I looked over at Evan’s sly gray gaze and mischievous smile. “Of course. As long as I get to practice with needles.”

  Grinning widely, Kate glanced over at Evan. “Most definitely.”

  He snorted. “Keep messin’ with me and I’ll get Derek to take my place. He’s a whiny bitch when it comes to that shit. I thought I was doing you a favor, but I guess not.”

  “Oh, stop being a pain in the ass,” Kate said with a laugh. “I’ll put you down as her partner. And for the record, there won’t be any needles.” She drank the rest of her juice and stood. “Just lots of touching.”

  Gasping, I choked on my food while Lara cupped a hand over her mouth, trying to hide her smile. Cooper turned his head and Evan looked down at his plate, his shoulders shaking. I, however, was dying of embarrassment. As fast as I could, I finished my breakfast and rinsed my plate off in the sink. “Okay, now that I have a play-by-play of my day, I’m going to rush next door and finish getting ready. If you’ll excuse me.” I smiled and quickly skipped by Evan so he wouldn’t see how red my face was.

  Once out the door, I breathed a sigh of relief and slowed my pace. “Come on, Summer, stop acting like an idiot.”

  “Talking to yourself now?” Evan teased from behind.

  I stopped mid-step and closed my eyes. “Do you enjoy provoking me?”

  When he circled around me, I opened my eyes. “Not really, but I do love seeing you blush. I didn’t realize I had that effect on you.”

  “You seriously are full of yourself, aren’t you?” How could I be so stupid? There was no way in hell I could hide my face now. I didn’t want him to know how flustered he made me.

  Chuckling, he shook his head and kept his gray eyes solely on mine. “I’m really not. I was just hoping to hear your laugh again. I guess I didn’t get enough of it yesterday.”

  “So, this is you flirting with me? What do you expect to gain from that?”

  He took a step closer and smiled. “For starters, I was hoping to persuade you to come to my party after the game Saturday night.”

  My heart thumped wildly in my chest. I could feel the sweat pouring down my back. “Like what? A date?”

  “Only if you want it to be. I just figured I’d save you the trouble of having to ward off my teammates. I can name three of the guys who are interested in you. My threats to stop their advances can only go so far.”

  “What if I didn’t want to go to your party? I can easily just tell them I’m not interested.”

  He nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. “You could, but that doesn’t mean shit to these guys. They’ll keep hounding you until you give in. They love the chase.”

  “Just like you,” I retorted with a smile.

  “What can I say? I’m relentless when I want something.”

  I sucked in a breath and bit my lip. Did he really want me like that? The thought made everything inside of me tighten. It was too dangerous to think of him like that.

  “So are you trying to save me from your friends or are you really wanting me to join you? I know how you guys work, and I don’t want to be a part of some game you’re playing to get girls.”

  His grin faded, gaze hard. “I don’t play games, Summer. I may have in the past, but I would never do that to you. Have I ever given you the impression that you can’t trust me?”

  Sighing, I shook my head. I felt like such an idiot. “No, and I’m sorry for being presumptuous. It’s just…” I paused and bit down on the inside of my cheek.

  “It’s just what?” he asked in all seriousness.

  “It’s just this is all new to me. All I’ve ever known is Austin. Being around you makes me nervous. I’m not like the girls you’ve brought into the restaurant. If it’s sex you want, you can forget it. I’m not one of your groupies.” For a second there, I thought he was at a loss for words, but then he belted out laughter. Ouch, that hurt. “I’m glad I could amuse you.”

  When he straightened up, he took off his hat and ran his hands through his hair. And again, my heart sped up at the sight. Shit. “Damn, you are a fiery one. And just so we’re clear, I’m not trying to fuck you or trying to put another notch in my belt. Believe it or not, I’m actually interested in something else.”

  “What is that, exactly?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m hoping you can help me figure it out.” Grabbing my hand, he pulled me toward his truck. “Let’s go.”

  “Go? Go where?” I looked down at my empty hands. “I must have left my purse inside. I don’t even have my phone.”

