“I just got asked out. By a hot cheerleader.” I showed him my arm.

“Woohoo! That’s my girl.” He held up his hand and waited for me to slap it. I didn’t hesitate.

“Hell, yeah.” I was on cloud nine. I was about to shoot Max a devilish grin until I noticed that Parker O’Neal stood twenty feet behind Max. She had witnessed the whole thing. I gave her a nervous smile hoping I didn’t come across as too much of an asshole. Her face showed no emotion. Not a smile or a frown. It was as if she didn’t see me. She turned to her parents and pointed to a smoothie truck in the opposite direction of where Max and I stood.

Chapter Twenty—The Marriage

Present

I froze with my phone in my hand. When Parker texted me and asked if we could talk, I didn’t think she meant right now. It was eleven at night. I was curled up in bed with Crowbar. The phone rang four times before instinct took over and I swiped right. “Is everything okay?” I was afraid something was wrong. We weren’t pick-up-the-phone-and-call-one-another friends yet.

“Everything’s fine. I just have a lot on my mind.”

“I’m surprised you’re still awake.” I was sure she had to get up early to get the kids up and ready for school. “There is school tomorrow, right?”

Her throaty laugh made every part of me tense up. “Yes, but once they are gone then I can get a quick nap in. It’s hard to go to sleep on game days.”

“Because you get so excited?” I was confused. I was surprised that I was still awake. Most Sundays after home games I dropped early.

“Because Grayson is gone all night.”

I sat up. “What? Where does he go? Why is he not home?” I was shocked for her, but I was selfishly more concerned that he wouldn’t make it to practice on time. At least players didn’t have to report until ten.

“He hangs out with his friends. I don’t care though. I like a nice, quiet evening. Going to the games is exhausting.”

“Coaching it is pretty exhausting, too.” I was teasing her a bit.

Her voice was low and her laugh quiet. “I bet. Fifty-three babies, not to mention the coaches and trainers you babysit, too.”

“It’s not that bad.” But it really was. Football was very macho but also very emotional. A lot of guys played the game with their hearts on their sleeves and it showed. Most of the time I walked the sideline ensuring they were okay physically, mentally, and emotionally. “Grayson’s pretty good at keeping the guys pumped up and focused.”

“You’ve done a remarkable job. You were great with the Vikings, but having a say over everything is exactly what you do best.”