Page 14 of Playing Dirty

Besides, there’s no chance in hell I’m getting any information out of him when it comes to the Penny Play, regardless of the methods I use. I’d be lucky to learn his middle name or favorite color by the end of the trip—both of which are wholly less significant than a clue on where he hid their pennant.

Phoenix lets out a long, dramatic sigh, but there’s a smile tugging at his lips. “Always ruining the fun, T. Guess you’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way.” He pauses for dramatic effect, shoots me a wink, and whispers, “Make nice with your brother, and maybe he’ll accidentally slip up.”

“Please don’t suggest I use sex as a means for extortion and then immediately call him my brother.” My lips pull back in a grimace, and I shake my head. “That’s just wrong on too many levels.”

“Well, you can always call Cam up and ask him for another go-round instead,” Phoenix teases with a laugh. “Pretty sure he said he’s heading back up to New England to see his family over break.”

“Forget Cam,” Wyatt starts, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. “I still think the better option is to live out your own ‘What are you doing, stepbro?’ fantasy.”

The three of us all burst out laughing; the gut-aching, breathless kind of laughter that makes me wonder if it counts as an ab workout.

“Too muchCoDandtoo much porn, Wy,” I say between chuckles.

But I feel lighter than I did an hour ago, and for that, I’m grateful. Even with their questionable methods to make it happen.

The least I can do is keep my eyes and ears open over break in return.

Four

Madden

My phone buzzes on my nightstand as I finish packing my bag for Vermont, and I’m hit with mixed feelings when I read over the text from my mother.

Mom: Let me know when you board your flight. Can’t wait to see you!

I heart-react to her message despite feeling very little enthusiasm about these plans.

Am I excited to see her? Absolutely.

Theo Greyson, on the other hand, I could do without.

Add in that Mom and Adam are still so deep in the honeymoon phase, and there’s a seventy-five percent chance Theo and I will end up stuck together during this “family trip” she’s planned.

I’m hanging on to the smallest thread of hope imaginable, prayingto any deity in existence, for us to keep the blows to a minimum and be…civil.We’re both adults, and there’s no reason we can’t just coexist in peace, no matter how irritating it might be to do so. Not for ourselves, but for our parents. Then I remember our verbal smackdown a few weeks ago, and I realize there’s a very good chance my thread of hope will snap before Theo and I even reach the airport this evening.

But even with that in mind, I somehow garner enough willpower to drag my suitcase down the hall until I reach the front door.

Miles is in the living room—watching some documentary on penguins, of all things—when I walk by, and I’m surprised to find Torin there too. I hadn’t heard him come over from the other half of our duplex, and honestly, I thought he was heading back home over break like Vaughn did. Though, from the way he and Miles are both laid up on the couch with drinks and snacks, neither one of them intends to leave anytime soon.

The sound of my suitcase wheels rolling over the laminate grabs their attention, and I’m met with two sets of brown eyes staring at me apprehensively over the back of the sofa.

“I’m about to head out,” I tell them, unable to muster the faintest hint of enthusiasm.

“You look like you’d rather be heading off to war,” Miles notes, arching his perfectly shaped brows in concern. “Remind me again why you’re not just staying here with me and Tore?”

Well, that gives me an answer about Torin’s break plans.

“You say it like I have a choice in the matter,” I retort before tacking on, “And I’m sure as hell not gonna let my mom spend Christmas alone.”

“Except she won’t be alone,” Torin points out.

As if I needed the reminder of the shitstorm I’m about to walk into.

If I’d known last year would be the final Christmas Mom and I wouldspend alone, I would’ve done a lot more to appreciate it at the time. But, hindsight and all that.

“You know what I mean.”

“I still can’t believe you’re gonna be sleeping with the enemy over break,” Miles says, one of his signature shit-eating grins forming.