Page 19 of Love on the Line

“I don’t know.” Liar. She knew damn well why. Every time she looked at him her body revved and sentences failed to form right. It’s like he gave her a brain freeze. Maybe if they discussed something less personal, she wouldn’t fumble over words. She’d come prepared. “I looked up some football trivia.”

“You did?”

“Yes.” She straightened. “Did you know the huddle was first used in the eighteen-nineties by a deaf quarterback?”

Wyatt jerked his head back. “Really?”

“Uh huh. He was worried the other team could interpret his hand signals, so he brought his teammates into a huddle to call plays.”

“No kidding?”

“I didn’t research the trivia, but that came up on a football facts site.” She ticked off the next one, since heck, he seemed impressed and interested. Not bored at all. “And kickers used to get way more respect. Touchdowns were worth four points and field goals, five.”

He grinned and shook his head. “I didn’t know that either.”

Sally returned with the cinnamon buns and set them on the table. “Can I get you anything else?”

Wyatt pointed to Anne’s cup. “You want more tea?”

“I’m good, thanks.”

Sally nodded and left.

Anne gaped at the huge roll covered in rich, creamy icing. The heavenly scent of cinnamon and spice floated up, and she pulled a piece off. When she popped it in her mouth, her taste buds did a jitterbug. It’s possible that she moaned. She licked the icing off of her finger and glanced at Wyatt, who gazed at her mouth.

At least she wasn’t the only one fantasizing, if she read him right.

“This is sinful.” She pulled off another piece.

He jerked as if someone had shaken him awake, and then nodded. “Told ya.”

After a few bites, she asked, “Where did you play in college?”

“Syracuse.”

“Oh wow. They get a lot of snow there. You must have been freezing at the games.”

“No. They have a dome. But I used to shovel snow for money, and my first year there we got a hundred and sixty inches.” He took another sip of his coffee. “I made a bunch of bucks that winter.”

“That’s crazy.” She shuddered. “I would hate it. I like warm weather.”

“The snow wasn’t as bad as the cold. Below zero with windchills in the minus teens. A great city, but winters are brutal. You have to find creative ways to stay warm.”

She blinked. Sheesh, was he talking about…

He grimaced. “Shit, that sounded bad. And I made fun of Sally for what she said. I meant we used to build bonfires next to the frozen lake.”

“Gotcha.” She nudged the plate with her half-eaten cinnamon roll a few inches away. Still might not be far enough, but she’d make herself sick if she ate the whole thing. “What position did you play?”

Wyatt wiped his mouth with a napkin, and then rubbed his chin. “I’m curious about something.”

“What?”

“You googled football facts, but not my name?”

She squirmed. The temptation had been real, but she’d refrained. “I didn’t think that would be fair.”

“How so?” He rested an elbow on the table.

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