“The showerhead leaks? I thought it just dripped from using it.” I cringed when she jiggled the doorknob.
“That too.” I cupped my forehead as a familiar headache came on. My niece was so much like her mother, catching me at all the wrong times and asking questions too smart for me to be able to explain with my pants down—or off, as they were in this case.
“We’ll be right out, Mad. Use the bathroom downstairs if you need it.”
“Okay.” Emily and I shared a silent laugh at her slow reply. I imagined her face twisted up in confusion on the other side of the door.
“It’s like déjà vu, right?”
“It is.” I let my head fall against the door with a soft thump. “The only difference is that I’m not as worried she’s going to run to tell my parents about my locked door.”
Emily laughed, inching closer to me. She drifted her hand down my damp chest and pressed a slow, sensual kiss to my lips.
“Now, get out so I can get ready.”
“Anything you say, Coach,” I said, skating my hand up her thigh to squeeze her bare ass.
I gave her one last glance before I left the bathroom, rushing to my bedroom to hide the towel tent rising below my waist from that last kiss.
Maybe it was too soon to think of a future with Emily, but as far as I was concerned, too soon didn’t count when it came to something I’d wanted for most of my life.
24
EMILY
“Did you meet any celebrities?”Mikayla asked me with a mouthful of pizza.
After the game ended and the trophies had been distributed to all the players, I’d invited the team and their parents for a little end-of-season party at the pizzeria near the field. Mr. and Mrs. Evans and a few other grandparents had joined us as well, and we took over almost half of the space. The kids seemed too tired and full to cause much mayhem inside, and I was hopeful it would stay that way until we left.
“Any celebrities?” I tried to clarify.
“When you were a soccer star, did you meet anyone? Like how celebrities go to football and basketball games?”
Jesse smiled and squeezed my leg under the table.
“I only played in college. They had a press box at some schools, but no celebrity suites like you’re probably thinking. Some could have been in the stands, but I don’t remember seeing any.”
The sad truth was my only real celebrity encounter had been when Raina Nello had liked Sharon’s post about me on social media. I’d been working with best-selling authors for so long, I really didn’t see them as celebrities, even though a fan or twowould always find Mary when we were out to gush over her latest book.
“Oh.” Her black brows pulled together as her expression deflated.
“Sorry to disappoint you, and I wasn’t a superstar.”
“Yes, she was.” Jesse stretched his arm across the back of my chair. “She’s modest,” he told Mikayla.
Maddie was on my other side, chatting with most of the kids, but something was off with her today. She’d looked like she had fun at the game, but even then, it was muted, as if something had been weighing on her since this morning.
I worried that finding her uncle and me in the bathroom or hearing us, thank God not seeing us, might have confused her a little bit. Even though we were behind a locked door, Maddie was old enough to pick up on things, and we needed to be more careful.
Since Jesse and I had made it official, we often became a little too lost in each other to worry about the world around us. This morning really had been reminiscent of when Tessa used to run to Jesse’s parents when she’d find his door locked and ask why. We’d gotten into trouble a few times, and while there were no parents to answer to anymore, we needed to be more mindful while Maddie was awake and aware.
I glanced down the table at the sea of silver, the hardware courtesy of Penny’s league. The trophies were for making it through the season and had nothing to do with who kicked the most goals or ran the farthest during every game.
While one could argue that too many trophies were given out for simply showing up these days, I loved watching their eyes light up when their names were called. Some of these kids had never played soccer before, and so many of them had played their hearts out.
That was the great thing about playing in a youth recreation league. It was a successful season as long as the kids had fun and managed to make it through in one piece.
I gave Jesse a look when his hand wandered up my thigh. He lifted a shoulder, a sexy smirk curling his lips. I hadn’t known what I’d been in for when I’d let Penny convince me to become a coach, but I’d never expected such a life-altering few months.
