“We’ll see about that next Thursday,” Jamie said with a huff. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. I might have been making it up, but he actually sounded a tiny bit annoyed. Not pretend annoyed, but legitimately bothered.

“What’s happening on Thursday?” Katie asked.

“A rematch,” Jamie said, his arms folded tightly across his chest. “Next week, after the last clinic.”

Truth? I’d been avoiding the idea of a rematch. On purpose. The first couple times Jamie talked about it, it was fun and flirty and seemed like it wouldn’t matter. But then he got a little more serious. Like the outcome was really important. Like he wanted to beat me just to prove he could. It was a little unsettling. I understood competition. I’d carried the title of most competitive ever on the planet my entire high school and college soccer careers. But this was different. Jamie and I were dating. And I had no idea how the outcome of a rematch, whether I won or lost, would affect our relationship. The fact that I even had to wonder had me worried.

“Sounds exciting,” Katie said. “Who’s playing? Should I bring popcorn?”

“We’re still working on the teams,” Jamie said.

“You should let Lane have Simon,” Dave said. “He’s the strongest player next to you. That way when she wins, you’ll be able to nurse your ego with the fact that her winning was probably because of him.”

“She should have Simon on her team,” Jamie said, “so that when I win, I’ll rest easy knowing it was an absolutely fair match up.”

“Such a sweet-talker,” Dave said. “I can tell your girlfriend is putty in your hands right now.”

“She can handle it,” Jamie shot back. “She’s the one who started this whole competition in the first place.”

Two things battled for space in my brain: One, Jamie hadn’t even flinched when his brother had called me his girlfriend. And two, was he sure I could handle it? ’Cause he was kinda freaking me out a little. His playful banter had an undercurrent of serious even I didn’t like. And that was saying something.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I think for the health of our relationship we might need to stay off the soccer field.”

He dropped an arm over my shoulder. “Are you really worried about that?”

“She’s met you, Jamie,” Dave said. “She has every reason to be worried.”

Katie clapped her hands. “Enough soccer talk. Where’d Cooper sneak off to? And where is Simon?”

“I’m right here,” Simon said from the doorway. He set a briefcase onto the floor. “Sorry. I came straight from a meeting. Cooper’s on the front porch with a plate of cookies.”

“Alone?” Katie asked.

Simon nodded. “He’s on the phone.”