Chapter 2
JACE
Friday dinners had been a fixture in our family for years. My oldest sister Valentina had started the tradition after Will, the second-oldest of the family, turned eighteen and moved out. Once I arrived at her house, I went straight to the kitchen and kissed her cheek.
“Sister, this smells great. As usual.”
My sister was the best cook I knew. I’d been of that opinion as a kid, and it hadn’t changed as an adult, even after testing many restaurants.
“Where are your girls?” I asked.
“Raiding my closet.”
“Of course.”
“Hey! I have great fashion sense. Of course the girls want to take advantage of it.”
Val’s fiancé had two nieces they were raising together.
Peyton was seven. April was fifteen and already sharing Val’s shopaholic tendencies.
After annoying Val by stealing a piece of cake, I skidded out to the backyard.
Milo was already stretching. We practiced right until Lori came to inform us that everyone had arrived, and then we headed inside.
Our Friday dinners were loud and crazy, and I loved them.
We were six siblings, so I’d grown up in a big household where a third of the inhabitants (usually Hailey and me) was up to no good most of the time.
I was the youngest, and Hailey was just two years older than me.
Lori was the middle sister, and Will had always considered himself part of the older group, which I supposed he was since Val and Landon were twins.
After our parents passed away, the two of them raised the rest of us.
They’d both received scholarships to Harvard and dropped out to return to LA and take over Dad’s pub as well as claim responsibility for all of us.
I had only been nine at the time, so my memories were fuzzy, but even though I’d missed Mom and Dad greatly, I’d also started to consider Val and Landon as my parents.
Even now, I felt more at home in Val’s house than my own.
“You’ve bought a new table,” I commented as we all sat down.
“Well, the old one was getting too small,” Val said.
Our family had grown a lot over the past few years.
“I’ll need a bigger living room once you two get hitched up,” Val said jokingly, pointing between Hailey and me. We were the only single Connors left.
I caught Will’s eye.
“Bet Hailey will get there first,” Will said.
I shook my head. “Oh, come on, man. I was going to bet the same thing. I need you to bet against me.”
“I’ll do you a solid and bet you’ll get there first,” Hailey said. I grinned. Our betting habit had rubbed off on our sisters.
Hailey hadn’t told us if she was dating anyone, though she shared more with our sisters, which was fine by me.
I’d accidentally eavesdropped on their girl talk a few times, and…
that was a little too much detail for me.
Plus, I was well aware that I could be overprotective of my sisters, and they were all adults.
They didn’t need me hovering. I just couldn’t help myself.
I could see Hailey springing on us that she was serious about someone.
As for me, I liked the way things were, or at least I told myself I did.
After the first GQ title came out a few years ago, I became an internet sensation.
Then, my fame carried out into the offline world, which was rare.
Soccer wasn’t one of the three popular sports in the US, but I wasn’t fooling myself.
I’d become known for my looks, not my game.
In the beginning, I’d rolled along with it.
It was fun. I’d always been popular with the ladies, but that had taken popular to a whole new level.
I’d relished the attention, taken advantage of it.
Somewhere along the way, though, I’d realized that my newfound fame was attracting a lot of people who weren’t interested in me, just in how they could benefit by hanging around with me.
I was tired of that. Still, I couldn’t see myself settling down anytime soon.
“Jace, I got the stills from the last photo shoot today but forgot to forward them to you. They’re fantastic. I think half the girls in my office are a bit in love with you,” Val said.
“Nah, they just like me shirtless.”
“Thanks for agreeing to that, by the way.”
“You know me. I take off my shirt for the calendar or my sister’s campaigns.”
Val ran a very successful cosmetics and fragrance company, and I was featured in a few of her ads. It was the first time Val had asked me for anything, and it hadn’t even occurred to me to say no. I’d probably do whatever Val wanted me to do.
“And speaking of people who like you shirtless, Leta keeps talking about you.”
Yeah, that was one thing I didn’t want to do. Go out with Leta.
“Val, I thought you considered me too much of a heartbreaker to go out with any of your friends. I think I liked that way of thinking better.”
Val pouted. Hailey laughed, and so did Lori, but I could tell she was one hundred percent behind the idea.
