Page 66 of Worth the Risk

I want that every day until the day I die. This woman in my kitchen with the lights dimmed, five in the morning, and her eagerness to see me off so I have a good day.

“Hazards of dating a hot coach, his schedule kind of sucks.” She smirks at me, and her fingers play with the neckline of my t-shirt. “And I kind of owe him since I kept him up past his bedtime.”

Have mercy on me, because I love her sultry voice and would do anything to stop the clock and take her right now on the goddamn bench on the sidelines.

She must notice that my mind is thinking impure thoughts. Piper playfully nudges my other arm with her fist. “It’s okay that I’m here, right? I’m not a distraction?” Piper seems to wonder if she is approaching her attempt to surprise me all wrong.

It draws my attention back.

I offer my hand so she can climb over the railing. “Of course, you can be here. Besides, you are the right kind of distraction,” I admit.

She lands in front of me, and we look directly into one another’s eyes.

“Okay. I mean, I guess the cheerleading outfit can stay in the closet.” Now she is testing me, and I throw an arm around her shoulders to walk with her side by side.

“You’ll be here for a quick lunch? Or did I bore you already? How long have you been here?” I wonder.

“Maybe twenty minutes, and yes, I will keep watching until lunchtime, but then I’m heading back to the city.”

I sigh at the thought, as I hate that she isn’t a permanent feature at my home. I make a mental note that we need to streamline our timeline. I haven’t discussed it with her, but I don’t see why living together can’t be an item on our agenda. “I guess I’ll see you at a game soon?”

“I’ll do my best. My mind is kind of occupied as I need to go back to see my grandmother and hopefully try again with April, or at least see if she will speak to me.” I hear her disappointment.

“She’ll come around.”

Piper doesn’t answer, instead surveying the area. “I guess we have an audience.”

I tip my head to the side. “We are very much in public. But don’t worry about it, only people on the list are here, and the wives of players in a way follow a code, which is keep other people’s lives private.” I scan the area and indeed we have a few eyes on us.

She leans in and speaks low. “Coach Arrows is kind of hot. He seems demanding and bossy, wouldn’t want to get in his bad books.” Piper’s attempt to hide her giggle falls short. I give her raised brows, as I’m not sure where she is leading her thoughts. She is quick to clarify. “You’re more serious when you’re on the field. The opposite of laid-back Hudson in ridiculous aprons.”

“It’s been a rough day. I would like to think I’m more approachable to the guys, but today is brutal, they’re tiring quickly.”

Piper nods in understanding. Our gaze with one another is, however, broken when Kimberly waves and walks to us.

“Hey, Coach!” She widely smiles, clearly thrilled that I’m not alone.

I give her a short wave. “Hi there.” I notice Kimberly keeps her eyes set on Piper. “This is Piper who I mentioned. Piper, this is Kimberly who works on the events-and-marketing team.”

“Oh.” I hear a lack of enthusiasm, but Piper is a sport and offers a genuine smile. “Nice to meet you.”

Kimberly looks between us. “Wonderful to see you here, Piper. We were all a little bummed that we had to cancel the bachelor article on Hudson, then celebrated that Hudson under the love spell would also be a great spin. Someone finally tying him down, you know?” She rambles as she normally does around me.

“Whoa. I’m here. Filter it, Kimberly.”

Kimberly shakes her head. “Oh shit. I said that all out loud, didn’t I?”

Piper’s face doesn’t flinch as she waits to see where this conversation is going.

It takes a beat. “…But if you two are going social media official, could you maybe add a Chicago Winds theme somewhere in the photo?”

“For sure. We will absolutely take a photo of two Winds mugs with a comment that breakfast is better together.” Piper is completely sarcastic which makes me chortle under my breath.

“That would be wonderful.” Kimberly continues without picking up Piper’s undertone.

“Oh, I was joking.” Piper now looks amused.

Kimberly doesn’t stop as she looks at her tablet. “Wait… you’re the owner of Piper Ginger?” Piper nods proudly. “I love your stuff. Those pajama bottoms with moon prints are my favorite. I could live in those.”

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