Page 11 of Lucky Baller
“Not so much.”
“Are we talking about the same person? Tessa Deaton?” I counter.
“That’s her.” His grin grows wider. “You’ve somehow managed to get my wife on your side.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means the flowers were a good move, and now Autumn wants to know everything about you.”
“Autumn, right.” Is that disappointment I feel?
“Yep. I’ve been instructed to gather all the dirty details and report back.”
“And what would your wife think about you telling me that?”
He throws his head back and laughs. “My wife, Autumn, is an attorney. She’s not currently practicing, but she still has the… shall we say, ‘special talent.’ You’re lucky it’s me asking and not her.”
“Maybe she can work on Tessa,” I mutter under my breath.
“I need to bring some nugget of information home to my wife. So, tell me this, Barker. Why Tessa? From what I know of you, this isn’t your MO.”
I can appreciate his forwardness. “It’s not. I’ve dated mostly for charity events or team events, things like that. Nothing… like this,” I confess.
“Again, why Tessa?”
I shrug. “She turned me down.”
He tilts his head to the side and studies me. “That’s it? She turned you down, so you’re sending flowers and obsessing over your phone, moping around here like you’ve lost your best friend because she turned you down?”
“Who’s moping?” I ask, because the other two are facts.
“You are. You’ve been distracted all week, and your game shows it.”
“Wait just a minute. My game is fine. Kaden and I are connecting, making the plays,” I say, referring to me and our starting running back, Kaden Hahn.
“You’re making plays, but your head’s not in it. You’re on autopilot. Your arm is lax, and your throw’s timid compared to what you're capable of.” He pauses, letting this new revelation sink in. “Look, for some reason, my wife is rooting for you. She thinks you’d be good for Tess. But she’s family to us. She’s not a game.” With that, he turns and walks away.
I should yell out to him. Stop him from walking away, but I’m frozen, my feet unable to lift from the turf as if I’m standing in quicksand. The last three days float through my mind, and although I hate to admit it, he’s right. I’ve been going through the motions. I’ve got to get this girl out of my head, but I’m too far in to turn back now. I need to at least take her to dinner or for drinks. Fuck me,somethingto get her out of my head. I’d like to think dinner and some time in my bed would be the perfect ending to this little… whatever this is, but if I can’t get her to call me after sending her flowers, I know damn sure my dick isn’t getting anywhere near her. No matter how bad we both want it. And she does want it. I can see it in her eyes every time she looks at me. I see it as her breathing changes anytime I’m near her. She’s fighting this pull between us, and I don’t know why.
Pushing Tessa out of my mind, I get back on the field. I finish practice, being more present than I have been all week. In the locker room, I’m quiet as I rush through a shower and head out with nothing but a couple of waves and nods to the guys.
Twenty minutes later, I remove the keys from the ignition and stare at the shelter in front of me. I didn’t plan to come here, but this is where I ended up. I don’t rush to get out as I try toform what I’m going to say. More than that, I try to work out what the hell I’m doing and why this woman is getting to me.
Ten minutes later, I still have no answers and realize that I’m a creeper who’s sitting in the parking lot of an animal shelter. Reaching for the handle, I start to climb out of my SUV, but I freeze when I see her. Her long dark hair is braided and thrown over her shoulder. She’s wearing a tank top with the shelter’s logo and a pair of tight pants, leggings—a man’s best friend.
I can’t take my eyes off her. She’s leading a horse my way. She turns her head to talk to him, and I see her stumble. My hand jerks open the door, and my legs rush to carry me to her, but it’s too late. She stumbles and falls to the ground. The horse gets spooked and rushes past me. I don’t try and stop it as I rush to her, falling on my knees beside her.
“Tessa,” I say with a pant.
“Ow.” Her voice is soft and constricted with pain.
“Hey, let me look at you.”
She lifts her head, and the pain in her eyes twists my gut. “L-Landon?” she asks, confused.
“Yeah.” I swipe her bangs out of her eyes. “You okay?”
“What are you doing here?” She moves to sit up and winces.
