Teasing: Chapter 6

Waking up at the ass crack of dawn isn’t something I like doing, but it gives me time to get a workout in before Rosie gets out of bed. So like it or not, I do it. I’m generally the only person up this early. At least I thought I was. But as I come out of the basement gym and shut the door behind me, I stop and stare. Or more accurately stare at Jamie, who’s also staring at something through the floor-to-ceiling windows in the family room. He doesn’t even turn around when he hears me coming, and I know he hears me. “What the fuck are you doing?”

I look over his shoulder and—fuck me.

“Seriously, man? You’re fucking creeping on Emmie?” I ask, knowing the answer because I want to be creeping on Emmie too. Goddamn. She’s in tiny, little pale purple bootie shorts and a matching sports bra, and she’s bent over Ryker, fixing some fucking yoga pose in my backyard.

“Sunrise yoga,” Jamie murmurs. “I didn’t think he was serious. But I get it now.”

Yeah. I try to avert my eyes, but I’m pretty damn sure that even dead, my eyes would still be stuck on her. She’s all long, toned muscles and golden, tanned, flawless skin, with soft curves I want to touch . . . but I’m not fucking going there, and neither is Jamie.

“Stop staring at my new nanny.” I smack the back of his head and force one foot in front of the other as I walk away.

Dipshit follows me into the kitchen and hands me a bottle of water, then grabs one for himself.

I catch it, and he stares at me in disbelief. “Your what?”

My laugh comes out harsh.

I might still be in denial that I agreed to this.

What the fuck was I thinking?

Right . . . That I was out of options.

“You heard me. Emmie is going to start as Rosie’s new nanny tomorrow.” I turn and pull the protein powder from the cabinet, then stop and look at Jamie. “That means she’s off-limits, Murphy. If you try to get with my nanny, I’ll rip your head off and shove it up your ass. Got it?”

Just the thought of him hitting on Emmie rubs me the wrong way.

I try to tell myself it’s because this arrangement will make life easier and Rosie happy, but the lie falls flat, even to myself.

Would she like it? Like him?

Fuck. I shouldn’t care, but the idea of her and him—son of a bitch.

“Seriously?” Jamie asks, looking dumbfounded. “You actually asked her? We figured there was no way you were going there.”

We?

“What the hell does that mean?” I groan, regretting the question even as I ask it.

“You fucking suck at asking for help, Mav. You know it. I know it. Hell, Rosie probably knows it. You’re more of an I’ll do it myself guy. I figured half-pint was going to end up at practice with us tomorrow at the rate you were going.” He grabs the blueberries from the fridge and hands them to me to add to our shakes. “Looks like the baby bird is learning how to fly all on his own.”

“Shut the fuck up,” I laugh. “Why are you such an asshole?”

An asshole who’s not wrong, and I do know it.

I suck at asking for help.

“Because I’m one of the few people who actually knows you. For what it’s worth, I think Emmie’s a good choice to help with Rosie.” He moves behind me so he can see into the yard, and a strangled sound comes from his throat.

“The fuck?” I murmur as I turn around.

Well hell . . . Emmie’s bent over in downward dog.

Her tight ass high in the air and her hair spilling around her face like an angel.

And I might just be going to hell because I can’t tear my eyes away.

She’s young . . . Too young. Too sweet. And too goddamned employed by me.

“What’cha doin’, Daddy?”

Rosie moves in front of me and Jamie as we both try to act like we weren’t just caught ogling our neighbor. Real smooth.

“Getting ready to make you breakfast, mia piccola rosa.” I pick her up and sit her on the counter. “What are you in the mood for?”

She looks around the kitchen and smiles when she sees the blueberries on the counter. “Can I have a blueberry smoothie?”

“You sure can.” I drop a kiss on the top of her head, then move her to a chair at the kitchen table. “I want to talk to you about something.”

Rosie scrunches her nose and a single dimple pops in her left cheek. “About what, Daddy?”

“So you know how Aurora was supposed to stay with you tomorrow when I go to work?” She nods her head, and her messy hair falls in her face.

I love when she first wakes up. She looks more like my baby than the big girl she’s becoming. The rest of the day, she’s a tiny tornado. But in the mornings, she’s slower and sweeter and a little less independent. She still makes me feel needed.

“Well, she’s going to spend a few weeks traveling, so we had to find someone else to stay with you when I can’t.”

“Did you find someone good?” Wide brown eyes look up at me, so trusting, my heart grows like the grinch’s.

“I think so. What would you think of Emmie being your new nanny until we find someone else?” Jamie chokes behind me, and I don’t know if it’s from the idea of Emmie being Rosie’s nanny or if Emmie managed to get into an even more impressive position. And why does that thought make me want to hit my best friend?

“Emmie? Yes, please. She’s so pretty and so nice, and she has roses in her backyard and⁠—”

I run my hand over her hair, slowing her down before she hyperventilates. “I got you, sweets. That’s a yes for Emmie. I’ll get everything set up for tomorrow.” I tug her hair and smile down at my beautiful little girl. “You’ve got to promise me you’ll listen to her, but you might have to help her a little in the beginning too, okay? You know what you can eat and what you can’t, right?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

“Okay. Make sure you don’t eat anything you aren’t sure about, okay?”