Our middle sister was a wedding planner, and since neither Val and Carter or Will and his fiancé Paige had set a wedding date, it seemed she was waiting for Hailey or me to suddenly need her services.
She was seven months pregnant, but I doubted she’d slow down even with a baby in tow.
“I admit I was wrong. You’re on your way to becoming an honest man.”
“Not going out with Leta.”
I’d met her often enough to know we didn’t have much in common.
“Be careful with the heartbreaker tag,” Hailey advised. “It could turn and bite you in the ass.”
I groaned, but Hailey was a PR pro, and I listened to her carefully whenever she gave me advice.
“Did you find someone to manage the sponsorship contracts?” she looked from me to Graham, who was sitting opposite her.
“Yes.”
“You’ve had quite a few personnel changes this year.”
There had been a changing of the guard at the Lords over the past year. In addition to Bree leaving, our former head of PR, Amber, had also gone on maternity leave. Graham’s father had worked in PR at the club, but Graham had recently opened a restaurant, and his dad now oversaw marketing there.
“Yes. We hired Brooke Derringer,” Graham went on.
“Any relation to the head coach?” Hailey asked.
“His daughter. She’s a very talented business developer. It was perfect timing. Bree left, and we had a hard time replacing her. Then Coach Derringer came to me and said his daughter was looking for a change of scenery. She’ll do great with us, I’m sure of it.”
I was sure of it too. I couldn’t get Brooke out of my mind. Those blue eyes were branded in my memory, and so was the curve of her waist and that of her neck. I’d fantasized more than once about tilting it just right so I could have all the access I wanted.
“She seems very competent,” I offered. I kept the part where I thought she was smoking hot to myself. Graham wouldn’t appreciate that comment.
During dinner, I talked to Will and Paige about my schedule this week.
They ran an education center that offered various trainings to people from impoverished backgrounds, especially those who were homeless.
I’d shown up a few times just to bring in a fun factor, but I was looking for ways to involve myself more.
“We’ll find something,” Paige said. I respected her a lot.
She’d been the one who had the idea for the foundation and roped Will into it.
My brother had been a detective with the LAPD before.
I deeply believed that everyone should follow the career they wanted, but I couldn’t lie: I was relieved that Will had switched to a safer job.
After dessert, Milo begged me to play soccer with him again. He was also preparing a surprise for Lori’s birthday, and I was his partner in crime. He still needed help with a few details, and I was always full of ideas.
“You two look a little guilty,” Hailey commented as Milo and I got up from the table.
“Course we do. I’m about to go be a bad influence,” I supplied.
“I have to up my game in this department. You speak as if you were the only troublemaker.”
I shrugged, exchanging a conspiratorial glance with Milo. “I think it’s time for you to admit I’m the head troublemaker.”
“I vote for Uncle Jace too,” Milo said.
Hailey narrowed her eyes at Milo and me before we headed out.
We spoke about Lori’s party more than we practiced, and after I ordered some supplies on my phone, I noticed an unread email from Brooke.
She was informing us that she’d attend the photo session next Tuesday, and that she wanted to talk to each of us, get some information prior to our one-on-one meetings.
I sent back a short email.
Jace: Sounds good.
Brooke: If there’s anything you’d like to discuss in particular, let me know and I can prepare some ideas.
I’d seen her at the club a few times, and it was clear that on the first day, she’d gone the extra mile to dress more conservatively, probably to make a good impression.
The other glimpses I’d had of her, she’d been more casual: jeans and polo shirts, occasionally a skirt.
She seemed to prefer keeping her hair in that tight bun, and her exposed neck turned out to be my kryptonite.
Every time I glimpsed her, I wondered how it would feel to run my lips over that delicate skin.
I emailed her back, trying to keep my mind out of the gutter.
Jace: I’m tied up with something this weekend, but we can just exchange ideas on Tuesday.
Brooke: Sure.
Her replies were fast. Why was she still working so late? Was she still at the club, or was she at home, perhaps sitting in a comfortable chair, with a glass of wine? Coach never spoke about his family, and I wanted to know more about Brooke.
I was looking forward to Tuesday, and even more to our one-on-one meeting.