Page 29 of The Wedding Deal
It didn’t go far, although it was definitely one of her better throws. Never mind that she’d given up on the sports thing as soon as they stopped torturing her with it in PE class.
“Good,” he said, and he retrieved the ball and had her try again.
“I’m not going to be throwing in the game, though, right?” Her second toss was better but still rather short in the yardage department. “I’d rather catch. Or better yet, just hold out my hands like I’m going to catch it while you throw to other people.”
“Let’s see what we’ve got to work with.” Lance brushed the sand off the pigskin and fitted his pinky and ring finger between the laces. “I’ll start with a gentle toss.”
She lifted her arms, ducked her head, and squinted one eye closed. At theare you kidding meexpression he gave her, she decided she should’ve closed both eyes—that way she wouldn’t have to see the incredulity.
“Eyes open, chin up. I’ll be gentle, I promise. All you’ve got to do is clamp your hands around the ball when it nears.”
“Sure, it sounds easy, but—”
He tossed it, even though she still wasn’t ready, and she automatically closed her hands around the football. It wobbled, but she managed to catch it with the help of her boobs.Ouch.
“See, I told you it didn’t take any effort to catch my passes.” The cockiness in his grin kicked it up a notch. “I’m just that good.” He blew off his fingertips like one would blow the smoke off a gun after firing it, then he waggled them in a hand-it-over gesture. “Toss it back and we’ll keep playing catch as we move farther and farther apart, until we figure out your range. If we have time, we’ll practice a few basic plays.”
…
Lance backed up, the football gripped tightly in his right hand as he surveyed the field—or beach, as it were. Charlotte had missed the two passes he’d thrown at her earlier in the game and had beat herself up after each time. He could probably wait for Jack, one of Mitch’s teammates, and the other groomsmen on their team to run his route. She was wide open, though, and if she’d catch just one pass, it’d do wonders for her confidence. He cared more about that than winning the game, in spite of bets and bragging rights with his brother.
Crazy, but somehow true. He couldn’t think about why exactly right now, nor did he want to.
Their eyes locked, and Charlotte’s practically screameddon’t throw it to me, her eyebrows punctuating the statement.
Just trust me, you’ve got this.
He lobbed the ball the five or so yards toward her, a gentle pass with extra arch to give her time to get under it.
She winced but kept her eyes open, her hands reached for the ball, and…
“I caught it!” Her mouth hung open, and she gaped at the ball like it was a foreign object she’d never laid eyes on before.
“Run,” he shouted, and she seemed to realize they were in the middle of a game. She jolted into motion, and he rushed forward to help block as she sprinted toward the goal line.
Since there were no refs to call holding and all he cared about was getting Charlotte into the end zone, he fisted a handful of his brother’s best friend’s shirt, holding him at bay. Hunter managed to gain a step on him, dipped his shoulder, and shoved him back.
A few more steps and Charlotte would score.
Lance wasn’t going to get to his brother in time to block, but as Mitch dived for her, she completed a beautiful dodge, pivot, and weave move he definitely hadn’t taught her.
She crossed the line and slowly spun to face him, shock still written across her pretty face. She glanced at the ball in her hands again. Then she spiked it into the sand and started the cutest celebratory dance he’d ever seen.
“Oh yeah, oh yeah.” Her hips shimmied back and forth, her booty getting in on the action. “How much longer do I have till I get called for unsportsmanlike conduct?”
“Another sixty seconds at least,” he said—mostly because he liked watching her dance. Liked the huge grin on her face and the way it made her cheeks stand out.
Warmth and pride mingled inside his chest.
The rest of their team came forward to offer high fives, including the bride-to-be, who joined in with her own set of celebratory dance moves. When they’d been forming teams and Stacy had said she wanted to be on his team as opposed to Mitch’s, Lance had said, “Seems like that might cause a fight.”
She’d replied with, “That’s the point. Then we can have makeup sex after.”
Lance’s gaze had met Charlotte’s across the huddle, his plan to roll his eyes and share a joke about it with her.Couples, am I right?But then he’d accidentally noticed her curves in that tiny tank top and thought about how long it’d been since he’d had sex, and suddenly he was ready to start a fight to find a way to make up. Only he knew that wouldn’t be the end result with Charlotte.
After doling out high fives to the rest of the team, she was standing in front of him once again. It was his turn to properly congratulate her on the touchdown, only in this instance, he didn’t know what was proper.
She surprised him by throwing her arms around his neck. “Thank you. I didn’t want you to throw it to me, but that was really fun. Probably the only touchdown I’ll ever make, too, so I don’t even care if the other team gave it to me.”
