Free The Girl With Hearts (Midtown Brotherhood #1) by Savannah Blevins

glared at him. “Nice to see you too,” Drew scoffed, a tight frown on his boyish face.
    “Where is she?”
    “Austin is showing her around. They’re going to meet us at O’Riley’s.”
    “All right. Let’s go.” He slung his bag over his shoulder, and that’s when Drew noticed it. The puck clenched in his hand. Drew grabbed his wrist, turning his palm over to reveal the tape around the side that showed the date and score of the game.
    “Is that what I think it is?” Drew inquired, the accusation obvious.
    “I hit the game-winning shot in overtime,” he explained casually, but he could already tell his brother saw through his façade.
    “You’ve hit loads of game-winning shots, but I don’t see hockey pucks commemorating them anywhere. What were you planning on doing with that one?”
    He scowled.
    “Yeah, that’s what I figured.” Indictment was thick in his tone as they squared off toward each other.
    “What?” he asked, offended.
    “A game puck? Cliché much?” Drew’s jaw was clenched tight, and it was obvious it had gone past mere annoyance now. “You’re one of the hottest bachelors in New York, and definitely the most accomplished at it. Do you think I’m going to step back and say ‘go for it, tiger’?”
    “It’s just a hockey puck, Drew. It’s not like I bought her a bouquet of condoms.”
    “I don’t want to have to keep telling you this,” Drew warned, bringing himself up to look him dead in the eye. “I don’t want your pucks or your eggs anywhere near her.”
    Drew gave him one more daring stare before turning around to stalk off. Unwilling to concede, he waited until Drew was about five feet away before taking aim and hitting the wall just in front of him with the puck.
    Gaping, his brother whirled around, but before he could say anything, he had him under the arm, dragging him back so they could have a private conversation while his other teammates started piling out of the locker room.
    “Why are you trying to—?”
    “Cock block you?” Drew interjected, jerking himself away.
    “That wasn’t what I was going to say!”
    “Well, that’s what I’m trying to do,” Drew shot back. “I thought I made myself very clear. She’s my best friend. You’re not pulling your usual bullshit on her.”
    He was absolutely bewildered, mostly because Drew didn’t have a clue. Giving Leila a puck wasn’t part of his usual tactics. Hell, he didn’t need tactics, or lines, for that matter. He simply showed up, or invited them over, and well, that was it.
    Game over.
    Score one for the home team.
    That may have been his original desire when she showed up, but it hadn’t been what he thought when they handed the puck to him during their post-game roundtable.
    “I’m just trying to be nice to the girl, all right?”
    “In order to get in her pants,” Drew finished. “C’mon, I’ve seen you run game a million times, and it’s never been because you wanted a new friend.”
    “You know what—fuck you, Drew.”
    He was furious. He didn’t deserve an actual shot with Leila, but constantly throwing it in his face, and then not even trusting his word, was starting to push the limit with his patience.
    “Honestly, Henrik, I don’t mean to sound so cruel—”
    “Then just stay out of it.”
    “Normally, I would. You and I both know Leila would be the first in line to kick your ass if you tried something on her,” he said simply. “But that isn’t the Leila we know right now. Whatever happened between her and Derek was bad. She’s hurting, and I can’t be sure she’s in the appropriate state of mind to make rational decisions.”
    “Hooking up with me being an irrational decision,” he stated for clarification. When Drew didn’t respond, he merely continued. “Look, everyone knows Leila hates me, for whatever psycho reason girls make up. I know that, all right? I also know she’s your best friend, and she’s my best friend’s sister. So, it doesn’t matter how