“If you’re gonna be my brother-in-law, I figured we needed some time to get to know each other. Officially.”
“Are you here to tell me how you’ll kill me if I hurt her?”
He smirked and took a sip of whiskey. “Sort of.”
“Look, I don’t intend to do anything to hurt Becca.”
“Good, because I know how it goes with athletes. You marry the girl, but then all that time on the road gets lonely, and you’re only a man. You just need relief. What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her, and so on.” He leveled his stare on me. “That’s not gonna happen here, is it?”
I took the glass of amber liquid and brought it to my lips. The vanilla and smoke flavor burst on my tongue, making me fight the urge to cough. “No. I’m not a cheater. Never have been.”
“That’s not what your history says.”
“I. Don’t. Cheat. Not on anyone, and never on Becca.”
“Good, because I love her sister somethin’ fierce, and if anything happened to that girl, my wife would be just as heartbroken.”
I could see it in his eyes. He was serious.
“Anything that happens between Becca and me will only happen if she wants it to.”
He lifted his glass in a cheers gesture. “Then I guess, welcome to the family, Savage.”
“Thank you, sir.”
I didn’t know what else to say. It wasn’t like I could explain that we’d started this farce out knowing it had an end date. So, I drank my whiskey down and then stood. “If there’s nothing else, I have a long commute home, and my wife is waiting on me.”
With a curt nod, he turned his attention to the computer on his desk. “Tell her to set up supper at our place, will ya? Quinn needs to meet her new uncle.”
“Supper?”
“Yeah. That’s how we do it around these parts, Savage. You get together with the in-laws. I promised Clara I’d help her be closer with her sisters. Now you’re attached to one of them. That means you come with her.”
Unease settled itself in my throat, a ball of worry so big I couldn’t get words out. So I nodded instead before leaving. Becca had been avoiding the team and everything connected to it since the auction. I knew why. She didn’t want to explain it all to Clara.
My wife hadn’t explained much of her background, but I’d gathered enough through simply listening. Her parents died young, and Clara took on the role of caregiver.
She hadn’t seen her elder sister since right after we were married.
I pulled out my phone and sent her a quick text as I returned to the locker room to collect the rest of my stuff.
Me: It’s time to stop avoiding your family, Tink.
Tink: You’re not the boss of me.
I chuckled under my breath. I could hear the petulance from a mile away.
Me: Yeah, well, my boss is asking for a family dinner with us, so I’d say if you don’t want things to be awkward as arse, you have to talk to Clara.
Tink: Shit.
Me: I know. It’s going to be hard to keep your hands off me, but you’ll do your best when we go over there.
Tink: Ha.
Me: I’ll be home in about an hour. Perhaps we should practice not hating each other.
Tink: I don’t like to set myself up for failure.