Page 38 of Summer Affair
“He is,” she said, her eyes stinging. “He deserves to go to camp, even if it means me accepting help. But know I’m still paying you back. It will be in small payments, very small, but I wouldn’t feel right taking your money.”
He watched her for a long moment. She wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but then his gaze softened into something warm and something else, which looked a lot like vulnerability.
“I’ve never met anyone like you. You’re different.”
Not knowing what to do with that, she asked, “I am?”
“Yeah, which is why in the name of honesty, I need to tell you something.” Her heart seized. She knew anything more than friendship between them wasn’t going to happen, but she still didn’t want to be rejected in a crowded bar.
She started to pull her hand back, but he caught it. At the contact, sparks crackled. They both looked down in surprise and when she pulled it back this time, he let her.
“Sammy’s coach quit and they’re going to cancel the Tiny Tikes summer program,” he said.
Panic wrapped around her throat. “They can’t do that.”
“They were going to, which is why I offered to coach his team.”
She froze, a warm rush of surprise and gratitude washed over her. “You did? Why?”
He shrugged. “Honestly, partly for Sammy, mostly for you, but also because when my old coach brought it up, it sounded like fun.”
“It sounded fun?” She laughed.
He shrugged. “Something to get my mind off my knee and next season. Something to remind me why I play.”
At his honest answer, her heart melted a little for the prideful man across from her, who shared a piece of himself that she doubted many saw.
“In the name of honesty, managing twenty-five seven-year-olds in cleats and shoulder pads, double the amount of helicopter parents, then there are the cheerleaders, it’s enough to make even a pro like you cower in fear.”
He leaned all the way across the table, his face an inch from her. “I don’t scare easily.”
No. No, he did not. And wasn’t that a terrifying thought? But right then, with him smiling at her, opening up, she decided it was a problem for another day.
“Now what comes next?”
Her brows creased in confusion. “Huh?”
“This practice dating, what comes next?”
“You were serious?”
“Like I said, I might need a little help actually having a genuine conversation with a genuine woman.”
And her heart didn’t just melt, it rolled over and exposed its soft underbelly. “Well, since we’re pretending we’ve just met, then the next step is F.O.R.M. Starting with F for family. So Clay, tell me about your family.”
“I come from a big, loud, and noisy family. Five brothers and a bossy mom, who smothers us with love. How about you?”
“I’m a single mom to a boy who is pretty incredible and even though I know I’m not supposed to lead with that, because according to Dr.Claire, it’s better to hold a few things back on the first meet, he’s the biggest part of me so I want to make sure anyone who might want to date me understands that Sammy is my number one.”
He stared at her for a long moment, a flicker of what she thought was protectiveness in his gaze. “I can’t imagine Sammy being a deterrent for anyone.”
“You’d be surprised,” she said, then paused because none of what they were saying felt right. “I know we’re practicing, but in the spirit of being genuine, let’s be genuine.”
“I like that.”
So did she. “Tell me one thing about your family that I don’t know.” She paused. “Do you want to ask first or be asked?”
“I’m easy,” he said, and she rolled her eyes.
