Catching Summer (4 page)

If there was one thing I hated, it was lying to Summer. It wasn’t exactly a lie—it was more the inability to give her the full truth. It was true that Coach Joel would make me stay late, but it wasn’t true about him making
her
stay. The other day, I overheard Lara talking to Grayson about how she wished someone could bring her sister back. I remembered feeling the same way a few years ago when Kate’s boyfriend, Scott, overdosed on pain pills. She was devastated, and I had no clue if she’d be able to move on. Thankfully, she did, but I was by her side every step of the way. I just had to help her see past the grief. I wasn’t stupid enough to believe that the pain would ever go away, but I was glad she was able to move on with Cooper.

In order to help Summer, I needed to help her see that there was a whole world of new adventures waiting for her. I don’t know what all she went through when her husband was killed, but I could only imagine. When we pulled up to the practice field, a group of the guys who were congregating out front noticed us. Summer blew out a nervous breath and closed her eyes.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’m just waiting for the shit storm.”

I shut off the truck and opened my door. “Shit storm? What are you talking about?”

She pursed her lips and then nodded toward the crowd. “Either you’re blind or you didn’t notice the go-to-hell stare your ex just gave me when you parked.”

Peering over at the crowd, I could see Lindsey glaring at us with her hands on her hips. I wanted to say fuck her and the fourteen thousand guys she let pound her ass, but I held back. “Don’t worry about her, sunshine. She used to look at Kate the same way. Besides, you’re not going to be anywhere near her today. I won’t let her bother you.”

Grabbing her bag, Summer kept her eyes on the crowd and snorted. “I’m not worried about her bothering me, Evan. I’m afraid of what I’ll do if she does. I’ve kept my mouth shut around her for way too long. She’s horrible to my staff and she’s a shitty tipper. Unfortunately, I have to be civil when I’m at work.”

After shutting my door, I joined her on the other side of my truck and grabbed her bag. “Well, then, I guess it’s a good thing you don’t have to be civil here.”

She looked up at me and grinned. “You’re going to get me into so much trouble, Evan Townsend.”

“And I have two weeks to make sure I do. Let’s go.”

“All right, pansies, you did well today,” Cooper shouted. Ever since he joined our team, we had been unstoppable. I was one of the best wide receivers in the league, but there was only so much we could do with the shitty quarterback we had before him. It was nice to actually win for a change.

Derek tossed his helmet on the ground and slapped him on the shoulder. “Hell, yeah, we did. Super Bowl, here we come.”

Coach Joel sauntered up with a huge grin on his face. “Not bad, boys. I think this is going to be a good season.” Before we could all disperse, he put his hand on my shoulder, stopping me. “Nice work today, son. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you run so fast down the field. You trying to impress someone?”

And as if my thoughts betrayed me, I searched the field for that certain someone. She was laughing with Kate and Brianna, who was Derek’s girlfriend. Derek snuck up behind Brianna, and she squealed when he threw her over his shoulder and twirled her around. Summer smiled and then snuck a glance my way. Unintentionally, Joel stepped in my way, blocking my view of her.

“Thanks for the compliment, Coach. Is that all you wanted to say?”

Chuckling, he put his arm around my shoulder. “Actually, no.” He pointed to the opposite side of the field, where a woman stood talking on her phone. “Do you see that woman down there? She wants to interview you for a magazine article. Apparently, you’re a hot commodity in the Queen City.”

“What about Cooper? He’s the star quarterback.” Everyone wanted the quarterbacks. That was all you’d see in the newspapers.

He shrugged. “She asked for you.” He turned to walk away, then stopped, glancing at me over his shoulder. “Oh, and once you get done talking to her, you need to stay and work one-on-one with Gavin.”

“Is it because I was late?”

“Well, that, and Gavin needs to get up to your level. If anything were to happen to you, we’d be screwed. Just don’t get hurt.”

“I don’t plan on it,” I called, walking backward toward the reporter. When she saw me approaching, she turned off her phone and slid it into her purse. She looked to be in her early thirties, with wavy, light brown hair, wearing a pair of tight black pants and a silky red top.

She closed the distance and held out her hand. “Evan Townsend, it’s such a pleasure to finally meet you. I’m Bailey Morgan, journalist for
Sports Unlimited.
”

I shook her hand and smiled. “Nice to meet you, Miss Morgan. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

She bit her lip and opened her small black book. “I was wondering if I could schedule a meeting with you. I’m writing an article about the country’s sexiest bachelors in the sports world. You were one of the top picks in our polls.”

“Really? Damn, I never would’ve thought that.”

