“Heaven help us all,” muttered Heath. He hooked the headrest with his beefy hand. “Listen, I’ll hire someone to drive you around, a cute coed from Dixie, if you promise not to endanger the sweet grandmas that drive these streets.”
Ricky glared through the windshield and muttered in Spanish under his breath.
“Don’t tick him off, Heath. He’ll do it just to prove he can,” Brock warned. He swiped his palm down his pants to get rid of the moisture.
“See, man? You’ve got Brock nervous too.” Heath bumped the seat again. Brock swerved, knocking Heath into the door. “Hey.”
“Shut up, dude.” Brock flipped in his seat, taking his eyes off the road for two seconds so he could communicate with his face how stupid he thought Heath was at the moment.
“It’s not you that’s making me nervous,” he said to Ricky in a vain effort to calm him down. The last thing any of them needed was that hothead with his own car. He’d have to pass the driving test and get a license, but no instructor deserved to have his life flash before his eyes just to tell Ricky he’d failed.
Heath turned his attention on Brock. Brock could feel it like a spotlight, uncomfortably hot and singling him out. “What’s the lady’s name?”
Brock shook his head. “There’s no lady.”
“Bull-bleep.” Heath was one of the few guys on the team who beeped out his own swear words. He was from the South, and his daddy was a mean son of a gun. There were marks on Heath’s backside that no one on the team dared ask about but that they all assumed were the reason he edited his language. “You are totally whooped—otherwise you wouldn’t be dragging the two of us back to the stadium when the season is over.”
Ricky turned in his seat. “Is this true?”
Brock shook his head. Rule #1: Never let the guys know who you like until you know if she likes you back. Otherwise, you’re just throwing blood in the water.
The sharks circled. Heath tapped Ricky. “Wanna take bets?”
Ricky nodded. “Sure.”
Heath cracked his knuckles. “I bet you a hundred bucks I can figure it out within two minutes of pulling into the parking lot.”
Brock swallowed. “Don’t be stupid.”
Ricky smiled. “Deal.”
Brock growled. “I hate you guys.” Which in guy speak pretty much amounted toYou’re my best friends, but you’re hitting too close to the mark.He steered them into the parking lot.
Brock’s heart sank as he looked at the small group gathered in front of the main doors. Sheila, Ashley, and Julia were there, along with the interns from the marketing department. They were college-aged and wore backpacks as if they were in between classes. There were also a half dozen paper boxes on a dolly.
The sound of Brock’s door slamming brought all their faces his direction, but only Sheila’s lit up like the stadium lights. He’d promised himself he’d stay neutral for the first two minutes so that Heath’s wallet was a hundred dollars lighter, but he couldn’t help the warmth that spread through him as their eyes met. And he didn’t have any control over the smile that spread across his face. Seeing Sheila was like watching the sun set over the Pacific Ocean—she was that beautiful.
Something smacked, and he tore his eyes off the gorgeous community involvement specialist to see Ricky slapping a hundred into Heath’s outstretched hand.
Heath smirked. “Give me a challenge, man.”
“Shut up.” He made it to the group in record time. Not because he was trying to get away from Heath, but because there was no point in trying to stay away now that the cat was out of the bag.
Sheila grinned at all of them. “Thank you so much for coming in. I know you’d rather be off playing on a beach somewhere.” Her cheeks turned red, and she ducked momentarily.
Ricky laughed. “In a week, yes.”
Heath shook his head. “Some of us prefer the mountains.”
“Oh, really?” Ashley bit her lip, looking up at Heath from lowered lashes.
Heath blinked at her like he didn’t believe she was flirting with him. “Really.”
“I can see you in flannel.” She flushed a dark shade of red.
Brock widened his eyes and shared a look with Sheila, who was equally surprised. Ashley was like a doll compared to Heath. He could pick her up and put her in his pocket for safekeeping if he wanted to. From the deer-in-the-headlights look Heath had on his face, he wasn’t sure what to do with Ashley.
“Okay, let’s pair off.” Sheila worked to keep the outing on schedule. She explained about the flyers in the boxes while handing out papers with the assignments. The four interns divided into two groups and took the top boxes off the stack. They were given schools that had recently had a player visit.
