“Nah, that’s okay. I’ll quit now so you don’t feel like a big baby.”
“Sure. Thanks.” Barrett knew damn well Flynn was as wrung out as he was but would never admit it. As the oldest Cassidy brother, Flynn would be the last one to admit defeat. He always saw himself as the leader of the pack of brothers, which was bullshit. They were all strong, but if Flynn needed to feel that way, Barrett would never let on that he knew Flynn was just as tired as Barrett was.
Flynn drove them back to the house.
“Hungry?” Flynn asked.
“Yeah.”
“You gonna wake Harmony?”
“I’ll wake her when breakfast is ready. We were up kind of late.”
“Doin’ what? Watching old movies on TV?”
Barrett grinned. “Something like that.”
They got out pans along with bread, potatoes, eggs and bacon and started working side by side.
“So what happened with Tess?” Barrett asked as he started peeling potatoes.
Flynn took the potatoes after Barrett peeled them and sliced them into small chunks, then heated the pan to fry them.
“Not sure exactly. Things were going great for a while. We saw each other a lot. She loved football and came to the games. Then all of a sudden, it became a lot more about having her picture taken whenever she was with me. And she was more interested in the limelight and being at the clubs and the VIP spots, and less about doing things with me that didn’t involve spotlight stuff, ya know?”
Barrett grimaced. He knew the type. “Yeah, I know.”
“So I thought, okay, let’s try hanging out alone more often. She was disappointed. I told her being in the spotlight wasn’t my thing, and if that’s what she was interested in, it wasn’t what I was about. Suddenly she stopped being available. Her replies to my texts became more infrequent. I asked her what was wrong and she told me nothing, but you know when something’s up.”
“Yeah.”
“And then I saw a picture of her on social media with some basketball player.”
“Sports groupie, for sure. I’m sorry, Flynn.”
Flynn shrugged. “Not the first time it’s happened.”
“Yeah, it happened to me before, too, but it sure as hell sucks.”
“It does. I liked her. I thought she was genuine. I guess I was wrong.”
Flynn turned the sizzling potatoes over, then added chopped onions to the skillet.
“Smells good already.”
Flynn smiled. “We haven’t even started yet.”
Once the potatoes were done, Flynn poured the potatoes onto a plate and covered them, then got out the package of bacon and put the strips in the already hot pan while Barrett opened the carton of eggs and took a pan out to cook them.
“So what now?” Barrett asked.
“What about now?”
“Anything on the woman front?”
Flynn let out a snort. “Hell no. I’ve got the restaurant and training camp coming up, and that’s all I’m focusing on. I think I’ve had enough of women and relationships for a while.”
“Can’t say I blame you for that.”
But Barrett felt bad. Even though Barrett gave his brother a hard time, Flynn was a good guy. He knew his brother was ready to settle down. But man, Flynn was having a hard time finding the right woman.
Barrett knew she was out there somewhere.
Flynn flipped the bacon over while Barrett poured the eggs into the pan, then tossed the bread into the toaster. “How did things go with Amelia last night?”
“I offered her the job.”
Barrett grinned. “Awesome. Did she accept?”
“She said she’d get back to me.”
Barrett laughed. “Keeping you on the line about that, is she?”
“I guess.”
“Maybe she doesn’t like you.”
Flynn pinned him with a glare. “How the hell could she not like me? I’m fucking amazing.”
Barrett snorted. “Sure you are.”
The back door opened and Harmony walked in. She wore a tight-fitting T-shirt and those pants that only went past her knees, but hugged her body, showing off her curves.
Since his brother was in the room, Barrett would try not to notice how hot she looked.
“You didn’t wake me.”
“I was up early. Flynn and I went to the gym.”
She went to grab a cup to make coffee. “And now you’re fixing breakfast? I don’t know how some women haven’t swept in and married the hell out of both of you.”
Flynn grinned, then set the cooked bacon onto a plate. “I don’t know, either, considering how amazing we are. Well, I’m amazing. Barrett’s still a work in progress.”
“Kiss my ass, Flynn,” Barrett said.
Harmony laughed, then fixed herself a cup of coffee. “Anything I can do to help?”
“Nope,” Flynn said. “Take a seat.”
“I’ll do that.”
Flynn went to the refrigerator and grabbed cantaloupe, strawberries, honeydew melon and a pineapple, then started slicing them up while Barrett finished the toast.
“Grab some fresh oranges out of the fridge,” Flynn said to Barrett. “The juicer is in that cabinet.”
Barrett arched a brow. “Going all out, are we?”
“We are.”