She wondered about Jake’s upbringing. They’d been so focused on her family they hadn’t discussed his. Maybe she should remedy that. The way he kept surprising her, she was starting to wonder if he was the guy she hadn’t been looking for.
However, shewashis little secret at the office. That was unpleasant, but it benefited them both. She’d had to swear Nadia to secrecy, which had her friend flying up a red flag. But Olivia had convinced her it was okay since she was going for that promotion and also couldn’t afford any sort of scandal.
It had only been a week. But how long was she expected to keep it quiet?
The bleachers erupted in cheers when the Dragons brought in another win. She stood with the parents and hollered. The families in the stands packed up and walked over to the entrance gate while the kids passed each other in two lines to shake hands.
Jake waved her past the fence, where he was quickly surrounded by shouting, sweaty kids in green t-shirts. “Guys! Guys, this Olivia. Olivia, meet the Dragons.” He pulled her through the crowd and tucked her under his arm.
“Hi, guys! Great game!” was all she managed to get out before the team erupted into chaos.
“Are you Coach Jake’s girlfriend?”
“You’re pretty.”
“Are you gonna get married?”
She turned and shared a look with Jake that was pure shock. And she was eternally grateful when he changed the subject.
“Who wants pizza?”
“Me me me me me!” they all shouted.
“Go get your parents and I’ll see you at Dragon’s Pizza!”
A little girl with crooked brown pigtails that had probably been straight at the beginning of the game tugged on Jake’s shirt hem.
“Can Olivia get pizza, too?”
Her heart melted. She looked up from the expectant little face to see Jake looking to her.
“Do you have time?” His face had the same pleading look as the girl. “Their sponsor gives us a discount. The kids’ families all come, it’s a great bonding thing we do.”
“Sure,” she heard herself say. She’d brought her laptop home to work on a new project she’d taken on at work, but it could wait until later. He beamed at her, and she was so distracted she barely heard the kids cheering.
Olivia followed Jake to Dragon’s Pizza, which turned out to be a rather nondescript hole-in-the-wall off the highway. But when she got out of her car, she realized how amazing it smelled. Jake met her at her door.
“I’ve never heard of this place before.”
“Their claim to fame is the wood-fired ovens. The owners’ kids thought that dragons cooked the pizza when they could see the fire inside. That’s where they got their name.”
“That’s adorable.”
He led her through the restaurant to a party room in the back. “They shove us all in here cause the kids are always so wound up. It’s a standing reservation.”
“Smart.” Some of the kids and their families were there already, and more were on the way. Jake grabbed a four-seater in the corner and pulled a chair out for her.
“Expect the kids to run around and shout. And come up to us.” When she sat, he sat next to her, instead of across from her.
“Are we waiting for someone else?”
“Marie usually sits with me. And her wife, if she’s at the game.” The assistant coach strode through the door, and plopped onto a chair across from Jake and Olivia. She was a stocky woman with short spiky gray hair under her baseball cap.
“Howdy, there! You must be Olivia.” She reached out to Olivia with her hand. “Jake told me about y’all going to the family reunion last weekend. How’d it go?”
“Yes, I am. It went well.” Her cheeks heated remembering just how well it had gone.
“So, y’all are datin’ for real now?”
