The Playboy Next Door

I nod. “Got it. I won’t even buy fish.”

He smiles. “Thanks. Just the smell makes me break out in hives.”

“Ollie doesn’t eat dairy,” I say as I approach the counter. “Any other foods you guys don’t like or can’t eat?”

River shakes his head.

“You know what I like,” Ollie chimes. “Stick to the basics.”

Brady leans forward, his elbows on the marble, eyes fixed on me. “Like Ollie said, keep it simple.”

“I’ll write a list for you,” River offers.

A smile stretches the corners of my mouth. “Thanks. That would be great.”

Brady’s oats take forever to cook, so I wait until they’re almost done before I crack open the eggs and start working on my brother’s scrambled eggs and River’s egg whites.

“You’ll need to coordinate with the cleaning people,” Brady tells me. “They usually come on Thursdays. But our last house manager quit on us without notice.”

“I’ll handle it,” I assure him, scrambling my brother’s eggs.

“You’ll also need to organize our travel plans, make sure our suits and uniforms are clean,” River adds.

“No problem. Anything else?”

“Food shopping,” Ollie points out. “Meal prep. Hmmm….” He presses his long finger to his lips, deep in thought. “Paying bills for River and me.”

Spatula in hand, I shake my head. “You guys can’t pay your own bills?”

“Brady does his own,” Ollie says, as if this is some consolation. “But we’ve always let our house manager deal with the house bills.”

“Okay. Just give me the info and I’ll handle it.”

“You may need to get rid of women in the morning,” Brady says with laughter in his tone. “That’s kind of what chased our last house manager away.”

I roll my eyes, keeping my back to them. “It wouldn’t be the first time I chased a woman out of my brother’s bed… or yours for that matter.”

“You don’t have to worry about me,” River says in a cool tone. “I never bring women home.”

I turn around, one eyebrow raised. “Never?”

He shakes his head. “Like I’d let a puck bunny sleep in my bed.”

Of course. Why would River have a woman in his bed in the morning when his relationships didn’t last for more than a few hours?

As I plate Ollie’s scrambled eggs, I accidentally knock the spatula on the floor and bend over to pick it up.

River whistles.

And when I stand up, I have Brady and River leaning on the counter, staring at me. Their eyes move from my backside to my face, then up and down my thighs.

Oh, for the love of God.

“The next time you guys stare at my ass, or think about me in indecent ways, I want you to remember I look exactly like Ollie.”

Brady laughs. “Yeah, but with tits.”

“And a nice ass.” River throws a napkin on the floor. “Oops, I think I dropped something.” He winks.

“Both of you can fuck off. Leave my sister alone.” Ollie shoves his chair out from the table, a snarl in place. “House rules. No more fucking with my sister. Treat her the same as you would me.”

“Aww,” River groans. “Are you jealous we don’t want to see your ass, Ollie? Go ahead.” He nods to the napkin on the floor. “Bend over and give us a show, sweetheart.”

Brady howls with laughter, slapping his knee with his hand.

“Assholes,” Ollie grumbles as I set his eggs on the island in front of him. “Shut up and eat your food. We leave for practice in ten minutes.”

River

After practice, Brady stayed behind to work with the trainer. His knee was acting up again on the ice, and he needs to rehab before we lose him for the season. Ollie went to lunch with a few of the guys, so I drove back to the apartment.

I could have gone with them.

But I wanted to see Emma.

She’s in the kitchen when I walk through the front door, announcing I’m home.

Flustered, she leans over the island and sighs. “Oh, good. You’re here.”

It’s probably the best thing I’ve heard from her lips, and I smile at her words. She’s always been so closed off, like she’s afraid to let anyone into her world.

“I can’t find my wallet… and I’m out of gas.” Emma tucks her long, blond hair behind her ears and releases a deep breath. “Think you can drive me to the grocery store? You guys have no food in the cabinets. The last house manager must not have been on top of the shopping list.”

“She hated us,” I tell her. “After she made a pass at Brady, and he rejected her, I’m surprised she didn’t feed us dog shit.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t your playboy ways that chased her off?” Emma gives me a cheeky grin. “I’ve lived here for less than twenty-four hours, and I’m already wondering if this is a mistake.”

I approach the island, and the few feet which separates us makes it impossible for me to not want to reach out and touch her. “We’ll make it worth your while. Just give it a few months. You’ll get used to us and fall into a familiar routine.”