Wren’s eyes left his face and dropped to the sheaf of papers on the table in front of her and Quinn knew there was more she wanted to say and she was debating whether she should or not.
Quinn rubbed the space between his eyebrows. “What, Wren?”
Wren lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “A good portion of the public is just waiting for you to mess it up.”
Quinn threw his hands up in the air. “What can I mess up? You’ve banned me from doing anything that might raise an eyebrow. I’m married so I can’t date.” Quinn shook his head and looked at the broad band on his left hand. “That sounds insane.”
“You do have a knack of complicating the hell out of your life, Rayne,” Kade agreed.
That was the thing. He really didn’t. His life, as he saw it, was uncomplicated: he went to work, coached the hell out of the Mavericks and got results that nobody expected from a young coach with little experience. So why couldn’t they keep their hands, and their opinions, off his personal life? He kept it simple there too: he did what he wanted, when he wanted.
Well, except for this episode of his life. He really hadn’t wanted to get married...
You’re temporarily hitched, temporarily grounded and for a damn good reason. When he remembered what was at risk, he would stay married and well-behaved forever if that was what was required of him.
He would not be the reason the deal with Widow Hasselback failed. He would not give Bayliss a reason to pull out of the deal. He’d protect his team, his players, the brand. He’d protect the Mavericks with everything he had.
Because this place, this team, these men were his home. Yeah, technically, he had a family, but he hadn’t spoken to any of them for years. A lack of understanding, communication and, okay, kindness had forced him to distance himself from them and it was a decision he did not regret. Kade and Mac, as annoying as they could be, were now his brothers and he would, at some point—soon!—go back to thinking of Cal as the sister he’d never had.
Cal, Mac and Kade were all the family he needed—the only family he’d ever have. He wasn’t going to risk Cal not being part of his clan, part of his life, by acting on what was a frequent and annoying fantasy of stripping her naked and making her scream.
Quinn scowled up at the ceiling. His simmering attraction to Cal was unexplainable and ludicrous and it would pass—he just had to keep avoiding her as much as possible until it did—and their friendship would survive. This craziness would pass. Everything always did.
Quinn rolled his shoulders and felt like the walls were closing in on him. He imagined himself on his bike, leaning into a corner, the wind blowing his restlessness away.
“Oh, crap, he has that faraway look in his eyes. The one he gets when he’s feeling caged in.”
Mac’s words penetrated Quinn’s fog and he snapped his head up to glare at his friend. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s one of your tells,” Mac informed him. “You get glassy-eyed and we know that you’re considering doing something crazy.”
“I’m not going to do anything.” Quinn pushed the words out. He wanted to. He wanted to burn some of this excess energy off. But he wouldn’t. Not today anyway.
“Don’t mess up, Rayne. Please don’t jeopardize our hard work.” Kade’s words felt like bullets from a machine gun.
Ben is studying, Quinn. Don’t disturb Jack.
Try to be more considerate, Quinn.
Why can’t you toe the line, Quinn? Be more like your brothers, Quinn? Why do you have to be so much trouble, Quinn?
It was stupid and crazy and childish, but statements like don’t rock the boat, Quinn and be good, Quinn just made him want to do the opposite. He loathed being told what to do. Quinn bit the inside of his lip and jammed his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket so his friends couldn’t see his clenched fists.
He wasn’t in control of his own life and he despised it and, yes, Kade was right—he did want to run.
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