Page 38 of Rushing Into Love

Bree watched her niece run for a moment, then turned back to me. “Great practice today, Coach,” she said, smiling. She smoothed her honey hair over her shoulder and I tried hard to focus on her words, not her lips I had the sudden urge to kiss.

I smiled back. “Thanks. Alex was great. She’s really picking the game up quick.”

Bree beamed, shrugging casually. “Yeah, she takes after her aunt.”

I laughed, moving in closer to her, ducking down and grabbing at a flag next to her foot. I couldn’t help but notice her legs, perfectly toned, her skin smooth; I wanted to reach out and touch her, but scooped a flag up instead, shoving it into the mesh bag.

“I can help with that,” Bree said, bending down and handing flags to me. We worked together, picking up cones and equipment.

“How’s the knee? Back to normal?” I asked, taking a cone from her.

“Yeah, pretty much. It’s a lot better.” Our hands brushed as she handed me another cone and a shock rippled through me. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be able to resist her, despite all that had happened and my brother’s warnings.

“That’s good. Listen—” I stopped collecting equipment and stepped in close to her. We were toe-to-toe and she looked up at me, her brow knitted with worry. I reached out, putting my hand lightly on her arm. She stood perfectly still and my breath hitched, squeezing my chest tight. I dropped my voice, moving even closer to her, catching the sweet scent of vanilla in her hair, the light triangle of freckles on her nose.

“I wanted to say thanks for doing that interview. It couldn’t have been easy.” I paused, looking away, took a deep breath, turned back to her. “I really appreciate it. It meant a lot.” I exhaled, swallowing hard.

She locked eyes with me and nodded. “You’re welcome,” she said in a soft voice. “The last thing I wanted was to hurt you or Charlie.”

She looked at me through her dark lashes and it took every ounce of self-control I possessed not to wrap her in my arms and pull her to me, kissing those perfect lips. Instead, I just nodded, saying in a gruff voice, “Well, thanks.”

Charlie and Alex ran up then, still tagging each other, giggling. I ruffled Charlie’s hair.

“Alright, kiddo, it’s a school night. Time to get you home for dinner. Say bye to Alex,” I said, tossing the equipment bag over my shoulder.

“Bye!” Charlie waved at her, then took off across the field towards the lot.

“Wait up!” I called after him, just as Alex took off behind him, running and laughing.

“Don’t run into the street!” Bree shouted after them, frantically waving her arm in the air.

I shook my head. “Kids. Charlie will stop at the street, don’t worry,” I assured Bree as we kept pace behind them. I resisted the urge to grab her hand and lace my fingers through hers, like I’d done in the park. Entirely too risky.

True to my word, Charlie and Alex pulled up short at the sidewalk, kicking a rock while they waited for us to catch up. Together we walked to the cars, each of us loading up our respective child.

“I’ll be right back, buddy,” I said to Charlie.

Jogging over to Bree’s car, I came up just as she shut Alex’s door.

“Oh, hey,” she said, startled when she spun around and saw me.

“Hey, I—” I shoved my hands into my pockets, shuffling nervously. “I wanted to say I’m sorry for how I acted at your sister’s. I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on you. I’m really sorry.” I swallowed hard, fighting the nerves zinging around in my stomach.

“It’s okay.” Bree leaned against the car, her eyes meeting mine. “I understand. You want to protect your family.” She shifted from foot to foot.

We stood there in silence for a moment longer, my heart racing. I wanted to kiss her so badly—more than I’d wanted anything in a long while—but that would be a very bad idea. I should take Quinn’s advice and just leave Bree alone. But there was something about her, something I hadn’t felt, well, ever.

“Anyway, thanks again,” I said. Then I leaned in, brushing my lips against her warm, smooth cheek. My lips burned with the contact, I wanted her so badly. I pulled myself away, jogging back to my car, careful not to turn back around. I wasn’t sure I could stop myself if I got close to her again and that wasn’t a risk I could afford to take right now.

11

Bree

All week long, I had a tough time thinking about anything other than Ryder McCauliffe. Not ideal when I sorely needed to concentrate on getting my career back on track, especially if I wanted a shot at winning the “Thirty Under Thirty” designation. I did my best to push all thoughts of him—and that kiss on the field—out of my mind, but it wasn’t easy.

I spent a good bit of time on my blog, answering readers’ questions about my latest post.Yes, I had dated Pax Jones. No, we weren’t secretly engaged. Yes, we were officially broken up. No, I wasn’t dating Ryder McCauliffe.

That last statement sent a pang through me. We weren’t dating, we shouldn’t date (as evidenced by the tabloid frenzy our kiss had created), but gah, I wanted to date him! He was sweet and loyal and great with kids—why did my life have to be so complicated? I just needed to find a low-key, normal guy and move on. But could I, after meeting Ryder? He was so beautiful, so perfect—it would be tough for the next guy to compete with that ideal. Mental head smack. Maybe coming to Peachtree Grove had been a terrible idea.

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