Page 21 of Love Game

“Hey, just let me get this out, then we can hit the locker rooms and go to our separate corners. Okay?”

He snapped his jaw shut so hard she heard his teeth click.

“I’m sorry. I was… Well, I guess it’s pretty obvious that I’m a competitive person,” she began.

“It’s pretty obvious that you’re an egomaniac…”

He crossed his arms over his chest, and she couldn’t help noticing what nice arms they were. Muscular but not bulked up. Silky, dark hair on his forearms. Thick wrists. Broad palms and long fingers. Quarterback hands. Hands that knew how to put just the right spin—

“…and you’re threatened by me.”

Just like that, her sanity returned. Blinking away the sheer audacity of his statement, she scoffed. “Threatened? By what? Your stellar coaching record?”

“By the fact that I’m even standing here.”

Tipping her head down, she gave him the same look she gave her freshmen when they couldn’t believe she wouldn’t be bumping an all-American senior just to start them. “You do realize we had a football coach before you got here, right?”

“You don’t like the fact that the media knows my name better than yours.”

“I’m not sure I’d be as proud of the reason as you seem to be.”

“I’m not the one struggling with my pride here.” His voice dropped enough to make his point strike home. “I got on a treadmill for a quick run. You’re the one who turned it into a scene.”

“And I was trying to apologize for that,” she retorted.

He nodded once. “Apology accepted. But just so we’re straight, I’m not apologizing to you or anyone else for taking this job. I’m good at what I do. And if you doubt that for even one second, I suggest you take a good look around, Coach.” He waved one graceful hand toward the crowded weight room. “My guys have every right to be here, and so do I.”

He turned and pushed his way into the men’s locker room. Frustrated and flustered, Kate tugged at the neckline of her tank as she blasted a gust of air at the hair that escaped her straggling ponytail.

She looked up just in time to see a player holding a phone pointed directly at them. Her suspicions solidified when he attempted to hide behind a circuit machine half his size, but there was not much she could do if he had snapped a picture. The phone was his. They were in a common area. But she was a coach, and that did give her some leeway in dealing with student athletes.

Her mouth pulled into a grim line, she started toward him. “Okay, big guy, it looks like you need a hobby, so you’re going for a run.” She snagged the sleeve of his athletic department T-shirt and dragged him out into the open. “And guess what? I’m going to be your head cheerleader.”

Coach Jenkins just smirked and shook his head as she hauled the hulking young man along behind her. She shoved the kid toward a treadmill, then stepped around to the other side so she could stare straight at him as he ran. “Tell you what else.” She held her hand out palm up and wiggled her fingers. “Seeing as how I’m so nice and all, I’ll even hold on to your phone for you.”

Chapter 6

“This one?” Millie yanked a low-cut, leopard-print top from a rack and held it up for Kate’s verdict.

Kate huffed a laugh. “For me or for you?”

Red lips pursed, Millie tilted her head as she inspected the blouse. “You’re right. Mine.”

Hangers clicked as she added the top to the clothing pile draped over her arm. Kate glanced down at the skirt dangling from her fingers. She should have insisted on the wine first. A little dutch courage to get her through what Millie kept calling the “day-to-evening” department. God, she hated shopping.

“May I help you ladies?”

Kate automatically shook her head. “We’re just look—”

With the agility of a point guard, Millie stepped into the space between Kate and the salesclerk. “We’re looking for date outfits for my warrior princess here.”

Kate glared, but Millie was undeterred.

“I must warn you, she hasn’t had lunch yet, and the guy she’s seeing has a stick up his ass and, frankly, isn’t worth the wax. But she wants to look pretty, and I want her to have what she wants.” Millie tossed a playful glance in Kate’s direction. “What do you have in super-tall, I’m-too-sexy-for-you?”

The saleswoman threw her head back and laughed, but the genuine amusement in it made it hard for Kate to take offense. “I’m Julie, and I just love customers like you.”

She beamed at Millie, then plucked the skirt from Kate’s hand and studied it as if she were drawing up the play for the game-winning shot. Kate closed her eyes, teetering between hope and humiliation. A gentle hand on her arm forced her to open them again, but instead of seeing a fashionista’s disdain, Kate caught the sparkle of challenge in Julie’s eyes. Game on.

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