Playbook (The Holland Brothers 2)

“You look happy,” Archer comments while we stand at the bar waiting for drinks.

“I am.” My smile couldn’t be any bigger.

“I’m happy for you. You deserve it, man. London is great.”

I glance over to where she’s sitting with Hendrick, Knox, and Flynn.

“It’s not just her,” I say. “It’s everything. We have some pretty great brothers.”

“That we do.” His chest rises and falls with a quiet laugh, but then his face falls back to his somber expression.

I tap his shoulder with the back of my hand. “You’ll be back before you know it. Your time is coming.”

He nods, a hint of a smile erasing the worry that’s been there all season, but especially the last couple of days after not being cleared for another game. “Our time.”

We knock wrists and then someone clears their throat next to us.

Billy Boone watches us, gaze flicking from Archer to me. He nods his head in greeting.

“Nice game tonight,” Billy says.

I lean forward. I swear he just complimented me. My mouth opens, then I close it. Every time I talk to this guy, I put my foot in it.

“Brogan’s having a hell of a season,” Archer says. “And he’s just getting started.”

He stares at Billy, daring him to disagree. I’m not surprised when he doesn’t jump at the chance to shower me with praise, but he does lift his beer in what I choose to see as a silent peace treaty. “Best of luck with the rest of the season.”

“Thank you,” I say. “And if it’s not too late to apologize, I am sorry.”

“I appreciate that.” He walks off, and I’m still staring after him, shocked, when our drinks come, and Archer reaches for them.

“That was…interesting,” he says. “I’m proud of you.”

“I’m still waiting for him to come back and yell at me. I don’t think I like being on his good side. It’s creepy.”

Laughing, Archer leads me back to the table.

London looks at me as I slide into the chair next to her.

“Whatever they’re saying, it’s a lie.” I give all the guys my meanest scowl. Not that they buy it. I’m too happy tonight to pull off the expression. My brothers are here, my girl.

My girl.

I know there’s a lot we need to talk about, but I’m not scared anymore. If she can handle a secret sister and knowing I haven’t spoken to my dad since I was a teenager, then I think chances are good she can handle anything.

“We were telling her how great you are,” Knox says with an unconvincing smirk.

“Yeah, I bet.” I wrap an arm around her shoulders, and she nuzzles into me, laughing.

“Jokes aside, you’re pretty fucking great.” Hendrick lifts his glass. “To Brogan. Love you, Brother.”

Brother.

The word hits different tonight. They didn’t do anything different. They’ve always shown up for me, always treated me like one of them. I guess I just feel it now. We’re not blood, but we’re family. The family you choose, the ones who choose you back, are so much harder to find.

We spend the next hour catching up. Flynn lets us pepper him with questions about school and baseball. Knox fills us in on how he plans to spend the off-season doing freestyle and hanging out every free second with Avery, Hendrick is all smiles and constantly turning the new wedding band on his left ring finger. It’s nice. I missed them and I don’t want to go this long without seeing each other again.

When the conversation comes to a lull, I take London’s hand under the table for encouragement and then decide to tell them the news.

Releasing her hand so I can sign as I speak, I say, “I, uh, have some news.”

“You already got married, didn’t you?” Hendrick asks, looking between me and my girl.

“We just literally watched them get back together.” Knox shakes his head at our older brother then me. “I’m betting there’s a baby involved, or maybe you’re a throuple instead of a couple.”

Archer starts coughing on his drink.

“Kiiiidding.” Knox grins.

London’s brows rise. “I’m not pregnant.”

I glance at her. “That’s more important to clarify than the fact you’re not also sleeping with Arch?”

“I mean…” She shrugs. “You two are close and the three of us hang out a lot. I can see where people would think that.”

“We’re not a throuple.” I glare at everyone around the table.

“Eh…” Knox keeps on smiling, the smug bastard. “I took my best shots.”

“I’m pretty sure I have a sister,” I say before they can come up with any other ridiculous ideas.

“A sister?” Hendrick leans forward. “How?”

I tell them what I know. How Sabrina was adopted as a baby and grew up in Flagstaff. And the letter and texts that I ignored, thinking it was another scam from someone just wanting money. London squeezes my fingers, silently supporting me. But the truth is it doesn’t hit me with the same sort of pain that I thought it would.

