Page 15 of Rushing Into Love

“Did ya, now?” Quinn narrowed his eyes, sizing up the situation.

“Yeah. She’s gonna meet us here in a few minutes.”

Quinn whistled, soft and low. “So…little brother is getting back into the game.” The quarterback for Peachtree Grove threw a long pass straight down the middle. Another first down.

“Maybe. Just taking it slow, real casual,” I said, knocking the rest of my beer back. My stomach tightened and I realized I was nervous.

“Can’t wait to meet her. She must be something to have you even considering the possibility.” He lifted up his hand, signaling another round to Macy.

“Do me a favor,” I said, turning to him and accepting the drink.

“Sure, what?” Quinn looked at me, his grey eyes serious.

“Don’t bring up Shayna.”

“Deal. I’ll stick to embarrassing childhood stories,” he teased, elbowing me in the ribs.

I rolled my eyes. “Try to avoid those as well. I’d like to get laid again sometime this century,” I joked.

“Somehow I doubt that’s a real problem,” Quinn said, giving me a once-over and snorting. “Hey, is that her?” He tilted his head in the direction of the door, where Bree was causing quite the stir. It wasn’t very often we had visitors to Peachtree Grove, especially beautiful ones like her.

I rose from my seat, crossing the room to greet her. Several guys were checking her out, but they went back to their business when they caught sight of me.Solid choice, fellas.

“Hey, neat place,” she said politely. The Rowdy was a lot of things, but ‘neat’ wasn’t really one of them.

I laughed. “Yeah, sure. Thanks for coming.” I stepped in closer to her, resting my hand lightly on the small of her back, guiding her towards the bar. She smelled really good, like fresh vanilla.

“My brother, Quinn, is here, too, I hope you don’t mind. I forgot I promised I’d grab a quick drink with him,” I said as we made our way to the bar.

“Oh,” she said, a little taken aback. “I’m meeting the family. I wasn’t really prepared for that yet.” She laughed nervously.

“Don’t worry, he’s mostly harmless.”

At the bar, I motioned to my brother. “Quinn, Bree. Bree, this is my older, less-good-looking brother, Quinn.”

Quinn stood up, giving Bree a not-so-subtle once over. He grinned at her, shaking her hand. “Nice to meet you, Bree. What brings you to our corner of the world? And more importantly, can I get you a drink?” He waved Macy over. She looked considerably less enthusiastic now that Bree had joined our little group.

“What’s it gonna be, sweetheart?” she asked Bree.

“Uh, white wine, Chardonnay, I guess.” I hadn’t taken her for a beer drinker; my instincts were clearly still on point.

Macy grabbed an open bottle of white from behind the bar, poured a healthy serving for Bree, and slid it across the counter. “Enjoy.”

“Thanks.” Bree’s sincerity got at least a half-smile out of Macy, who nodded at her, then moved down the bar, sensing a bigger tip.

Quinn moved over, making room for Bree. “So, Peachtree Grove…” Quinn raised his eyebrows at Bree.

“I’m visiting my sister,” she explained politely. “And my niece, Alex. She’s playing for your brother.”

“Oh yes,” Quinn chuckled. “I heard all about ‘the gi-irl’ on the team.” He imitated Charlie perfectly.

“It may have been a bit of a stir in our house, having a girl on the team,” I laughed. “But he’ll get over it.”

Bree smiled, took a sip of her wine. “Well, for what it’s worth, Alex is really excited to be on the team and she’s quite athletic. I don’t think she’ll let you down.” She smiled at me.

“Oh, I’m not worried about that. I’ve already drawn some plays up for her. She’s gonna be our secret weapon.” I winked at Bree as the entire bar erupted into cheers, hooting, hollering, and high-fiving each other. Peachtree Grove had scored a touchdown; tie score, 16-16.

It was halftime now, so more people crowded the bar, trying to order drinks. Bree leaned in close to me; heat radiated off her body and I caught a whiff of her flowery shampoo when her hair brushed against my arm. She looked really good tonight, in a navy deep-V blouse with tight white jeans and sandals. California casual.

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