Page 23 of Roughing
“Three sisters?”
“Yeah, it’s hell, trust me.”
One sister had been hell, and I couldn’t imagine three. A twinge of regret pinched at my heart as it always did, followed by a movie reel of good and bad memories.
“You okay?” Trent peered at me.
“Yeah, fine.”
“You have any interfering siblings?”
“I did.”
He frowned. I’d thrown him off his game. He didn’t know how to interpret my answer. I didn’t give him a chance to ask more questions.
“Let’s get this done.” I picked up a heavy box and carried it toward the back door and out to the dumpster, leaving him no choice but to follow.
My sister was a part of my private life I didn’t share with anyone, especially these teammates who’d considered me public enemy number one a few short weeks ago. They didn’t trust me, and I didn’t trust them.
We worked in relative silence for the next hour. Trent paused multiple times to text what I assumed were his sisters. After his last text, he slammed down his phone and ran a hand through his fair hair while cursing under his breath.
“They’re going to drive me to an early grave.”
If I were a nice guy, this was the point where I’d ask what was going on, but I didn’t want to invite any of these guys into my life by getting close to them. I said nothing.
“They have these schemes that require money, my money, and bulldoze right over me when I try to talk sense into them. The three of them believe, and I quote, ‘I’m being cheap and selfish and not supporting their charitable endeavors.’”
I grunted, not encouraging further conversation.
“But you’ve had a sister, right? You know how frustrating they are.”
“Yeah,” I admitted and took a long drink of water from my water bottle.
“They want to move to Portland and start an animal rescue on the ten acres I just put an offer on. Fuck, I don’t even like animals, and I sure as hell don’t want to be surrounded by them. I know how this goes—the animals won’t be in kennels; they’ll be in my house.”
I caught sight of a colorful blouse, and my gaze tracked to where Michella stood with her girlfriends and Desmond, the founder of the Uni, discussing whatever women discussed. By the way she waved her hands around, I assumed their conversation centered on the design plans for this space.
The tilt of her head and the sparkle in her eyes mesmerized me. It barely registered when Trent muttered something and turned back to wielding a sledgehammer.
I, on the other hand, couldn’t take my eyes off the woman who was supposed to be nothing more than a friend.
ChapterEight
THE MASK
~~Michella~~
Iwasn’t much help at the Uni. I couldn’t keep my eyes off Briggs. His tight T-shirt and faded jeans distracted me. He wore his clothes well. I’d seen him in suits, tuxes, and jeans. I wasn’t sure which I liked the most. They all got me hot.
At one point in time, I caught him staring. I forced my gaze back to my group of friends. Everly and Aspen snickered. Aspen’s friend Leila remained neutral and busied herself, cleaning the dust off some of the shelving. I didn’t know her well, but she was a good friend of Aspen’s, and she worked at the Portland Puck near the practice facility. A friend of Aspen was a friend of mine.
I shrugged innocently, feigning ignorance as to why they were amused.
“The two of you are so fun to watch,” Aspen snorted.
“They can’t keep their eyes off each other, but they won’t admit there’s anything going on when everyone knows there is,” Everly agreed.
“There isn’t. We’re just friends.” For once, I was telling the truth.
