Page 3 of Rushing Into Love

She nodded up at him with wide blue eyes.

“I’m her aunt.” I gave a little wave and stepped forward to clear up any misunderstanding.

The coach turned towards me and my breath caught in my throat.

Coach was drop-dead gorgeous.

He reached his hand out to me and I shook it, noting he had very large, strong hands. He was super tall, probably 6’3”, and had deep marine eyes with long, dark lashes. Dark hair, cropped short, and he looked like he’d be ripped.

“Does she go by Alex or Alexa?”

“What?”

“Your niece. Does she prefer Alex or Alexa?” he asked, nodding in her direction.

“Oh. Um, Alex. Or Alexa. I think she likes Alexa.” My voice trailed off as my cheeks burned.Really, Bree? You don’t even know which name your niece prefers?

“I like Alex,” Alexa piped up. “Call me Alex.”

Coach grinned over at Alexa, showing off perfectly straight, white teeth. A dentist’s dream.

“I’m Ryder, by the way. Ryder McCauliffe.” He smiled at me and I noticed he had very cute dimples and a nice square jaw. This man was fine.

“I’m Bree. Bree Hart. Alexa’s, er, Alex’s aunt,” I corrected myself, shoving my hands into my back pockets.Super awkward. “I’m gonna just stand over here,” I motioned to the group of mingling parents, chatting with each other and ignoring me. “And watch.”

“Sounds good, Bree.” He grinned at me again as I backed away toward the sideline, torn between wanting to crawl into a hole and die or watch this beautiful man coach Pee Wee football.

Coach Ryder turned towards the Pee Wees. “Does everyone have their mouthguards?” Eleven kids nodded yes, while Alexa shot me a pointed look.

“Oh yes, I have that!” I fumbled in my bag, produced the mouthguard.

Running back out to the field, I handed it to my niece, willing myself not to trip or otherwise further embarrass myself. I felt Ryder’s eyes on me. Swiveling back around, I wished fervently for the safety of the sidelines. I was clearly out of my league here.

“Okay, so guys, how many of you have played football before?” Coach Ryder asked the kids. All twelve hands shot up in excitement.

“Great! We’re gonna be a great team then. And on my team—your team—we all have to follow a couple rules. My number one rule is be safe. How do you think we can do that?”

I filed that away; I’d have to tell my sister as soon as we got home. Safety first here at Pee Wee football!

Oh shoot, I never called her to tell her we got to the field. Grabbing my phone, I tapped out a quick text:

Made it. We’re all good. And Coach is HOT.

I hit send and listened to Ryder talk about rule number two, be kind and show good sportsmanship.

Brooklyn: What’s coach’s name?

Bree: Ryder McCauliffe

Brooklyn: THE Ryder McCauliffe?

Bree: ????

Brooklyn: You know. Former NFL Wide Receiver for the Dallas Cowboys. High school hotshot. Played at UGA, then drafted by Dallas. First round.

Bree: Um, obvi I did NOT know or maybe would have taken more than like 10 secs to get ready

Brooklyn: You’re definitely calling things off with Pax, right?

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