The Buy-In (Graham Brothers #1)(33)

I’ve almost made it out of the danger zone when James says, “It’s sad to see you letting a woman cloud your judgment again.”

“Tank promised he wouldn’t say anything!”

My mouth clamps shut as I take in the smug look on James’s irritating face. He didn’t know. But he does now.

I stepped right into one of my brother’s traps. Now I’m dangling by my legs, suspended upside down from a tree, while he circles me, smirking.

Okay, maybe I’m still standing in the garage, but there was definitely a trap, and he’s absolutely smirking.

“Are you serious? That worked? I can’t believe that worked. I’m an idiot!” I shout.

James smiles. “I won’t argue the point. Who is she?”

I turn away, kicking my water bottle, which doesn’t make me feel the slightest bit better. It skitters out the open garage door and halfway down the driveway where Chase picks it up.

Because this night wouldn’t be complete without Chase and Collin showing up unannounced right at this opportune moment. Fabulous. Now I’m going to have to tell those two about Lindy as well.

“Not Padma again?”

I make a disgusted face. “No.”

Padma might be an underwear model, but she was boring as heck and far more interested in selfies and social media than she ever was interested in me. Oh, and she married me to try and get a green card. That also happened.

“What are we talking about?” Collin asks as he and Chase step into the garage. “And why are y’all working out here when I own a gym. An actual gym. Pat—did you go and get a girlfriend?”

“No.” I only wish.

“A woman is the reason he’s so on board with Tank’s plan,” James says. “I’m trying to get details.”

“A woman?” Chase says, grinning.

“Not just any woman,” I say.

And now I’ve gone and done it. With hardly any pressure applied, I went and confessed it all. I would be the worst spy ever. They would come near me with a set of pliers or a sharp blade and I’d be singing like a whole cage full of canaries.

“THE woman?” James and Collin say in unison. It would be comical if they didn’t look so irritated.

There aren’t any more water bottles to kick but I sure want to kick something right now. This is not how I wanted the information getting out.

“Uh, guys?” Chase rubs his neck, looking between us. “What woman?”

“THE WOMAN,” James and Collin answer.

“The Woman is the one who messed our little brother up nice and good,” Collin says, trying to ruffle my hair with his fingers. I slap him away. “She’s his Irene Adler.”

“She most certainly is not,” I say. “Not even the Irene Adler from the movies, who was arguably better than the BBC version.”

“Both versions broke Sherlock’s heart,” James adds. “As women always do. As this woman did to you.”

I roll my eyes. “That’s not what happened. It was my fault. I totally messed things up between us. Me. Not her.”

“She broke your heart,” James says. “You played like crap, partied too much, and ended your football career prematurely.”

“I got injured! Like, two years after we broke up!”

“Because your head wasn’t in the game!” James yells, and I don’t know how we went from him being mad about the town to him being mad about Lindy. If I wanted to make forward progress, I’ve instead taken a few giant leaps backward.

“You had your shot in the pros and you blew it,” James continues. “All for some woman. And now you’re blowing it again.”

I get some of his anger, though it’s directed in the wrong place. James never got to play pro, which is highly unfair because he had the most potential of any of us. His career-ending injury came in the form of a blown-out knee playing college ball. Some knee injuries you can come back from. His was not one of those.

I glare at them both with all the fire I can muster. “Her name is Lindy,” I say. “And my injury wasn’t because of her. Our breakup was more complicated. I just never explained it all to you idiots. Because this is how you act.”

Chase raises a hand. “I’m not acting like an idiot.”

“Shut up!” James, Collin, and I say, and then a giggle escapes me.

James groans, threading his hands through his hair and staring up at the ceiling. “Not the giggles again.”

Yep. The giggles. What can I say? For better or worse—oh, most definitely worse—they’re a Pat trademark.

“Why don’t you try to explain?” Collin asks with forced patience.

“Fine. We met my last semester of college. She planned to be a travel writer. I had the draft coming up. We said we’d keep it casual.”

“Clearly, that worked well,” James mutters, and Collin shoves him.

“We knew things would end, but it was a mistake. I should have taken her with me or asked her to come or—I don’t know, something. Instead, I left town early and never told her goodbye. I’ve regretted that moment ever since. Yes, she lives in Sheet Cake. And yes, part of the reason I’m into this idea is because of her. But that’s not the only reason.”

“So, she didn’t cheat or do something horrible to you?” James asks.