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Same captivating brown eyes.

Same blonde hair that whipped around her last night on the dance floor as I watched from my table.

Same stunning body with those magnificent tits.

Fuck, she’s sexy. She’s not even trying. She just is.

I’m about to yank my cock out and rub out another one, but I remember I’m here for a reason.

I blow out a breath, and I scroll to the next post. It’s another carousel with several photos, another short caption. This one has sparkle emojis around the words “ORD > LAS,” which, based on the photos, I take to mean Chicago to Las Vegas, the airport codes for each.

I flip through those pictures, and I focus on the Vegas ones. She’s with a woman tagged as Everleigh, and there’s also a company in the tags. I click on Ever-Brand to see what comes up, and I find a company owned by Everleigh Bradley.

I drop the name into a search bar, and I discover that Ivy just started working for Ever-Brand here in Las Vegas.

Ever-Brand is a brand consultation company that specializes in aligning individuals and businesses with a brand identity.

My publicist, Ginny Stephens, takes care of that type of shit so I don’t need to worry about it. Do hockey players even have a brand? We play hockey. End of story. That’s my brand. Hockey boy.

But a meeting with this company could mean finding my way back into Ivy Bradley’s path.

I’m not sure if I’m doing it because I was so intrigued by her that I want to see her again or if it’s because of the bet with West. What I do know for sure is that I’m spending far more time than I should trying to convince myself that it’s just the bet.

We spoke a handful of words to each other, but she left me intrigued. She had no clue who I was.

I liked that about her, and I’m not sure why. Everyone knows who I am. Women typically flock to me. Even last night, I turned down a few offers before my eyes landed on Ivy.

But all I know about her is that she’s sexy as fuck and she’s a Bradley. That’s not enough to go on, yet I find myself filling out the interest form. It’s a Friday at nearly lunchtime. It’s not like I’m going to get an appointment for this afternoon, so I’m not even sure why I’m filling out the form. There are surely other ways to track her down. I mean…I did find her Instagram with little effort. I could slide into her DMs.

West could be saying the same thing, though. I need to figure out some way to get a leg up on him.

I submit it before I lose my nerve, and then I text Ginny.

Did I really just say I submit it before I lose my nerve? There’s nothing to be nervous about here. What the fuck is happening?

Me: Didn’t want to catch you off guard, but I just filled out an interest form for Ever-Brand, a brand consultation company. You’re doing a great job. This is for something personal.

She replies with a thanks, and then I wait.

CHAPTER 6: Ivy Bradley

Verdict

I’m sitting by Ainsley on the plane heading toward Chicago. Cradled in her arms is the sleeping Jack—Dex’s son and now her stepson.

Dex will be joining us on Tuesday for the verdict along with as many of my siblings that can make it. I keep saying I think the sentencing is more important to attend, but Madden insisted our father will need our support at the reading of the verdict. Something about optics and family support, which is why he also said we should try to attend on Monday if we can.

Football training camp is in full swing now, but Dex, Ford, and Liam—my brothers who all still play—think they’ll be able to duck out for the verdict. And Archer, the lone baseball player, said he’ll try to be there, too. Everleigh is on this flight, too, in the row in front of us, and Madden is already in Chicago.

I love when my entire family gets together. It’s rare, but over the last year, we’ve had several opportunities—some for happy occasions, like Ev’s wedding, and some for tragic ones, like our mother’s funeral.

I think the latter hit me harder than the rest of my siblings. I was the closest to her, after all. Everyone else moved out and moved on with their lives and their careers, but I was the youngest, still finishing college, still fully dependent on our parents. Still calling my mom every day even when it felt like she was too busy for me.

At least I don’t have any regrets when it comes to our relationship. Maybe she did, but now that she’s gone, I’ll never have the answer to that.

I just can’t believe my father did all the things they’re saying he did.

In any event, Ainsley and I will be staying with Everleigh at her place in Chicago for a little girls’ weekend. Ev is working on the plane, but she’s started delegating tasks. She’s building her own empire, and I’m actually excited to be a small part of it as an assistant for now. I’m shadowing Ev, learning the ropes, and doing my best to contribute, and I’m on track to be a junior strategist.