  Lara showed up out of nowhere and tossed my bag in the air. Evan caught it and handed it to me. “Now you do,” Lara said. “Kate said that she and Cooper will be right behind you. I’ll see you this afternoon.” She glanced back and forth between Evan and me, grinning from ear to ear, before rushing back inside Kate’s house. I swear it felt like they were all up to something. It didn’t take a genius to figure it out.

  Evan opened the passenger-side door and waited patiently for me. A part of me wanted to jump right on in, but the other part was hesitant. I didn’t want to lead him on, and, more important, I didn’t want to be stupid. For the time being, I guess it didn’t hurt to have him as my protector. I’d rather be around him than be thrown to the wolves.

  As soon as he slid behind the wheel, he shut the door and backed us out of the driveway. “You better hope your arguing with me doesn’t make me late. We get reprimanded for that shit.”

  “What does the coach do if you’re late?” The last thing I wanted was for him to get in trouble because of me.

  “It all depends on what mood he’s in. Most of the time we have to stay late and do extra workouts. You don’t want to be responsible for that, now do you?”

  “No.” I looked at the clock on the dashboard. It was twenty till nine. “What time is considered late?”

  He looked at the clock, grinning. “We have five minutes left to get there.”

  “Five minutes!” I shouted. “We’re at least twenty minutes away.”

  “Well, then, I guess you’re going to be staying late with me since you’re late as well. You belong to the team for the next two weeks. I do believe that in the contract you signed you agreed you would abide by the team rules.”

  “You have got to be kidding me,” I groaned. “So what do I do now?”

  “I’m sure Lara already knows since she’s familiar with our policies, but it looks like you need to call her and tell her you’ll be late tonight. But don’t worry, I’ll get you there.”

  Judging by the wolfish smile on his face, he wasn’t upset about it at all. Grabbing my phone, I called Lara’s number and waited for her to pick up. “You’re evil, you know that?” I grumbled, shaking my head incredulously.

  “Sometimes you just have to break the rules. If you don’t, you’ll miss out on life.”

  Is that what I’d done for the past two years? Missed out on life?

  “Summer,” Lara said, answering the phone. “Are you okay?”

  I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. Was I okay? I was better than okay. I’d never felt so alive, excited, and scared all at one time. I felt free. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just wanted to tell you that I’m going to be late tonight. I’ll get to the restaurant as soon as I can.”

  Not waiting on a smart-ass reply, I hung up as soon as the words were out. Sometimes you just have to break the rules. I had a feeling I was about to break a ton of them…and I couldn’t wait.

  Chapter 6

  Evan

  If there was one thing I hated, it was lying to Summer. It wasn’t exactly a lie—it was more the inability to give her the full truth. It was true that Coach Joel would make me stay late, but it wasn’t true about him making her stay. The other day, I overheard Lara talking to Grayson about how she wished someone could bring her sister back. I remembered feeling the same way a few years ago when Kate’s boyfriend, Scott, overdosed on pain pills. She was devastated, and I had no clue if she’d be able to move on. Thankfully, she did, but I was by her side every step of the way. I just had to help her see past the grief. I wasn’t stupid enough to believe that the pain would ever go away, but I was glad she was able to move on with Cooper.

  In order to help Summer, I needed to help her see that there was a whole world of new adventures waiting for her. I don’t know what all she went through when her husband was killed, but I could only imagine. When we pulled up to the practice field, a group of the guys who were congregating out front noticed us. Summer blew out a nervous breath and closed her eyes.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I’m just waiting for the shit storm.”

  I shut off the truck and opened my door. “Shit storm? What are you talking about?”

  She pursed her lips and then nodded toward the crowd. “Either you’re blind or you didn’t notice the go-to-hell stare your ex just gave me when you parked.”

  Peering over at the crowd, I could see Lindsey glaring at us with her hands on her hips. I wanted to say fuck her and the fourteen thousand guys she let pound her ass, but I held back. “Don’t worry about her, sunshine. She used to look at Kate the same way. Besides, you’re not going to be anywhere near her today. I won’t let her bother you.”

