“That’s your job, bro,” Nick teased.
Corey subtly flipped him off before turning to whisper into his fiancée’s ear.
Following the family’s conversation was tricky, to say the least. Clayton was the professional quarterback who played for Seattle, but she wasn’t sure what that had to do with Corey, because he played baseball. Didn’t he? She was pretty certain he was a pitcher.
As soon as she caught up, they moved on to another topic she had to navigate her way through. By the time dinner was done, she was mentally exhausted and had hardly spoken ten words. They probably thought she was mute. Not that they gave up.
“How’s it really going with my brother?” Beth asked, standing next to her in front of the large stone fireplace after dinner. The room was an open concept, but with the sheer size of the place, the kitchen, where clean-up was going on, seemed far away.
“Oh, uh, okay—” Shoot, this was Will’s sister, and she didn’t want to seem ungrateful. She sputtered new words out fast. “I mean perfect. It’s nice of him to help.”
“Now Iknowyou’relying.” Beth chuckled. “I love Will, but he can be a bossy, judgy know-it-all.”
Sometimes, but—her attention drifted to where Will stood at the counter with one of his nieces, helping her scoop potatoes into a Ziplock bag—other times, he had the patience of a saint. Even in the chaos of the room, he gave the little girl his full focus. Like she was the only important thing there. It didn’t matter in the least that the six-year-old was making a mess. He just showed her how to scoop more effectively and laughed with her. It was almost like a magical power the man possessed.
“You haven’t noticed how annoying he is?” Beth prompted.
Aly turned to the smirking blonde. “He balances it well enough. I don’t mind.”
Once the words were out, Aly felt like an idiot for saying them, but Beth just threw an arm around her waist and hugged her.
“I’m so glad you’re here.” Beth pulled her across the room. “Come chat with Taran. I’m sure you’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”
Why would she? She kept the question to herself, though, and then she was back to trying to keep up once she’d been dragged into a conversation with Taran and the redhead.
And unlike Andy, she didn’t complain at all when Will said he wanted to go before Clayton’s game started.
Andy was as excited as Will was to watch the football game. Aly planned to watch too if it meant spending time with her brother.
“Do you know much about football?” Will asked, plopping next to her on the sectional once they had settled back into his house.
“Only the very basics.” One team was blue and silver, and the other was white and blue with a hint of green.
“It’s always fun to teach a newbie.” He grinned and kicked his bare feet up onto the square coffee table in front of him.
He’d changed from his dress clothes into a white T-shirt and sweats. Her core clenched as she took in the way the tight fabric showed off the definition in his shoulders and pecs. It wasn’t fair that when he put on grungy clothes, he looked panty-meltingly gorgeous, but when she put on leggings and a T-shirt, she looked haggard and ready for bed. Their shoulders almost touched as he leaned back.
“Clayton’s team has hawks on their helmets. See right there? Number eight?” Will pointed at the huge television that took up a large portion of the wall. “That’s him.”
She found the large navy number and scanned the man on the screen. No wonder Lily didn’t mind watching the football games. The view was impeccable.
“Why are you laughing?”
Aly bit back her smile. “I have a friend, Lily, who really likes football uniforms.”
Will’s brown eyes widened, and he leaned forward and turned to face her. “Are you checking out my brother’s ass?” He followed the question with a sound that fell somewhere between a scoff and a laugh.
Aly’s cheeks heated at his response.
He reached out, his voice dropping to a deep hum. “This”—he ran his knuckles along her jaw, causing Aly’s heart to pound in her ears and a deep throb to hum throughout her body—“this gorgeous blush is haunting my every thought.”
Their eyes locked—until the door swung open. Will shifted to rest his elbows on his knees as Andy made his way to the sofa.
“Here,” Andy said, handing Will a bowl full of popcorn that matched the one in his other hand.
“You’re eating again?” Aly asked as he settled the bowl on his lap.
“Just popcorn.” Andy shrugged but didn’t look at her.