Page 6 of Lowering His Guard

Nolan chuckles. “Attracted to your money is more accurate.”

“Don’t get snippy with me because you got turned down last night.”

The quarterback’s cheeks darken and he slams his mouth shut. What he doesn’t do is deny he got turned down last night. He can’t since we were all there to witness his humiliation. He appeared confused when the woman literally ran away from him.

The lights flash and the bartender jumps onto the stage. “Are you ready for some Mermaid Karaoke?”

The crowd cheers.

“Single ladies! It’s time to don your fins and sparkles. Can you catch a smuggler? You’ll need some serious chops.” She motions to the woman at the side of the stage. “To start us off, our very own Smuggler’s Hideaway native, Addy.”

She hands the microphone to Addy and jumps off the stage. Tanner motions her over. “This is the bartender...”

“Alaia,” she fills in when he falters.

Tanner smirks at her. “Alaia, do you want to drink a shot with us?”

She shrugs before grabbing the bottle of moonshine and pouring us shots. She lifts her glass into the air. “Here’s to the bootleggers. Masters of the sneaky sips and secret stashes. Thanks for keeping the party alive.”

“To the bootleggers!” my teammates shout in response.

I sip my shot. I’m not much of a drinker, and I want to be sober if I need to rush back to the resort for my son. Coach Knox throws back his shot and sputters.

Corbin slaps him on the back. “You okay, Coach Cha-Cha?”

Alaia waves as she returns to the bar. Tanner immediately stands to follow her. I don’t bother to stop him. He’s a grown man. He knows he’s in trouble and should lay low. It’s up to him if he’s smart about it or not.

An upbeat tempo with a rhythmic pop feel starts up and my attention is drawn to the stage as Addy begins to sing and dance. She’s good. She doesn’t miss a beat as she sings Shake It Off.

“Talking about smitten.” Nolan nods to Gage, who’s staring at the stage and the singer with his mouth hanging open.

Corbin snaps his fingers in front of Gage’s face. “Earth to Gage.”

Nolan sighs and settles back in his chair. “How was your day?” he asks Coach Knox. “Did you find a place to stay since you – like Corbin – refuse to stay at the resort?”

“I went to view a house to rent.”

Nolan leans in closer. “How was it?”

“I didn’t get a chance to tour it. Jade…” Knox clears his throat. “The real estate agent double-booked. I’ve re-booked for tomorrow.”

“You should ask Corbin to ask his landlady if she has other rentals. Oh wait.” Nolan snaps his fingers. “That’s right. You can’t ask Corbin since his landlady thinks he’s an oversized gorilla who should be kept in a zoo for observation.”

My eyebrows raise in surprise. Corbin is the furthest thing from a gorilla. What did he do to make his landlady call him a gorilla?

Before I have a chance to ask, my phone beeps with a message.

What’s our Netflix password?

Excellent. This is the perfect excuse for me to escape. My teammates don’t need to know Jace doesn’t need my help.

I stand. “Need to go. Jace needs me.”

I push my way through the crowd. Several women wiggle their eyebrows and lick their lips as I pass them. I’m not interested. The only woman to catch my interest is May.

I growl. I’m not interested in May. Did she surprise me with her competence? She did. But that’s it. I don’t want to thread my hands through her shiny black hair. Or kiss the freckles on her nose. And I certainly don’t want to glide my hands over her delicate curves.

My cock twitches and I ignore it.