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she laughed breathlessly. “Oh, yeah, you better believe it. The world wants you, especially the ladies. Are you interested?”

“Hell, yeah. What all do you need from me?”

“Oh, just some answers to a couple of questions,” she replied with a small shrug of her shoulders. “They might get kind of personal, but if you don’t want to answer them, you don’t have to. I just figured the ladies would want to know what kind of woman you want.”

Over my shoulder, I looked at Summer, who was now standing with Jaxon in the middle of the field, a little too close. Quickly, I turned back to Bailey. “Are you free tonight?”

Her smile brightened. “Yes, definitely. Where would you like to meet?”

“Seven o’clock at the Carolina Tavern. It’s not far from here. I’ll meet you there.”

“Great, I’ll see you then,” she called out as I turned and headed straight for the fifty-yard line. With my back to her, I waved my hand in the air and marched to my target.

Jaxon was our kicker and was showing Summer how to kick the ball. When she tried, it didn’t go very far. Her laugh echoed in the air, and as she prepared to try again, Jaxon had his hands out, ready to put them on her waist.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not the way you go about showing her how to kick the ball,” I said, almost growling the words. Jax quickly pulled back before Summer even noticed he was about to touch her. Sly bastard. His eyes narrowed, but then changed when Summer turned around.

“Did you see how horrible that was?” she asked. “I think I have a better chance at running the ball than kicking it.”

Jax bent down and picked up one of the balls. “I thought I’d teach her how to kick since I noticed you were a little busy talking to your friend over there,” he explained. “I didn’t want her to be alone since everyone else is leaving.”

“That lady isn’t a friend; she’s a reporter. She asked if she could do an interview with me.”

Summer’s eyes went wide. “Evan, that’s great. What’s it about?”

“I know,” Jax interrupted. “She’s interviewing me, too. It’s something
Sports Unlimited
does every year. They pick the country’s top twenty-five sexiest athletes.”

“And you both made it on the list?” she exclaimed. “That’s amazing.”

“Yeah, but I’m pretty sure I was at the bottom. Evan, here, is the one all the ladies want. I swear, we can’t go anywhere without women throwing him their thongs.”

Summer’s smile faded. “Wow, that’s pretty interesting. I guess that stuff happens all the time with you guys.”

Jax smiled innocently. “Nope, only to Evan.”

Clenching my teeth, I was about to go off on him when Gavin ran up and joined us. “Yo, Townsend, you about ready to get started? I’m ready to get the fuck out of here.” He threw me a ball and I clutched it tight.

“Summer, do you mind waiting on me for a few minutes? I’ll be done soon and then I can take you home.”

“Or I can just take you,” Jax offered.

Summer glanced at us both and cleared her throat, obviously picking up on the tension. The last thing I wanted to do was fight with Jax in front of her. He’d pulled this same shit with Lindsey and ended up fucking her behind my back. The only problem with beating his ass was that he was our best kicker. I didn’t want to risk our team playing without him. Not to mention I’d get in a shit ton of trouble if I hurt him.

Summer turned to Jax and smiled. “I’ll just wait on Evan, if you don’t mind. But you’re more than welcome to show me some of your moves while I wait.”

Jax grinned widely and winked at me without her noticing. “I’d be happy to do that, darling. I have lots of skills.”

If he so much as touched her, I was going to make sure he wasn’t capable of showing her any of those
skills.
Now I definitely regretted being late this morning.

The tension between Evan and Jax was palpable. There was something there that I didn’t know about. Judging by the way Evan gripped the steering wheel, I could tell he was still angry, even after busting Jax’s nose with the football. Evan and Gavin were off practicing when Jax got a little too close and put his hands on my waist. After that, it was game over. I saw the ball fly from Evan’s grasp before I could even open my mouth. Needless to say, I rushed to grab some towels and sat with Jax until his nose stopped bleeding. I told Evan to take me to my house. I really needed to take a shower before going to the restaurant, now that I was covered in blood.

“Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?” I asked. “Why did you flip out on Jax when he touched me? He was just showing me how to turn my hips to kick the ball.”

Blowing out an angry breath, he snorted darkly. “That’s not what he was doing, sunshine. He was trying to mess with you to fuck with me. We don’t exactly have the best history.”

“Why not?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he grumbled. “I just don’t like him touching you. What happened is in the past. I don’t even give a shit about it anymore.”

“Then why are you still so angry?”

He sighed. “I already told you. I don’t like him touching you. He’s not the kind of guy a girl like you should be with.”

Now I was intrigued. “Oh, really? Then what kind of guy should I be with?”

