Chapter 15
Nothing ruins flirting faster than accidental blunt force trauma.
Nolan
I scan the beach until I find her. Terri’s studying the area where she’s setting up an afternoon beach wedding.
It’s amazing how she creates these unique events for her clients. How she always remains professional. Personally, if a bride told me she wanted to change the signature cocktail hours before the wedding, I’d tell her to shove a nose guard up her ass.
But not Terri. She gets it done. She’s amazing. And she thinks I only want her because of the baby. She has no idea how beautiful she is. How her laughter fills me with warmth.
I don’t want to interfere with her event. She doesn’t want people to know she’s pregnant and I respect her decision. But I need to get closer.
I stand from my lounger and pick up a football. Because I always have a football with me. I can’t wait to buy baby footballs. I shake those thoughts away.
“Who wants to throw around the ball?”
Tanner immediately bounces to his feet. “I’m in.”
“I thought we were relaxing,” Brock grumbles, but he’s not looking at me. I follow his gaze and – sure enough – he’s watching Jace learn how to surf. Except he’s not watching his son. He’s watching May, his son’s instructor.
Tanner kicks sand his way. “You can relax when you’re dead.”
Brock glares at him. “Kick sand at me one more time.”
“Or what?” Tanner clasps his chest. “You’re going to stare more at May?”
Brock growls as he gets to his feet. “Leave May out of this or I’ll tell everyone the truth about your situation with Alaia.”
Corbin sighs. “We already know the truth.”
“Gage,” Tanner whines. “Why aren’t you helping?”
“He’s too busy messaging with Addy to pay us any attention,” Brock says. “Gage!”
Gage’s head snaps up. “What? What’s happening?”
“You tell us. How’s Addy?” Tanner wiggles his eyebrows.
“I thought we were going to throw the ball around. It’s like herding cats around here,” I mutter.
They stand and spread out. I spin the football in my hands before firing an easy spiral toward Corbin. He’s tall and heavy and makes a nice, reliable target. Especially for a quarterback nursing a shoulder injury he doesn’t want anyone to know about.
I throw a few short passes to Tanner and Gage to loosen up my shoulder and rotate my arm. I have to adjust my grip constantly since the sand makes the ball slippery.
“Run a route,” I order Tanner and Gage once my shoulder is warm.
“My legs are sinking,” Gage complains.
Tanner snorts. “Blame the sand all you want. We both know I’m faster.”
Gage elbows him before sprinting away. “Who’s faster now?”
“You’re cheating!”
“You’re a whiner!”
I throw the ball deep. Tanner snags it one-handed. He points at imaginary cameras and bows as if he just scored the winning touchdown at the Super Bowl.
“Knock it off, goofball. And throw me the ball back.”
He throws it back before drawing a line in the sand. “Here’s the touchdown line.”
Gage shoves him. “We’re not keeping score.”
“Because you’re afraid to lose.”
“We’re on the same team, dipshit.”
“Not right now we’re not.” Tanner motions to me. “Throw it to me!”
I rub my shoulder before throwing the ball. Brock lumbers into the flat and snags the pass one-handed before Tanner has the chance to make another smartass comment.
“No fair!” Tanner shouts as Brock throws the ball back to me.
“Line up!” I order. “Show me you can run.”
Tanner and Gage sprint toward me while Corbin jogs and Brock trails behind them.
“Why is there so much sand? It gets everywhere,” Brock grumbles.
“Because it’s a beach, Mr. Grumpy.”
Corbin sighs. “Can you act like an adult for one day?”
Tanner chuckles. “Sounds boring.”
I ignore them and scan the beach. I should be concentrating on where I want to throw the ball, but my gaze snags on chestnut hair flying in the wind. Terri throws her head back and laughs at whatever her assistant is saying.
I want to be the one making her laugh. But I’m glad she’s feeling better. Although, I wouldn’t be surprised if she lied to me about how she’s feeling. My sprite is stubborn.
I tap the ball and point to a corner of the beach. “Corner route.”
