Page 30 of Just a Football Star

“I say we need to be mature about this situation,” I say. “Nothing physical can happen between us in this house. Deal?” I’m kidding around, acting super serious when my mind is going wild with thoughts I can’t be having.

She stares at me, and then her line of vision slips to the bed behind us. She snorts. “Dream on, buddy. Nothing physicalwillever happen between us.”

Her smile is undiluted, challenging me.

“Then it won’t hurt to shake on it,” I say. “Just to be sure.”

“Fine. Let’s shake on it. And that will be theonlyphysical contact we’ll have here in this house.”

When my hand grasps hers, I take my time, loving the feel of her skin on mine. It’s warm and tender, so sweet. Her green eyes take in my face and then her gaze lands on our hands. Maybe she feels something too?

This handshake represents a business deal—one that’s designed to help me keep our best interests in mind.

We let go and her lips part in a smile.

Here’s to hoping I can survive that smile. Here’s to hoping I don’t lose my head with her around.

Chapter 15

Oakley

When I wake up in the morning, it takes me a few seconds to remember where I am. I clutch the blankets and sheets closer to my neck as it all comes back. There was no room in the inn for me last night, which means I slept in Alec’s cabin that, instead of being scary and broken down—I was so afraid there’d be mice—is nice, cozy, and inviting.

Except my room is open to the great room downstairs, and even though it’s not like I know anything about his bedroom, this all feels so intimate. Comfortable and not awkward like I worried it would be, but still. It’s intimate and I can’t do intimate with anyone right now, especially Alec.

Spending the week getting all my affairs in order and moving out brought up the starkness of my life with the Wolves and with Brandt. I wonder if this is a delayed reaction to the shock at finding out my life wasn’t what it seemed to be. That the people I trusted turned out to be untrustworthy, dangerous even. Was it normal of me to run from the situation? To get out, numb out on candy and entertain thoughts of a hot guy you want to help rehabilitate, then pack up your life, and have weird, weird feelings about any and all my choices up to this point?

Is this a thing?

I don’t miss Brandt. I’m just glad I hadn’t wasted too much of my life with him before discovering the truth. Bullet dodged there!

Something broke inside me when I saw the bank statements and discovered what he’d done. He’d stolen from me, and then tried to twist things around to it being my fault. The drinking had become a big problem, too. And when I went to his dad for help, he did the same thing. I felt dismissed and manipulated.

So I ran. And here I am.

And I like it. I don’t want to be part of a couple. I like being on my own. I’m happy to have my freedoms now.

I sit up and swing my legs to hang over the bed. Stretching my arms to the beamed ceiling, I turn my gaze to the windows and see the lake. It was beautiful when I first came to Longdale, but now? It’s even more wild from this new angle up above. I can see it almost in its entirety, with the waves lapping the sand. There’s a light skim of dew on the trees.

There are noises in the kitchen and then a bump and a soft curse word under Alec’s breath. I bite away a giggle. I hear eggs being cracked into a bowl and the sizzle of a breakfast meat.

Please let it be bacon.

I shower and once I’m out, the scent in the air confirms itisbacon. I get dressed in t-shirt and sweatpants and add a light layer of mascara and lip gloss in less than fifteen minutes. I creep down the wooden stairs lightly, careful not to make too much noise.

As I reach the bottom of the stairs, I see him, still in the kitchen. He’s arranging blueberries on a small tray. The way his mouth is twisted to one side, his brow sinking low over his eyes as he concentrates, is adorable. He’s wearing a blue and white striped apron, but I can still see parts of his tight t-shirt against his upper arms. He keeps saying he’s out of shape, that he’s gotten soft in the past nine months he’s spent recovering. But I don’t see any sign of that. What would it do to me to have seen him at his prime last fall?

And okay, I did see him at his prime, but only from a distance, and only for a matter of days before his injury. Besides, the trainers for the defensive players never worked with the running backs. Pity.

For a woman who made her living working with athletes, you’d think a fit athlete wouldn’t do anything for me. And it usually doesn’t. But Alec is different. And come on, he made me bacon for Heaven’s sake. Of course I’m going to feel a sense of attraction.

He lifts his head and sees me, giving me a wide smile.

My whole body breaks out in goosebumps. In that moment, my mind tumbles and floats. It’s irrevocable. I’m down a path that I might never come back up from.

“Good morning,” he says warmly.

Returning his smile, I straighten my t-shirt over the waistband of my sweatpants. “It is now. You made bacon.” I join him at the island, sit on a stool, and he hands me a plate.

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