He pulled into my driveway and parked, but left the ignition running. “I don’t know, someone who actually cares about who you are instead of trying to get in your pants. Jax only wants to fuck you. That’s all he ever wants from anyone.”

Grabbing my bag, I opened the door and slid out. I liked feeling protected with him, but he needed to know I wasn’t weak…not anymore. “Then I guess it’s a good thing I’m not interested in him. If there’s one thing you need to understand about me, it’s that I’m not easily fooled. I picked up on Jax’s intent before he even opened his mouth today. If you want to protect me from everyone, that’s fine, but let’s get something clear.” His head snapped in my direction; I had his full-on attention. “I’m a big girl and I can take care of myself. Don’t for one second think I can’t.”

“That’s not what I think when I look at you, Summer,” he murmured, his gray eyes boring into mine.

“Then what is?”

His lip curled up into a small smile. “I don’t think you’re ready to hear it. When you are, I’ll be right there.” He put his truck in reverse and waited for me to shut the door. Reluctantly, I shut it, still reeling over his words. “I’ll see you tonight at the restaurant. I’m meeting the journalist there to do the interview.” I’ll admit, when I saw him with her at practice and the way she was dressed in her tight pants and low-cut top, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy. It made me wonder if that was the type of girl he wanted: sophisticated, modern, and classy, with her high heels and perfectly made-up face. That wasn’t me.

Nodding, I stepped back. “Then I guess I’ll see you there.”
With her.
He pulled out of the driveway and disappeared down the road. It was going to be a long night.

“Are you okay?” Lara asked, stepping into my line of sight. For the past hour, I’d watched the journalist constantly find ways to touch Evan and smile at him. I could see it in the way she sat, poking out her breasts to draw attention to her cleavage. She wanted him.

“I’m fine,” I snapped.

She glanced back at Evan’s table and faced me with furrowed brows. “Well, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you were jealous. You sure are acting like it.”

“I’m not jealous. Just—”

Lara grinned widely. “Just jealous? Why don’t you admit that you like him? I think you’re forgetting that we’re twins. We’re from the same egg, so we basically share the same brain.”

Laughing, I tore my gaze away from Evan’s table. “Lara, you’re too much sometimes.”

“So, you do like him?”

“I didn’t say that,” I replied quickly. Who was I kidding? I did like him and I
was
jealous. I didn’t like seeing him with another woman, especially one who kept touching him. I’d give anything just to go over there and tell her to back off.

“It’s okay if you do. Evan’s a nice guy. He’s a much better man than his best friend.” Her gaze landed on something over my shoulder and she snarled, “And speaking of which, said best friend just walked through the damn door with another wildebeest.” She squeezed my shoulder and slid off the stool. “Is it okay if I go home? My head is killing me.”

I looked at her and then over my shoulder at Luke. In that moment, I hated him for what he was doing to her. “Go,” I told her. “Grayson and I will be fine here.” Grayson was helping an elderly gentleman at the end of the bar, but he acknowledged us with a nod of his head.

“Thank you,” she whispered hurriedly. In a flash, she rushed to the back and out the exit door.

“Grayson, what’s up, man?” Luke greeted him as he approached the bar.

Grayson’s jaw clenched, but he put on a fake smile and shook Luke’s hand. “Not much. Been busy.”

“I hear ya,” Luke said, sitting down at the bar. His lady friend took the seat beside me, smelling like cheap perfume and sex. My stomach rolled in disgust. How Lara could ever fall in love with someone like Luke was beyond me. What was worse was that he was Evan’s best friend. You are what you hang out with was what I’d always heard.

“Well, hello, Summer. How are you tonight?” Luke asked, slamming down the shot of tequila Grayson had just poured him. Grayson could see in my eyes that I had hit my limit. He shook his head, warning me, but I couldn’t let it go any longer.

“Actually, Luke, I’m feeling a little sick to my stomach. Do you want to know why?” I glared at him, not even acknowledging the girl he’d dragged in with him. He cleared his throat, his smile fading. Without waiting for an answer, I stood and walked over, stopping behind him and leaning down to his ear. I whispered low so his friend couldn’t hear me.

“I’m sick because every time you come in here with some slut bag, I have to look at the hurt on Lara’s face. You might not give a damn after you fucked her and left, but I sure as hell do. If you so much as bring another one of your skank-ass friends in here, I promise I will literally kick you out myself.” I slapped my hand on the bar to get Grayson’s attention. “Close his tab. He’s leaving.”

“But I’m hungry,” his date whined.

Luke sighed and glanced sheepishly at Grayson before setting down a twenty. “Keep the change. We’re out of here.” Keeping his head down, he made sure to avoid me at all costs. His date, however, wasn’t done.

