Page 147 of The Coach

As I sit there in my car, heading to the stadium, I realize that as much progress as Ivy and I have made, and despite our out of control sexual chemistry…

There is so much between us that is still going unsaid. We’ve still got a ways to go.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

IVY

I should’ve known brunch with Cassie Knox would be a lot.

Jackson warned me. Kind of.

I should have pressed him for more details, but he was running out the door.

Because now, here I am, barely one sip into my orange juice, and she’s already grilling me like I’m on trial.

“So wait,” she says, tilting her head. “Do people not know you’re his girlfriend yet?”

I choke. Like, full-body cough.

Girlfriend.

That word.

I set my glass down very carefully. “Uh…”

Cassie leans in, eyes glinting like a bloodthirsty journalist smelling scandal. “I mean, they don’t, right? Because I read all the sports gossip, and all they’re talking about is Travis Carter knocking some girl up, but not you. Which means Jackson is keeping you a secret.”

I clear my throat.

Her mouth drops open. “Oh. Or are you…keepinghima secret?”

I stare at her. “Well…it’s not really like that. We’re just figuring things out.”

Cassie snorts. “Oh, please. ‘Figuring things out’ is just code for ‘we’re basically in love but too stubborn to say it.’”

I nearly spill my juice. “Uh, yeah, we’re kind of still getting to that part.”

“No, because listen,” she says, ignoring my obvious spiral, and leaning in. “Jackson doesn’t date. Like, at all. I’ve been waiting years for him to meet someone. And then you show up, pregnant with his baby, and he’s not freaking out? He’s not running for the hills? Yeah. He’s in deep.”

“Hmm. I don’t know if I’d go that far.”

Cassie smirks. “Babe. You think he’d let just anyone in his VIP box?”

“We didn’t talk much about it.” I frown. “It’s just so I have a good seat.”

She bursts out laughing. “Oh my God, you’re adorable. You have no idea, do you?”

My stomach tightens.

Do I?

Because…she’s not wrong. Jackson doesn’t date. He’s a high-profile coach in a massive city. He’s the kind of guy that has plans. Strategies. Focus.

And yet. He has no online dating history.

And he wants me here.

With his sister.

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