He shakes his head. “We should get back to the party.”
“Don’t cockblock me, Teddy.”
His deep laughter rings out into the night, then he places a quick kiss on my lips and says, “When I come, I want to be inside you, sweetheart.”
He lifts our raised hands and places a kiss on my wrist as we walk back.
“How much longer do you think we have to stay?” I ask, anticipation for him being inside me already has my body tingling again.
One side of his mouth lifts. Before he can speak, raised voices grab our attention, and our steps slow as we come around the corner.
Stella and all the guys are standing on the front steps, and Beau’s there too. Oh my gosh, Beau is here! Except, something is obviously wrong. His lip is bleeding and Felix and Garrison look murderous.
“Stella?” Felix’s gaze is hard as he stares between Beau and Stella. “What the hell is going on?”
“Beau is the guy I’ve been talking to. We met at the airport. Neither of us knew the connection at first.”
I look to Teddy.
His expression is hard, but he still speaks softly when he says, “That’s Beau Ricci. He plays football for Colorado.”
Garrison circles Stella and Beau, looking like a wild animal about to attack. “I have been dying to run into you off the field, Ricci.” His voice carries in the quiet night. “Let’s do this. Me and you.”
“I didn’t come here for a fight,” Beau says.
“Too bad.”
Garrison moves to punch him. Beau steps away from Stella, shielding her as much as possible.
Teddy’s steps get quicker, and the two of us hurry over to the action.
Beau doesn’t try to fight back, but he holds Garrison at arm’s length, so he can’t continue to hit him.
“Fight me, you piece of shit.” Garrison lowers his head and lunges for him.
“No!” Stella yells. She steps forward like she’s going to get between them.
Felix gets there first and places a hand on Garrison’s chest. “Take a walk before someone else gets hurt.”
“He broke my fucking foot.” Garrison’s voice rises. “My football career might be over because of this prick.”
“You almost hit Stella. Take a fucking walk,” Felix says again. “I need to talk to my sister.”
Garrison looks annoyed at being ordered around by my brother, but finally relents. His shoulders fall and his fingers unfurl. “What the fuck ever, Walters.” Garrison knocks into his shoulder as he blows past him.
I move to stand next to my sister. Tears stream down her face and she looks so defeated, it hurts my insides. She wraps her arms around my shoulders, clinging to me. Felix looks like he might murder someone. I glance around at everyone. My head spins. “I don’t understand. What’s going on?”
Felix’s voice is hard and strained, like he’s fighting to keep control. “We’re just trying to figure out the same thing. Stella, please help me understand. Did you invite him here? Are you dating this asshole? Beau fucking Ricci, really?”
“She didn’t invite me. I drove up to surprise her. She had nothing to do with this.” Beau gives my sister a look that under normal circumstances would make my stomach flip, but right now, it’s twisted in knots.
“I was going to tell you,” Stella says, stepping back to Beau’s side. “This isn’t how I wanted you to find out, but yeah, we like each other.”
Beau wraps an arm around her. Felix fumes at the action, and his jaw flexes.
“No.” My brother slices a hand through the air, then runs it over his head. “This isn’t happening. Stella, you can’t date this guy. You know what he did to Garrison. His dirty hit cost him the season.”
“That was an accident.” Stella is steadfast in her loyalty. Always has been and for some reason, she’s decided that Beau is worth it. I don’t know what to think.