Chapter 27 – Jordie #2
When I look back at Phoenix, his eyes hold a hint of sorrow. “Yeah, baby. Like she’s doing now.” He gently cups my cheek, and my face leans into the touch without my permission. I’ve craved this soft intimacy from him.
Sure, there has been a lot of touching in our dance classes the past few weeks, but this is on another level. It’s affectionate, almost… loving?
Before I can let that thought take root, Phoenix yanks his hand away and curses, jerking his gaze to the counter. “Fuck. I thought I heard Helix’s voice.”
I swivel my head to see the backs of two men ordering food. One I recognize as Helix, Phoenix’s twin. They have the same dark-brown hair, though Helix is slightly broader than his brother through the chest and shoulders, probably due to being a swimmer.
“Is the other guy Remington?” I ask, eyeing the slightly taller man with hair the color of midnight. He’s built like Phoenix with long, lean muscles that are evident beneath his pale-yellow dress shirt.
“That’s him. He lives in London but has been in town working at the Houston office for the past few weeks.” Phoenix drags a hand over the top of his head, obviously in distress. “I don’t think they saw us.”
I panic a little. “Do you want me to hide in the bathroom or something?”
Phoenix’s head whips toward me, and I think maybe he’s considering it, but then he chuckles. “No, you’re not hiding in the bathroom, McNamara. It will be fine. We’ll just—”
“Well, well, well. I guess we know what our brother does on his mysterious Tuesday night rendezvous,” a deep voice that sounds remarkably like Phoenix’s says.
I glance up to see two impossibly handsome men standing beside our table with their trays of food.
Seriously, what kind of prenatal vitamins did their mother take while pregnant because all three of her sons are off-the-charts hot.
Remington’s brown eyes and Helix’s blue ones ping pong between me and Phoenix, and they’re both wearing amused grins like they just won the lottery.
I foresee some brotherly teasing in the near future.
“Oh, hey, guys,” Phoenix says with false cheeriness. “Jordie and I were just…” He flails a hand around uncomfortably, unable to come up with a valid excuse as to why we’re together.
“On a date?” Remington purrs, his grin widening to show perfect white teeth.
“No,” his brother snaps. “We, uh…”
Deciding to save him, I speak up. “Phoenix and I ended up at the gym together in Philly, and we found we work well together. So now we meet up once a week to work out. We’re not on a date.”
Helix’s eyes narrow on me. This dude misses nothing, which makes sense since Phoenix told me his twin is basically a genius. “Don’t you have a personal trainer through the team? Why would you want to work out with Phoenix?”
Shit. He’s right. Why the hell would I be working out with the marketing director of a company I have an endorsement deal with? It doesn’t make sense. But I run with my story.
“I do. And a nutritionist,” I reply brightly. Probably a little too brightly, so I tone it down. “And since I have access to those people, I offered to share that knowledge with Phoenix. So that’s why we’re eating a high protein meal with lots of vegetables after our workout.”
I’m a horrible liar, but dance classes can be considered a workout, right? And we have discussed my fairly strict diet a couple times.
Remington’s grin widens, crinkling his eyes at the corners. “Riiiiight because poor little Phoenix is destitute and could never afford his own personal trainer.”
Helix picks up the gauntlet. “Since this isn’t a date, I guess y’all wouldn’t mind if we joined you?”
He starts to set down his tray at the empty spot to my right, but Phoenix quickly stands and moves his own bowl to the space beside me, gesturing for his brothers to sit on the opposite side of the table.
My “workout partner” and apparent “nutrition protégé” takes the seat beside me, widening his legs to press his knee against mine in a secret communication of… something. Gratitude? Apology?
I’m not sure, but I can’t say I hate the possessiveness of him wanting to sit beside me.
After the brothers have unloaded their trays, they sit across from us, still smiling wickedly. “Please,” Remington says, “don’t let us interrupt your nutrition lesson.”
“We were done discussing it,” Phoenix grumbles. “By the way, this is Jordie McNamara. Jordie, this is prickface number one, Remington Hale. And you’ve already met prickface number two.” He indicates his brothers one by one.
“Nice to meet you, prickface number one,” I say, extending my hand across the table.
Remington shakes it with a chuckle. “Nice to meet you, Jordie. And you can call me Remi. I was at the Orlando game last week. You are so talented.”
“Thank you. We’re having a good season so far, but there’s still a long way to go.”
“We watched the New Orleans game on TV,” Helix says. “Did you have a chance to explore much of the city?”
I laugh. “Since our game was on Sunday, we had a curfew Saturday night. A bunch of us went out for seafood, but we avoided Bourbon Street at the insistence of our coaches.”
“Probably wise,” Helix remarks with a smile. “It can get crazy down there, and it’s not exactly conducive to getting a good night’s sleep. Where are you playing this weekend?”
“Chicago,” Phoenix answers before I can, and his brothers share a smug look. He rushes to add, “I looked it up because Reecie loves watching the games.”
“Ah, yes. Reecie likes to watch,” Remi says with a knowing smirk.
Good grief. They are definitely suspicious.
“Did you see Reece earlier?” Phoenix asks, deftly changing the subject. “Since you’re staying at Mom’s house while you’re in town?”
“For a few minutes. She and Mom left to go shopping right after I got there.” He picks up his fork, and we all do the same. My food isn’t hot anymore, but it still tastes okay.
Helix chews and swallows a bite of chicken before asking his twin, “How’s the kitten, Phoenix?”
“You got a kitten?” I ask, my voice doing that high-pitched thing people do when talking about adorable animals.
