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CONOR

With a bored tone, Eoghan drawled, “Why am I here again?”

“Because if I have to suffer, then you two dipshits can as well.”

My lips twitched. “It’s not that bad when they aren’t playing.”

Eoghan frowned. “That makes no sense.”

“You haven’t seen them play,” I retorted.

“They’re atrocious,” Declan confirmed, shoving his hands into his pockets as he stared at the stadium around him. “I can’t believe you’re making me do this.”

“Hey, I’m not making you do anything,” I retorted.

“Technically, that’s a lie,” Eoghan demurred. “Aren’t you the one who told Aidan about PSN?”

“I still think that sounds like a treatment for erectile dysfunction.”

“Maybe if it was PNS,” I said with a chuckle. “Otherwise, that’s a Freudian slip if ever I heard one. You need to talk about some bedroom problems, little bro?”

“Fuck off. The only problem I have are you fuckers trying to mess with my life. How the hell is it that the only brother who doesn’t like sports, the only one of us who was relieved not to have to fake it anymore now that Da’s dead, is the one who has to talk about goddamn soccer on a sports network?!”

“Life isn’t fair,” Eoghan concurred.

“He’s right. Your life is so hard, Dec.”

He scowled at us both. “I’d prefer it if you sounded more genuine.”

I grinned. “Have you heard yourself?”

“Whining like a little bitch,” Eoghan agreed as he scanned his notifications.

Declan huffed. “You’re not the ones on the brink of making complete asses of themselves while discussing shit you have zero interest in to people who actually know what they’re talking about!”

“That’s true,” Eoghan said. “But hey, Con, we get to watch the humiliation live.”

“That’s why I woke you up. Knew you’d get a kick out of it.”

“I’m glad my misery will put a smile on your face,” Dec groused, but he sounded less sincere than before. More hopeful. Not about the misery, but about the smile on Eoghan’s face.

He’d been more of a miserable ass than usual.

Before either of us could reply, the TV staff, who’d been setting up around us, approached Declan.

As they shuffled him in front of the cameras, I elbowed Eoghan in the side. “Hey, did you know this place has the same groundskeeper as the Yankees?”

“You say that like it’s a good thing!”

His aghast tone had me snickering. “It’s the only good thing about this team. Oh, and they have the highest-grossing concession stand in the MLS.”

“We overpaid, didn’t we?”

“Probably.” I hitched a shoulder. “This presidential election campaign is going to be expensive.”

He snorted as we moved so we were positioned beside the cameras.

The assistants side-eyed us nervously but didn’t say anything when we remained quiet.

Only until they went live and Declan was broadcasting around the nation.

Without planning it, that was when Eoghan and I attacked.

Sure, it was juvenile, but if you couldn’t be a dick around your brothers, then when could you?

As we pulled faces at him like ten-year-olds, his smile grew tighter and tighter as he talked about shit none of us were interested in to people who, as he’d said, knew their stuff.

Twenty minutes later, once the interview was over, he moved from behind the cameras and immediately dove at Eoghan.

As the two of them started to fight, I grabbed Dec, yelling, “Run for your life, Eoghan!”

He snorted but loped down the field while I retreated the other way, leaving Dec to decide who he was aiming for.

When he tried to mow me down, Eoghan was there, like a ninja, and to the bemusement of the camera crew, we got into a fistfight.

By the end, Declan favored his right side, I was limping, and only Eoghan came away untouched.

He was, however, beaming.

Declan and I grimaced at each other, silently agreeing that it was worthwhile.

“Next time you have to do one of these interviews,” he said happily. “I’ll be a part of your cheer team, Dec.”

“So generous of you,” he said with a sniff, rubbing his hip where he’d gone down heavily after I shoved him off me.

As we bundled into Dec’s SUV, he muttered, “Aela’ll kill me if I bruise up.”

“Ma never gave us shit unless it was on the face,” Eoghan pointed out.

“Our women are not Ma. She was a lot more forgiving about shit that should have been impossible to forgive.”

Dec frowned. “She also had six boys to raise.”

“So? You telling me if Shay got into a fight that you wouldn’t care so long as his face wasn’t fucked up.”

“No. But Shay doesn’t have five brothers.”

