Page 106 of Caught Looking

“I’d love to hang like we used to. Annalise fits right in. You know Willa adores her, right?”

It all felt so damnperfect.“They’re becoming good friends. We should all get together, maybe go on a vacation when our seasons are over.”

Everett lit up at that. “We could go hiking in the mountains. Or to a tropical island. Europe!”

I laughed, just so fucking glad he was all for it. “We’ll get drinks and dream up some ideas. See what the girls think.”

“It’s a plan.” He wrapped me up in a bear hug. “Go watch your woman.”

I took the binoculars outside the suite so I could get a good look at her face as she came back out onto the field for the second half. She had a grin on her lips. No sign of stress or pressure, which was good. Some athletes made big plays and then put more stress on themselves to perform even better. But Annalise was cool as a cucumber.

I wanted to think I’d worn off on her a little bit, but I was pretty sure she was simply amazing all on her own.

She proved that point thirty seconds into the second half when she scored her fourth goal of the night.

“Holy fucking hell,” Rhett murmured as he handed me my sandwich. “What’s gotten into her?”

“She put on Wonder Woman’s boots today?” Wes asked as he grabbed the seat beside me.

“Charlotte beat them handily last month. It’s not like they aren’t a great team. Annalise just has their number tonight.”

My girl scored another goal, sending the crowd into fits. They could feel it. The second hat trick was right there. And they wanted it. For the team, for Annalise, and for themselves.

I wanted it for her too. Through the binoculars I could see she was focused on the game not on the potential. But I was fucking nervous for her. To distract myself I swept the binoculars over all the players, over the other bench, over the coaches, and some of the crowd.

“You look like you might puke,” Rhett grunted. “Fuck, I might puke.”

“Why am I so nervous? She’ll either score or she won’t. Doesn’t change the fact that she’s scored five goals tonight and they’ll win. It’s amazing either way.”

Everett grinned at us. “It’s because you want the best for her.”

Wasn’t that the fucking truth. I wanted her to be celebrated. For the world to realize how amazing she was. I wanted her name on every sportscast for the rest of the week. Five goals would probably do it, but two hat tricks would guarantee it.

“Oh shit!” Rhett shot to his feet at the same time I did. Jeri broke away while Annalise pretended to be caught out, but then she spun and darted towards the box. Jeri faked a kick, then passed it to Annalise.

“Goal!” I threw my hands in the air as the ball landed in the back of the net.

The roar of the crowd was deafening. The guys piled on top of us, losing their minds. Rhett and I hugged. I damn near cried I was so happy for her.

When the game was over the team stormed the field. Rhett and I made our way down with the media team that was filming in Montgomery’s absence. They followed me across the grass while I waited for Jeri, Charley, and Phoebe to put Annalise down.

The minute her feet touched the ground I had her in my arms. “I’m so proud of you, baby.”

She buried her face in my chest. “I’ve never had a game like this! I felt invincible!”

“It was incredible to watch. I’m so glad we were here.”

She peeked her head up. When she saw Rhett, I let her go, standing by while she hugged her cousin. He grabbed her shoulders and gave her an enthusiastic Rhett Ryan Rumble. “Fucking electric, Annalise. Fucking electric!”

She tucked right back into my side. “I’m not going to sleep tonight!”

I lowered my lips to her ear and whispered, “I can keep you entertained.”

“I donotwant to know what you just said,” Rhett grumbled. “Congrats, Annalise. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon, asshole.” Then he flicked me off as he walked away.

“You’ve got fans waiting!” Jeri waved Annalise over to the stands where a large crowd waited for pictures and autographs.

“Go. I’ll be right here.” I gave her one last kiss then watched as she did her thing.

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