Page 143 of Tangled with the Tight End

His laughter fills my car. “And when I want something, I want it. And I pursue it.”

“Pursuing us, in this scenario?”

“A relationship with you, yes. And since you gave me the green light, I’m not holding back.”

I shake my head. “Gate two,” I tell him as I pass through the second gate.

“Is it so hard to believe I want you?” he asks.

“A little, yeah.”

“Well, give me time to convince you. I’ve got exquisite taste, Winona.”

“And your taste extends to relationships?”

“Where you’re concerned, yes. You’re not like anyone else I’ve ever known.”

“Because I come with a visiting goat and a porch goose? Or is it my amazing skill at throwing a football?”

He’s quiet for a beat. His voice is filled with so much sincerity when he finally speaks. “All of the above. And more.”

My breath stalls. He means every word. I don’t have a space in my brain to file away the kind of compliments he’s dishing out so consistently, but I’m going to try to make one.

“I’m almost to your house,” I say.

“Did you eat?”

“Not yet.”

“I’ll be in the kitchen. Sandwich good?”

“A sandwich sounds great.”

After lunch, I drive Declan to the practice facility. He rests his hand on my neck again and I lean into his touch, getting just a little more used to this. I pull into the lot and park. Declan leans over and kisses me goodbye.

I drive home and study for a while and then I run some errands Cass needs me to handle.

I return to pick Declan up just before dinnertime.

I wait in the car and he propels out toward me. I watch him, unable to stop looking at him if I wanted to. He’s so objectively gorgeous, his dark hair pushed back from his face, his muscular body maneuvering as if propelling crutches is a sport in itself. When he gets close enough, his eyes lock on mine and a smile spreads across his face.

He tosses his crutches into the back of the car, holds the roof and pivots into the seat.

“If this whole football thing doesn’t work out, I think you could go into the circus.”

He laughs hard. “You think?”

“I do. You’ve got moves, Declan.”

“I’m dying to show them to you, too.”

I blush, all the way up through my cheeks.

He cups the back of my head and leans in, tugging me toward him. Then he kisses me right where the flush is the hottest.

“Missed you,” he says.

“I missed you too,” I admit.