Page 23 of Defending her Heart

“Join us.” Walker punches Nash’s shoulder.

“Fine. Just for dinner, then I’m out.”

We say goodbye to Jackson and Taylor and depart in different directions to various parking lots.

By the time Rowan and I make it to Whiskey Buckle, the guys are already there. One of the perks of parking in the player lot.

A few of the other players sit around the long tables the waitstaff pushed together. Declan Anderson, the cutie quarterback who is the wet dream of every teenage girl and every woman from their twenties to a hundred and two, sits at the end telling a dirty joke.

True story. Last year, the nightly news interviewed residents at a local nursing home and all the old bitties were ass over tea kettle about the new recruit, Declan Anderson.

Derek Tibbets, the injured quarterback who Declan has semi-permanently replaced, and Brock Cannon, the sex-on-a-stick wide receiver, sit on either side of him, enthralled in his joke.

There are two open seats left on either side of Miles, no doubt planned for us.

“Ladies.” Miles pats the seats next to him when he spots us, then stands. “Set your fine asses right here.”

“Thanks Miles,” Rowan says as she drapes her purse over the back of the chair to his right and is immediately the center of Declan and Brock’s attention.

That leaves only one seat open, with Miles on one side and Nash on the other. Nash stands and pulls out the chair for me. Pretending like his presence doesn’t affect me at all—lies. Total lies—I slide into my seat.

“Thanks.”

“Mhm.”

Unlike Rowan’s side of the table, who all seem to be appreciative of the sweet angel’s presence, my side is sullen. Granted, Nash is at the very end and Walker and Riley sit across from us, all gooey eyed with each other.

With Miles’s attention on Rowan, I have the option of talking to his back, interrupting Walker and Riley, or making conversation with Nash. I decide on the least damaging to myego. Ironic. I know. Especially after what an ass he’d been to me earlier this week.

“How are your parents?” I fiddle with the hem of my jersey. Since when am I nervous talking to a guy?

It’s not that Nash is intimidating in an...intimidating way. It’s just that I have no idea where I stand with him. I thought we made headway the other morning in the conference room when he apologized for being a douche.

And Thursday evening was kind of nice as well. Since he hadn’t called or left a message at the school on Friday, I figured he didn’t need my services, which was confirmed when Beth and Joe came to pick up Paisley.

“Good.”

“Are they with Paisley tonight?”

“Of course.”

Geesh. He doesn’t need to sound so pompous about it. It wasn’t a stupid question. Or maybe it was. Nash had mentioned not trusting his daughter with anyone who doesn’t make her the center of their universe.

I twist in my seat and tilt my head to get a better look at him. He stares back at me, not intimidated by me either.

“You make fun of Miles for having a low IQ yet you aren’t able to speak in complete sentences?”

Again, his gaze drops to my chest. My nipples pucker and I’m thankful for the thick material to hide how pointy they are right now, begging to be rubbed, licked, and bitten by Nash.

Wait. Woah. Not by Nash. Just rubbed, licked, and bitten. Period. Not by the sullen single dad who has been anything but nice to me.

Nash lets out a deep sigh as if losing his patience with me—and I have to admit, it is fun to make him lose his patience. “My parents are feeling better, thank you. Paisley is sleeping at theirhouse tonight, hence why I’m able to come out for a few minutes with the guys.”

I try to hide my laughter by making an incredibly serious face. “A few minutes. Hmm. Time is almost up.” I nod over my shoulder. “Sorry you’re stuck at the end hanging out with a chick instead of the guys. Never knew myself to be a cockblock.”

He blinks at me slowly, again with the lack of amusement. This only makes my smile grow wider.

“Aw, come on.” I chuck his shoulder. “Lighten up a little.”

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