Not with these five. They’re my family, and family loves you no matter what.

I’ve always hesitated in planning things and instead let them come to me because I guess I felt like I was inconveniencing them in some way, but before they leave, I make sure we’ve got some solid dates for Christmas while Flynn is home and Archer and I have a few days off.

And if I had any reservations about them all liking London, though the thought didn’t even cross my mind honestly, it’s obvious they do by the way they each hug her and then me on the way out the door.

The three of us, Archer, London, and myself, head back to my apartment. Archer gives us a salute and heads off to his bedroom, and then it’s just me and the most gorgeous woman in the world.

“So…” I take both her hands and swing them between us. “What should we do now?”

“Hmm…” Smirking, she glances up as she thinks. “Maybe we should go to bed.”

“Yeah, sure, we could do that.” It’s after midnight, but I’m wired. Totally fine though. I’ll just stare at her while she sleeps. That’s not strange, right?

She leans in and brushes her lips over mine then says, “I’ve been dying to really test out the sturdiness of the bed.”

“I love you,” I blurt out.

She startles, smiling.

I wince, but fuck it. “Not because you want me to fuck you hard enough to break a bed. Or not just because of that.”

She laughs.

“Thank you for showing up for me tonight and for wanting to know all of me. I’m not good at opening up about my family, but I will if you still want to hear it.”

“I want to know all of it. Every detail about you. I’m not going anywhere so there’s no rush.”

Some of it is going to be really hard to share, I know that, but I’ll do it for her. Because I understand. I want to know every detail about her too.

“Did I mention I love you? Because I fucking love you.” I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of saying it.

Her mouth curves, and the way my chest tightens I know she feels the same way even before she says it.

“I love you too.” She stares at me a beat and then gets a sassy glint in her eye. “Also not just because I know you can fuck me hard enough to break a bed.”

I lift her up and toss her over my shoulder. My hand automatically goes to her ass, giving it a little smack. “Can and plan to, sweetheart.”

She squeals and giggles as I carry her to my bedroom. I set her down on the floor in front of me but keep my arms circled around her back. She looks up at me with those big green eyes the color of a four-leaf clover. My lucky charm.

Everything in my life is better with her by my side. She peels me out of my shirt, then I lift hers over her head. Her skin is like satin as I run my hands down her shoulders and arms to capture her hands. Threading our fingers together, I drop my forehead to hers and close my eyes. I just want to soak in this moment. She’s here.

She chose me. I can’t even begin to describe what that means to me. A strange sensation, something like contentment, fills my chest.

“Everything okay?” she asks quietly.

“Perfect,” I say, pulling back so she can see my eyes and know that I’m being sincere. “I have never been better.”

“Never?” She cocks a brow and then her hands go to my jeans, fingers working quick to pop the button and unzip me. I’m still in a haze of happiness and bliss as she drops to her knees and her intent finally becomes clear.

Her mouth feels so damn good. Our gazes remain locked as she takes me slowly to the back of her throat then glides back to suck on the tip. She is a fucking goddess. I’m not sure I’ll ever feel worthy, but I’ll never take her for granted.

“I need to be inside you.” I pull her back up to her feet and kiss her while I take off the rest of her clothes.

We tumble onto the bed in a tangled heap, kissing and laughing softly. Her body molds to mine, and I hold her against me like I thought about so many times over the past week. I swear I can breathe easier when she’s around.

When I finally push inside her, we both still, mouths fused together but not moving. My heart races and a jolt of electricity courses through me.

“I love you.” I’m not even sure I’ve said the words out loud until she says them back.

“I love you.” She lifts her hips higher, taking me deeper. Her body quivers and she lets out a soft moan.

I capture all her sexy sounds, swallowing them as I continue to fuck her slowly. Hard but slow, dragging out every sensation with thinly contained control.

“Please,” she whimpers. “I need to come.”

I pull out, then grip my dick and tease her clit, stroking up and down over the sensitive bud until she cries out. I’m barely back inside her before my own orgasm splits through me. She clenches around me and stars dance in my vision.

We cling to each other as we come down from it, bodies shaking and breaths ragged. When I finally manage to shake the fog from my vision, her sweet smile is waiting for me.

“Sweetheart.” The word comes out in a low gravel.

“You were right,” she says. “I have never been better.”