Page 31 of Blindsided By Fake Love

I don’t like how easy it is for me to be distracted by her. It’s even worse that she knows it.

“I said I’d get the Sparkling Grilled Cheese and you’d have the Dazzling Pot Pie. Is that okay?”

“Wait, I thought you said I should get the Braised Back Rib Glow because I look like a rib man?” I raise a brow and stare at her pointedly.

A snicker and then a cough come from my left, and I see Chloe trying not to laugh at us.

“You do,” Kit smirks, her eyes roaming over my shoulders and chest again. “You definitely do. But I can’t decide which oneIwant.”

“Oh, wait!” My eyebrows shoot up. And I lean on the table. “Are you picking out my meal based on what you want so you can have mine, too?”

“Well, only some of yours,” she says, a mischievous expression lights her face. Her eyes glimmer in the dim light. “You don’t mind, right?”

Muffled laughter echoes around the restaurant, and I hear a cough that sounds surprisingly like a ‘no’.

I roll my eyes, feeling a bit like my teenage mentee. “Fine. Noooo, I don’t mind.”

I glance at Kit, and the playful grin she has on her face fills me with mirth.

“Do you want anything else, Beau?” Chloe asks. And when I shake my head, her lips lift. “You got it. I’ll put your orders in now.”

“Thank you,” I say, and smirk at Kit. “That was smooth, Garrett.”

“Tell me how you started playing rugby.” She leans both elbows on the table and rests her chin on her palm. “I honestly thought you would end up drafted to the NFL.”

“Nice pivot.” I grin and take a sip of water. “My college roommate, Sam.”

Playing with my water glass, I remember the first time Sam convinced me to play. The game was similar enough to football that I caught on to the rules quickly, but something about it had me hooked from the moment I played my first game. It wasn’t just about the lack of equipment but how you pushed your body. It was different from anything I had ever done before. It quickly became something I wanted to play any chance I got. “He was from Ireland and a huge rugby fan. He’d been needling me about playing American football and how weak I was.”

“Sam sounds like my kind of guy,” Kit teases. My gaze snaps to hers, and for a second, I’m lost in the pools of brown staring back at me. Right now, her eyes are almost the same color as her hair; at least the low lights are giving them that appearance.

Warm and inviting.

“I think the two of you would like each other.” I haven’t talked about this in a long time, but it brings back how disappointed my dad was when he learned I wouldn’t be pursuing a career in football. Kit must notice something because she places her hand on my forearm.

“Everything okay?” She asks, those amber eyes filled with concern.

Heat rushes through me, and my heartstrings tug as I take her in. “It is now,” I say gruffly.

Her eyes darken, and an impish expression rests on my face.

I clear my throat before I start talking. “People in town had high hopes for me being drafted and playing professional football. Don’t get me wrong, so did I.”

“But?” Kit asks softly, her gaze watching me intently, making my pulse thud around my chest like a drummer.

“But I didn’t.” I shrug, the memory of that time consuming me. “I was good, but I wasn’t ‘professional’ good. More than that, though, I’m not sure I wanted it.”

“Okay.” Her head is tilted as she watches me, a question filling her eyes. I know what I’m saying is vague, but it’s the truth. “So how did you start playing professional rugby?”

“When the Ironclad Marauders had tryouts I knew I wanted to play, so I went. I made the cut. And the rest is history.”

“I see.” Kit nods.

“Sometimes life throws you curveballs that lead you in directions you never considered.” Kind of like me being married to the woman sitting across from me. The one woman I never stopped comparing everyone I dated to.

The girl I craved teasing in high school and the person I don’t want to live another day without.

“Kit, your Sparkling Grilled Cheese, and Beau, your Dazzling Pot Pie.” Chloe’s voice breaks the charged silence. “Bon Appetit.” She grins and walks away.

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