“It’s been, like, two hours since dinner, Al.” Will smirked, tossing a kernel into the air, then catching it in his mouth before shooting her a grin.
“I don’t think I’ll need to eat again for at least a year.” Aly shook her head.
Will sat back against the cushions so their shoulders brushed against each other. Her skin broke out in goose bumps at the contact.
His low voice rumbled straight to her center as he stared at her leggings. “That would be a shame. I like watching your ass. Especially in those.”
“What?” Andy asked, turning to look at them.
Aly blinked, having no idea how to respond.
“Should be a good game. I like watching the passing plays, especially in the snow.” A dimple she hadn’t noticed popped on his left cheek as he smiled at Andy. “And we get to teach your sister about football. That’s going to make it even better.”
True to his word, he spent the duration teasing Aly, explaining plays, and teaching her the ins and outs of the game, not seeming the least bit annoyed when she asked questions. Even her brother jumped into the conversation on occasion. And although things had started out rough, by the time she headed up to bed, she counted it as a good day overall.
She wanted to hope the same for the next day, especially when Andy agreed to go over to their mother’s house and be on set for a few hours. Aly had warned Garry and the crew that he was hesitant to be on camera and had explained that they should probably stick with mostly candid shots of him. Luckily, they were willing to work with that. And Will had agreed to come as moral support for him.
Aly had ridden over with Lily earlier in the morning, and they’d already shot a few demo scenes. By the time Will texted that they were just through security, they’d already knocked out the kitchen. A barrier had been set up around Aly’s mom’s property. No one who wasn’t part of the crew was allowed in, but there were a handful of fans watching from the outskirts, even though nothing major had happened yet.
The plan was to record footage of packing, complete her interview, and get a jumpstart on demo. Episode one of four would air the following Tuesday, and another would follow every Tuesday until Christmas. That meant long days for Aly over the next three weeks.
“Well, shit, he’s going to steal attention from dipshit Logan today.” Lily waggled her brows. “Look at that man. I’m not usually a fan of the ripped jeans and boots look, but wow.” Aly’s friend stood beside her, her eyes—blue today—locked on Will as he moved through the chaos of the front yard. The fitted beige sweater he wore showed off the lean muscles of his upper body. “I cannot believe you live with that model of a man.”
“I know, right?” She pulled on her cropped white tank. Normally, the inch of skin between her black Spanx leggings and her top didn’t leave her self-conscious, but something about having Will near made her fidget.
“You look hot today. I did such a good job with your eyes. They pop. Your roommate willlove it.”
Aly rolled her eyes. “Way to toot your own horn, Lil. But besides being a huge flirt, he makes living with him easy,” Aly admitted.
“Ooh.” Lily did a shimmy. “Flirt, you say. I’ll test that theory. Everything I’ve seen during your FaceTime calls makes it seem like he has a thing foryou.”
“I’m telling you, he’s just a flirt.” Aly opened the front door just as Will and Andy stepped onto the concrete porch. “Hey, guys, come on in.”
“This seems like a lot more people than normal,” Andy complained. But he was right. He’d been on set a handful of times, but always for full-season shows. They had more time for those, so less had to be done all at once. Right now, the basement was already gutted and being reframed, and parts of the first floor were in demo mode, even while they emptied the upstairs bedrooms. The quick specials required a big crew. “No one is in my room, are they?”
“No, we told them you wanted to go in first.” Apart from the camera they’d installed on the wall, no one had set foot in Andy’s room.
“Good.” He stomped past them and up the stairs, squeezing past two men holding lights.
“He’s a ray of sunshine and rainbows. I didn’t even get a hello.” Lily frowned and crossed her arms over the leather corset she wore that looked more like bondage. She turned slowly. “You’re the FaceTime hottie who makes my day when you’re shirtless.” Lily’s bleach-blond hair was so light it was almost white, and it was straight today, coming down to her waist. She tucked it over her shoulder as she smiled at Will.
But the weirdest thing happened. Will, who didn’t normally have personal space issues, took a step back. Undeterred, Lily stuck her silver-bracelet-clad arm out to shake his hand. Will didn’t respond until she added, “I’m Lily. Aly’s bestie.”
“Oh.” He finally put his hand in hers, and he broke into a small grin. His eyes tracked from the spiked black boots that came up to about mid-thigh over her outfit to her perfectly made-up face. It almost irked Aly, but Will’s expression didn’t saywow, she’s gorgeous. Instead, he wore the same incredulous look everyone who saw Lily on a construction site wore. But Aly couldn’t have predicted his next words. “I heard you have a thing for my brother’s ass in football pants.”
Lily lifted her fingers to her lips as she laughed. “Ooh, yes. That man in skintight white pants would get my attention any day of the week. His ass was definitely the highlight of my Thanksgiving.”
Aly shook her head. “Don’t get too excited. Will gets annoyed when people look at his brother’s ass.”
Will’s eyes cut over to Aly. Slowly, his gaze raked across her face and settled on her mouth. He pressed his teeth into his lower lip before he said, “That’s just a you thing, Al.”
His comment made her breathless. “Huh?” she asked, but Will just smiled.
“I have to go do dipshit’s makeup because you two are supposed to have one-on-one chats in twenty.” Lily reached over and flicked a few of Aly’s curls. “If Garry wants you touched up, let me know, but I think you look perfect.”
“That’s ’cause she does.”
Aly almost shivered when she realized his gaze still lingered on her.