She took a sip of her champagne and smiled as Nathan and Kelli approached them, still far enough away that AJ was sure they couldn’t hear him.
“You heard him at the hospital. He said he was done with her. What the fuck—?”
“Ah,” Addison said, tugging his hand when Isaiah and his date Lola rejoined them.
“Dude,” AJ turned to Isaiah, who was setting one crutch aside so he could take his drink from Lola but was apparently going to stand there with them on one. “You need to get off that leg.”
“All I do at home is sit on my ass and lie around.”
“It’s what you’re supposed to be doing,” Liv said as she and her husband Lorenzo arrived, followed by Emi and Sydney. “It’s only been two weeks, Sai. You’re still recovering.”
“Thank you,” AJ said as he leaned in to kiss his sister hello. “You look beautiful.”
He said the same to Emi as they did their rounds, saying hello to everyone.
“Yeah, well two weeks is long enough,” Isaiah said. “I’m over it. The minute this thing is off, I’m heading back to work. I hate feeling like an invalid.”
The bitterness in Isaiah’s tone was the same as it’d been every time AJ had spoken to him on the phone in the past two weeks. As much as AJ disapproved of his brother being here on his leg, instead of at home relaxing, AJ had hoped the night out would at least lighten him up a bit. Earlier it’d appeared as if Isaiah were having a good enough time. Suddenly, he was looking as somber as he did at home when he was complaining about being bored as shit. Even his beautiful date didn’t seem to be doing the trick.
“My dad’s calling me over,” Addison leaned into him. “You stay here and hang out with your brothers and sisters. I won’t be long. He just wants me to say hello to his old managers and their wives. I haven’t seen them in years.”
AJ nodded, glancing at Coach Lara, his wife, and the older couples they were mingling with. Addison kissed him softly before walking away. He watched as she strolled over slowly, holding her long gown in front of her. As tall as she was, she could easily be a model. She turned and smiled at him, making the irritation he’d been feeling melt away with just one smile. Damn, she was beautiful.
By the time he brought his attention back to his circle, it’d gotten even bigger. Nathan and Kelli were already there. They’d also been joined by Sabian and his date. AJ said hello to all of them, including Kelli. He had to wonder if she realized how much he disliked her. Her pathetic little smile almost made him feel bad. Almost.
Everyone was glued to Isaiah’s words as he answered Sabian’s questions about the accident. Some of the other guys from the team joined them now too, and they had more questions. AJ figured his tight-lipped answers when he’d gotten back to work after Isaiah was cleared of any life-threatening or even critical injuries hadn’t been enough for the inquisitive bunch. Somehow the fact that it was AJ’s brother who’d been injured had gotten back to the media, so the story had made national headlines, not just the local news. Of course, seeing him here so soon after the accident had everyone surprised and curious. They were gaining quite the crowd.
AJ was done hearing about the accident. Every time he heard the story it only made him angrier—angry that his brothers would see fit to put themselves in such danger when it was so unnecessary. Instead of focusing on Isaiah like everyone else was, he peered at Kelli casually as he sipped his drink.
He was curious what else besides her obvious good looks Nathan could be so hung up on that he’d continue to put up with her wishy-washy ass. She, too, appeared to be completely engrossed in Isaiah’s story. Her brows furrowed when Isaiah got to the part about the roof giving way and the blazing hell hole he’d falling into. Her hand even came over her mouth. AJ, too, felt his jaw clench, hearing this part again. It could’ve been so much worse.
“I nearly crashed the next morning when I heard about it on the radio in my car,” Lola said, and AJ had begun to turn to her but was curiously caught by the sudden glare on Kelli’s face. “They announced the names of the fallen firefighters, and, oh my God,” Lola continued, clutching her chest now that AJ had turned to her, “I wanted to die. I hadn’t met his siblings yet. None of them knew he and I were seeing each other, so no one called me.” Lola leaned her head gently against Isaiah’s shoulder. “It was terrible finding out that way.”
“We have your number now, Lola,” Liv said in a reassuring tone. “You’ll be the first we call after the rest of our siblings, if, God forbid, anything ever happens to him again.”
AJ had begun to frown at that last comment when he caught Isaiah’s strange glare. He followed it to see what his brother was glaring at. He turned to see Kelli whisper something in Nathan’s ear then walk away abruptly.
“Is she leaving?” AJ asked, incredulous, wondering if she was pulling the same stunt as last time.
“No, ladies’ room,” Nathan said, not even trying to hide the annoyance with AJ’s immediate inquiry, and no doubt because AJ hadn’t been able to tone the tenor down.
Emi beat AJ to the punch, asking the very thing he was thinking. “I thought you two broke things off.” Like AJ, his little sister didn’t seem too fond of Kelli either.
“We did, but we’re still friends,” Nathan said, taking a swig of his beer and glancing away.
AJ might’ve smirked, knowing his brother was biting his tongue and not adding anything more smart-mouthed to his response because of everyone there. But he was still feeling too irritated by the fact that his brother actually brought Kelli tonight.
Without reacting to Nathan’s curt responses, AJ turned back to his other brother curiously. The guys had already begun another conversation regarding the impending playoffs. AJ frowned at the still somber-looking Isaiah, who was zoned out, staring out into the crowd. Doing a quick glance out in the general direction of where Isaiah was staring, he saw Kelli, who, like Addison and his sisters, wore a formal gown and high heels. She was still making her way toward the ladies’ room slowly—cautiously.
One glance back at Isaiah, and AJ could see now his brother wasn’t zoned out; he was staring at Kelli. AJ had begun to glance back in Kelli’s direction but had to do a double take when he saw Addison striding back toward him. Just like that, any tension he’d begun to feel about his brother’s mood drained as their eyes met and she smiled sweetly. Then a guy in a suit stepped right in front of her, startling her, and making her stop in her tracks. Instantly, AJ was standing straighter—bigger. From behind, AJ couldn’t see who it was, only that he wore a tux like everybody else and was big like most of the other athletes there.
The guy was so close to her. Seeing her actually take a step back looking annoyed had AJ handing Nathan his cocktail glass. That familiar blaze inside him, the one he’d felt all too often in his life, was already roaring, and suddenly nothing mattered: Not that they were in a fancy banquet room with lots of cameras, a place where he should be all the more mindful of his behavior. Or that her parents were only a few feet away from Addison and this asshole. Not that his non-response to Nathan’s question when he asked him where he was going was sure to raise brows with all his siblings since he’d charged away from them with a purpose.
None of it.
“Is there a problem?” he said just a few feet behind the guy who was still facing Addison.
Addison shaking her head did nothing to alleviate the fire that only got bigger when the guy turned around and he saw the smug smirk on Bigsby’s face.
“Romero,” he said, still smirking as Addison circled him and slipped her hand into AJ’s.
“Tax question,” Addison said quickly. “I get asked a lot about stuff regarding tax laws and such.”
“Like that?” AJ asked, glaring at Bigsby. “All rude and jumping in your face?”