“And if I win…”
“Like there’s a chance you will.”
Dax sighed. “When I win, I want Jackson, a second-round pick, and that bottle of Balvenie scotch you’ve got locked in your den.”
I let out a grunt. Dad got me the Balvenie after graduating college. I’d kept it with the intention of opening it the day my Sharks brought home the Stanley Cup. I ran a hand over my head.
“Too much heat for you, brother? Think you can’t win?”
I stuck out my hand and narrowed my eyes. “It’s a deal.”
Dax grinned, shaking my hand with a muttering of, “That’s what I thought.”
I took a step back, thinking over what I just agreed to. Things would be easier if I had a distraction to keep Dax from swooping in with his guy-next-door goodness. Yuck. “And Daniel?”
“What about him?”
“Don’t you think we should let him in on this little wager?”
Dax thought about it for a second, but then he shook his head. “No way. He’ll just beat us both, and then we’ll be out a girl and our teams will suck for the playoffs.”
“We could get more out of the bet if he offered a player too.”
He hummed as he pursed his lips. “Alright then. We’ll let him in over dinner. May the best man win.”
10
PARVATI
It started raining right after I got into the hotel. I hurried through to get to my room thinking only of grabbing a shower to get the sweat and sunscreen off my skin.
“Oh, hey, honey,” my mom greeted me as I passed through the lobby.
“Hey, Mom. What are you up to?” I scratched my brow and let out a sigh, and she immediately knew that something was going on.
Her eyes softened as she looked me over. “Is everything going okay with your new brothers?” Going okay? Define okay.
I forced a smile immediately, knowing that any disruption in our perfect vacation would definitely put a sour mood on things. “Oh, of course. I just...” I turned and looked at the front doors for a pause and then faced my mom again. “Well, it started to rain, and I was hoping to get more sun. That’s all.”
“Oh yes.” She laughed. “I was hoping so too! We came in a little bit ago ourselves when the clouds rolled in.”
“Well, what are you up to?” I lifted my hand to rub my temple as the sting of a headache hit me, but I caught myself before I could. Why Daniel made me so stressed was beyond me.
“I thought I might grab us some snacks for the afternoon. Danforth is upstairs showering right now, so I want to surprise him with something delicious.” I laughed at her words, knowing exactly what she was hinting at as she played her fingers in the air like a piano.
“I’ll leave you to it.” We parted ways with a smile, and I headed off to my room to get cleaned up. As soon as I hit the elevator, my shoulders tightened. I just couldn’t put my finger on it, but Daniel really got under my skin. I guess if I was being honest with myself, it was that he was so damn gorgeous, and it was really hard for me to think of anything other than him and I hooking up. But every time those thoughts came to my mind, I just got angrier with myself.
In my room, I gathered my things to take a shower, but the minute I turned on the hot water I just knew the day was going to get worse. Air pockets spat out of the faucet spontaneously and I had to hurry up and turn it off, fearing that I’d burst a pipe and ruin everything. The cold water was working just fine, of course, and I was starting to think that the universe was telling me something. Take a cold shower, Parvati. Cool down your nerves and your temptations.
I stood up and shook out my arms, and then I let out one big sigh. I wasn’t going to let my emotions get the best of me. Who cared if I was attracted to someone I wasn’t supposed to be attracted to? That stuff happened all the time. No more beating myself up over it. I shoved my things into a mesh bag and headed down the hall to see Damien and Dax. Unfortunately, I couldn’t use my mom’s shower because Danforth was currently in it. But I was determined to get that shower one way or the other.
I knocked twice on their door, and then I could hear laughing coming from inside. It got louder until the door popped open, and there stood Damien in nothing but his boxers.
I put my hand up so I wouldn’t see him, humming at the brief sight of his lean body. “Why are you walking around like that, answering the door without even knowing who’s there?”