Page 32 of Scoring with the Coach's Daughter

She nods emphatically. I stand and Jake follows us to her room. She tosses the worn book into Jake’s stomach and leaps into her bed which is fit for a princess. I swear there are so many pink ruffles attached to her duvet. Not to mention the tiny purple lightbulbs that are strung at the top of the walls that create an inviting and soothing atmosphere. She snuggles under her pink sheets and pulls the covers up to her chin.

“She reminds me of my younger sister, Sarah,” Jake volunteers.

“I didn’t know you have a sister,” I state.

He nods. “She’s five years younger than me so I learned a lot about girls watching her grow up. I helped to raise her. My Dad wasn’t around much,outside of my games.”

I nod, and I figure it might explain why he’s so great with Ellie, and why he had to excel in sports. The only time he got attention from his father was when he was on the gridiron.

“Are you ready?” Jake asks Ellie.

“Yup!”

I sit in the chair closest to her queen bed and I lean over his shoulder and open the book to where the purple, felt bookmark lays in chapter ten.

“All right,” he says before reading.

Ellie yawns and when I touch Jake’s hand, he glances at Ellie who is now sleeping.

The sexual tension between us has my inner goddess puddling in my lacy panties because seeing him as a dad is the greatest turn-on.

“Jake, remember we have the beach tomorrow,” Ellie says.

“I thought you were asleep!” I exclaim.

“Almost!” she chirps.

“I’m on it!” Jake says, giving her a thumbs-up as I turn her light off and close the door.

The excitement of making love to Jake again is untenable so I grab his hand and we slip into my bedroom like bandits. I find myself wrapped up in Jake’s arms and we go at it like horny teenagers who have limited time to fuck their brains out.

His lips are all over mine, and it’s hot. My lips are plump under his as our make-out session continues, and his hands are in my hair. Jake makes everything else melt away. And then, he decides to tickle me. I squeal as I roll over the bed in an attempt to get away from him.

Of course, he caught me and I have to say, making love to him was surreal. As I lay in bed afterward, his arm draped over my waist, I wondered if I could push aside my fears and consider a future with him.

The idea terrifies me—but it also makes my heart race with a kind of hope I hadn’t felt in years.

What if I stopped running and started building something new with him? The thought excites and terrifies me, but it also stirs something deep inside—a flicker of hope that there can be more than just Ellie and me.

Then, I remember Maggie's words and I know she speaks the truth. I’ve been pushing men aside for years. When Jake leaves, he’s not only leaving Ellie, he’s also leaving me.

10

SAMANTHA

The sun streamsinto the room and I hear the shower shut off. Then, Jake walks into the bedroom, his hair slightly damp from the shower. Wearing that crooked grin, all my good intentions fly out the window like a fledging.

He’s sexy as hell and he leans over me with a towel wrapped around his waist. I brush a strand of hair from his forehead, and his eyes gaze into mine. He smiles as he pulls me into him and indulges me with a deep kiss.

He chuckles when I pull him back into bed. He tumbles over me and lazily drapes his arm across my waist. I remain still, savoring the quiet intimacy of him being next to me. It’s a rare kind of peace. It’s not like me to be content without moving.

“Morning,” he says his husky voice dripping with sex appeal.

“Morning,” I whisper back, glancing at the clock. “We should get up before Ellie decides to start a kitchen experiment. There is Birthday Bake pancake mix in the pantry, and she knows how to mix it!”

Jake groans as he rubs his hand over his face. “Knowingher, she’s probably halfway through an entire box of marshmallow cereal.”

With that in mind, I aggressively throw the blanket aside and jump out of bed. “Don’t joke about that. She’d do it.” My eyes are wide as I realize the sexy mom has turned into a Mother Hen in under five seconds.

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