Page 10 of Love on the Line

“Hey, you wanna cup of coffee?” He gestured to the banquet table with shiny, silver urns across the room.

Nice try. He wasn’t going to pretend that hadn’t just happened. Who was he? “Hold on. Everyone seems to know you. Why? Are you famous?”

He clicked his pen a couple of times, staring down at it before tucking it into his binder. “Eh, I played football for a while.”

“In college?”

“Yeah, but also for the Ravens. I retired a year and a half ago. Soon enough, I’ll be old news, and no one will want my autograph.”

“I have no idea about that, but yes, I know of the Ravens. My students come in wearing their jerseys sometimes.”

Wyatt blinked, and a slow grin formed on his face. “You don’t follow football, I take it?”

“Sorry.” She shrugged. “I don’t watch sports. I like to read.”

“To read?”

“Yes, you know, fiction. I prefer that to television.” Oh no, now she’d offended him. “I mean, there’s nothing wrong with sports. People like sports. And I like people who like sports.” Dear God, she needed to shut up.

Wyatt’s shoulders shook. “Let me make sure I got this straight. You like people who like sports, but you don’t like sports.”

Now he was laughing at her. But she couldn’t blame him. She sounded like an idiot. Somehow, she had to fix this. “Yes. I mean, no. I mean, for example, my father likes sports. He’d watch with our dog.”

Wyatt squeezed his eyes shut and he didn’t even try to control his laughter now. “Is it fair to say you also like dogs that like sports? That is unless you didn’t like your”—his chest rumbled, and he had to stop to take a breath—“dog?”

Heat flamed a path from her neck to the roots of her hair. God, what the hell was she rambling about? He had to think her a complete moron. She didn’t babble or speak before thinking. The crazy chemistry or whatever it was between them had rendered her stupid. “Never mind. Can we get that cup of coffee now?”

“Sure.” He held her gaze for a moment.

Laughter still in his eyes, they sparkled with mischief. The space between them seemed to shrink. She swallowed and broke eye contact, reaching for her purse. “I’ll bring you a cup. How do you like it?”

“Thanks, but I’ll get it.”

“Really, I don’t mind. I’m getting some for myself anyway.” Even though she usually didn’t drink coffee, she wouldn’t mind a cup, and he might need some help.

Wyatt was up in a flash, despite his leg, and pointed a crutch toward the banquet table. “After you.”

So, he was stubborn, too. She smiled and walked ahead. He might be able to get the coffee, but walking back to the chair with it would be a challenge on crutches.

She hummed as she added cream to hers. No point in rushing. He leaned on the crutches and poured his own cup. Stirring her coffee, she waited to see what he would do. He took a sip, then paused as his gaze went from his chair back to where he stood. It wasn’t nice to take pleasure in his predicament, but she couldn’t help herself.

He swung one crutch forward and leaned on it while he switched the coffee to that hand.

“Are you always this stubborn?” she asked.

He grinned and nodded. “So I’ve been told.”

She reached for his cup.

With a sigh, he handed it over and followed her back to their seats. He tilted his head and squinted. “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

“Did what?”

“You know what. You took your sweet time fixing your coffee so you’d be standing right there when I made a fool of myself.”

“I’d say I availed myself of an opportunity to help someone.”

Wyatt hitched an eyebrow. “I think you’re in the wrong career. You sound more like a lawyer than a teacher.” He sipped the coffee. “Did I imagine it or are you hurting too?”

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