“That’s interesting. Was it difficult working with the team?”
Raising my brows, I pondered the question. “Well, some of them did bristle at my presence initially, but most came around. A few of them have since taken me on to work with them directly.”
“I’ll bet Tyler was a handful from the beginning.”
I turned to the female voice that’d interrupted and was greeted by Kayla.
My smile widened a little. “He wouldn’t be Tyler if he wasn’t,” I answered, feeling comfortable with these women for some reason.
Both giggled in response.
“Game’s starting!” one of the men called out.
The three of us headed toward one of the tables that gave us a window seat and a perfect view down onto the field. The Cougars with their home advantage took possession of the ball on offense first. My eyes zoomed in on Tyler’s every move. I might try to kick his ass for not warning me his family was actually going to be there, but I couldn’t not stare at him on the field. The way those tight uniform pants hugged his ass was to be admired.
“First down,” I mumbled as the game started. I watched in earnest as Tyler scrambled, looking as if he were stumped on whether to pass or toss the ball. Soon, he did a fake pass to Leonard, causing a few tackles to chase him. Then Tyler stepped back and tossed an eleven yard pass to Kelvin who easily caught it before being tackled.
“Nice!” I called out, my adrenaline pumping. I watched intently as the Cougars worked steadily to gain yardage. “Third down,” I mumbled, my heart pounding. On that run, Tyler did pass it to Leonard who ran the ball in for the first touchdown of the game. “Yes!” I cheered, standing up on my feet. I stopped, looking around and noticing the grins from the members of Tyler’s family staring at me. I lowered my arms but turned back to the game, shrugging.
I was passionate about football and my man. The rest of the first half went well and The Cougars were up nine to six as both teams headed back to the lockers. For the first time, I realized I hadn’t sat down since I first stood up.
“Anyone want something to eat?” Kayla called out as she stood.
“I’ll go with you,” I answered, moving closer to her to head over to the bar to order some food.
“You’re a football fan?” she asked as we walked.
I nodded. “Since I was a little girl. Watched every Sunday with my father.” I smiled at the memories.
“He was a Cougars fan?”
“Through and through. I’m pretty sure he bled black and blue,” I giggled along with Kayla.
“I’ll have the turkey salad sandwich with extra pickles, please,” Kayla ordered. “Oh, and a roast beef sandwich minus the pickles. You know what, just add those pickles to my sandwich.”
“You would’ve stolen them from my plate anyway.”
I turned to see a grinning Joshua Townsend, green eyes sparkling as he eyed his wife.
Kayla shrugged. “You would’ve let me have them. I’m just saving you the trouble of giving them to me.”
“You’ll probably have half my sandwich, too.”
“Iameating for two,” she added nonchalantly, rubbing her belly.
My eyes bulged as I glanced down at her rounded stomach.
“We told everyone last week. Except for Ty, he was out of town,” Kayla looked at me and stated.
“He’ll be pissed to be the last one to know,” Josh chuckled.
“I won’t tell,” I added quickly, thinking they slipped up by saying something about the baby in my presence.
“It’s fine. We were planning on telling him after the game anyway,” Kayla responded.
I smiled. “Congratulations,” I stated, again glancing toward her stomach.
“Wings?”
