“Do I look okay?”
He held her gaze. “Absolutely beautiful.”
“I’ll go first.” She didn’t want to go at all, but the idea of hiding inside the changing room was worse. Her hand on the knob, she was about to dash out the door when he hauled her close for another kiss.
It was only when she was rushing out onto the pool deck that she remembered her panties were still on the floor.
* * *
Running a hand through his hair, Matt spied the lacy scrap on the floor. He hadn’t even taken care to make sure she got them back on.
I love you.
She’d said it again.
And the words haunted him.
How could she be so sure? She’d said it didn’t matter that he hadn’t found her brother. But how could he prove himself to her—how could he prove that he was worthy of her—without keeping that promise?
He scooped up the panties and shoved them deep into his pocket. He would give them back to her tonight. After Noah was asleep and the house was quiet, Matt would ravish her all over again. He couldn’t stop, didn’t want to stop, even if guilt ate him up from the inside out.
He walked out and closed the door behind him, turning to head back through the media room.
And he ran right into Daniel.
“What the hell are you doing?”
They’d been best friends since the age of eleven. They’d grown into manhood together. They’d made a pact to get the hell out of Chicago, to make it big, and to always be there for each other. The Maverick pact. Yet the look on Daniel’s face was one he’d seen reserved only for outsiders. It was a look that said, One wrong move and it’s all over.
Matt could have said he didn’t know what the hell Daniel was talking about, but his friend had obviously seen Ari leave the changing room. He’d clearly been waiting for the man who followed her out, arms crossed over his chest, brows drawn together in a glare that would have made most men’s knees crumble.
Damn it. This was exactly what Matt hadn’t wanted to happen. “It isn’t your business.”
Daniel slowly unfolded his arms, his fists clenched. “I let her move into your house,” he said in a low voice, fueled with rage. “I told her she didn’t have to worry. I said you’d protect her the way I have.” He moved closer to Matt, every step menacing. “Ari sure as hell is my business. Especially if you’re screwing around with her.”
Their voices were covered by the ka-ching of pinball machines, the laughter around the pool table, the clack of a foosball game and the shouts of its contestants. No one noticed them facing off.
At least, as long as they didn’t start brawling.
“Are you going to deny it?” Daniel asked, his voice as menacing as his stance. “Are you going to make up some candy-assed excuse for why you were in there with Ariana?”
“Her name’s Ari.” Matt didn’t know why it was so important to point that out. Maybe it was his way of showing Daniel that he knew her better than his friend did. “That’s what she likes to be called.”
“Well, I like respecting her by calling her Ariana. Because she’s special.”
“You think I don’t know just how special she is?” Matt’s hands fisted too.
“Then tell me what the hell you think you’re doing with her.”
Somehow, Matt stopped himself from cursing aloud. How could he answer Daniel when he was trying to figure out that very thing?
What the hell was he doing with her? Loving her? Showing her how special she was?
Or setting her up—setting both of them up—for heartbreak?
With some sort of internal Maverick radar, Sebastian appeared on the stairs, followed by Will and Evan. “Look who finally arrived,” Will called out.
But Daniel was already headed through the door to the pool deck. Matt followed. So did the others. Since the Halloween chill had rolled in, the deck was deserted.
“What’s up?” Sebastian asked, his gaze ping-ponging between them.
“He’s making moves on his nanny.” Daniel glared at Matt.
“Jesus, man,” Sebastian said. “You’re screwing around with Ariana?”
Evan stared at Matt as though he were a mutant bug, while Will, who’d already figured it all out, kept his mouth shut.
“She’s more than my nanny.” He couldn’t keep lying to his friends. “And I swear I’m not just screwing around with her.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Daniel growled.
Matt stared at his friends, his brothers in arms, his blood without being blood. “It means I care for her. That I don’t want to hurt her.” Hell, hurting Ari was the very last thing he wanted.
He waited for them to ask the obvious questions. What were his intentions toward her? How did he see her in his and Noah’s future? Was he in love with her?
But, with the same Maverick radar that had pulled all five of them outside, none of them asked. He could guess why. They knew him well enough to understand that his head—that every part of him—was too twisted up right now to give them any straight answers.
After long, excruciating seconds, Daniel finally said, “If she gets hurt, I will beat the crap out of you.”
Matt met his friend’s gaze. “If I hurt her, you have my full permission to tear me to pieces. But right now, this is something Ari and I have to work out ourselves.”
They stared at each other, Daniel’s gaze measuring, until finally the tension in his face eased fractionally. “All right,” he said. Then he tipped his head like a shaggy dog. “I wouldn’t mind if she became family. She’s a good kid.”
“She’s not a kid, Daniel. She’s a beautiful woman.”
“I know that.” Then he chucked Matt upside the head. “But you’re an asshole for putting her in a compromising position.”
“I am,” Matt agreed. “Don’t think I don’t know how special she is, Daniel. Because I do. I’ve always known it.”
Daniel slung his arm around his shoulders and herded him back inside. “Just keep treating her like she’s special. That’s what Ariana deserves. And if you don’t”—he knuckled Matt’s head—“I won’t be the only one who beats the living daylights out of you.”
The guys all hoo-rahed their agreement.