Page 81 of Against The Rules

“There’s this girl,” I say slowly.

Harrison and Darius exchange a look.

“No shit, Ty, spit it out,” Darius says.

“I care about her a lot. I think she cares about me. But it’s… complicated.” Kind of like trying to explain this at team dinner.

“Complicated how?” Daniel asks.

I blow out a breath, pushing my food around on my plate. “It just is.”

“Man, what kind of advice do you expect us to give when you can’t even tell us the whole situation?” Darius blows out an annoyed breath.

“You’re worried you like her more than she likes you, and you want to figure out how to get her where you are,” Daniel sums up.

I blink. “Yeah. Yeah, exactly.”

“Women need to feel loved. You have to tell them, show them, spend time with them. Don’t smother her, but don’t let her forget about how you feel, either. If she’s special to you, then you make her feel special. Understand?” Daniel takes another bite, chewing, waiting for me to respond.

I nod. I think I do. I mean, today was a good start, right?

“How do I do that when we’re gone all the time?”

“That’s the trick question right there,” Darius says. “God bless the internet. There are a million different ways you can make your woman feel loved even when you’re not there. My wife loves when I surprise her with sweet stuff. I mean, literally sweet stuff. Cookie delivery. Cupcakes. Real cake. Shit like that. But don’t just get her whatever, you know, figure out what she likes and try to make it happen for her. Little things matter, too. Love notes.” He waggles a hand at me. “Unless the word loooove is too scary for our team playboy.”

“He’s clearly not a playboy anymore,” Daniel tells him, smiling. “Whoever this girl is, she’s important to you, right?”

I nod again because she is. She absolutely is. Savannah… I don’t want to go back to how life was before her. I don’t want to go back to who I was before her. Even with things… strange between us, complicated, for sure—she fills a hole in my life I didn’t even know I had.

I want to make her as happy as she makes me.

“Then make her feel important,” Daniel says. “Now eat your food and get your mind on the game tomorrow.” He claps me on the shoulder. “I need the playboy receiver ready to make some… plays.”

I laugh, shaking my head. “God, do you just start telling dad jokes once you’re a member of the AARP, or do they send them to you in the mail?”

Darius bursts out laughing, then shakes his fork at me. “Watch it, kid.”

Daniel Harrison just laughs, then puts his AirPod back in, and the conversation’s over.

What more is there to say?

If I want to completely win Savannah over, I need to make sure she knows how important she is to me. How much I care about her, how much I want her in my life, even a crazy one like this.

I can do that. Grinning, I open up my phone and do a quick search, then find exactly what I’m looking for by the time I’m done eating.

It should be there by Tuesday afternoon, and I can’t wait to hear what she thinks about it.

CHAPTER 34

SAVANNAH

Kelsey and I finally agreed to meet for a late lunch or early dinner at a cute Mediterranean restaurant in Philly.

My palms sweat, and I swipe them on the legs of my jumpsuit before taking a deep breath and walking through the door to the hostess stand. I can do this. I don’t have to say anything I don’t want to, I don’t have to go on the record.

Maybe Kelsey will be a great person to have in my corner when I officially launch my new business. It’s always good to have connections.

Still, my heart beats furiously as I force a smile on my face. “Hi, I’m here to meet Kelsey Cole? I think she’s here already.”

---