Chapter 207
EMILIA
The “rounds,” as it turns out, are Liam pulling me from group to group like a show–and–tell prize he refuses to set down. Every few feet someone claps him on the back, shouts his name, or chirps about the last game. Every single time, his arm winds tighter around my waist, or his chin dips to brush my temple, or his lips find the crown of my head in a fleeting kiss that makes my stomach somersault.
And the teasing
oh God, the teasing.
“Emilia, huh? It’s great to finally meet you.”
“She actually exists? I could have sworn Calloway was just conjuring you from his imagination. You actually put up with this guy?”
“Careful, sweetheart, don’t let him near the grill. He’ll burn your eyebrows off.”
The wives are worse. They close ranks around me like I’ve already signed some invisible membership form. One of them tall, dark- skinned, effortlessly stylish flashes a grin that’s part warm welcome, part finally, she’s here.
“Emilia, right? I’m Fareeda, Aaray’s wife.”
She gestures toward one of the few teammates of Liam’s I actually remembered by name Aaray, who’s currently letting two kids climb his back like he’s a human jungle gym. Beside him, Dante lounges in a lawn chair with a paper plate stacked high with BBQ, lazily shouting encouragement like a man who has zero intention of moving unless
0.00
Chapter 207
1 288 Vouchers
food falls from the sky.
Fareeda leans in conspiratorially. “I’m also the unofficial WAG committee chair. Translation: everyone else dodges the group chat and I end up planning the parties. Welcome to the circus.”
WAG. The word catches me off guard, and I know it shows because she laughs. “You’ll get used to it. Free food, too many children, and the occasional drinking game. Perks and pitfalls, honey.”
I manage a smile, even as my brain stutters over the word. WAG. Like it’s an official title. Like I’m officially… one of them.
Liam notices. Of course he notices. His lips brush my ear, so low only I can hear: “You okay?”
–
I nod quickly. Maybe too quickly. “Yeah. Just processing.”
His answer is simple, quiet, and so him it nearly knocks me over: “Don’t. You belong here.”
pure,
At some point, the food comes off the grill and then it’s unfiltered chaos. Plates stacked too high, kids running wild and stealing chips like tiny raccoons, beers cracking open in a chorus, sauce–stained fingers everywhere. Someone drags out a fold–up table, and before I know it, red Solo cups are lined up in triangles, the air buzzing with shouts and trash talk about beer pong rules.
They don’t get far before Owen shuts it down.
“Freja can barely stand us drinking beer around the kids,” he says, hands braced on his hips like an exhausted dad. “She’d lose it if she knew we were making a game out of it. What if the kids think it’s fun and wanna join in? And with how competitive you lot get, you’ll start
21.53%
18181
Chapter 207
cursing all over the place. And don’t forget–we’ve got practice tomorrow.”
Groans roll around the yard like a wave. Someone even boos.
I hide a smile. I guess he’s the captain for a reason, huh.
288 Brothers
Then Liam–because of course it’s Liam–raises his hand lazily, not at all caring about the look Jesper levels at him. “Plus, I drove. I’m not cabbing it home because one of you idiots got lucky. And I’m sure as hell not sitting out just so someone can brag they beat me by default.”
That does it. The trick is perfect–dangle pride in front of competitive athletes and watch the explosion.
“Excuse me?” Suta’s voice booms over the noise, already the loudest of the bunch. “What makes you so confident, huh? You won once because Javis sneezed mid–shot last season and Aaron was too much of a coward to beat you in front of the rookies. Fluke. Total fluke. I’d wipe the floor with your smug ass.”
Liam’s lips twitch like he’s fighting a smile. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, bro.”
That’s the final straw. Even Owen looks skyward like he’s asking for patience. “Fine. Fine. Where’s Cameron? Where’s that bastard when you need him.”
I politely don’t point out that Owen cursing mid–speech completely contradicts his own moral reasoning. Before I can, Cam himself pokes his head through the back door, cheeks smeared with barbecue sauce, a drumstick still clutched in one hand. Freja’s right behind him, shaking her head like she’s given up.
“Huh?” he asks, like he didn’t just appear out of thin air.
45.75%
18:1802
Chapter 207
1288 Vouchers
“When did he even get here?” I whisper to Liam.
He shakes his head in amusement, mouth curving. “He’s always here. He was probably the first person. Free meat’s like catnip for him. Plus, hiding from Aaron and Tessa at the same time? That’s a two–for–one deal. Kill fifteen birds with one stone, that sort of thing.”
Cam is dragged away from the food with all the enthusiasm of a man being marched to the gallows. And apparently, part of the ritual requires him to mix his infamous “Cam’s Delight” as punishment fuel for beer pong.
“House rules,” Jack announces, tossing the ping pong ball like it’s a sacred relic. “Bounce shots count for double, elbows over the edge and you drink two of Cam’s Delight. Not finishing in one gulp? Rule violation. Punishable by another cup.”
Jack gestures at the cloudy, unholy–looking liquid sitting in a plastic jug by the table.
I can’t stop myself. “What the hell is in that?”
Cam sighs, shoulders sagging. “They’re exaggerating. It’s not that bad. It’s… healthy.” His voice trails off, but his eyes are fixed longingly on the pile of kids with chicken drumsticks, like he’s genuinely considering swapping lives,
Liam claps him on the shoulder, grinning. “Doesn’t look it, man.”
Cam mutters something about “antioxidants” that no one hears.
Jack continues, “Oh, and if you call ‘island’-
“Jack,” Wolfe cuts him off, deadpan. “No one here knows what ‘island‘ means except you.”
59.78%
18.18 D
Chapter 207
17 288 Vouchers
“That’s because you people lack culture. Except Emilia, of course.” He winks at me, all smug and cocky. “She gets it.”
Before I can even blink, Liam shifts behind me, tugging me closer until his chest is flush against my back. His arm winds securely around my waist as his voice cuts through the noise, I can hear his smile, I can also tell it doesn’t reach his eyes: “Look at my girlfriend like that again and I promise you it’s the last thing you’ll be seeing.”
