Page 10 of Blame it on the Kiss
“Younger brother,” Cooper said, “so I’m apologizing now for her over-protectiveness.”
Cooper Mitchell was Honor’s brother? Shit. He’d never thought to ask Honor her last name, not that he would have put the two together until now anyway. Coop Mitchell was the local boy Bryce wanted to sign. The nineteen-year-old skateboarder had won every amateur competition out there, and with new, bigger sponsors after him, his first X Games on the horizon, and his well-known injury and comeback headline news, he needed an agent. Bryce’s biggest adversary was after him, too, but Bryce planned to come out the winner.Win or go home, his dad had drilled into him.
“You want to be his agent?” Honor asked, the corners of her mouth dragging down and shadowing the ray of light that seemed to follow her.
“Yes.”
She swung back to her brother. “I thought you were taking things slow?”
“I’m done with slow. I’m 100 percent and now’s the time. I’ve got this, H.”
“You’re not 100 percent. You’ll never be 100 percent.” Tension and love rang with her words, so much love Bryce felt it in the middle of chest.
“Mr. Bishop, sorry.” Cooper stepped around his sister. “You don’t need to hear us talk family stuff. I look forward to our meeting. I’m gonna go say hi to Sophie and Zane.”
Bryce nodded. The kid had poise. And determination. After his back injury many thought he’d give up skateboarding. But athletes at his level didn’t give in. They couldn’t. Their sport lived in their blood and quitting wasn’t an option.
He glanced at Honor after the front door shut. With her head canted down he couldn’t make out how she felt, but it didn’t matter. He’d give his best to Cooper, professionally and personally. He didn’t know how not to be friends with his clients, even though that mentality had cost him this last year.
One of his athletes had done the unthinkable. Gotten drunk at a party and assaulted a woman. The press went crazy and the backlash had almost cost Bryce several of his other clients who didn’t want to be associated with something so horrible. Bryce didn’t blame them. He and Danny had dropped the asshole, and with help from a few respected friends and Bryce’s father, managed to lose only two other clients. Rebuilding the Bishop-Ellis reputation was still a work in progress.
Bryce shuddered, regret and that slow burn of anger he still couldn’t shake thrumming through his veins. His father’s look of disappointment even as he took care of the breach of contract lawsuit thrown at Bryce and Danny still lingered, and Bryce wanted nothing more than to make his father proud. Adding a good kid like Cooper to his agency was the best way to do that.
…
“Why do we have to put the seat down? Why can’t women put the seat up?” Cooper said, adding his two cents to the group discussion on relationships. Honor glared at her brother from across the breakfast bar in Zane and Sophie’s kitchen. Heneverput the seat down. They shared a house and many a late night run to the bathroom had her butt falling into the toilet.
“Dropping the seat takes a fraction of a second,” she said, noting the guys—Bryce, Danny, Zane and Zane’s brother-in-law Mark—nodded in agreement with her brother.
“True,” Bryce said, “and I guess lifting the seat takes a fraction longer?”
“Lifting it takes a hand, so there’s more effort involved.”
“True again. And men appreciate it when a woman uses her hand.” A sexy little gleam in the corners of his eyes kicked Honor’s heart rate up a notch.
The guys chuckled. “Definitely,” Danny said, one side of his mouth quirking up.
Sophie harrumphed. “Men need the seat down, too sometimes. Women never need it up.”
Honor spewed her coffee across the counter. Everyone else cracked up. Sophie’s cheeks flamed red, but Zane pulled her closer and whispered in her ear.
“Okay. Time for everyone to go,” Sophie said, scooting all of them up and out. “Thanks for making this such a fun night.”
The adorably happy look on Sophie’s face filled Honor with a mixture of joy and longing. That second emotion got Honor to take hold of her brother and move faster than everyone else. She grabbed her bag of goodies for winning the scavenger hunt and hauled Coop out the door with a quick “bye” over her shoulder.
“Jeez, H, where’s the fire?” Coop asked on their way down the driveway.
“Just hurry up. Did you walk here?” He nodded. “Me, too.” As soon as they cleared the corner, she let go of his arm and slowed her steps. Took a quiet, deep inhale, the cool, crisp night air filling her lungs. Winter nights were her favorite.
“Do Mom and Dad know about the agent thing?” she asked. Their parents were celebrating their anniversary with a Sun Princess cruise and had two months left on the trip. They tried to touch base when the ship docked in port.
“Yeah, they’d gotten some calls before they left. Dad’s got some hotshot from CAA he wants me to meet with next week.”
“I really don’t think you’re ready for this. Please don’t let Dad pressure you into jumping back in too soon.” Honor loved her father, but sometimes he pushed Coop a little too hard.
“This isn’t about you. It’s about me, and I’m making the decision to move forward.”
Honor put a hand on his arm to bring them to a stop. Her stomach clenched. For almost two years he’d been fighting his way back, and she’d never been prouder. What was a little more time? “You’re too young to make a decision like this on your own. How do you know these guys have your best interest? They see dollar signs and nothing else. At least wait until Dad gets back.”