  Grabbing her bag, Summer kept her eyes on the crowd and snorted. “I’m not worried about her bothering me, Evan. I’m afraid of what I’ll do if she does. I’ve kept my mouth shut around her for way too long. She’s horrible to my staff and she’s a shitty tipper. Unfortunately, I have to be civil when I’m at work.”

  After shutting my door, I joined her on the other side of my truck and grabbed her bag. “Well, then, I guess it’s a good thing you don’t have to be civil here.”

  She looked up at me and grinned. “You’re going to get me into so much trouble, Evan Townsend.”

  “And I have two weeks to make sure I do. Let’s go.”

  —

  “All right, pansies, you did well today,” Cooper shouted. Ever since he joined our team, we had been unstoppable. I was one of the best wide receivers in the league, but there was only so much we could do with the shitty quarterback we had before him. It was nice to actually win for a change.

  Derek tossed his helmet on the ground and slapped him on the shoulder. “Hell, yeah, we did. Super Bowl, here we come.”

  Coach Joel sauntered up with a huge grin on his face. “Not bad, boys. I think this is going to be a good season.” Before we could all disperse, he put his hand on my shoulder, stopping me. “Nice work today, son. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you run so fast down the field. You trying to impress someone?”

  And as if my thoughts betrayed me, I searched the field for that certain someone. She was laughing with Kate and Brianna, who was Derek’s girlfriend. Derek snuck up behind Brianna, and she squealed when he threw her over his shoulder and twirled her around. Summer smiled and then snuck a glance my way. Unintentionally, Joel stepped in my way, blocking my view of her.

  “Thanks for the compliment, Coach. Is that all you wanted to say?”

  Chuckling, he put his arm around my shoulder. “Actually, no.” He pointed to the opposite side of the field, where a woman stood talking on her phone. “Do you see that woman down there? She wants to interview you for a magazine article. Apparently, you’re a hot commodity in the Queen City.”

  “What about Cooper? He’s the star quarterback.” Everyone wanted the quarterbacks. That was all you’d see in the newspapers.

  He shrugged. “She asked for you.” He turned to walk away, then stopped, glancing at me over his shoulder. “Oh, and once you get done talking to her, you need to stay and work one-on-one with Gavin.”

  “Is it because I was late?”

  “Well, that, and Gavin needs to get up to your level. If anything were to happen to you, we’d be screwed. Just don’t get hurt.”

  “I don’t plan on it,” I called, walking backward toward the reporter. When she saw me approaching, she turned off her phone and slid it into her purse. She looked to be in her early thirties, with wavy, light brown hair, wearing a pair of tight black pants and a silky red top.

  She closed the distance and held out her hand. “Evan Townsend, it’s such a pleasure to finally meet you. I’m Bailey Morgan, journalist for Sports Unlimited.”

  I shook her hand and smiled. “Nice to meet you, Miss Morgan. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

  She bit her lip and opened her small black book. “I was wondering if I could schedule a meeting with you. I’m writing an article about the country’s sexiest bachelors in the sports world. You were one of the top picks in our polls.”

  “Really? Damn, I never would’ve thought that.”

  Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she laughed breathlessly. “Oh, yeah, you better believe it. The world wants you, especially the ladies. Are you interested?”

  “Hell, yeah. What all do you need from me?”

  “Oh, just some answers to a couple of questions,” she replied with a small shrug of her shoulders. “They might get kind of personal, but if you don’t want to answer them, you don’t have to. I just figured the ladies would want to know what kind of woman you want.”

  Over my shoulder, I looked at Summer, who was now standing with Jaxon in the middle of the field, a little too close. Quickly, I turned back to Bailey. “Are you free tonight?”

  Her smile brightened. “Yes, definitely. Where would you like to meet?”

  “Seven o’clock at the Carolina Tavern. It’s not far from here. I’ll meet you there.”

