Burnout (The Holland Brothers Book 1)

Avery is flushed and trying to hide behind me as we walk out for dinner. Everyone is already seated at the dining room table.

I arch a brow at Jane and the smile she gives me is all the answer I need to know this family dinner is her doing. We rarely all sit and eat at the same time. Our schedules are all different and someone is always in a rush to eat and go somewhere or do something.

In the kitchen, I grab two plates and hand Avery one. I watch her take a small portion of the ravaged chicken casserole.

I consider our seating options carefully. There are empty spots across from Brogan or next to Jane. Brogan smirks like he’s dying to say something that’s going to make me want to beat his ass, but Jane looks more likely to interrogate the fuck out of Avery.

Pulling out a chair, I tip my head for Avery to take it and then I sit directly in front of Brogan just in case I need to kick him under the table.

“Thank you for dinner. It smells so good.” She leans closer to her plate and inhales. “I miss homemade meals. I mostly live on Jimmy John’s delivery and the salad bar at the cafeteria.”

“It’s Knox’s recipe,” Jane offers. She’s sitting with her elbows on the table and her fork dangling absently from her fingers. She’s clearly more interested in our guest than eating.

Avery steals a glimpse at me.

“I got it off the internet,” I say with a shrug.

Her lips curve like she’s amused by me cooking or looking up recipes. A man can only eat so many frozen pizzas and ordering takeout every night is expensive. I’m not a chef by any stretch of the imagination, but I figured out how to make a few things with the help of Google and a lot of trial and error.

“So, Avery,” Jane prompts. “How long have you been doing gymnastics?”

I hold in a sigh and shoot my future sister-in-law a glare that would intimidate most people. Unfortunately, she isn’t scared of me because she knows Hendrick would castrate me if I so much as touched a hair on her head.

“Since I was three.”

“Competing since she was six,” I add, then pause. How the hell did I remember that?

“That’s right.” Avery smiles at me. “It’s the only thing I’ve ever been any good at.”

“I can think of at least one other thing,” I mumble just loud enough that only she can hear me.

No one else is paying attention to me because Jane launches back into the conversation.

“I love gymnastics,” she says. “I watched you during the last Olympics. Your beam routine was so good I had chills. And you had the best hair too.”

“The best hair?” I mouth at Hendrick. He shrugs, but I see him fighting to hold in a laugh.

“Thank you.” Avery seems genuinely thankful for the compliment as she beams at Jane. “I love your hair color. Is it naturally that blonde?”

I lean back in my chair and watch as the two girls chatter on about hair shit. Here I thought Jane was fangirling over Avery, but it looks like it’s a mutual adoration.

My brothers and I all exchange a look of amusement.

As soon as there’s a break in the conversation, Brogan clears his throat. He’s been quiet too long. I should have known it was about time for him to pipe up. “Ave, do you have any video of Knox doing gymnastics shit?”

“Her name is Avery,” I say it slowly for him and point my fork at him. “And no. She’s not giving you footage of me making an ass out of myself so you can blackmail me.”

One corner of his mouth lifts. “I like Ave. I’m gonna call you that. So do you?”

“Well, that depends. What’s it worth to you?” Avery asks.

My jaw falls open and I turn to her as everyone else at the table bursts into laughter.

“Oh, it’s worth a lot,” Brogan tells her.

When I look around, my family is staring at Avery like her willingness to go along with a blackmail scheme against me makes her more endearing. Fuckers. Even Flynn is grinning.

It’s hard to keep the smile off my face. These people are everything to me and she fits in so seamlessly. It’s a relief and also a surprise. I couldn’t be with a girl, even if it’s just hooking up, knowing my brothers didn’t like her.

“Speaking of Knox,” Archer says, looking at Avery. “Do you go out much? Parties? Bars?”

Avery glances between us, but she makes a point of facing Archer directly before she answers. “Not that often. Practice and school keep me pretty busy.”

“How is that related to me?” I ask and sign to Archer.

His lips twitch and then pull into a smile. “I just wondered if she knew there was a whole bunch of way cooler guys on campus. You don’t need to slum it with him.” He looks back at her. “I could introduce you to some teammates.”

I was prepared for Brogan to talk shit, but Archer? I make the sign for asshole where Avery can’t see.

She doesn’t miss a beat, clearly enjoying messing with me as much as they do. “Oh, phew. I thought this was the best Valley had to offer. What a relief.”

My brothers are laughing, and Jane is admonishing them while trying to keep a straight face.

I sit forward and drop a hand to her thigh. My fingers splay out over her smooth skin and squeeze. She jolts at the contact and bites down on her lip.

Leaning my body toward hers, I brush her hair back from her neck and whisper, “Careful, princess. I might be inclined to show them just how much you like my hands on you.”

My heart thuds in my chest as she pins me with her big, blue eyes.

“Promise?” she whispers back, taunting me and batting her lashes.

Damn she makes me crazy. I can’t get enough.

Maybe I’m not the best guy for her long-term, but it feels too good to walk away yet.

I don’t know when I decided that I wasn’t interested in girlfriends or relationships. It wasn’t one moment that I can pinpoint. In theory, I know people can make it work, but I guess avoiding it felt like the best way to ensure there was one less area where I might turn out like Dad. Besides, I have all the responsibility I can handle here, taking care of my brothers.

Because it’s not something I’ve ever wanted, I haven’t spent a lot of time wondering what it would be like to have someone in my life like Hendrick has Jane. But I don’t have to think hard about it to know Avery is the kind of person I would want by my side if things were different.