Page 38 of Love in Overtime

“She didn’t need to”—he pauses and shoves his hands in his pockets— “She was mostly concerned about how things are going here.”

I clear my throat. “What did you say?”

He shrugs. “I told her about the team … and that you and I were working well together.”

I exhale sharply. I guess that’s one way to describe our status.

“I didn’t tell her about last night,” he continues.

“That’s all right. It’s your decision if you want to tell anyone … or not.”

Maybe Cooper doesn’t want people to know, even though we basically kissed in front of the whole town.

“I want to know what you think,” he says, reaching for my hand. “I don’t want to put you in a bad situation. Myreputation is already subpar at best. If I weren’t good at this sport, people wouldn’t care what I do.”

I slide closer to him and place my hands on his shoulders then move my fingers over his well-defined deltoids. “It’s now my job to change that.”

Cooper cups my waist and looks into my eyes. “While I doubt the opinions of me will ever change, if there’s anyone who could achieve that, it’s you.”

“I’m up for the challenge,” I whisper before moving even closer to him. In one move Cooper effortlessly lifts me off the ground, our lips perfectly in sync.

“We should probably go,” Cooper murmurs between kisses.

“We should,” I agree.

It takes quite a few seconds for us to separate and catch our breath. And I can’t think of a more perfect start to the evening.

The Glass Olive is divine. It’s surprisingly elegant and quaint—and the intoxicating aroma of garlic, basil and oregano makes my mouth water. As soon as the server places the breadbasket on the table, I dig in without any shame. I guess I should’ve had lunch instead of googling answers to my life questions.

“Hungry?” Cooper asks, giving me an amused look.

“Yes. Don’t judge me,” I say covering my mouth as I chew.

He holds up his hands. “No judgment. I’mfascinated by you.”

I swallow my bread. “Fascinated? I’m not sure how to take that after stuffing my face.”

“It’s a good thing,” he assures me. “You’re very self-aware. Many women wouldn’t indulge in a basket of bread.”

I sigh. “I wasn’t always this way. It’s taken some work to get to this point.”

He nods. “You’ve taken over for Estelle and haven’t missed a beat. She was right about you. I won’t tell her that though because I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“How did she break the news about me?” I ask.

He takes a sip of water. “She told me she was finally ready to retire, and she had met the perfect person to take her place. I believe her exact words were that you were a gem who wouldn’t take my crap.”

I laugh. “I love it.”

“I trust Estelle completely, so I didn’t even consider trying to find someone on my own.”

The server returns to our table with an extensive wine list and rambles off a list of chef’s specials. I order a glass of pinot noir and Cooper orders a Coke. Apparently, he doesn’t drink when he’s prepping for a game.

“This restaurant is really nice,” I say after the server leaves to fetch our drinks.

He looks around. “It is. I didn’t expect this town to have a place like this.”

“Do you go out a lot back in Tennessee?”

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