He shrugs. “That sounds nice.”
Kennedy wraps her long red hair into a bun on top of her head as she follows me out of the house. “I’m a big fan of you guys!” she calls over her shoulder.
“Same here, sis!” Indy shouts.
Damn, drunk girls really do become best friends by existing in the same room.
Kennedy gets herself in the back seat of my truck while I get Miller in the passenger side. Reaching over her body, I click the seat belt into place.
She runs a palm over my face, drunk and so touchy because of it.
“Yes?” I ask.
“I like you.”
A laugh rumbles in my chest. “I like you too, Mills.”
“Will you kiss me?”
“You don’t want me to kiss you casually, remember?”
“I changed my mind.”
Maybe she did. Maybe she didn’t. But there’s not a world in which Miller Montgomery could ask me to kiss her and I would deny her.
With my hand still on the buckle, I lean in, nudging my nose against hers. She smiles and as soon as her lips curve, I press mine to hers, stealing the grin right off her face. A sweet little mewl rumbles in her throat so I kiss her for a moment longer before pulling away.
She licks her lips, grinning again before she rests her head back on the headrest. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, baby.” I simply shake my head at her with a laugh, close the door, and round the side to the driver’s seat.
After going through the McDonald’s drive thru and spending more money there than I thought was possible, the girls sober up a bit, and when we get back to the house, Kennedy is the first to walk inside.
“You’re kidding me,” she says while Miller and I are still on the front porch.
“You didn’t tell her Isaiah was staying here, huh?”
Miller groans. “I completely forgot.”
Entering the house I close the door behind us, only to find my brother looking like the biggest fucking dork sitting in the living room with a giant grin on his face. “I didn’t know you were staying here too.”
Kennedy rolls her eyes. “I never would have agreed to it if I knew you were here.”
Isaiah holds a hand over his heart. “You always know just what to say to make me fall, Kenny.”
I know how hard Kennedy has worked to be taken seriously. There’s not a guy on the team who doesn’t think she’s the best athletic trainer we have, but my brother can’t not flirt with her even if his life depended on it.
“Kennedy, do you want me to drive you back to the city?” I offer. “I can take you home if you don’t want to stay here.”
She turns back to analyze my brother. “No, it’s fine. Just don’t be weird about it, okay?”
Isaiah perks up. “So, it looks like we’re sharing the guest room. I’m a cuddler, Ken, and I prefer to be the little spoon.”
“I just asked you not to be weird about it.”
I gesture to the back door. “Isaiah, you’re in Miller’s van outside.”
Kennedy’s face splits in a victorious smile.
“Fine.” My brother punctuates the word. “But I’m making you breakfast in the morning, and you’re going to like it. How do you like your eggs?”
“Poached. Soft.”
“Wonderful,” he deadpans. “I guess I’ll go watch some YouTube videos on how to do that because I have no fucking clue how to poach an egg, but I can promise you, they’re going to be perfect. So, good luck not falling in love with me tomorrow, Kennedy Kay!”
Isaiah takes off to the backyard, rattling the house as he slides the door closed.
Kennedy turns back to us with a smile. “The guest room is this way?”
“First door on your right. Bathroom is across the hall.”
“Does your brother actually like her?” Miller quietly asks once her friend is out of earshot. “I can’t tell if he’s joking half the time or not.”
“Oh, he likes her. He only acts this fucking weird when he’s got a crush.” I slide my fingers between Miller’s, pulling her down the hall to my room. “Come with me.”
Opening the door, I let her wander in first. She takes her time looking around, never having been in here before. Her rules of our fling haven’t let us share a bed until that night in San Francisco when Max was sick. When we’re home, we have fun in her room and I tuck her into bed before coming back in here to sleep alone.
There’s not much to my bedroom. A dresser. An en-suite bathroom. A baby monitor and a picture of Max on the nightstand next to my bed.
There are a few more framed photos on my dresser. One of Isaiah and me the first time we played against each other in the majors, a few pictures of us as kids, and some with us and our mom. Then there’s one of only her.
Miller goes right to it, picking it up off the dresser, and I can physically see her sobering up as she looks at it. “She’s beautiful.”
“She was.”
“Mae, right?”
I nod, standing by the door and keeping my hands behind my back, beyond tempted to reach out and touch her. She looks good in here. In my room. In my home.
Miller puts the frame back, gently running her hands over the other pictures and taking her time looking at them all. “It’s always been just you and Isaiah, huh?”
“Since she died, yes.”
Her attention moves back to me. “You’re a good brother to him. Raising him the way you did. Sacrificing your childhood and college choice to stay close to home.”
“He’s my brother. I’d do anything for him.”
She smiles softly. “Just how you’d do anything for Max.”
“And you.”
Her eyes flick to mine and a shy blush warms her cheeks. She’s not one to be shy, but the girl is drunk and I’m seeing a whole new open side to her tonight because of it.
“I’d do anything for you,” I repeat. “You know that?”
“I think I’d do anything for you too.”
I’m not showing it on my face, but if I were to wear the expression my heart is feeling right now, I’d be grinning like an idiot.
She continues to look at the framed photos of my family. “Did you ever have anyone to talk to about everything you were going through? Losing your mom so young then having to raise both yourself and your brother?”
She might not know what she’s doing, but tipsy Miller saying whatever she likes is cracking my heart wide fucking open, when I’ve been telling myself for weeks to keep it guarded with her as best I can.
When I don’t respond, she looks back at me standing by the door.
I shake my head to tell her no.
“You can talk to me, you know.”
“I know I can, but for how long? You leave in less than a week.”
Miller’s soft smile slightly falls before she turns back to my room, ignoring my question and continuing her tour. “You don’t have a TV in here.”
Worried I ruined the vibe, I pop off the door, coming up behind her and snaking my arms around her waist, lips dotting the skin of her neck. “A TV is a distraction. When you’re in here, your attention should be on sleeping or on me.”
She chuckles, her head falling back to my chest. So drunk and so in need of sleep.
“Go brush your teeth and get ready so I can put your ass to bed.”
She stumbles her way to the bathroom and only a moment later, she pops her head out. “All my skin care is in here. And my toothbrush.”
“It is.”
“Why?”
“Because you’ve got only a few days left here and I’m done with your no-sleepover rule.”
She looks back at her things then returns her attention to me. “That rule did kind of suck, huh?”
“All your rules suck, Mills.”
She returns to the bathroom to get ready for bed. I can hear her brushing her teeth, the sound of the running water accompanied by her drunken humming. And when she comes back into my room, she’s still wearing her clothes with today’s make-up still on her face.
Miller sort of melts into the doorframe, watching me as I pull off my T-shirt, shoes, and pants, leaving me in only my boxer briefs.
“You’re staring,” I remind her.
“I am.”
“You gonna change?”
“I need something to sleep in.”