Phoenix looks chagrined. “Yeah, we got her yesterday. I got talked into it by Reece.”
“He’s a sucker,” Helix teases, and then his face turns serious. “But I don’t blame you for giving in after what happened.”
“What happened?” I ask before I can stop myself.
Phoenix answers. “Reece asked about her mother, and I was a total wreck afterward, especially given the fact that Beatrice is most likely coming back to the States. My daughter asked me for a kitten the next day, and I just blindly agreed.” His teeth sink into his bottom lip in a sign of vulnerability.
“Maybe I was overcompensating, but I want to make her feel as safe and loved as I can. And if a fluffy little demon cat brings her some joy, I’ll get her a whole harem of kittens. ”
“She is safe and loved,” Helix says after swallowing a mouthful of rice. “Because she has us.” His voice is somehow hard and soft at the same time. It’s obvious he adores his niece.
“Damn right,” Remi agrees, his expression turning dark. “She doesn’t need that cuntwagon, Bea.”
Well, guess he’s not a fan of Phoenix’s ex, and the scowl on Helix’s face tells me he feels the same.
“I grew up without a mom as well, and I turned out fine,” I say softly. I do my best not to jolt with surprise when I feel Phoenix’s hand on my knee beneath the table.
“You turned out better than fine, g—uh, Jordie.”
Shit. Was he about to call me goddess? The rise of pink up his cheeks tells me he was.
Helix’s eyes narrow, but Remi doesn’t seem to catch the near-slip. The older Hale brother lifts his glass of iced tea. “I say fuck the bitches who abandon their kids.”
We all clink glasses and say, “Fuck those bitches,” earning us some glowers from surrounding tables.
“By the way, a group of cats is a clowder, not a harem,” Helix informs Phoenix as we resume eating.
“I like harem better. Let’s change it to that,” Remi says with a wicked grin that makes me imagine he probably has a whole harem of women back in London.
Helix looks affronted at the idea. “You can’t just change a word, Remi.”
“Why not?”
I listen as the brothers bicker back and forth, and I feel a weird sense of camaraderie with these guys.
Especially with the man who still has his hand on my knee.
“I hope this isn’t too personal, but what have you told Reece about her mother?” I ask as Phoenix is driving me home.
He offers me a quick smile as he checks his rearview mirror and changes lanes on the freeway.
“Not too personal. The first time she asked why she didn’t have a mom, she had just turned three.
I told her she had a mom, but she doesn’t live close by.
That seemed to appease her.” He grimaces. “Until she asked more recently.”
“What did you tell her then?”
“She wanted to know why she had never met her mother.” Phoenix rubs a hand down his face. “I told her some version of the truth. That her mother lived in Japan. I said since her mother worked a lot, we decided it would be best if Reece lived with me because I was able to take care of her.”
My hand goes to my heart, trying to quell the hurt I feel for that sweet little girl. “And what did she say?”
Phoenix’s lips pop up on one side. “She wanted to know if that meant she was Japanese because she really loves Japanese food.”
A laugh bursts from my lips. “I swear, she is so stinking cute.” He smiles his agreement, and I ask, “What’s your kitten’s name?”
“Honey. Reece named her that because she’s kind of a yellowish-orange color.”
“I can’t wait to meet her.” Realizing that sounds presumptuous, I add, “I mean it would be cool to meet her if I ever come back to your house.”
Phoenix exits and pulls up to a stop light, regarding me with a long look. “Of course you’ll be coming back. You’re a vital part of spa night.”
Something warms deep inside me at his words, and I offer him a little tease. “You’re just saying that because you like how sexy I look in footie pajamas.”
His laugh is rich and deep. “Goddess, you would look sexy in a burlap sack.” He’s quiet for a moment as he turns onto the street near my apartment building.
“You know, I am looking for someone to cat-sit next week. I’m taking Reece to Disney World as an early birthday present, and my mom is coming with us.
My housekeeper comes by a couple times a week, but Honey is still a baby, and I don’t want her to be alone for that long. ”
“I can do it,” I say without pause. “We don’t have a game next week, so our practice schedule won’t be quite as intense.”
“Really? Honey is cute but a bit of a menace. She tries to climb on everything, but she’s litter-box trained,” he rushes to add.
“No problem. I can handle it. And have you gotten her something to climb on like a cat tree or kitty condo?”
“No, I haven’t gotten around to it yet, but I can take Reece to the pet store tomorrow to pick something out.” He pauses. “You’re welcome to just stay at my house if you want. That way you don’t have to worry about driving home every night.”
“Oh. Okay, if you’re sure. When are you leaving?”
“Monday morning, and we’ll be back on Saturday.”
“The team is flying home Monday morning, so that will work out perfectly.”
Phoenix turns into the parking garage of my building, waving at the guard as he lifts the gate. I’d put him on my “safe” list with security after our first dance lesson. He parks and kills the engine before swiveling in his seat to face me.
“I’m not sure how much cat-sitters make, but I can look it up and—”
“You don’t have to pay me,” I interrupt. “I’m just helping out a friend.”
But the hot drag of his gaze down to my tits encased in a tight red tank top doesn’t seem very friend-like. My nipples pop out to say hello to the owner of their favorite mouth, and Phoenix scrapes his teeth along his bottom lip.
Then he averts his gaze, and his voice lowers into a husky rasp. “You better go before I do something we’ll both regret.”
I unbuckle my seat belt and climb out of the SUV, but before I close the door behind me, my foolish mouth speaks.
“Who said I’d regret it, tripod?”
The feral curse I hear as I close the door and stride toward the entrance makes me smile.