As we walked along the sidewalk, I tried to pay attention to the ideas Erin was throwing out, but my attention snagged on the group of people walking toward us. My eyes dancedaround the group until they landed on the lone figure near the back.
The guy towered over the woman walking next to him. She seemed to be chatting away about something, and he was smiling down at her. The kind of smile you’d give someone you love. I didn’t know why, but the sight had my heart clenching in my chest. What the hell?
Of course a guy like that was taken. He was tall, maybe six-two, with dirty blond hair that was shorter on the sides but a bit longer on top, a few pieces falling across his forehead in an effortless type of way. From here, I could see how well he filled out his T-shirt. Goddamn.
Inwardly cursing at myself for staring like a weirdo, I quickly looked away as we got closer. I focused my attention on Erin, hoping to pass the group without another glance. We were almost in the clear when my side suddenly collided with another.
I stumbled to the left, teetering only for a second before two hands grabbed my waist, keeping me upright. Tilting my head back, I met the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen, the color like the ocean.
The same guy I was gawking at seconds before stood in front of me. If I thought he was nice looking from afar, it was nothing compared to up close. Those blue eyes were framed by eyelashes that I was insanely jealous of. Who gave men the right to have better eyelashes than women?
His skin was tanned, likely from spending so much time in the sun. He was clean-shaven, but I could make out a slight five o’clock shadow along his jawline. A jawline that looked like it could cut my finger if I touched it.
Those eyes stared right into mine, unwavering. I felt myself getting lost in them, forgetting where we were for a split second. A clearing of a throat broke our staring. The guy in front of me dropped his hands and took a step back.
The loss of his hands was like a bucket of cold water being dumped on my head. Confused at the feeling, I shook my head.
“I’m sorry. You’re not hurt, are you?” his deep voice asked. Yep, of course he had a nice voice.
“I’m fine, but you need to watch where you’re going.” The words left my mouth before I could stop them. When his lips twitched at my tone, I narrowed my eyes. He was the one who ran into me, and he wanted me to smile?
“You’re absolutely right. I’ll make sure to watch out next time,” he said, nodding in agreement. I hummed and pressed my lips together so I wouldn’t say what I wanted to.
When he kept staring at me, I raised an eyebrow. What was he looking at? I had to force myself not to reach up to make sure nothing was on my face or that my hair was all over the place. I held his gaze without flinching.
“Um,” Erin’s voice suddenly piped up. I broke my gaze from his and turned to look at her. Her eyebrows were raised, and I knew her keen eyes saw every bit of that interaction.
Wanting to get away from this magnetic man, I took a step away. I met his eyes one more time before walking away, Erin by my side. It took everything in me not to turn around and look back at him.
I stayed strong as we reached Alessandro’s. As soon as I stepped through the restaurant doors, I let out a breath.
“Holy shit,” Erin breathed. “That was…” She couldn’t even finish her sentence.
I shot her a look. “What are you talking about?”
“Em…do you not know who that was?”
“Uhh, no? Am I supposed to?” Aside from being attractive, I had zero clue what she was going on about.
“Emmie, you are so clueless sometimes.” Erin sighed like it was a travesty. “That was Mateo Boone.”
“And?”
“You live under a rock, I swear. Mateo Boone, star quarterback for The Titans.” She shot me a look that told me I should know this. “He just won The Legacy Championship a few months ago…with your dad.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah,oh.” Erin shook her head in mock disappointment.
I knew my dad, the head coach to the Buffalo Titans, had won The Legacy Championship last season. I wasn’t that much of a recluse to not know what was going on in other sports, especially one my father was heavily involved in.
But my father and I weren’t close—and haven’t been in years. We used to be when I was younger. Hell, he moved here for me so I could ice skate, which was what eventually led him to the coaching position with the Titans.
I did send him a congratulations text when the team won, but I didn’t know who any of the players were. Mateo Boone was a complete mystery to me.
Erin all but swooned as we were led toward our table. “God, he’s even more attractive in person.”
“I mean, yeah, he’s good-looking.”
