Page 110 of Whisper Sweet Nothings
We’d droppedMelody off at my parents’ house because my cousin Emerson and her husband Nash were in town with my nephew Cutler. Melody and Cutler were close, and my dad and my uncle Keaton were taking the kids riding today.
“You sure you’re up for this?” I asked. I glanced over at Winnie in the passenger seat as we pulled into the parking lot at the Rosewood River Country Club.
The sun was shining today, though there was still a chill in the air.
“I thought this was just practice?” she asked.
“It is. But you haven’t seen Easton on a pickleball court.”
“I’ve heard he’s—intense.”
I climbed out of the truck and came around to open her door, then pulled her up against me and kissed her hard.
“That’s an understatement,” I said before reaching for her hand and leading her inside.
We’d stopped hiding our relationship for all intents and purposes. I kissed her in public. Held her hand. Kept her close.
We were only cautious when we were with Melody, because we didn’t want to confuse her.
“So what is this? A tryout?” she said with a laugh.
“Well, he wants you to sub for Henley this week, and then he announced a practice out of nowhere. My guess is that he’s going to see how well you play.” I pulled the door open, placing my hand on her lower back as I led her inside.
“I used to play back at home with some friends, but I’m certainly not a pro.” She blew out a breath, and I could tell she was nervous.
“Don’t even worry about it. It’s supposed to be fun. He takes it too far, and we just ignore him.” I laughed as we walked through the clubhouse and back outside toward the courts.
Winnie looked cute as hell in her white-and-green tennis skirt and matching jacket. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail with a matching bow.
Not everyone was here today, because it was tough enough to get everyone to show up for regular games.
But Easton had insisted we come out and have a practice, and I knew it was because he wanted to see if Winnie could actually play. He’d said that Henley had a big caseload coming up at work, and she wasn’t going to be playing as much.
“Hey, thanks for coming out today. Welcome to the Chad-Six,” Easton said as Winnie gave him a quick hug. Rafe and Bridger walked over, and neither looked happy about being there.
“Where is everyone?” I asked.
“It’s just the four of you playing, and I’m going to observe,” Easton said.
“You know you’re a prick, right?” Bridger said, his tone completely flat.
“So I’ve been told.” Easton smirked.
“Is this because I said Lulu isn’t going to be playing as much this coming season?” Rafe grumped. “I would also like to play less.”
“You joined the Chad-Six and you made a commitment. Chadwicks don’t just quit.”
“Is it quitting when you’ve played for years and you just don’t feel like playing anymore because your brother is an actual psychopath when it comes to pickleball?”
“Lulu isn’t playing anymore, either?” I asked. The girls loved to play, so it surprised me that neither of them were joining in this season.
“Yep. She’s got a busy travel schedule coming up,” he said, but he looked away when he said it, so something was clearly up.
“I, um, I’ve played a couple of times, but not competitively or anything,” Winnie said, and Bridger cinched his brows together.
“See what you’re doing? You’ve got everyone stressed out, dickfucker. How about you just let people play.” Bridger glared at Easton before turning and tossing a wink at Winnie.
“That’s what I’m doing. So how about you just go play, and I’ll chill out here.” Easton moved to sit at the tables beside the courts.
