve met, but by far my favorite.

“I hadn’t even heard she was expecting! Tell her congrats for me.”

Ricky nods. “Will do.”

“Boy or girl?” I ask next, which has him grinning.

“Both, actually. Second set of twins in the family this year. That’s gotta be good luck or something, right?”

My brow quirks. “Guess I assumed your dad and Paul being twins was kind of a one-off.”

“Nope,” he answers, sipping from his glass. “But you didn’t bring me here to talk about my family, so to what do I owe the pleasure?”

I smile when he does.

“Well, since you brought it up, there are a few things I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”

He gives a casual nod. “Got anything to do with me meeting up with your boy at the pier?”

“Partially,” I say, “but that’s actually not where I hoped this conversation would begin.”

One of his brows shoots up and he flashes that gray stare at me.

“What’s up?” he asks.

I take a deep breath and just speak from the heart. Like I advised West to do.

“Listen, you and I are friends, and we don’t hold shit back from each other, right? At least, I don’tthinkwe do,” I add, correcting myself. “Basically, I wanted you to hear it from me that West and I are together now. Officially.”

This admission has me feeling sort of off kilter. Mostly because of how Ricky’s staring, like he’s thoroughly unimpressed with the whole idea of me being with West.

“Hm. Interesting,” he says flatly. “And he’s cool with you being with me tonight?”

I nod. “Yes, because he trusts me.”

“Maybe,” he scoffs, “but he sure as shitdoesn’t trustme.”

Letting the conversation head in this direction feels like a trap, so I avoid it. There would be no point in explaining that the trust between West and I goes both ways, and that he’s out having a similar conversation with Casey. Instead, I try to move things forward.

“So, is there anything you want to say?” I ask. “While we’re sitting here, while the conversation’s open?”

He lets out a humorless, passive-aggressive laugh that grates my nerves.