Corbin nods before breaking into a sprint. Brock rushes to protect him from Gage and Tanner, who are now acting as defense players, and crashes straight into a beach chair. The chair flies into a cooler and collapses.
“Oops.” Brock kicks the items out of his way and continues.
Corbin snags the ball from the air. Tanner tackles him and drives him backward into the sand.
“This isn’t tackle football.”
Tanner jumps to his feet. “You should have run faster.”
He holds out his hand to Corbin, who ignores him and stands on his own.
“Quarterback’s dropping his elbow,” someone says, and I peek over my shoulder. A group of old men are sitting in beach chairs with beers in their hands.
One of them salutes me. “Watch the elbow.”
I glare at him. Who does he think he is? Has he been personally coaching in the NFL for forty years? I doubt it. I’ll show him.
“Go long!” I order Tanner.
He sprints through the sand with Gage hot on his heels. Corbin isn’t far behind. Everyone thinks because he’s heavy, he’s slow. It’s an assumption many NFL teams have regretted making.
I plant my feet and wait until Tanner enters the zone. Then, I throw the ball. My shoulder protests. I rub it as I wait for Tanner to catch the ball.
But Tanner isn’t going to catch the ball. I overthrew it. Shit.
The ball is aiming straight for Terri.
“Terri!” I shout. “Duck!”
She glances over her shoulder. “What?”
“Duck!”
It’s too late. The ball nails her in the nose and she goes down.
“Told you he was dropping his elbow.” I ignore the old man.
I race across the beach – ignoring how my feet sink into the sand – as I rush to reach Terri. Panic chokes me, but I force it down.
By the time I reach her, I’m gasping for air. My teammates are already surrounding her.
“Nice shot, boss man,” Tanner jokes, and I shove him out of the way.
“Are you okay, sprite?” I ask Terri.
She lifts the napkin from her nose and blood gushes out. “Do I look okay?”
“Lean your head back and apply pressure with the napkin.”
She glares at me. “This is your fault.”
“I know. I’m sorry, sprite,” I apologize as I grab a clean napkin from one of the tables and press it against her nose. She flinches. “Sorry. Pressure will stop the bleeding.”
I place her hand over the napkin. “Keep it there.”
I bend before lifting her into my arms. She screeches. “What are you doing?”
“We’re going to the hospital.”
“It’s a bloody nose.”
“I need to make sure you’re okay.” I nod to her stomach and her eyes widen in panic.
“Do you think… But…”
“I’m not taking any chances.”
“Okay. Put me down. I can walk. And I can drive.”
“I know you can,” I agree, but I don’t put her down. I march across the beach.
Gage, Tanner, Brock, and Corbin follow me.
“What can we do?” Corbin asks.
“My purse. I need my purse.”
Her assistant hurries toward us with her purse. “Here.” She thrusts the purse at me. “I’ve got this covered. Don’t worry about a thing. My checklist is finished. Your checklist is finished. Everything is fine. And I’m rambling.”
Tanner grasps the assistant’s elbow to stop her. “I’ve got this, boss man.”
I’ve never been glad Tanner was a flirt before. He’ll calm her down.
“I’ll call the hospital. Tell them you’re on the way.” Gage digs his phone out of his shorts.
“Here!” Brock throws me a set of keys. “Use my SUV. She may want to lay down and your fancy sports car has no room.”
Shit. I hadn’t considered my car. My stupid car I bought to show off to my dad. I need to sell it. Buy something more family friendly. But first I need to make sure Terri is okay.
I hit the button to unlock the doors and place Terri in the front seat. When I reach across her for the seatbelt, she bats me away.
“I’m not an invalid. I’m only letting you do this because…” She motions to her stomach.
“Glad you’re not an invalid because I have no idea where the hospital is. You need to give me directions.”
She rolls her eyes. At least she’s no longer panicking.
I shut her door and inhale deep breaths as I rush around to the driver’s side. I need to remain calm for Terri. I’m terrified. Did I hurt the baby? Is this proof of what a crappy dad I’m going to be?
But this isn’t about me. It’s about Terri and the baby. I need to keep it together for them.