Page 73 of Blitzing Emily

“He sounds jealous,” she murmured to Damian.

“Damn straight, love.” Damian did an elaborate handshake with Brandon. He turned to Emily again, and slid his arm around her shoulders. “Maybe you should go out with me instead. I’ll hook you up. Cornerbacks and safeties are the real men of any football team. He must have told you this.”

“He’s getting mad,” Emily said.

“He knows I speak the truth, baby.”

Brandon rolled his eyes. “I hope you invited the young lady you were flirting with yesterday at lunch,” he said.

“Of course I did. She should be here soon. In the meantime I have to chat with my pretty lady. Listen, girl, I bought some of those opera beats you told me about. They’re sick.”

Brandon took Emily’s hand, tugged her over to the couch, and pulled her onto his lap. Damian laughed, and went out onto the deck to check the food on the grill.

Emily looped one arm around his neck. “Should I ask him if I can help with anything?”

“No.”

Damian’s house made Brandon’s look tiny. The front door led into a soaring entryway with a large crystal chandelier. The living room was up a flight of stairs, and opened onto the deck, which had the same view Brandon’s did. Damian’s living room appeared big enough to park a Humvee in. The décor was formal, and appeared to be done by a professional. It was beautiful, but Emily preferred the simplicity and coziness of Brandon’s house.

Two men and two women in server garb emerged from the kitchen with trays of food, arranging the platters on a long table set up against the far wall. One of the women approached Brandon and Emily for a drink order.

“Hey, Damian,” Brandon called out. “You said this was just us.”

“Gotta’ feed everyone.”

“He caters a backyard barbecue,” Brandon muttered. “Now everyone will expect me to do it, too.”

“What does he mean by ‘everyone’?” she said into Brandon’s ear.

“Let’s find out. Drake,” Brandon called out, “How many is ‘everyone’?”

“Dawg, everyone.”

Brandon let out a groan. “He invited the team, along with whoever it is they’re married to or going out with. You’ll probably see an awful lot of single women.”

“You probably have parties as well.”

“Mine are smaller,” Brandon said. “Plus, the police don’t typically make an appearance.”

Two hours later, Damian’s house was so crowded that it was impossible to move across the room. Emily gave up counting the people she saw after a hundred. Brandon introduced her to his teammates and others he knew, but it was overwhelming. They couldn’t get near the food. The alcohol was flowing, though, and they both had a few drinks. Emily decided to visit the bathroom, and came back a few minutes later to find Brandon missing.

Brandon was completely at home here. She wasn’t. She had a much better idea how he must have felt at the opera benefit, especially when she noticed two women on Damian’s deck staging an impromptu Shark Babes tryout. They wore nothing but thongs with Sharks logos on them. She liked to have fun, but she preferred something quieter with the possibility for conversation.

Emily needed some fresh air. Mostly, she wanted to get away from crowds of people and the blasting sound system. Maybe Brandon had wandered outside, too. She found herself in the backyard; it was a beautiful June evening. As she rounded the side of the house, she saw Brandon on one knee next to a little dark-haired boy. She heard sobs. Brandon laid a hand on the boy’s shoulder. She stepped behind a lilac bush, not wanting to startle the little boy more.

“I might not find him,” the boy said. “He’ll be hungry. He doesn’t know where his mom is.”

“Another mama frog will help him, buddy.”

“All I did was let him out of the ’tainer for a few minutes. He must be in the grass.”

“They’re pretty good at hiding.”

“They can hop pretty fast, too.” Emily heard the boy hiccup, another little-boy sob, and he rubbed his eyes with what looked like grimy fists. Brandon patted him on the back.

“Simon, your mama and dad are going to wonder where you went. I’m going to take you back to your house, and I’ll keep looking for Froggy.”

“My mom and dad went out to dinner. Madison’s babysitting me.”

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