Page 81 of Set Play

Jumping in the shower, I scrub away the stress of yesterday, especially the sight of my Chispita in that hospital bed. Thinking of her tempts more enjoyable thoughts to surface, but I shove them down. No way will I indulge those thoughts when she’s in the hospital and I’m at her brother’s place. Gross.

Once I feel human again, I get dressed and walk out into the kitchen area, drying my hair with the towel as I go. The shirt is definitely too small; the fabric strains with the movement. At least the pants fit.

“Morning,” I say cheerfully. “Thank you for the clothes and letting me crash here.”

Standing at the stove, Henri doesn’t even look up at my entrance. “No problem. Keep the clothes, by the way. I didn’t think you’d want to borrow boxers, so I imagine you’re going commando, and I don’t want those back after they’ve touched your dick.”

I bark out a laugh. Not where I thought this conversation would go first thing in the morning. He finally spares me a glance over his shoulder, checking to make sure the clothes fit, I guess. “Plus, you’ve already stretched out the shirt now.”

“Not my fault my chest muscles are bigger than yours. You’re slacking off in the gym, Clément.”

He flips me off and goes back to making breakfast. “Hope a Denver omelet works for you because that’s what I’m making. Mugs are up there. Help yourself to coffee.” He points to the cabinet to his left.

Moving around him, I look in the sizzling pan, nearly drooling at the smell of eggs, ham, bell peppers, onions, and cheese. “Oh, that’s a Denver omelet? Yeah, that’s perfect. I never knew that was what it was called.”

He snorts and plates the omelet, sliding it onto the counter in front of a stool. His plate is already sitting next to the stove, so I sit and dig in, not bothering to wait. Shit, this is good.

We eat in silence, but for once it’s friendly. Swallowing the last bite of my omelet and chasing it with coffee, I look at my rival. “We need to sort out our shit. It hurts Élise. She feels caught between us.”

I hope this will get us going on the right path.

“Yeah…I guess we do. Especially if you meant it when you said you care about her. So, talk.”

“Well, for starters, why did you react so poorly when I tried to talk to you? The first time, I mean. Or we can start with why you said that I dragged your family into this when it was the other way around.”

He jerks back as if I slapped him. “What are you talking about? I never said anything about your family. I knew how pissed I was about you bringing my family into it, so why would I do that to you?”

“Henri,” I sigh, setting down my mug, “that doesn’t make any sense. There are dozens of articles that quote you saying very unflattering things about my sister or my sister-in-law. I promise you, if you google it right now, you won’t find a single article where I’ve said one word about your family until the Élise thing started.”

He stays quiet, contemplating the information I’ve just given him, then abruptly slams his mug down and storms out. I hang my head in defeat, but it doesn’t stay there long because he stomps back in a minute later. When I look up, Henri is sitting at the bar next to me with an open laptop.

“Okay, let’s figure shit out. We can’t both be this confident in our stories. It doesn’t make fucking sense.”

Chapter 46

Élise

“I’ll bet you a toonie that the guys come in with matching bruises,” I joke with Niamh while a nurse removes the IV from my arm. Fucking finally! I can’t wait to get out of this place.

Niamh moves around the room, gathering the few items she brought with her. “What? Hell no. One, I don’t even have one of those bloody two-dollar coins. And two, with the way your brother was acting, I’m much more worried about one of them killing the other. Your brother has more resources up here, but Mateo seems pretty scrappy. Who do you think would win in that battle?”

“Niamh, I definitely don’t want to think about the two of them trying to kill one another. But…if I had to choose.” I pause and pretend to think on it. I’m about to give my answer when raucous male laughter derails my train of thought. “Was that…”

Niamh and I share a confused glance, but she’s already nodding. “I think so.”

The door to my room swings open to reveal Mateo and Henri laughing together. Like they are old friends even though they literally hated each other yesterday. I’m so flabbergasted by the sight that all I can do is stare at them. Niamh, however, doesn’t have the same issue as she blurts, “What the hell? When you two left, you were two seconds away from fighting.”

An indecipherable look passes between the guys, but Henri steps up to answer the banshee. “Well, we thought about that, but neither of us wanted to hear it from our coaches, so we talked and came to an agreement.”

“An agreement about…?”

This time when they answer her, it is in unison, which completely freaks me out.

“We’re ending our rivalry. For good.”

That finally breaks the hold confusion has on my tongue. “I’m sorry. I must be concussed after all. I swear you two just said you’re going to end your rivalry. AND that you said it at the same time like a cringy couple.”

Everyone laughs except me. I’m not joking. My eyes jump from person to person, trying to piece together an explanation that makes even a little sense. When the guys register my lack of laughter, they both fall quiet, suddenly contemplative.