Page 65 of Worth the Risk

Hudson walks to me and rubs my arm for comfort. “April will settle down, you’ll see.”

“It isn’t great. I feel really bad now.”

He points a finger at me. “Don’t.” He’s firm. “Give it time. Least she knows now, the hard part is over. We can go public without having to worry if she’s aware or not.”

“Maybe we should wait on that.”

An aggravated breath escapes his mouth. “I’m not going to go in a circle. Piper, I’m losing a little patience. I love that you care about my niece, but I’m in the picture now and need the same thought.”

It hits me in that moment. I watched my friend leave, and now I’m staring at the man who I think I’ve been waiting my whole life for. I may be losing a friend, but I’ve gained a man who loves me, and I don’t want to lose him too.

20

HUDSON

My arms stay firmly folded over my chest, and I know that my serious coach look is plastered across my face. But it’s almost time for a mini-break, and it’s the third time we have run this play, and in this moment, I’m calling bullshit on the third-time’s-the-charm theory.

“In the lines,” I call out, reminding my guys to focus instead of ending up a jumbled mess.

“We’re getting near the end of training camp; they’re a little exhausted, I guess,” Arnold pipes up.

I give him a stern look. “All the more reason they need to get it together, as we have a pre-season game next week.”

He gives me a look that informs me I should probably calm down.

I grumble loudly and roll my eyes. “Blow the whistle. Break time.” My tone is sharp, and I point my finger at him to make my stance clear. “Doesn’t mean I’m going to go easy in the afternoon practice. I want to speak to the offense coordinators tonight, and I want to add more names that will be off the roster.”

He throws his hands up. “I know, I know.”

While he blows the whistle, I look at my tablet to go over the morning’s playbook and the list of players that I will soon need to cut. This season it seems to be the rookies that have it more together, or who are at least more focused.

I don’t take much notice of the guys grabbing water and walking to the bleachers. This is normally when they quickly catch up with their respective others and confirm their lunch plans. It’s only when I hear two of my players mentioning the fresh blood on the sidelines with a whistle that I look up.

I’m ready to swipe those smirks off their faces because I don’t need them distracted, and someone has these two mid-twenty-year-olds looking all googly eyed. My head turns to get a glimpse of who has their attention.

The moment my eyes land on Piper in a pink summer dress, high-heeled strappy wedges, and sunglasses on her head, I’m torn inside. I’m completely elated that she’s here because I’ve invited her more times than I can count. But the other half of me feels feral, and I’m quick to head in her direction.

“You both may want to study those drills some more,” I mention to the boys in passing, taking slight pleasure in the fact that my role can make their life miserable if needed.

My grin spreads as Piper leans over the railing from the seats with a soft smile, as if she isn’t quite sure how she should behave.

“Hi.” She nibbles her bottom lip.

“You’ve finally come… here. I mean, we know you come often.”

Her mouth drops open. “Hudson, anyone can you hear you say that.” She looks around to check that we’re in the clear.

I chuckle as I hop on the step and lean up and over the railing to kiss her. My hand touches her upper arm, and to the bystanders, I’m giving a respectable kiss, but if only they knew my tongue inside her mouth is giving Piper a preview of later when I plan on re-enacting some dirty-as-fuck positions.

Pulling away gently, my eyes connect with her own and they sparkle in a way.

Piper attempts to give me a smile, but it’s weak. For the most part, I know she’s happy. We laugh and have good evenings together, but I know my niece giving her the silent treatment weighs on Piper’s mind. Still, she made the effort to come and see me at practice, which I know is out of her comfort zone.

“I had to check you’re still alive after this morning’s smoothie attempt. I just thought that if I added apple this time and nixed the cabbage.” She shrugs her shoulder.

A stunted laugh escapes me because yesterday she attempted to make me a green protein shake, and it was a little brutal on the tastebuds. This morning she changed the recipe, and the apple did fuck all.

“It tasted fine,” I lie. “Thank you for waking up early this morning, every morning really.”

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