I chuckled.
I couldn’t wait for Rafael to try to explain away his black eye. His ego was probably more bruised than his face, and he deserved every second of discomfort.
You did not go around grabbing women against their will. Period.
“Thank you for protecting my sister,” Vincent added stiffly. The stadium had truly emptied by now, and the only sound was our footsteps echoing against the concrete floors. “You didn’t have to do that.”
If you only knew.
“You’re welcome.” I cleared my throat. “Thank you for filling in at the last minute.”
“You’re welcome.”
We lapsed into silence again.
We reached the exit and stood there, taking care not to look at each other while we waited for Scarlett and her friends to join us. Scarlett hadn’t seemed too upset by us sucker punching her ex, but Carina and Brooklyn had showed up in time to see Finley herding us to the locker room the way a fed-up schoolteacher would herd his troublemakers to detention.
I didn’t know what the girls were doing. Debriefing each other on our absolute shitshow of a day, probably.
At least we’d raised over a hundred thousand pounds for Sport for Hope (if we included SB’s donation match. Five goals equaled five times the ticket sales).
Vincent tapped his foot. I checked my watch.
Awkward silence hummed.
We weren’t friends, but today’s match and our united front against Rafael had eased some of the animosity that usually tainted the air between us.
So what the hell did we do now?
“Did you guys get it all out of your system?” Scarlett’s voice dispelled my cloud of uncertainty.
She came up beside us, flanked by a wary-looking Carina and an amused Brooklyn.
Vincent straightened beside me.
“Get what out of our system?” I asked.
“The overwhelming testosterone. You did not have to come up and sucker punch him like that.” She leveled us with a stern look.
Vincent and I ducked our heads.
“That being said…” Scarlett’s mouth twitched. “It was quite satisfying to see it happen.”
Our relieved grins broke out at the same time.
“I even caught it on camera.” Carina waved her phone in the air. “In case we have a bad day and need a pick-me-up.”
“Oooh.” Brooklyn leaned over. “Can you send it to me?”
“Totally.”
“Thank you,” Scarlett said quietly as her friends huddled over the video of me punching Rafael. “Both of you. Like I said, you didn’t have to go all out with a punch, but I appreciate you having my back.”
“Always. You’re my baby sis.” Vincent ruffled her hair. “Someone messes with you, they mess with me.””Vince. What did I say about touching my hair?” She swatted his hand away, but a smile peeked through the creases of her annoyance.
I remained silent. I didn’t want to say what I was really thinking with Vincent there, so the words crowded in my throat, straining against the leash I’d snapped around them.
I’ll always have your back. Always. No matter what happens, there’s nothing in this world that I won’t do for you.
Scarlett’s gaze brushed mine. She stilled for a fraction of a second, her lips parting like she’d heard my silent promise loud and clear.
A familiar buzz sprang to life beneath my skin-just for a second, just until Brooklyn called out Scarlett’s name, but it was enough to make every dip of today’s rollercoaster worth it.
“The first cab’s here,” Brooklyn said, checking her phone as a black car rolled up beside us. “We’re celebrating at the Angry Boar.”
“Great.” Vincent flashed her a smile. “We can ride together. I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Scarlett’s brother, Vincent.”
“I know who you are.” She didn’t look up from her screen. “We’re not riding together. You’re riding with Asher.”
Our smiles vanished in unison.”What?” Our voices overlapped over our glares.
“We can’t fit five in a car, so you boys are going first to snag us a prime table. We’ll be right behind you,” Scarlett said brightly. Carina opened the door; Scarlett pushed us inside. “See you at the pub!”
Brooklyn waggled her fingers at us. “Have fun and play nice.”
We didn’t get a chance to voice our outrage before Carina slammed the door shut and our driver sped off.
“What the hell just happened?” Vincent asked, his voice soaked with disbelief.
“I wish I knew.” I wiped a hand over my face, torn between annoyance, amusement, and pride. “Don’t ask questions. Just go along with it. Trust me, it’s easier that way.”
Of course our bloody driver got lost. London taxi drivers rarely got lost, but it was just our luck to be stuck with the one that did.
One very long, very silent car ride later, Vincent and I finally arrived at the Angry Boar. The girls had already snagged one of the few coveted booths in the back, and we had to fight our way through the crowd to reach them.
It was Saturday night, and the pub was packed. Music and alcohol flowed freely, and a few patrons had set up a makeshift dance floor next to the jukebox. Mac slung drinks behind the bar with his trademark scowl, which deepened when he saw us enter.
In fact, everyone noticed when we entered. Dozens of pairs of eyes followed our trek to the corner booth. If it weren’t for the pub’s rules, there’d be a million phones documenting this historic moment in football history.
Asher Donovan and Vincent DuBois, out on the town like best mates.
Ha. Over my dead body.
“It’s about time,” Brooklyn said as we took our seats on either side of the circular booth-me next to Scarlett, Vincent next to Brooklyn. Carina sat smack dab in the middle, her eyes glued to something on her phone. “Did you two enjoy your ride so much you extended it?”
“Don’t push it, Blondie,” Vincent said. “You’re cute, but not that cute.”
She smirked. “Was that why you wanted to ride with me earlier?”
“No, that was because I was already in a charitable mood and wanted to extend my generosity to you.”
“Children,” Scarlett murmured as Vincent and Brooklyn continued to bicker. “I’m surrounded by children.”
“Don’t lump me in with them,” I said. “I’m a mature adult.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.