Page 82 of Trapped and Tackled

“I love her,” I admit.

I wait for him to swear. Instead, he grins. Clasps my shoulder. Gives it a little shake. “Then bring her for a fucking beer, man.”

I frown. “You’re serious?”

“Yeah,” Avery says. “If she’s your choice, celebrate it. Own it. Bring her around.”

“But Coach?—”

“You’re a man, Miller. And Leni’s an adult. Y’all are both capable of making your own decisions. And if Coach wanted to fuck over your career, he would have done so by now.”

“He threatened to bench me,” I remind him.

Avery shakes his head. “You’re our only kicker. Coach was just pissed and running his mouth.”

I sigh, knowing he’s right. But Coach’s outburst in front of the team still stings.

Avery smirks. “He’s coming around, Talon. He just needs some time.”

“Okay,” I say slowly, still processing. “I’ll bring Leni to Corks next time.”

“After we win our next home game,” Avery decides.

I snort. I like how he knows we’ll win. Like it’s a given. “Yeah, any time after her debutante ball on Friday. She’s stressed about it and spending all her time at the country club.”

“It’s gonna be great,” Avery says, waving a hand. “Those things follow a formula.”

“You’ve been?”

He dips his head, looking embarrassed. “I’m from here, remember?”

“Right. Um, what am I supposed to wear?” I wait for Avery to laugh but he doesn’t. He regards me for a second, understanding that this debutante ball is important to me because it’s important to Leni.

He whistles low. “It’s black tie, man. A black tuxedo, white shirt, black bow tie. See? A formula.”

“Damn,” I mutter. I didn’t realize it was so…formal. “All right, thanks for the heads-up.”

“It’s a good time though. You’ll have fun.” Avery grins. “But not too much fun. We fly to Kansas City the day after.”

“I won’t be late.”

“I know,” he mutters. “I’m just giving you shit. Next week then? Corks?” He points at me for confirmation.

“We’ll be there.”

Chapter 21

Leni

“Missed you,” I say the moment Talon walks through the door to his condo.

He grins and holds his arms open. “This is a nice surprise.”

“I’m glad I caught you.” I step into his embrace and kiss him hello.

His forehead wrinkles. “Today is…tea?”

“That was yesterday. Today is a luncheon.”

---