Before I can explain, Blake does it for me. “Zoey hurt her ankle. It’s not bad, but she needs to rest. You, come help me get her situated in bed. You, get me an ice pack or a bag of frozen veggies, something to keep the swelling down.”

Just like that, the entire vibe changes. The true alpha male has spoken and he’s not threatening my safety, so Jacob and Angelo hop to follow Blake’s order. It’s actually annoying as hell because they never do what I ask them to do, as evidenced by their filthy shoes on my coffee table even though I’ve told them dozens of times that it’s disgusting.

“This way,” Angelo tells Blake, leading the charge toward the back of the single-wide. It’s not like there are lots of options. The living room and kitchen are in the middle with the front door, and the bedrooms are on either end. Even the bedrooms are nearly identical. The only thing that might make mine the ‘master’ bedroom is that mine’s just past the bathroom, which means I don’t have to walk as far if I have to pee in the middle of the night.

Entering, Angelo looks excited as hell to be in my bedroom for the first time and way too happy to follow Blake’s instructions and pull back my blankets and arrange pillows to prop my ankle up.

“Want me to get your pajamas?” Angelo offers.

Blake shoots him a look promising death before I can reply that I’d rather have just about anyone else in the world go through my underwear drawer rather than Angelo, and I can’t hold back the laugh that escapes when Blake grits out, “No. That’s everything.”

Jacob appears with a bag of frozen peas, his eyes bouncing from Blake to Angelo to me. I roll my eyes in answer to his unasked question. If he really wants to know, I’ll explain the silent dick measuring contest later.

“Thanks,” I tell Jacob as Blake takes the peas and gently places them on my ankle. I wince, more at the surprise of cold against my skin than actual pain.

“You good, Zo?” Blake says gently. I nod stoically.

Jacob clears his throat and mumbles, “Hey, Zoey, I think we’ll go over to Angelo’s for the night. Let me know when it’s safe to come home.”

Angelo looks like he’s about to argue, but my mouth gets there first. “What? No! You don’t have to leave.”

Jacob’s answering smirk is too knowing for my taste as he gets comfortable with the idea that I’ve brought someone home, even if it’s not like that at all.