Page 6 of The Comeback

“Surely one of your brothers could set you up with a friend.”

“Their friends all play football.”

“So?” She cuts a piece of potato skin with her fork and dips it into the ranch dressing. “You like football.”

“You know that, but they don’t. And you know the deal. I’m not looking for anyone that’s up for moving across the country at a moment’s notice. I’ve lived that life already growing up.” During his football and coaching career, my dad dragged us around from state to state. I hate moving. More than I pretend to hate football.

“You can’t dictate who you’ll fall in love with.”

“Of course I can.” I chew on a bite of cauliflower. “I’m looking for a nice accountant at a bank.” I snap my fingers. “That’s it. The bank. That’s what I need to do. I need to open a new bank account and see who’s working.”

“Please.” She shakes her head. “A banker would bore you to death.”

I arch my eyebrows and lean back. “What do you mean?”

“You’re too competitive. Unless your accountant was a closet skydiver, you’d cry yourself to sleep at night. You make bets with your brothers over everything. You obsessively watch football, but pretend you don’t. You probably even know the new guy walking in with Knox.”

I jerk my head in the direction she’s looking. Weston Summers. “Yeah, I know who he is.”

As my brother hits him on the back, they walk over to the bar. “That’s Weston Summers. He’s new on the team. If he lasts.”

“Why wouldn’t he last?”

“Because he was hurt and doesn’t trust his ankle. He’s stuck in his head.” I turn back around to face her. “He’s worried about rupturing the tendon again.”

“Hmm….”

I glare at her. “What?”

“He sounds like a challenge. You love a challenge. You should offer to help him.”

I scoop a handful of broccolis onto my plate. “Please, he’s not the type to try ballet to get his step back. Nor is he the kind that believes in talking to someone about mental blocks.”

She crosses her arms over her chest. “You sure know a lot about this new guy.”

“God, you’re a pain in the ass.”

“I’m only trying to prove a point. You’re not going to be content with a guy who works a nine-to-five job. You’ve been surrounded by jocks all your life. For God’s sake, Charlotte, you ran a marathon last summer because Ace said you couldn’t.” She unfolds her arms and grabs her drink, making the ice cubes clink off the glass. “You should have Knox introduce the two of you.”

My gaze darts to Weston. The man is attractive. I’ll give her that. He has dark hair and eyes. Broad shoulders. Thick thighs. A backward baseball cap. Damn, those things make my stomach flip. And a charming personality. But the last I knew; he had a girlfriend. A tall model-type girlfriend whose only sports activities were shopping and getting her nails done.

Many guys, especially jocks with big attitudes, don’t like competitive women. They make them feel inferior. I should know. The only adult relationship I’ve been in that lasted over a month was in college with another basketball player.

That one only lasted two months when he fell for a girl at a sub shop. His practices were in the morning, and mine were in the evenings. Apparently, he spent a lot of time bragging about how good he was while complaining that I was never there for him.

The rest of them dumped me because I was too athletic. Too driven. Not feminine enough. Bite me.

“I don’t see that happening.” I shift my attention from Weston and Knox. It’s time to switch topics from my empty dance card.

Chapter Four

One Week Later

Weston

“Hey, man, welcome to the team.” Gunner Sinclair wraps his arm around my shoulders. “It’s great to have you around.” He nods at the guy to his right. “Have you met my brother-in-law, Devin Grant?”

“No.” I clap Devin’s hand as Gunner drops his arm from me. “I’ve only met Knox and a couple of other guys on the defensive side.”

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