  “Great, I’ll see you then,” she called out as I turned and headed straight for the fifty-yard line. With my back to her, I waved my hand in the air and marched to my target.

  Jaxon was our kicker and was showing Summer how to kick the ball. When she tried, it didn’t go very far. Her laugh echoed in the air, and as she prepared to try again, Jaxon had his hands out, ready to put them on her waist.

  “I’m pretty sure that’s not the way you go about showing her how to kick the ball,” I said, almost growling the words. Jax quickly pulled back before Summer even noticed he was about to touch her. Sly bastard. His eyes narrowed, but then changed when Summer turned around.

  “Did you see how horrible that was?” she asked. “I think I have a better chance at running the ball than kicking it.”

  Jax bent down and picked up one of the balls. “I thought I’d teach her how to kick since I noticed you were a little busy talking to your friend over there,” he explained. “I didn’t want her to be alone since everyone else is leaving.”

  “That lady isn’t a friend; she’s a reporter. She asked if she could do an interview with me.”

  Summer’s eyes went wide. “Evan, that’s great. What’s it about?”

  “I know,” Jax interrupted. “She’s interviewing me, too. It’s something Sports Unlimited does every year. They pick the country’s top twenty-five sexiest athletes.”

  “And you both made it on the list?” she exclaimed. “That’s amazing.”

  “Yeah, but I’m pretty sure I was at the bottom. Evan, here, is the one all the ladies want. I swear, we can’t go anywhere without women throwing him their thongs.”

  Summer’s smile faded. “Wow, that’s pretty interesting. I guess that stuff happens all the time with you guys.”

  Jax smiled innocently. “Nope, only to Evan.”

  Clenching my teeth, I was about to go off on him when Gavin ran up and joined us. “Yo, Townsend, you about ready to get started? I’m ready to get the fuck out of here.” He threw me a ball and I clutched it tight.

  “Summer, do you mind waiting on me for a few minutes? I’ll be done soon and then I can take you home.”

  “Or I can just take you,” Jax offered.

  Summer glanced at us both and cleared her throat, obviously picking up on the tension. The last thing I wanted to do was fight with Jax in front of her. He’d pulled this same shit with Lindsey and ended up fucking her behind my back. The only problem with beating his ass was that he was our best kicker. I didn’t want to risk our team playing without him. Not to mention I’d get in a shit ton of trouble if I hurt him.

  Summer turned to Jax and smiled. “I’ll just wait on Evan, if you don’t mind. But you’re more than welcome to show me some of your moves while I wait.”

  Jax grinned widely and winked at me without her noticing. “I’d be happy to do that, darling. I have lots of skills.”

  If he so much as touched her, I was going to make sure he wasn’t capable of showing her any of those skills. Now I definitely regretted being late this morning.

  Chapter 7

  Summer

  The tension between Evan and Jax was palpable. There was something there that I didn’t know about. Judging by the way Evan gripped the steering wheel, I could tell he was still angry, even after busting Jax’s nose with the football. Evan and Gavin were off practicing when Jax got a little too close and put his hands on my waist. After that, it was game over. I saw the ball fly from Evan’s grasp before I could even open my mouth. Needless to say, I rushed to grab some towels and sat with Jax until his nose stopped bleeding. I told Evan to take me to my house. I really needed to take a shower before going to the restaurant, now that I was covered in blood.

  “Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?” I asked. “Why did you flip out on Jax when he touched me? He was just showing me how to turn my hips to kick the ball.”

  Blowing out an angry breath, he snorted darkly. “That’s not what he was doing, sunshine. He was trying to mess with you to fuck with me. We don’t exactly have the best history.”

  “Why not?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” he grumbled. “I just don’t like him touching you. What happened is in the past. I don’t even give a shit about it anymore.”

  “Then why are you still so angry?”

  He sighed. “I already told you. I don’t like him touching you. He’s not the kind of guy a girl like you should be with.”

  Now I was intrigued. “Oh, really? Then what kind of guy should I be with?”