As soon as the words leave her mouth, my thoughts shift, take me in a direction they shouldn’t be going. Jules and I are friends. We’ve established that. Other than Kane’s sisters, and my teammates’ wives—who continue to try to set me up—I’ve never been just friends with a girl before and I really like it. I really like her. If we brought sex in to it, it would ruin what we currently have right?
But what if it didn’t?
“My Jeep is right over there,” I say and point.
She scans the street, her gaze settling on my battleship gray Jeep. “You’re not driving Kane’s car tonight?”
“No, I had a feeling he’d be leaving with Lindsay.”
I grab her hand and we dart across the street, the rain pelting our bodies. I hurry around the vehicle and open her door for her.
“Such a gentleman,” she says.
“Marion would kill me if I didn’t open the door for you,” I say, and then slam my mouth shut, but as I circle the front of the Jeep, I don’t miss the way Jules’ eyes are on me. I slide into the driver’s seat, start the vehicle and turn on the heat.
“Who’s Marion?” she asks, and the question isn’t unexpected. I opened the door, after all. All she’s doing is walking through it.
I check the rearview mirror, and glance over my shoulder. The rain lightens as I pull into traffic. “She’s Kane’s mother,” I say, my voice even and steady.
“Oh, I see. My mother’s name is Grace. My dad is Jack. He’s a sports fanatic.”
“And yet you don’t like hockey.”
“Nope, and he couldn’t make a fan out of any of his five daughters.”
My gaze flies to hers. “You have four sisters. I mean I know you said there were five kids in your family, but all girls.”
I shake my head. “Your poor father.”
“Hey, why do you say it like it’s a bad thing?”
“I just mean, with a son, you only have one dick to worry about. With a daughter, you have hundreds, or more.”
She stares at me for a moment, and when she finally gets what I’m saying, she laughs out loud. “I never thought of it that way before. Maybe that’s why Dad is going gray early.”
“I have no doubt.”
She goes quiet for a moment, and then in a soft voice asks. “Did Marion raise you?”
“Yeah, sort of,” I say. “She was good to me. So was Arthur, Kane’s dad. They come to all the games.”
She nods and looks through the rain-soaked windshield. “It’s nice that they were supportive. My parents were, too. Mom stayed at home. I guess she didn’t dare leave five girls alone.” She chuckles and adds, “Dad is an engineer.”
“How old are your sisters?”
“We range from eighteen to twenty-six. We’re all close. When I’m off on Sundays, I cook for the family at my place, or at Mom’s, since it’s bigger.”
“Yeah, I figured.”
“Huh?”
“I sensed that about you. Close family, Sunday dinners. Marion tries to do that as well, but it’s like herding cats. Kane has two younger sisters. Jaclyn has three kids, and Lucy has two and one on the way. All are five and under, and there’s a set of twins.”
She gives a low slow whistle. “That’s a good size family.”
“Yeah it is,” I say and offer her a smile.
“Mom and Dad are anxiously awaiting grandkids,” she says, and there’s a hitch in her voice, like she’s choking on the words.