When Danny returned, he grabbed the woman's hand and dragged her to our table. We sat in silence and waited for him to explain. "So... How do you know her?" I asked. Our group looked at him with anticipation, and he sighed. Clearly, the woman was oblivious to Danny's existence.

"I saw her a few times, and she'd be doing a kind thing every time I saw her. Deeds. I got interested in her when I saw her helping kids, elders, and even animals. One day, I was in a café, and you entered," he said, then looked at her. "I saw you drinking coffee, with a black eye and a bruise on your cheek. I felt angry and didn't know why, so I thought maybe she had fallen? But according to today's events... you didn't fall. The douche was abusing you. And when I saw him hitting you, I wanted to jump right in, but it took a minute for me to realize the severity of the situation. My body froze, but my mind yelled at me to do something. I'm Danny, by the way," he explained calmly.

She had a slight blush, but none of the guys noticed. Girls are way smarter; he was smitten by her, and the boys didn't even realize it.

The woman smiled, then cleared her throat. "Thank you, guys, so much. You saved me from him. I'm Sandy, and I'm a twenty-four-year-old accountant. Nice to meet you all." We all introduced ourselves, and when she knew that Gavin was Danny's baby, she smiled, but it was a sad smile.

I had to whisper that Danny was a widower. She nodded in understanding. Sandy was beautiful, with short, blonde hair and dark-blue eyes; her smile was sweet. I guess Danny hit the jackpot!

~~~

When the waitress came with the mouthwatering dessert, I got pretty excited. The waitress handed everyone their orders; I was the last to get mine. She bit her lip and winked as she passed me my sweet. I just froze in my place and did not move. "Here you go, beautiful," she flirted and put the order in front of me on the table. Well, that's awkward! Everyone heard her and looked at me. My brothers didn't know what to do. Hell, I did not know what to do.

"Thanks," I said with a smile. I was not disgusted that the waitress was a lesbian — that was their lifestyle, and I respected that, but I was hella straight. I like boys!

I looked at my food and saw no fork. Great. "Um, can I get a fork, please?" I requested in a quiet tone. She nodded and went back inside. "What should I do?" I asked as I looked at Lee. She worked with her — I assumed — so she knew how to deal with her. Latoya shrugged.

"How should I know? She's a sweet girl, so if you just tell her nicely that you're not interested, she'd understand," she clarified, and I nodded. I hoped she realized I was an ugly hag while she was in the kitchen. I did not want to hurt her feelings.

A few seconds later, the waitress came back with a fork. "Here you go. Do you need anything else?" she asked, emphasizing the word anything, and I sighed.

"No, thank you so much," I replied with an apologetic smile. I hoped that she got it and that I was not interested. She nodded, then placed her hand on my hand and left a small piece of paper.

"My pleasure," she said, with a glint in her eyes. I looked at my hand. It was her phone number.

I had to put an end to it. "Um, I appreciate your interest in me, but I'm straight," I countered honestly, then handed her the paper. "I'm sorry."

To my surprise, her smile grew wider. "So? I was straight but look at me now. Can't you even give it a chance?" she insisted, and I felt trapped. I did not know what to do, and my brothers were thinking with nervous expressions. They'd deal with him in seconds if it was a boy, but this time... it was a girl. As I was about to reject her offer, Jude stood up and walked toward me. He held my hand and looked at the waitress.

"Okay, I've watched enough," he began, and I waited for his following words. My brothers were too caught up in what he was about to say to realize we were holding hands. Our fingers intertwined, and I liked it. "She cannot try and go out with you because I'm her boyfriend. So, please respect that and let us eat our desserts in peace!" he exclaimed in a firm tone, and all eyes gazed at him. My brothers were fuming but did not say anything because they wanted me to be free.

Her face fell, and she nodded. "Oh, I'm sorry. Why didn't you say so?" she asked, and I shrugged.

"I didn't want to hurt your feelings. You are a great girl, and I'm sure you'll find your one soon," I replied, and she smiled and walked away.

Arlo cleared his throat. "That was smart, Jude, I give you that. But for now, let go of my baby sister," he said, and my brothers nodded, then released me out of Jude's grip. I felt the warmth leave my hand, and I looked at Jude. He raised his hands up in surrender while looking at me.

"Don't worry, man," he said, then smiled at me. I smiled back.

"Thank you, Jude," I said, then looked at my dessert, suddenly feeling warm. I was blushing, but I did not know why. Jess nudged my shoulder, and I gave her the' What?' look.

She smirked and wiggled her eyebrows. I just rolled my eyes and focused on my sweet. Jude and I will never be together. First, he did not like me that way, and second, even if he did, my brothers would not allow it.

"Oh yeah, Danny... I've been meaning to ask —" I began and grabbed his attention. I wanted to change the subject.

"Yes, Lexi?" he said.

"How come you are a basketball coach at twenty-seven instead of actually playing?" I asked him what had been on my mind since I saw him on the playing field with Theo. All of us waited for his reply while chewing on our desserts.

"Well, I was a player. I used to play for a well-known team back in California. I played for ten years until one day, two years ago, I got into a fight with an opponent who cursed our female coach after we beat him in a game. The fight turned pretty ugly, and I injured my shank and ripped an artery. That was the end of my playing career, and that's why I'm coaching your brother's team now. I applied for the job before I moved. When my wife died, I had to make it work for the sake of Gavin and my love for this sport," he explained, then looked at us as he finished. We were shocked at the facts and did not talk for a few minutes. "It's not a big deal now. I have the best team ever," he added. I got up and hugged him.

"I'm glad you're okay now, and you will get them far. I saw today that you are one hell of a coach!"