Page 19 of Romancing the Grump
The guys chuckle, and Dumbo shoves Tucker in the seat beside him, saying something that makes the guys closest to him laugh even harder.
I’m not sorry I can’t hear him from where I’m standing.
I don’t actually know anything about the videos Parker is planning, but based on what I’ve seen so far, leopard print feels well within the realm of possibility.
“Are we understood?” I say, propping one hand on my hip, my eyes moving over the team. When my eyes pass over Nathan, his gaze quickly darts away.
As I sit back down, I’m not even a little convinced the team will leave me alone, but soon, five minutes of peace and quiet turns into ten, then fifteen. Only then do I hear a scuffle and some whisper-shouts from behind me.
I turn just in time to see Nathan’s enormous formstanding in the middle of the aisle, one hand on Dominik’s shoulder as he pushes him back into his seat.
Nathan ambles forward and sits down beside me. I wait for him to ask me a legal question, or maybe say something about parking spaces, but he doesn’t say a word. He just crosses his arms over his chest and leans back, extending his feet into the aisle and closing his eyes.
Well. Okay, then.
I endure another forty-five seconds of silence—which is actually fifteen million hours long—before I finally ask, “What—no question from you?”
He cracks one eye open, revealing a sliver of deep blue, then grunts, shifts in his seat, and closes it again.
“Sorry, I don’t speakgrunt.Try again?”
For a second, I think he might smile. I feel a sudden craving for the sight. I’ve never seen Nathan Sanders smile, but something tells me it would be spectacular. With those cheekbones and those amazing full lips—I really should stop staring—I bet his entire face transforms.
He turns his head, showing me both of his eyes this time. Dark blue, fringed with thick brown lashes that are almost as long on the bottom as they are on top. It’s entirely unfair for him to have those lashes. Also unfair that noticing them only fuels the attraction I’m trying my best to fight.
“It was Dominik’s turn,” he says simply. He holds my gaze, his look saying so much more than his words.
Nathan is here so Dominik won’t be.
Understanding settles over me like a warm, cozy blanket. He’s doing this for me. He’sherefor me.
“I could have handled Dominik,” I say, though I’m anything but disappointed Nathan is here instead.
“I don’t doubt it,” he responds. “But just because you can doesn’t mean you should have to.”
I think of what Parker told me, about Dominik getting mouthy in the locker room, and how the guys roughed him up at practice as a result.This guyin particular.
Am I a strong, independent woman? Absolutely.
Does it feel amazing to know this man has made an effort to protect me? To demand better behavior from his teammate?Hell, yes.
“Thank you, Nathan,” I say softly.
He waves a dismissive hand. “I figured I owed you after the whole parking space thing.”
I smile. “Yeah. I’ve asked around. Apparently, I can park wherever I want.”
“True. You can,” Nathan says.
“So what was that? Are you a man set in his ways? Oh!” I turn sideways in my seat so I can face him. “Is it a superstition? A lot of athletes have those, right?”
He leans his head back and gives it a tiny shake, almost like he’s annoyed by the question. But then he looks over and holds my gaze, his perpetually serious expression giving me a little shiver. “I don’t care about the parking space. I was just…surprised to see you. And that’s what happened to come out of my mouth.”
Huh.Interesting.Despite his very grouchy greeting, Nathan Sanders definitely remembered me. And he wasn’t just surprised when he saw me. He wasflustered,too.
“So, what?” I ask, slightly emboldened by this new revelation. “Are you just going to sit here for the rest of the trip?”
He leans his head back and closes his eyes again, his arms resting on his chest like he doesn’t have a care in the world. “If I have to.”
