Page 6 of Never Say Never

The next couple of hours pass in a blur as I lose myself in creating an itinerary for my trip: a few days in Rome, a farm stay in Tuscany, a train to Venice. When I realize my stomach is grumbling, I close the lid of my laptop and quickly heat up some leftovers from the fridge before heading over to Aunt Daisy’s.

It's after 8:00 p.m. by the time I step outside of my apartment building into the cool fall night air. I’m wearing jeans and a cropped T-shirt and am thankful that I threw on a baggy cardigan before heading out. Arriving at the Collins’ 15 minutes later, I find Aunt Daisy’s package tucked beside the beautiful potted Hydrangeas that sit on the doorstep. I scoop it up and then twist the key in the lock and walk through the large front doors of the stone mansion. I stride through the foyer with its vaulted ceiling and gigantic chandelier toward the back of the house, dropping my keys and the package on the kitchen counter.

Grabbing a glass from the cupboard, I move to the sink and turn on the tap—and then freeze when the sliding glass door opens and Tucker walks into the kitchen from the backyard. He’s wearing just a pair of swim shorts—bare chest, water dripping from his slicked back brown hair down his muscular torso. Our eyes meet and it only takes two seconds for the tension between us to skyrocket. The two of us are in this kitchen every Sunday night for dinner with our families. So why does this feel so awkward, being here alone together?

We stare at each other in silence for a moment before I clear my throat and attempt to appear as if my pulse isn’t racing beneath my skin. Tucker runs one hand through his dark, wet hair as his other hand trails down his chest to the shorts he’s wearing deliciously low on his hips. The sight of his sculpted abs, his tattoos and the dusting of hair leading into his shorts sends awave of lust through me. I swallow hard. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Tucker shirtless, and in that time, he’s filled out. My eyes wander to his torso, where droplets of water trail slowly down his smooth, golden skin, and I fight the urge to reach out and touch him.

I hate to admit it, but Tucker Collins is complete perfection.

“What are you doing here?” I blurt out, regaining the ability to speak.

“What amIdoing here? What areyoudoing here? Last time I checked this ismyparents’ house.”

Needing to move, to put distance between us and stop standing here and staring at him, I walk back to the counter where I dropped my keys. “Your parents called and asked me to stop by to bring in a package that was delivered today.” There’s a beat of silence, the tension so thick it’s suffocating.

I can’t read the look in his eyes. Is he upset that I’m here? Annoyed?

“So, what are you doing here? It’s Saturday night. Shouldn’t you be out with one of the girls from your fan club?”

“I was supposed to have a date,” Tucker says, and jealousy sinks its sharp claws into me.

“What happened? She cancelled? Came to her senses?” I ask, attempting to sound unaffected.

His eyes search mine as if he’s trying to chip away at me, to read the thoughts in my head. “Wasn’t feeling it so I called it off.”

It’s only when my chest falls, and I exhale that I realize I was holding my breath. “Oh.”

It’s all I can get out before he’s crossing the kitchen, eating up the space between us. “Since we’re both here, what do you say we stay and watch a movie? It’ll be like old times.”

My skin heats.

When I don’t answer, his chin tips downward and he looks at me through thick, dark eyelashes. “Come on, Daisy. It’ll be fun.”

Tucker

My eyes areall over the only girl who has ever been able to make my heart stop in my chest. The one girl I shouldnotbe having filthy thoughts about. But Daisy, damn her, is looking fucking amazing in fitted jeans and a crop top that shows off just the right amount of smooth, golden skin. Her ass looks incredible in those jeans, and it has my cock stirring. I’ve imagined fucking that ass a time or two. My fingers ache to touch her. Her body is perfection, long and lean from years of running. As I drink her in, I try to convince myself that I am not attracted to her one tiny bit. I’m used to being around pretty girls. But it’s pointless. No matter how hard I try to get her out of my head, in the end it’s always Daisy.

Daisy Carter is a triple threat— smart, funny, and ridiculously sexy. And I’m not the only one who has noticed. For as long as I can remember, she’s turned heads. Back when we were in school together, guys would follow her around like love-sick puppies, hoping they had a shot with her. I’d see them eyeing her in class or offering to carry her books for her; I’d hear the whispers and cat calls that she did her best to ignore. Daisy was always polite to them—that’s just who she is—but I made sure those assholes never got too close. Any guy who tried to make a move on her had to deal with me. My dad drilled it into my head that it was up to me to look out for Daisy, to protect her from guys who only wanted one thing: to get in her pants. Fuck that. It wasn’t going to happen as long as I was around. If Daisy was off-limits to yours truly then she was off-limits to every other guy at Reed Point High School too.

Daisy is still standing a couple of feet away from me, and I take it as a good sign that she hasn’t already bolted out of the house. Having her so close, her blue-green eyes on me, is all ittakes to send a bolt of lust right through me. It would be so easy to kiss her right now. I take a half step back, hoping the space will help calm my racing pulse.

My eyes drop to the Amazon package sitting on the counter.Of course,my parents would call Daisy when they needed a favor. Why would they ask their own son? I shake my head at the ridiculousness of it all. Do they really think I’m not capable of driving the 10 minutes to their house to pick up a box off their doorstep? I feel my jaw clench, frustration rising. I don’t know why it surprises me.

My dad has never made it a secret that he thinks I’m a screw-up. He’s your classic Type A over-achiever. After earning a degree in accounting, he joined his father’s firm, where he spent almost a decade working his way up the ladder. Eventually, my grandpa retired, and my dad stepped in as CEO. He always assumed I would follow in his footsteps, but I had zero interest in joining the family business. My dream had always been to play professional football, but when an injury made that impossible, I knew I wanted to do the next best thing: coach. When I told my dad that I planned to get a degree in exercise science and then teach and coach football at the college level, he lost it.

After graduating from college, I accepted a job at Reed Point University and my dad refused to speak to me for months. He just couldn’t comprehend that being happy and fulfilled matters more to me than making millions. Now I’m the athletic director at the school and head coach of the football team. I have an epic job that I enjoy going to every day. I love seeing my athletes meet their potential. I love the smell of the turf. I love constantly learning and sharing my passion for the sport. I get that my dad had other plans for me, but he has to understand that those are his dreams and not mine.

Daisy is leaning against the counter, looking at me like she’s trying to figure me out.

“So, what do you say, Daisy? We can watchWedding Crasherslike old times. It was always your favorite. I think you made me watch that stupid movie 40 times with you.”

“Yeah, I guess I did,” she says with a laugh. “I was a little obsessed.”

“I’m pretty sure I still know every word thanks to you.”

She blinks, her big eyes locked on mine. “I didn’t think you were paying attention.”

I’ve gotten used to Daisy having her guard up around me, to the constant sarcastic banter between us, but right now the vulnerable look in her eyes makes the air in the room feel thick. My mouth turns cottony. It’s so hard not to tell her that I see everything when it comes to her. I always have. But that would be dangerous and would only lead to trouble.

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