She nods again, and my heart beats an entire marching band cadence in my chest, just thinking about leaving her with someone new. But what choice do I have at this point? A football training camp is no place for a little girl.

Parenting isn’t for the weak of heart.

I have better friends than most people could ever hope to have, and I’ve been lucky enough to have them my whole life. I guess that’s what happens when your parents are best friends. You get put together and told you’re family.

In all the ways that count, Lilah Ryan-St. James has always been family. Even before she married my cousin. To the rest of the world, she’s the biggest pop star on the planet. To us, she’s Tink. And when I pull open the front door, she shoves so many packages at me, I can’t even see over them.

“Tink,” I grumble and look around the stack of presents to see who’s pulling up my gravel driveway. Only it’s not my driveway they’re in. It’s Emmie’s. I turn and drop the packages in the doorway, then wait to see who’s getting out of the car.

“Maverick,” Lilah hisses. “Be careful. Some of that stuff is breakable.”

She ducks under my arm and looks next door with me. “Who’s that?”

“If you’d stop talking for a minute, that’s what I’m trying to find out,” I snap.

A guy gets out of a black Lincoln Navigator and throws a duffle bag over his shoulder. He’s big. Not as big as me, but there aren’t many guys who are. This is the first time I’ve seen someone else at Emmie’s house.

“He’s kinda hot,” Lilah coos excitedly.

“You’re married,” I snap.

“I’m married, not blind. I can appreciate a hot guy, Mav. And that dude is hot. Not as hot as my husband.” She looks at me, appraising. “Maybe not as hot as you.” She shrugs a shoulder and picks up one of the boxes I dropped. “But hot enough. Is that your neighbor?”

“No,” I growl and slam the door, then say a silent thank you when I don’t hear Rosie. Lilah was right—she did just go down for a nap. My daughter has, thankfully, always been a great sleeper. “My neighbor is a woman, not some guy. She’s also agreed to be Rosie’s new nanny for now. I don’t know who the hell that is, but she better not bring him around Rosie.” I look down at the rest of the presents, then back at Lilah. “What the hell is all this, Tink?”

She flashes me her million-dollar smile. “Presents for Rosie from Fiji.”

“What the fuck can a five-year-old need from Fiji?” I know better than to ask but do it anyway, then tune her out while she tells me about her honeymoon.

Who the fuck was that guy?

Does Emmie have a man she didn’t mention?

And why the hell haven’t I seen him before?

We’re going to have to talk about this shit tomorrow.

Strictly for Rosie’s sake.

Emmie

There’s a knock at the door before it creaks open, and I jolt. “Emmie . . . you here?”

I stare at my MacBook screen for a second before answering Camden, possibly in shock he’s actually here.

It sounds like he kicks the door shut behind him, and I tense.

“I’m in the living room.” My voice shakes, and I can’t help but be annoyed with myself as butterflies take flight in my stomach. Once I toss my laptop aside, I manage to stand in time for my big brother to walk into the room, but neither of us move. It’s like we’re frozen in time in a space I know he never wanted to be in again.

Camden drops his black leather duffle bag to the old couch and steps forward, pulling me against his chest and holding me there until I eventually wrap my arms around his waist and give in to the tears threatening to drown me.

“Don’t cry, Emmie. Please don’t cry. I never know what to do when you cry,” he laughs sadly.

“I don’t cry that much,” I stammer out over my stuttered breath. “They’re good tears this time.” I lift my face and wipe my cheeks. “Happy ones. I promise.” And they are. But we both know they’re mixed with heartbreak. There’s no way they can’t be, even if neither of us wants to talk about it.

“I’m home.” His words are hesitant as he pulls me back against him and rests his chin on my head with a heavy sigh.

It feels like a lifetime since this was Camden’s home.

Since we stood here, arguing over what to do with Dad.

I swallow my emotions before they can overwhelm me and push away, looking for something to do. Anything else I can focus on. “Are you hungry?”

“Nah. I’ve got to grab a few suitcases out of the rental car, then I’ll probably go grocery shopping. Training camp starts tomorrow, and I’m only gonna get one chance to make an impression on the coaches.” Wow . . . I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Camden look nervous, but he definitely does now.

“Umm . . . speaking of the team.” I think about the guys next door and how close they all are and wonder if they’re going to be nice to my big brother or if they’ll close ranks when the new guy shows up. Not that Camden will be the only new guy there, but still . . . “Well, a few of your new teammates live in the old Banks house.”

Camden’s eyes dart to the windows that look out over Maverick’s house. “No shit? Which ones?”

“Maverick and Ryker Beneventi and Jameson Murphy.” My nerves ratchet up again, only this time, I don’t even know why. It’s not like it should matter to me if they all get along. But for some reason, it does.

“Really?” He seems surprised.

Welcome to the club.

“Yeah. They moved in a few weeks ago. I’m actually going to be helping Maverick . . . kinda.” I trail off. How do I tell him about Rosie when Maverick’s so protective of her? But how do I not? If Camden is going to be living here, he’s going to find out about her either way. And why does that feel like betraying Maverick?

“Helping him how?”

“It doesn’t matter. Let’s grab your bags and get you settled. I want to hear all about Texas.” It’s not like I’m lying. I really do want to hear about his old team, and deflection always worked best with Camden.

If Vivi were here, she’d have called me out on my tactics as soon as Camden walked away. Guess that’s the difference between a brother and a sister.