Page 38 of Players and Pages
"I like mine somewhere in the middle," I said. "Two medium rare, one well done, and one medium. Got it."
"Do you need help with anything else?" Griff asked.
"No, but I wish I’d thought to buy some extra chairs. Then we could hang out here and talk as the steaks cook," I told them.
Cy's face lit up and he ran back around to the front of the cabin.
"Where's he going?" I questioned, taking a peek at the steaks and pulling two off the fire to rest.
"You'll see," Jackson winked at me when I looked back at him for an explanation.
I just shrugged and Griff spoke up this time so I didn’t overthink it.
"How was work?" he asked.
"It was great. I'm lucky to have a job that I love and partners that are more like family," I told him truthfully. "How was camp and practice?"
"So much fun. I loved seeing the kids' eyes light up for the game and they were eager to learn more about it. Practice was an intense workout but it's what we signed up for," Griff said.
His entire face lit up, body relaxing like I’ve never seen it before. He loved baseball, I’d seen that, but with the kids there was no pressure.
"Yeah, I need to ice my knees. We need to get you a plunge tub," Cy said as he reappeared with his arms full of chairs. "We thought these would come in handy but didn't want to assume anything, either."
"That's really sweet of you," I smiled at him. It was great that they thought about my space and didn't try to overstep. I don’t know if I could have handled it if they were the type of alphas to bulldoze my life and demand my space. My pack respected it and that made me respect them even more. "What about a dip in thelake after dinner? Would that help with your knees? It’s cool this time of night."
"I bet so. Playing catcher is hard on the knees, but I love it," he admitted as he handed the other two a chair before setting his up next to mine.
"It's amazing that you guys get to do what you love, too,” I said softly, a smile ghosting over my lips. In my eyes, that was yet another sign this was meant to be.
"And what about you? Killing it with the bookstore and helping the town?" Jackson smirked at me.
"I had a smaller bookstore before. Taryn came into town and I knew her the moment she mentioned her boxes… the rest was history,” I explained. “It’s crazy how one chance meeting can change your life.”
“Crazy,” Cy grins at me. He was right, the man fell into my lap at a game. What more of a chance could there be?
I hopped up to check the steaks. The medium ones were ready to come off, though Jackson’s would be going for a bit longer.
No one said anything else until I took a seat.
"Hot and humble. How'd we get so lucky?" Griff asked as he brushed his hand down my arm, sending shivers down my spine.
My cheeks reddened a little. I wasn't used to being the one that was getting compliments and I didn't know what to say. Cy placed his hand over mine to calm me down, but all it did was raise my pulse.
"What if I opened the wine?" Griff asked at the perfect time.
I could use a drink… or three. God, why was I so awkward?
"Great, I need to get some clean plates for the steaks anyway," I said, latching onto the distraction he offered. I hopped up and headed inside with Griff on my heels.
He placed a hand on my back to help guide me inside which had my knees weak all over again.
So much for a distraction.
These guys were going to be the death of me. I could see the headlines now,Bookstore owner has a heart attack from just a single touch from her mate.That would make great reading material, but it would be just my luck.
"You okay?" he asked once we were inside. “You seem tense.”
I was tense. This entire thing was throwing me for a loop. I felt vulnerable. Seen. I didn’t know how to take it.