“Why are you letting her run us out?” she shouted, drawing the attention of everyone in the restaurant, including Evan. “She’s just a stupid waitress.” Gasps erupted and the whole place grew silent. Evan got to his feet and started toward us.

With the biggest grin on my face, I lowered my voice and spoke through my clenched teeth. People were watching. “Actually, honey, I’m the owner.” Her eyes went wide. Then to Luke I said, “And if you don’t get the hell out of here now I’m going to live up to my promise.”

“What’s going on?” Evan demanded.

“Nothing,” Luke blurted out. “We were just leaving.”

Evan narrowed his eyes. “But you just got here.”

Not wasting any time, Luke sauntered to the door, all calm like nothing was wrong. “Don’t worry, I’ll catch up with you later.” And then he and his date were gone.
Good riddance.

Evan glared at the door, then looked back to me. “Do you want to tell me what that was all about?”

“Don’t you need to get back to your date?”

“Interview,” he corrected. “And we’re almost done.”

“Well, then, why don’t you ask your friend what’s wrong? He is your best friend, isn’t he?”

“Yeah, but I’m asking you.”

“Later. You’re busy right now.” I tried to walk off, but he grabbed my hand and pulled me past the bar to the back. We walked past the kitchen to the back door that led to the employee parking area.

Opening it wide, he ushered me out and slammed the door. “Why are you acting so pissy with me?”

I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m not angry at
you.
”

“At Luke then? What did he do?”

“Can you honestly tell me you have no clue? I thought all you guys gloated about the women you’ve slept with.” His jaw clenched and he tensed. “Anyway, I’ve kept everything buried for so long, and I just couldn’t do it anymore.”

Evan put his hands on my shoulders and immediately my body relaxed; an audible sigh escaped my lips. He heard it and moved closer. Surprisingly, I didn’t move back. I didn’t want to. “It doesn’t shock me that he could piss someone off, but
you
are the last person he’d mess with.”

I looked up into his serious gray gaze. “That’s not true. Has he told you about Lara?”

His brows furrowed. “No. What about her?”

“They slept together,” I confided, “a few months ago. And then afterward, he up and left like nothing happened. You can’t tell me you didn’t know.”

Eyes wide, he squeezed my shoulders and pulled me closer. “Summer, you have to believe me when I say I didn’t. How the fuck could he do that? No wonder he’s been acting strange around her.”

“I wonder why he didn’t tell you,” I murmured, more to myself than him.

Evan sighed and closed his eyes. “Probably because he knew I’d bitch his ass out for it. Lara’s a good girl. He should’ve known better than to fuck around with her. Not to mention, I’ve seen the kind of girls he’s been messing with. I don’t know what the hell his problem is.”

“So now do you see why I’m upset? Lara’s hurting and I did the only thing I could think of to get him out of my sight.”

Letting my shoulders go, Evan stepped back, a small smile spreading across his face. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so worked up over something.”

“Is that good or bad?”

“It’s good. I like seeing you protective of your sister. I can tell she’s the same way with you.”

I leaned against the building and smiled. “All she’s done for the past two years is be completely by my side, supporting me. It’s time I was there for her. Thank goodness your sister was there for her when I wasn’t.”

“And I’m glad Lara was there for Kate when I couldn’t be. If it wasn’t for Lara, I’d probably be dead right now. Kate would’ve killed me for hovering too much. It’s hard not to when all you want is to keep your family safe.”

“Have you always been like that? Protective of your family and friends?”

His lips curled up into a small smile and I felt tingles vibrate through my body. “What can I say? It’s part of my southern charm.” Opening the door, he nodded to the inside. “Now that I know you’re not pissed at me, are we still on for Saturday night after the game?”

I nodded. “I said yes, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, but I know how women are; they never know what the hell they want.”

“And you do?” I countered. By the mischievous grin on his face, he wasn’t going to answer me. Men never knew what they wanted, either, and if they did, it was always something they couldn’t have.

“How about we go inside? I have an interview to get back to.”

“You mean, flirting to get back to. I think the journalist likes you. She’s basically sticking her tits in your face.”

I strolled inside, and behind me I heard him chuckle, but I didn’t turn around. When we got to the bar, his body brushed up against mine and he leaned down toward my ear. “That woman out there may want me, but she’s not what
I
want. I prefer something a little sweeter.” His warm breath fanned over my skin and I broke into chills, shivering. As he walked back to his table, he glanced at me over his shoulder and smiled. Beaming in return, I sat down at the bar and sighed. Was falling for him such a good idea? No, but it didn’t look like I had a choice.