“That means dick,” I dismissed. “I’m not talking smack about her, just saying that it’s not a bad thing to have women who care is all.”

“Meaning Star will care?”

From the back seat, I peered at Eoghan. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He shrugged. “She’s just as likely to come back with bruises. They’re stock in trade for us.”

Us.

Ex-ninjas.

“I’d want to know who bruised her.”

“Is this how we know we’ve grown up?”

Eoghan chuckled. “Declan, we just got into a fight in front of people in your stadium.”

“Our stadium. Don’t make out like it’s mine.”

I slapped him on the shoulder. “On the paperwork, it is, bud.”

“Where did I go wrong in life?”

“I think it’s too late to ask yourself that question,” Eoghan drawled.

With a laugh, I stated, “I think so too.”

“What is this? ‘Give Declan Shit’ Day?” He huffed. “I’m not inviting you to any more live interviews. Pulling faces at me like that, asswipes.”

When I saw a Duane Reade, I asked, “Pull over, would you?”

“Why?”

“Need something.”

“What do you need from a drugstore?” Eoghan inquired.

“Why do you ask like that? You can buy anything in those stores.”

“We just don’t buy stuff, do we?” Declan answered, turning to look at me once he’d parked.

“From how full our apartments are, I can safely say that’s not true.”

Eoghan frowned. “Yeah, but… not regular stuff.”

“You think toothpaste just miraculously appears in the bathroom, huh?”

“No, I thought my housekeeper bought it,” was Eoghan’s retort.

“Never understood why you don’t have one of those, Con.”

“Don’t like people in my space. It’s enough for someone to come in once a week. Star’s the same. I offered to get a housekeeper but she said no.”

“Then what are you buying?”

“Tampons.”

Eoghan raised a brow. “Tampons.”

“Yeah. You heard of them?” I mocked.

“I’ve heard of them. Just… why are you buying them?”

“Because Star asked me to get some.”

“I gotta see this,” Declan muttered, climbing out of the car once I did.

When Eoghan joined us inside the store, I heaved a sigh. “We’re taking this juvenile shit one step too far.”

Declan shrugged as he picked up some Swedish Fish and tossed the bag in his hand.

Eoghan pointed. “They’re over there.”

As we approached the aisle, I whistled under my breath.

“Damn, there are a lot of different products for this,” Declan muttered.

Eoghan picked up two boxes of tampons. “How do you know which ones to pick?”

“I don’t know. She just said tampons.”

“Inessa would have been more specific, so maybe Star doesn’t care?”

“When did she start?”

My lips twitched. “Yesterday. I came onto her and she told me to get friendly with my right hand again.”

Declan chuckled. “Wait a couple days. She’ll be horny as fuck.”

“Not every woman’s the same. Inessa would claw out my eyes if I tried to touch her.”

I studied him. “She suits you.”

His smile was smug. “I know.”

“I haven’t figured out which option Star is yet.” I rubbed my chin. “Don’t feel like getting my balls handed to me on a platter, though. I think I’ll wait for her to make the first move.”

“There won’t be any moves if you don’t buy her some of these.” Declan stared at the aisle. “Why do you think they have so many of these when they do the same thing?”

“I mean, different thicknesses, that makes sense,” I countered.

“Tampon saved my life once.” Declan and I shot Eoghan a look. “What?! It did. Tampons were used in ‘Nam first, ya know. Stopped me bleeding out in Venezuela.”

“Was it a super plus or just a plus that stopped the bleed though?” Declan retorted with a smirk.

Eoghan chuckled. “I don’t know. I just stuck it in and plugged it up.”

“That’s way too much like Carrie for my taste.”

With a snigger, Declan strolled down the aisle. “Organic! They have organic ones. What the hell’s organic about a tampon?”

“Maybe it doesn’t have plastic in?” I asked, snatching the box from his grasp. “I don’t think it’s good to put plastic up there, do you?”

“Cocks go in and babies go out so no.”

“Eloquent, Eoghan. Very eloquent.”

“True, ain’t it?”

Though I rolled my eyes, I grabbed one of the ultra, the super plus, the super, the regular, and the light—just to be on the safe side.

And if my sweetest sister-in-law could turn feral during her period, then who the hell knew what Star would become…

“That reminds me,” I muttered. “I need to buy hot chocolate.”