While Lily reconciled the charges on the hotel folio, Gage watched her with hawkeyed interest. A flush colored his cheeks, and the stupid grin he’d been sporting grew wider. While he studied Lily, Sarah studied him, really studied him, and suddenly saw him as the man he was, not the little brother he’d been her whole life. Four years divided them, but those edges had blurred. For as long as she could remember, it had been him and her winding their way through their family minefield, standing up to their overbearing mother, taking care of their loving grandmother. Together. He’d relied on her when he’d been younger, but somewhere along the way their roles had become interchangeable. And lately, she’d leaned on his strong shoulders, thinking of him more as a peer or a big brother. Four years.
Quinn was only five years younger—not such a stretch. Before her eyes, he’d transformed from a selfish pleasure-seeker into a loving son, a loyal and generous human being, and a blade-sharp sparring partner who could take and fire back barbs with elegant ease. Bonus: being a smoking hot, adventurous lover didn’t hurt either. His devilry and a libido that matched her own were the spicy cherry on top. Most of all, he’d become her hero, replacing her brother in the number one spot.
God, for the chance to lay eyes on him and tell him, in person, how much she missed him, that she’d screwed up. But first she needed to walk the walk; she had a bomb to drop.
Gage stood by while Sarah signed paperwork and got a new room key. It was obvious how ready he was to ditch her and hustle Lily upstairs for some private time. “Gage, before you two take off and I don’t see you for days, there’s something I need to tell you.” His eyebrows arched.
Lily patted his arm. “Why don’t you give me your key, Professor, and I’ll let myself in? I’m sure the bellboy got my bag transferred over by now. While you two talk, I’ll settle in and freshen up.” She gave him a smoldering look.
“Uh, sure.” After he’d gotten a good eyeful of Lily walking away, he turned to Sarah. “Our choices are limited, Sar. There’s a designated rooftop hangout for the team, or a ballroom where we take our meals, play ping-pong, poker, whatever.”
“Where would be the most private?”
“Rooftop, I think.”
As they made their way up, Sarah kept her head on a swivel. Yes, she wanted to see Quinn, but not before she finished with Gage. By the time they found an out-of-the-way table under an umbrella, Sarah’s stomach was kinked so tight she wasn’t sure she’d ever get the knots loosened.
Gage handed her a bottle of water she hadn’t seen him snag. “So what’s on your mind, Sar-Bear?”
She twisted off the cap and took a long drink. “I need to come clean with you, but I don’t want you getting mad or taking it out on anyone. Promise?”
His eyebrows dipped in a frown. “Promise.”
She drew in a lung-filling breath. “When I first got to Denver and told you about Wolf, you said something like we can’t help who we fall for, remember?”
He gave her a cautious nod. “Vaguely. Don’t tell me you’re going back to that douche.”
“No, never. But I have fallen for someone. A rather unexpected someone.” She waited, but he merely blinked. “We didn’t mean to, but Quinn and I—”
“What?” Gage’s mouth swung open, and his eyes turned to hard, cold flint. “I thought you two hated each other!” he hissed.
She shrugged. “We did. But the more time we spent together, the more we found out about each other. Turns out we have a lot more in common than we ever knew.”
“No way,” he growled. “He’s a womanizer who’s going to destroy your heart. Just last night, a waitress invited herself to his room right in front of us.”
Sarah steeled her spine. “And did she go to his room?”
“I don’t know, but he didn’t say no.”
Sarah’s stomach wobbled. So did her heart. “Well, don’t worry. We’re not really together. I sort of broke it off before you guys started training camp.”
“So why are you telling me now?”
“I don’t like keeping secrets from you, and I didn’t want you getting blindsided in case you heard it elsewhere.” Another cool sip to soothe her parched throat.
He drummed his fingers on the tabletop. “Why did you break it off?”
“I wanted to see if we felt the same when we weren’t forced to shelter together.”
Gage hmphed. “Sar, he’s all wrong for you.”
She wasn’t sure she agreed, but curiosity drove her to ask, “How is he all wrong?”
“The waitress last night is how! That’s who Quinn is.”
No, he’s more than that. A need to defend Quinn welled inside her, and she locked out the possibility he’d reverted to his romping ways. God, she was a sap! “Whatever else he is, Quinn’s funny and kind and generous. Oh, and very smart. Even you said he was a good guy who’d do anything—”
She let out an audible gasp, and Gage turned in his seat. The subject of their conversation was making a beeline for them, decked in flip-flops, shorts, a T-shirt that hugged his chiseled torso, and a backward ball cap that seemed to be restraining his long-again locks. Dave Grimson, the team captain who resembled a deranged mountain man, trailed behind.
Though his expression was unreadable, Quinn’s eyes were focused solely on her. In that moment, he could have made her believe no one or nothing else existed.
Gage broke that focus when he stood abruptly and squared himself in Quinn’s path. “Did you take that waitress back to your room last night?”
Sarah dropped her forehead in her palm. Can I just die now? When she dared a peek, Quinn look confused, darting his eyes between her and Gage.
Dave stepped up and tapped Gage’s arm. “Time
