Page 37 of Second Down Darling

She’s embarrassed about shopping at the Goodwill. I overheard her talking on the phone last night. She should know I don’t care about brands. With two older brothers, I wore hand-me-downs my entire childhood and then handed them down to my youngestbro.

“Asher will conk out after his bath.” I consider everything she did today. Shit. “Should you be running around like this so soon after you got released from thehospital?”

“I’m fine, Jake. I’m still doing my lung treatments. I get a little out of breath sometimes and cough, but I have my asthma inhaler in case I’m out andabout.”

Roxy slings an arm around Charlotte. “I can testify that she didn’t overdoit.”

I nod, but I’m still concerned. “If I gave you too many shifts this week, let meknow.”

I move into the kitchen to check the schedule. Miss Louisa is still watching Asher in the mornings, but Yvette is covering tomorrow afternoon, and Buffy is doing the next day. At least that gives Charlotte a few daysoff.

Roxy and Charlie are whispering back and forth before they burst into laughter. Roxy holds her ribs and points to me. “You can practice onJake!”

“Practice what?” I ask as I get a glass of water. I’m taking a long drink when Roxy says, “Flirting,” making mechoke.

When I can breathe again, I clear my throat. “I’m sorry. Did you sayflirting?”

“I did. Our girl here is taking charge of her dating life, and she needs to practiceflirting.”

I think back to a few days ago. “Is that what Babcock meant when he visited you in thehospital?”

Charlotte turns an adorable shade of pink and looks down at her lap when shenods.

Roxy pops off the couch and gives me a teasing look. “Our girl needs to go out on dates, so I plan to set her up. Isn’t that great? Half the baseball team is in love with her, so it shouldn’t be aproblem.”

That’s right. They had anotherphotoshoot.

The thought of Charlie dating some douchebag baseball player makes my chesttighten.

Roxy is right, though. Why wouldn’t any red-blooded man want to date Charlotte? She’s always been a pretty girl, but now? She’s beautiful.Maybe because she’s not quite so painfully shy anymore. All of that photography has probably given her confidence, and she makes more eye contact than she usedto.

God, her eyes. Charlotte’s are almost crystal blue with little flecks of amber. I’ve always thought they werestunning.

I find myself staring at her as she chats with Roxy, and Iwonder…

It’s something I haven’t let myself dwell on, but I’m curious—does Charlottestillhave feelings for me? The question is a Pandora’s box, because even if she does, there’s nothing I can do about it. Dakota would murder us both. She might be in Los Angeles, but she has a powerful online presence, and the last thing I need before the draft is Dakota flinging about our dirty laundryonline.

Wake up, idiot. The girls are literally planning dates right in your face. There’s youranswer.

Gotta say, I’m strangely disappointed to be back in the friendzone.

Roxy gathers her things. “Plus, if she practices flirting, it’ll help her with her new job at ToastyBuns.”

“That’s the place where the girls run around on roller skates, right?” I ask.And really fucking small skirts.The guys love that burger joint. “Kinda like Soniccarhops?”

“Exactly. They blast classic rock and the girls wear these cute little outfits and deliver food on rollerskates.”

That sounds dangerous. “Charlie, do you evenskate?”

She shrugs. “How hard can itbe?”

Roxy chuckles. “I brought her a pair so she can practice. She doesn’t start for two weeks because I know she needs time torecuperate.”

When Roxy leaves, I get Asher bathed and ready for bed. When my son is asleep, I slip out of bed and close the door. I find Charlotte doing thedishes.

“Hey, you don’t need to dothose.”

“I don’t mind. I want to help out to thank you for letting me crash here. I swear it won’t beforever.”

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