Page 52 of Lowering His Guard

“Not a job that will allow her to live in the manner she was accustomed to when married to me.”

“Geez. I’d be embarrassed to live off a man. Especially a man I was no longer married to. Not that I’ve ever been married. Not even engaged. And now I sound like a total loser.”

He chuckles. He has the best laugh. He should do it more often. I nearly open my mouth to tell him as much but stop myself in the nick of time.

We’re friends. Friends don’t go ga-ga over how their friend laughs.

Except I don’t want to be friends. I want to be more. I want to explore this chemistry between us. I want to experience how it feels to have Brock’s concentration on pleasing me.

My nipples tingle. I need to shove those thoughts away. Brock and I aren’t meant to be. He’s a family man, and I can’t give him a family.

“I should go,” he says.

“It’s still early.”

“I don’t want to leave Jace alone too long.”

He’s sixteen. He’s perfectly fine being alone but I don’t say those words. Brock is the dad. He gets to decide if his son is alone or not.

“Okay.”

He stares down at me for a minute. His gaze dips to my mouth. My breath gets stuck in my throat. Is he going to kiss me? I push up on my tiptoes.

But he shakes his head before marching away without saying another word.

Chapter 17

Rule #7: Never second-guess the choices you make for family.

Brock

I trudge into the stadium. I’m exhausted. My body feels heavy and slow from spending the entire day yesterday doing cardio workouts while starving myself.

I didn’t have a choice. I need to make weight. I’m a seasoned veteran. I should have made weight last week.

My phone beeps with a message. If it’s Jace complaining he forgot something, he’s shit out of luck. I don’t have time to return to the resort. Not today of all days.

It’s not Jace. It’s May.

Good luck with your weigh-in, giant! Don’t let the alien win.

I grin. She’s crazy. And I nearly kissed her Saturday night. I blame the circumstances. Walking on the beach at sunset. The breeze floating gently over our skin. May beaming up at me.

It was romantic. I got swept away.

Thanks.

You didn’t grunt. I win!

I reach the locker room and shove my phone back in my pocket. Game time.

Coach Knox is standing next to the scale. I lift my chin in greeting. His brow wrinkles. “Why are you smiling?”

Shit. I am. Because of a message from May. I wipe the smile from my face. The woman makes me want things I know better than to want. It needs to stop.

“Not smiling.”

“Does this have something to do with the cute surfer?”