Page 47 of Waiting for Her

“Oh! Yeah! I meant to…” she trails off sheepishly. “Well, maybe we can go see Anthony—”

“Anderson,” I correct her.

“Sorry?”

“His name is Anderson.”

“Are you sure? That seems like a weird name for a baby, right?”

“You just asked me if I was sure about my nephew’s name.”

“Well, it seems so… formal. And, old?”

“They used the mom’s last name, kind of a family tradition,” I explain, even though I shouldn’t have to. This isn’t typical Kennedy behavior and it makes me question what’s going on with her.

“Oh. Well, anyway, maybe we can go see him for a few minutes then go to my work party. Please, Grady. I really want you there.”

I’m not sure howmegoing to see Anderson turned intowe,and I’m really not sure how it turned into just a few minutes, when I had planned to make an evening out of it.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why do you want me there?”

Her face pales a bit and she doesn’t look at me in the eye, rather focuses over my left shoulder.

I turn my head but already know what she’s looking at, or who, just in time to see Bri notice Kennedy. We’ve already crossed a big line and have yet to talk over all the things we really need to, so I tell my heart to calm down and not read anything into the fact that it looks like she’s ready to storm over here and rip out Kennedy’s hair.

I press my lips together when I see Izaak’s head shift back and forth, looking between the two women, his head dropping and shoulders shaking like he’s laughing.

Idiot.

“Who’s that?”

“The reporter forSports Illuminated,”I explain, not offering any more information.

“Hmm,” she hums. Again. A sound that’s more than mildly irritating.

I don’t give her the satisfaction of asking what’s on her mind. For some reason her presence is annoying me, which has never happened before.

The sound of laughter drifts over the field, Izaak shuffles to the side after Bri hits him playfully in the shoulder.

“She doesn’t seem very professional. She’s flirting with your players.”

I chuckle and shake my head. “No, she’s not.”

“Oh? And you know her so well?” she challenges.

Not even going there. “I’m telling you she’s not flirting with Izaak. She’s been perfectly professional.”

“She’s awful young to have gotten a job like this one.”

“So am I,” I remind her, taking a step away. “What are you insinuating?”

“I’m not insinuating anything, Grady. I know you’ve worked hard for where you’re at. You deserve this job.”

“But yet there’s no way she’s done the same? You know nothing about Bri or her life. She’s worked her ass off to get this assignment and understands more about our football program than anyone I’ve met. Why are you being so bitchy about it?”

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