Page 3 of The Riskiest Move

The hostess leadsus to a table at the back of the restaurant. Autumn and I settle into seats across from each other. “What’s the plan?” I ask.

Autumn hands me one of the menus. “They shouldn’t be far behind us. Rogan texted me what they all want.”

Since this is a fairly new restaurant and I haven’t been here before, I take a few minutes to peruse what they offer. The waitress comes over, setting waters down in front of us. I close my menu, and Autumn explains we’re ordering for a group of people. Reading from her phone, she rattles off an endless number of items before I finally cap the order with a cheeseburger and fries. We watch the waitress hurry off before we glance at each other.

“I bet she’s wondering how all that food is gonna get eaten,” I say.

“Yeah, considering it’s enough to feed every person in here.” Autumn’s face lights up, and she lifts her hand, waving it around over her head. “They’re here.”

I cast a look over my shoulder and see Rogan leading the way, much like he does on the football field. I catch a glimpse of Cooper as they draw nearer, and he smiles when he notices me.

Rogan walks over to Autumn and presses a kiss to her upturned lips before he sits to her right, at the end of the table.

Cooper takes the seat next to me. “Hey, Scarlett.”

I smile and nudge his arm. “Hey, Coop.”

Griffin sits next to Cooper, and Thor drops down into the open chair next to Autumn. He’s so tall and his shoulders are so wide, he looks comically large next to my best friend.

“Congratulations. You guys played great,” Autumn says.

“Yeah, that was impressive,” I add. “Rogan, you look so comfortable out there, it’s hard to believe it’s only your second game as the starter.”

He grins. “Thanks. To be honest, it felt fucking amazing.”

Autumn caresses his forearm and they share a loving look. Seeing her so happy makes my chest pang with gratitude. She deserves someone to appreciate her the way Rogan does. Especially after what her asshole ex-boyfriend put her through.

The waitress comes over to take their drink orders.

“What do you want?” Cooper asks me.

“I’ve got water.”

“Come on, we won. You need to have a celebratory drink with us.” His grin is endearingly crooked, and before I know it, I find myself nodding.

“I’ll take a Kahlúa and cream.” I rode with Autumn, so it won’t hurt for me to have a cocktail or two.

He passes my order on to the waitress, then turns back toward me. “Did you enjoy the game?”

“I did. But your touchdown celebration needs some work.”

His dark blond brows pinch together. “You think?”

I laugh. “No, I’m messing with you.”

His expression relaxes and he shakes his head. “I thought you were serious.”

“Not at all. I actually liked that you didn’t do some silly dance.”

“It’s not really my style.”

“Yeah, I can see that.”

“It’s not about the flash; the substance and level of my play and helping my team succeed are what matter most to me.”

“Have you rehearsed that answer?” I ask, teasing him. “You know you’re not at the podium doing a post-game interview right now, right?”

He makes an obvious show of looking around as if he’s confused. “I’m not?”

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