Page 64 of The Perfect Pass
“You didn’t realize I was what?” he asked as he felt his mouth tug into a crooked grin.
She was just shy of ogling him, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy it. Oh, the irony. Who supposedly hated football and football players, again?
It took her a few seconds to find her words. She didn’t quite manage it until after she dragged her gaze upward, finally meeting his gaze. Then she swallowed, the quiet sound breaking the silence between them. “I didn’t realize you were here. You’re always up so early. I keep missing you before you leave for work.”
Bishop shimmied toward her, wiggling his stubby tail as he greeted her with a series of grunts.
“Hey there, handsome,” she said, bending down to runher fingertips over the soft folds of his jowls and pressing a smacking kiss to the top of his broad head.
A tug of something that felt an awful lot like envy pulled at Jackson’s chest. Super. He was jealous of a dog now. He was officially unrecognizable as the person he’d been before moving to Texas.
Calla stood and pulled the sash of her fuzzy bathrobe more tightly around her slender form. With her honey-colored hair piled into a messy bun on top of her head and loose strands framing her face, she looked more beautiful than anyone had a right to before six in the morning.
“You’ve really been keeping busy this week,” she said, tucking one of the stray tendrils behind her ear.
Other than regularly scheduled team practices, they’d barely seen each other all week.
Jackson reached into one of the kitchen cabinets for a mug, poured her a cup of coffee and added a generous dollop of the flavored creamer she loved so much. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around much. Things should calm down after Friday night.”
Assuming they won…
Jackson wasn’t even letting himself consider the alternative.
“Don’t apologize. Believe me, I get it.” She sipped her coffee, gaze turning tender as their eyes met over the rim of her cup. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m feeling pretty good, and so are the boys—thanks to you and your article. We haven’t had much time to talk about that, have we?” He plated his eggs and pushed them to the side. He’d been hoping all week for a moment alone with her, and he wasn’t about to waste it. “Actually, I havesomething for you. I’ve been carrying it around for days, waiting for the right time to give it to you.”
“Oh.” Her lips parted ever so slightly, and the anticipation in her gaze brought a pang to his chest.
He swallowed it down and reached into the pocket of his sweats for the trading card he’d kept on him, tucked away, ever since he’d found it. The edges of the card were soft and frayed with age. Jackson fumbled with it for a second, hesitating before he handed it to her.
She took it, and her entire face lit up with a smile when she realized what she was looking at. “It’s your rookie card from your first year with the Cyclones.”
He dragged a hand through his hair, bashful for one of the first times in his life. “Yeah. I…um…found it in your brother’s apartment.”
She stared at him, breath catching. “What?”
He nodded. “It was tucked between the pages of an empty journal on the bedside table. I wasn’t trying to snoop. I just—”
“I’m so glad you found this.” She pressed the trading card to her chest and beamed at him. “I can’t believe it.Yourrookie card…of all the ones that could’ve been there. I never knew he had this. He didn’t even collect football cards.”
“It’s crazy, right?” Jackson reached for the sash of her robe and gave it a gentle tug, pulling her closer.
“So crazy.” She grinned.
The air between them shifted. The delicious tension was still there, just like it always was, but also something new. Something tender. Did she have any idea how much she’d come to mean to him?
“I know this might sound nuts, but you finding this in Ethan’s apartment almost feels like…”
“A sign?” he said quietly.
He’d thought so, too, and Jackson wasn’t the type to look for signs. But the instant he’d seen the card, a stillness had come over him that he couldn’t quite explain. He’d whispered her brother’s name, half expecting him to answer.
He hadn’t—not audibly, anyway. But to Jackson, it had almost felt like a blessing. Like Ethan had somehow known he and Calla would meet one day, and he wanted them to understand that he approved…that whatever they had was meant to be.
“A sign.” Calla nodded, her lovely face lit with wonder. “Exactly.”
“I’m glad you like it,” he whispered, tugging her even closer as he let his gaze drop slowly, purposefully to her mouth.
