Unbreak My Heart (Rough Riders Legacy #1)(67)

I started around the corner when I heard my name and stopped.

“…Boone seems good with all of this.” Hayden said.

“Why does that surprise you?”

“Whoa. You don’t have to get defensive,” Hayden said.

“I’m not defensive. I’m protective, which is entirely different.”

“Protective of Boone? Why?”

I held my breath. Surely she wouldn’t tell him or their other cousins about our private conversation last night.

“Because of what he and I are to each other now. I’m protective of that, so that makes me protective of him. Maybe I’ll even be secretive about all of this.” She paused. “How you think that’ll go over in the gossipy McKay family?”

Hayden laughed. “Well, darlin’, you’ll probably find out soon enough.”

“Omigod, seriously? Who f*cking blabbed already? You?”

“Who do you think blabbed?” Hayden volleyed back to her.

“Kyler.”

“Yep. He already told his folks that you and Boone…reconnected.”

“Why?”

“I’d like to say it’s only because he’s happy for you two, but I’m pretty sure he used the news to deflect their interest from him because he doesn’t want his family knowing all the stuff he’s been up to outside of football.”

“That little f*ckface. I should’ve gut-punched him a lot harder.”

My tough-talking woman.

“Look, Kyler, Anton and I…it sounds weird but we’re all invested in this thing with you and West.”

“Please tell me you jackasses haven’t been taking bets on when Boone and I would finally do the deed.”

“We’re not douchebags who’d do that to our own family, Sierra.”

“Sorry. I’m just…” She paused. “Paranoid that something or somebody will try and ruin this for us.”

I promise you that won’t happen.

“Boone almost ruined it when he f*cked up with you that first party. After you took off, we all told him to stop bein’ a lying dumbass, man the f*ck up and tell you the truth. We even gave him a place to do that when we invited him to Meat-topia last weekend. You needed that push. Last night he needed a push. I called and invited him last night only after you showed up.”

Don’t you take all the credit for this, asswipe.

“You’re lucky I’m so forgiving.” Sierra laughed. “But you’re all a bunch of romantic idiots.”

Hayden laughed too. “Guilty.”

“I suppose I need to talk to my dad before the McKay gossip reaches him.”

“Gavin doesn’t know about you and Boone?”

“Of course he knows Boone is back in my life. Boone made that clear to him before he left Sundance and relocated to Phoenix like a crazy man.”

I f*cking loved the mix of awe, sweetness and resignation in her tone.

“But I haven’t called him today and shared the news that Boone is living here after all that went down last night.” She paused. “I probably wouldn’t use those exact words to describe it.”

“It must’ve been some night. I’ve never seen you blush that hard, cuz.”

Sierra dropped her voice and I couldn’t hear her response but it caused Hayden to laugh.

I walked into the kitchen and stopped, my gaze moving between Hayden and Sierra. “Am I interrupting something?”

“Nope. Just giving Sierra a hard time about her lousy taste in men,” Hayden said with a smirk.

I looked at her and cocked an eyebrow.

She skirted the kitchen island and wrapped herself around me. “I believe my McKay cousins are taking credit for us getting together.”

“I’ll admit they gave me opportunities, but the credit belongs solely to you, gorgeous.” I kissed the top of her head. “Six minutes left of the fourth quarter.”

“Even I can take a hint that broad. Me’n Anton would’ve cleared out at halftime. But you know how Ky is. Football and * are the two main focuses of his life.” Hayden stilled. “Shit, Sierra, that was crude. Sorry.”

“Doesn’t make it less true. And it’s not like I didn’t know that.”

Anton walked in from the living room side and swiped a soda. “That ain’t entirely true. Ky cares about his grades.” He popped the top and took a long drink. “As evidenced by the fact he’s banging both his literature tutor and his statistics tutor.”

Hayden’s eyes narrowed. “Why the f*ck would Ky need tutoring in statistics? He’s like a statistics savant.”

“Apparently he gets more pu”—Anton amended—“personal attention if he perpetuates the dumb jock stereotype and then miraculously gets an A in the class. So I can’t fault him for his strategy. Besides, did you see his math tutor?” He whistled. “Smokin’ hot.”

“Is she a curvy redhead?” I asked. “Because I could see why he asked for extra help.”

“How would you know what she looks like?” Sierra demanded.

I kissed her pouting mouth. “She showed up as I was leaving McJock Central. It was hard not to notice her, with her sucking Ky’s face off and shoving her hand down his pants.”