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My heart jumps into my throat, wanting to have him stay, but that isn’t my place. Plus, he doesn’t seem to want to stay. “I like eating at home.”
“Sure, but here, the food is warm, and we are good company,” Alex says proudly, rubbing Elliot’s belly.
“Are you now?” he asks. And is that a playful tone? I know that he and Alex are close, but does that mean that Riggs isn’t always so brooding?
“You know it,” Alex says, grinning, before he waves down our waitress. “Can you get him a glass of sweet tea? You need a menu, Coach?”
Riggs shakes his head as he lowers himself into the chair beside me. His knee brushes mine, and I take in a deep breath. Of course, he doesn’t even notice as he says, “No. I know what I want.”
I bet he does. I bet he eats the same thing and never tries anything else.
Unable to keep that in, I say, “Maybe try something new since you’re eating at the site?”
Riggs slowly moves his gaze to mine, the brown of his eyes darkening and leaving me breathless. “Are you implying that I only get one thing from here?”
I smile. “I am. Probably steak and potatoes.”
Alex scoffs as Gavin chuckles. I feel Elliot’s eyes on me, but I ignore her. Meanwhile, Riggs just gazes into my eyes. “And why steak and potatoes? Maybe I like the pasta from here.”
I shrug. “Maybe, but pasta isn’t good when you get it to go.”
He nods. “Which is why I planned on getting it.”
I press my lips together, feeling dumb for saying anything. I just wanted his attention, and, of course, I proved that I’m not worthy of it. When he stands, my eyes widen when he grasps Gavin’s shoulder. “Trade seats with me. It’s you two on a date, not her and me.”
Everyone at the table chuckles. Even I fake a laugh, but the embarrassment that’s flooding me makes me itch all over. I bite into my bottom lip as I reach for my beer, downing most of it as the conversation carries on around me. As I place my glass down, my fingers brush his as he grabs his drink. Our eyes meet for only a millisecond before he looks away at what Alex is saying. My shoulders sag, and I feel his hatred for me deep in my core.
Surely this will be enough to get me over my crush?
CHAPTER 7
Riggs
I have a toothache from how fucking sweet Clara looks.
She was the reason I came over. I saw her first, the moment I walked into the café. Not Alex, not Elliot, and definitely not Gavin. It was her. All her. My eyes immediately set on her, in all pink, her lips glossed to perfection, her hair half up and half down in curls that frame her stunning face. She has on a little pink tennis dress that should be illegal with how it hugs her breasts, shows her toned shoulders, and I’m sure if she stood, her ass would barely be covered. She’s also wearing white socks with high-top pink Converse.
She reminds me of bubble gum that I want nothing more than to savor and then swallow completely.
Fuck me.
I readjust my cock that’s more a steel pipe than anything as I lean on the table, trying my hardest not to notice her, look at her, or fall to my knees before her. I’ve never wanted that. I’m used to women falling for me, but I’d break my knees for a taste of her. To feel her flesh under my mouth, my fingers, and around my cock. The thought has me grimacing as I shake my head.She’s too young and probably doesn’t know a thing about the deviant things I dream of. Peppa used to tell me all the time that I wanted things she wasn’t down for. Sex by itself was good, but it was never satisfying enough for me. Or her, I guess, since she went elsewhere for it.
Great, now I’m thinking of my shitty marriage.
I exhale, and while I don’t want to be in their conversation, I can’t help but listen to Gavin. He’s a good kid, smart, and funny. But surely he knows Clara is out of his league. Seeing them together had my heart racing and my fists clenching. Jealousy so strong eats me alive as I listen to him try to flirt with her. I don’t want Clara near him, and I sure as hell don’t want him looking at her the way I want to. I chance a glance toward them, and my gaze falls on her. She looks so uncomfortable and not her usual sunshine self. She leans on her hand as Gavin tells her about his family in Florida. Her eyes aren’t as shiny as they were when I first got here, and I wonder if it’s because of me.
“How about you?”
She sits up then, almost as if she wasn’t really listening until now. “Well, I have my peepaw, Dan Davenport, and then my sisters. I’m the youngest of five. Louisa and Austen are in Nashville, Eliza is back and forth between here and Nashville because her husband, Coleson, is rehabbing his leg, and then Elliot is here with me.” She throws a loving look at her sister. “Though, with how well Alex is doing, I’m sure they’ll be off to a different team before I know it.”
Elliot flashes a sad smile as Alex wraps his arms tighter around her. “No matter the distance…”
“…we’ll always be with one another,” Clara finishes with a small sigh, and my heart clenches at the words they share before looking at each other with such overwhelming love. There is raw protectiveness in Elliot’s gaze for her baby sister, while Claralooks at her like she hung the moon and stars above. It’s a beautiful sight to see, and I’m in awe of their bond.
Or rather, I’m in awe of Clara.
Her eyes shine like a sky full of stars, and I want to get lost in them. Forming constellations and memorizing everything about her. Her gaze moves to me, and when her eyes widen, I have to look away. It is wrong how much I want her. If I didn’t need her to watch my boys, and she weren’t my boss’s granddaughter, I’d lose myself in her. A smart man would fire her, but I’m proving to be a damn fool. I can do no such thing. Even if I can’t have her, I want to watch her from afar. But can I watch her be with another man?
