Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 26508 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 133(@200wpm)___ 106(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26508 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 133(@200wpm)___ 106(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
Cole put on a red compression shirt that hugged all of the muscles in his chest, back, and arms. He paired it with a pair of black athletic pants that had the Nighthawks logo on his upper right thigh. “The sporty look is a good one for you.”
“I’m glad you think so since I dress like this a lot. Comes with the job.” He guided me through the house and into the kitchen. “What’re you hungry for? You need the calories after the workout I gave you last night.”
I shook my head with a laugh and padded over to the coffee machine. “And plenty of caffeine.”
“I’ll take some too,” he requested as he pulled a frying pan from the mounted rack on the wall.
After putting the single-cup machine through two cycles, I added some milk and sugar to my mug. Then I made some toast to go with the ham and cheese omelets Cole was finishing up. The meal was simple but tasty, and filling too.
By the time I slipped my flats on so we could leave, I looked semi-presentable. The braid from last night had left my hair with nice waves in it, so all I’d had to do was comb my fingers through the long locks. A little bit of lip gloss and mascara, and I didn’t think I looked as though I hadn’t been home since last night.
Grinning up at Cole before he helped me into his car, I asked, “It doesn’t look like I’m doing the walk of shame, does it?”
“Just like I thought, you’re a knockout in my clothes,” he assured me. “Just like you’d be in anything you put on.”
“You don’t think your players will notice?”
His blue eyes were fierce as he swore, “They won’t look twice at you if they know what’s good for them.”
8
COLE
Lennox had hired me straight out of college, and it had been a dream come true because I’d been a Nighthawks fan all my life. It was the reason I had the team’s logo tattooed on my arm.
Now, I had the woman of my dreams walking into the stadium, holding my hand, and wearing the same brand on her ample chest. Lorna looked fucking amazing in my shirt. And not just because it represented my team—the caveman inside me just liked seeing her in my clothes.
We strolled through the building until we reached the area where my office was located. There was an outer office with a long front desk and a couple of cubicles, then the back and left walls had doors that led to private offices for coaching staff.
I released her hand and opened the door for her so she could walk into the front area first, then I followed her. When the door clicked shut, several heads popped up. I greeted a few members of the front office staff as I walked up behind her and started to speak, but one of the interns, a young, boy-next-door type, jumped up from his cubicle and smiled broadly. “Hi, I’m Everest.”
I frowned, confused as to why he was introducing himself to me, then realized he was looking directly at Lorna. “I haven’t seen you around here before, and believe me, I would have noticed someone so gorgeous.”
“Um…” Lorna’s cheeks turned pink, and she shuffled closer to me.
“This is Lorna,” I grunted. “She’s mine.”
Everest’s face went pale. “Uh…sorry, Coach O’Hara. I didn’t realize…” He looked a little panicked, and I had to suppress a laugh. Most of the men around here were highly possessive of their women, and he’d obviously experienced it before, or he wouldn’t look like he wanted to cry for hitting on mine.
“Get back to work,” I told him before taking Lorna’s hand and leading her to my office.
Huck and Saxon were lounging on the wall next to the door and pushed off the hard surface when they spotted me.
“Boys,” I greeted them with a lift of my chin as I unlocked my door. “What can I do for you?”
Both men nodded respectfully at Lorna, but wisely, their gazes didn’t linger.
“I wanted to drop by and see if you had those new plays for us to study,” Saxon explained, following me as I ushered Lorna inside.
“Yeah. Give me just a minute.” I guided her over to a couch and planted a quick kiss on her lips. “You good for a bit while we talk?”
“Yup.” She dug into the tote she’d brought and pulled out an e-reader.
“I’ll give you a tour later, and we can make out in the locker room like we would have if I’d met you in college.” I winked, and she blushed adorably as she dropped onto the cushions.
Grinning, I rounded my desk and sat down, then swiveled around to the filing cabinet behind me. A small keypad was above it, and I punched in a code before rolling one of the drawers open. I pulled out a book of plays I’d been working on and shut the drawer. After spinning back around, I held out the notebook. “Drop it off after practice,” I instructed. “You know the code. Make sure it’s locked up tight, or I’ll have your ass. Is that clear?” Both players nodded. “Good. Now take a seat, and I’ll walk you through the trickier ones.”