Dropping Gloves by Catherine Gayle Read Free Book Online Page A

a paper plate. He plopped down on the sectional and put his feet up before taking a bite.
    “You should get Willie to teach you how to make a few things,” I suggested. “Peanut butter sandwiches are okay sometimes, but you need to get better food in you.”
    “Koz and I go in early enough to get Willie to make us breakfast. We have lunch with the boys. It’s just dinner I have to worry about.”
    “And you should worry about it. Your body needs more than peanut butter.” I’d been on him about eating better for at least a few years, once I’d started to really focus on my diet and seen the difference it could make on the ice.
    “I know.” He scowled at me over the top of his sandwich, but he took another bite.
    I went back to my tilapia and asparagus. “What’s Koz up to tonight?” I asked, trying not to sound like I was fishing for information even though that was exactly what I was doing.
    “On a date. Some chick he met at Amani’s the other day.”
    Amani’s Family-Style Italian Restaurant was where most of the guys went for lunch on game days. It wasn’t exactly the kind of place I would expect to find a date, but I supposed it wasn’t entirely out of the question. If he was on a date, maybe he was staying out of trouble.
    “Oh, I love this episode,” Levi said, mouth full of bread and peanut butter. “It’s the one where Billy Bones—”
    “Are you here for food or something else?” I interrupted before he could tell me everything that was to come in the show I was about to watch. I never managed to keep up with TV shows I liked when they were airing. I set my DVR to record them, and then I would try to watch a few episodes at a time when I got the chance. With this show, I was almost a full season behind. He knew that, but he’d always been bad about spoiling what was to come. It was one of his quirks that drove me crazy. I loved all my brothers, but we were definitely brothers in every sense of the word—able to get on one another’s nerves without even the slightest effort. It was a talent.
    He raised a brow at me, but he took the time to swallow before answering, at least. “I’m here because you were with Katie this afternoon.”
    “I was. And?”
    “And I thought maybe it was best if you weren’t alone.”
    I grunted in lieu of coming up with a coherent response. That was the other thing about being one of the Babcock brothers—I could always count on each of them to know exactly what was needed even if I didn’t know myself.
    “Oh, this part is the best,” he said with his mouth full again. He kicked his shoes off and put his feet up on the coffee table, settling in for the long haul. “I love it when Flint…”
    He kept talking, but I didn’t take any of it in, too busy thinking how grateful I was to have a brother who would come over and annoy the shit out of me so I wouldn’t wallow in my own thoughts.
    Levi might drive me crazy, but he was a pretty good guy when it came down to it.

    I allowed myself an hour for my pity party, but that was all the time I could spare. Dani was only here through tomorrow, and I was wasting time I could be hanging out with her.
    Once I got my tears under control, I headed into my bathroom. My tears had streaked my makeup, and I looked an utter wreck. I washed my face and ran a brush through my hair, trying to remove the traces of crying before I went back out to join my family. Not that I thought I could fool any of them. Mom, Dad, and Dani had all been in the living room when I’d come through the door and started sobbing before racing up the stairs and locking my door. They might not know what had caused my upset, but they knew something had happened. They could definitely deduce that it had to do with Jamie. I only hoped they didn’t expect me to tell them about it.
    The thing was, I still wasn’t sure how to feel about it, myself. I mean, yes, Jamie had told me he couldn’t really bear to be my friend anymore. That sucked. It