Page 3 of Rush

“Thank you. I do appreciate…” She trailed off mid-sentence when a commotion erupted somewhere behind her, pulling her attention. She turned in the booth to see what all the fuss was about.

And stilled.

Then her heart started thumping.

Holy shit. The man who had just walked into the pub was stunning.

It was hard not to notice how tall he was while standing a full head above the gathering crowd. Andripped. The guy’s t-shirt was stretched to its limits. His sharp cheekbones and strong jaw would make most women drool, but it was his eyes that grabbed Nora’s attention, their golden honey color contrasted beautifully with his darker skin tone and black close-cropped hair.

Her brow puckered as the small crowd grew larger to the point people were jockeying for position—it didn’t seem safe. The man must’ve agreed because a frown pulled at his full lips. His mouth moved as he said something she couldn’t quite make out before he bent at the waist, his biceps flexing when he came back up holding the cutest little girl. Her curls were in a pony that was probably meant to be positioned at the top of her head but was currently leaning precariously to the left. It screamed,my Daddy did my hair today, and it made Nora’s heart sigh. Because, of course, he was taken. Still, a woman could look, and she did just that as he jostled the little girl to his hip and murmured in her ear in a clear effort to soothe the fussing child.

The crowd parted after another word from him, and her heart picked up pace as he made his way in the direction of theirtable. She spun in her seat, catching Oz in the act of waving the guy over.

“I’m glad you could make it, man,” Oz said, turning to her, “Nora, I’d like to introduce you to my friend, Lincoln Scott. Linc, my sister, Nora.”

The most beautiful man she had ever seen reached out a large, well-defined hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Same here.” She’d barely gotten a grip on his hand when he was taking it back to jostle the squirming child who had gone from fussing to crying.

“I thought getting her out for a bit might help, but it seems I’ve made things worse,” Linc said apologetically to the table.

Oz slid over in the booth. “Do you want to sit down with her? Is she hungry? Emerson can whip her up something to eat.”

“No. She’s probably just tired. I better take her home. Maybe she’ll go down for a nap. Sorry to cut things short, but we’ll get together soon, yeah?”

“Yeah, man, just give me a call.”

“It was nice meeting you,” Nora spoke to Linc’s already retreating back.

Turning back around in her seat, she noticed a frown tugging at Oz’s features as he watched Linc leave. “I’m sorry about that. I promise he’s not usually so distracted.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Nora meant that. The guy looked like he had his hands full.

“I know it’s not an excuse but he’s going through a lot right now, and I know he’s really worried about Sophie.”

“Sophie?”

“Sorry. The little girl. She’s his niece.”

Nora didn’t try to hide her surprise. “Oh, I assumed she was Linc’s daughter.”

Oz shook his head. “No, she’s his sister’s little girl, but both her parents were killed in a car accident not that long ago. Linc’s got full custody, and it’s been a lot.”

Nora gasped. “My god. That’s horrible.”

“Yeah.” Oz dipped his head. “They’re still grieving. The situation has been a huge adjustment for both of them. Sophie hasn’t spoken a word since it happened. Emerson and I have been trying to help as much as we can, but we can only do so much.”

His phone chirped and he glanced at the screen. “Damn, it’s my coach. I need to take this but I’ll only be a minute.”

Nora distractedly nodded, tuning out Oz’s conversation as he spoke on the phone, her mind still on that poor little girl.

But more so on the intriguing man who’d been holding her.

Chapter Two

Shouldering the garage door open, Linc dragged himself into the house after a long and grueling photo shoot, endorsing the latest on-trend sneakers. Man, football was tough but it had nothing on posing for pictures under hot lights for hours on end. Give him a ball and a field any day of the week. If he was going to sweat, he wanted it to be from good, old-fashioned exertion.

Silence greeted him as he pocketed his keys and walked through the laundry room. He’d never thought he’d enjoy being a homeowner but he had to admit, it didn’t suck. The inspiration had struck knowing Sophie needed a backyard to play in. He’d thought it would be tough giving up his luxury apartment overlooking the water, but after a couple of months in his new home, he was finding he enjoyed his two-story, sprawling house in the upscale, gated community.

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