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

but her eyes looked tired, and her voice was soft and worn. Tonight had taken a lot out of her, even if he still didn’t understand the reason. It offered him the perfect opportunity either way.
    “You wanna skip O’Riley’s? Pizza and beer at my place instead?” He could practically envision Drew’s now murderous face behind him, and it made his smile grow. Drew should have just left it alone. He would have given her the puck and gone home, satisfied that his simple gesture might have brightened her day.
    No harm.
    No foul.
    Now he would take what he really wanted. He wasn’t going to hit on her like Drew predicted, but he would get her alone, and that would be enough to make him happy and ruin his brother’s night.
    “That sounds so much better,” she answered, tucking her hair behind her ear as if relieved of some great burden she’d been carrying. “Care if I wear Drew’s ratty sweat pants?”
    He was close enough to touch her now, her chin tilted up at him, offering him the perfect view of her luscious pink lips. Getting her alone sounded better and better. “Not if you’ll lie and tell Austin I really ate brussel sprouts and a protein shake.”
    “It’s a deal.”
    Something leaped inside of him, but only a pussy would assume it was his heart—like he had one of those anyway—so instead, he merely ignored it. He quickly grabbed his bag and motioned her forward before Austin could ruin the moment. “My car is in the garage out back.”
    He started walking behind her, until he finally remembered his brother. He paused, reached over to take the puck from her hand, and turned to give it to a stunned Drew behind him. “Wait. You better keep this,” he told him, his lips curling into a mischievous smile. “I wouldn’t want her to succumb to any latent desires on the way to the car.”
    “You know there is a bathroom just around the corner,” she added over his shoulder, and it was then he realized she was in on the joke.
    Drew’s lecture must have struck a nerve. He wondered if he had managed to insult her using the same loving tone as he’d used on him. Either way, he fought back laughter. “Oh, c’mon,” he chuckled, playfully knocking his elbow against hers, “the bathroom? I’m a little classier than that.”
    The look they exchanged made him ready to throw her over his shoulder and pack her out of there. “Oh. Sorry,” she laughed, a hint of blush touching her cheeks. “Then I guess you better let Drew keep hold of it.”
    Drew was utterly irate. His cheeks flushed scarlet, and his hands knotted into fists at his sides. “I hate both of you,” he bit out, apparently unamused by their antics. “And Austin isn’t going to be happy about this,” he added, yelling after them as they turned toward the door.
    Henrik chose to ignore him, because it served him right. He made it a point to flip his brother the finger over his shoulder as he led Leila out of the building.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 9
     
     
    LEILA’S INTERROGATION
     
    Leila stood at the entrance to the living room, her plate of pizza in one hand and bottle of water in the other, staring at the scene in front of her. Henrik, who’d opted for just a pair of shorts when he changed out of his suit, was sprawled out in the middle of the couch, already enjoying his beer.
    In a normal apartment, this wouldn’t be an issue, but Henrik and Austin’s place was the typical bachelor pad. Despite their hefty paychecks every month, they still had only one piece of furniture in the living room, and she was pretty sure that couch was the same one from their dorm room back in college. Not to mention the ping-pong table that doubled for a kitchen table. That was simply embarrassing.
    “Why are you just standing there?” he asked, pointing at the TV. “Rachel is about to break up with Ross again.”
    She cleared her throat, attempting not to look directly at him. “Could you, you know, choose an end of the