“Dude.”
Brody’s voice startled him and Will swore as half the bourbon ended up on the coffee table. Slamming down the bottle, he wiped up the spill with the T-shirt Owen had spit up on earlier. “Get out,” he growled at Brody.
Brody ignored him, sliding into the leather recliner across the room. “Love what you’ve done with the place.” He glanced around. Owen’s baby paraphernalia was strewn about the loft, along with an assortment of take-out containers and dirty clothes. “Early preschool fits you somehow.”
“Fuck off.”
The annoying tight end perched his sneaker-clad feet on the coffee table, a move guaranteed to annoy Will, who swatted at the bright yellow shoes but missed, nearly falling off the sofa instead. Will unleashed another string of locker room prose.
“Somebody needs a Snickers bar.”
“I mean it, Brody.” Will’s lips weren’t working as well as he’d have liked because the words were slurred. “I don’t want you here. Go home.”
“No can do.”
“I don’t need a babysitter!” Will roared.
Brody just raised an eyebrow, gesturing to the stuffed Elmo doll Will clutched in his hand. He heaved it across the room, which in turn caused the entire loft to spin.
“Dude.” Brody employed his most solicitous tone, the same one he probably used to get half the women on the East Coast to slip off their panties for him. “You should probably eat something. Get something in your belly to soak up all that liquor. Let me call for take-out.” He reached for the bottle, but Will snatched it away, gripping it tightly on the sofa beside him.
Rubbing his hands through his hair, Brody placed both feet on the floor and leaned toward Will. If Will wanted to, he could have the pest by the throat in an instant. Only his hands weren’t working so well right now.
“Look, Will,” Brody said. “I came tonight because the guys want you to know we all stand behind you. No matter what you did or what you do tomorrow. We’ve got your back.”
Will snorted. “They didn’t need to send you over here to annoy me. They could have just told me at the training facility rather than talking behind my back.”
With an exasperated sigh, Brody shot to his feet. “Easier said than done when you’re acting like a surly shit all the time. No one wants to talk to you in person. I actually drew the short straw, asshole, and was rewarded with the honor of wasting my evening watching you slobber in your bourbon. But I’m out of here.”
He stepped around Owen’s swing, brushing over a stack of papers on top of the coffee table. Will’s reflexes were too slow and the separation agreement floated to the floor right in front of Brody’s obnoxious sneakers. He plucked it off the rug before Will could get to it.
“That was fast,” Brody said as he scanned the document.
“Mind your damn business.” Will reached for the paper, but Brody took a step back.
“I just thought the way things were going in that hometown of yours, you wouldn’t let her go without a fight.”
“I told you, Brody, it wasn’t that kind of marriage.”
“Could have fooled me.” Brody flicked the paper back toward Will. “Well, I guess now she’s fair game for the rest of us.”
Will wasn’t sure how he got across the room so quickly, but he had Brody pinned against the wall, his forearm to the little twerp’s throat, poised to crush his windpipe. Unfortunately, Brody wasn’t fighting back. Instead his eyes were bright with mischief.
“So I wasn’t wrong,” Brody taunted him. “You do love her.”
“Give me a reason to kill you,” Will hissed. “You’ve been a pain in my ass for too long, Brody Janik.”
Brody ignored him, enduring whatever pain Will inflicted and still managing to piss him off. “I picked up some pretty strong vibes that she was hot for you, too. So what did you do to screw it up?”
Will increased the pressure to Brody’s throat, but the idiot didn’t even flinch. “I didn’t do anything,” Will grunted. “She sold me out to her brother, the senator.”
“Are you sure about that?”
Will felt as if his head were going to explode, his skull was throbbing so hard. “Yes, I’m sure, you asshole. She admitted it.”
“Huh.”
That was it. He was going to strangle the little prick. Except the harder he pressed, the more relaxed Brody became.
“Did you ask her why?”
Did he ask her why? Will stepped back in aggravation, nearly tripping over a giant metal maze he’d bought for Owen to play with. Brody didn’t even reach for his neck, simply crossing his arms in front of his chest, tucking his long hands between his armpits. Will leaned his hips against the recliner to keep himself upright.