Obviously, this little adventure of mine wasn’t planned out. Hence the reason I’m standing next to his table, holding my coffee and my small bag, staring at his bag knowing what’s inside.
“What’s up, Em?” He smirks, setting his phone on the table as he stares up at me. Damn, those eyes.
“So, um, you got the last cinnamon muffin, and I kind of had my heart set on it. I thought maybe I could trade you or we could split it, and I could give you one of my banana nuts?” The words spew from my mouth.
He holds my stare. Those deep cerulean blue eyes seem to be penetrating my soul. I fidget from one foot to the next. I need to get to work, but dammit, I really wanted that muffin.
A slow grin spreads over his face as he raises his hands and motions for me to sit with him. He slides the bag containing all the goodness that is the Seaside Café cinnamon coffee cake muffin.
“Here.” I shove my bag at him. “One of those is for Aubrey,” I tell him.
He pushes it back toward me. “I already ate breakfast. I just stopped for coffee on my way to practice.”
“Then why did you buy the muffin?”
“Truth?”
“Always.”
“I didn’t plan to. You said it was your favorite. I was going to bring it to you today after practice. I didn’t realize I’d bought the last one.” He nods toward the bag. “Eat up, Em.”
Not needing to be told twice, I pull open the bag and lift the muffin, taking a huge bite. So far, this is the best part of this terrible day.
“Why are you grinning?” I ask him after swallowing.
“Date number four.” He smirks.
“What?” I ask, just about to take another large bite.
“This is our fourth meal together.”
“You’re not eating. It doesn’t count.” I feel smug. Taking another big bite, I close my eyes to savor the muffin. When I open them again, Landon’s eyes are watching me intently. He reaches for my bag, pulls out a muffin, and takes a big bite.
His eyes never leave mine as he chews and swallows. His dimples appear. “Date number four, Em.”
“Are you going to be late for practice?” I ask him, changing the subject.
“Are you going to be late for work?” he counters.
“Yeah, but Aubrey knows and besides, she gets a muffin out of the deal.”
“Fair enough.” He pops the last piece of his muffin into his mouth and glances at the time on his phone. “I should get going.” He stands and gathers his trash, as do I. I can finish my muffin on the way to work. I walk toward the door and feel his hand on the small of my back. Reaching around me, he opens the door for me and we exit the café.
“Have a great practice, Number Eighteen.” I’m already feeling more like myself.
“Have a good day, Emma. I’ll call you later?”
I find myself nodding. He grins and turns, jogging off to his SUV. How is it that I’ve been in this town since college and never ran into him and now, here we are, immersed in each other’s lives at what feels like every turn? I point my Jeep toward the shelter and think about what to tell Aubrey. I can already hear her telling me it’s fate.
Is it fate?
Do I believe in fate?
Only time will tell.
Chapter 12
Landon
It’s been over three weeks since Emma and I had our first date. Well, not technically a date. I’m still working on that. However, I like to tease her about it. Every time we share a meal, I chalk it up to another date. It used to irritate her, and now she’s asking me for a tally, making sure I’m still keeping track.
We’re on date number fifteen, unofficially of course. Each one is better than the last. Most of them are me stopping by the shelter after practice, but there have been a few weekends thrown into the mix as well. Nothing like the night when we first cuddled and to be honest, I’m disappointed. I was sure I would lose interest in her, in the way she makes me feel—breathless, like I’m ten feet tall, and sappy as fuck. No such luck. If anything, those feelings have intensified beyond what I could ever have imagined.
I want her. Hell, I knew then and should have owned up to it, but what my parents said had merit. I needed to show her the kind of man I am, not tell her. She needed to see it with her own eyes, and that’s all I’ve done the last few weeks is try to show her that I’m falling. Fast and hard if how much time I spend thinking about her is any indication.
I scan the stands and I don’t see her. Tonight is our first preseason game and Emma and Aubrey are coming. They both passed on a private suite and opted to sit in the stands. CJ is staying with the babysitter, so in a way, it’s girls’ night. Glancing at the clock, there are twenty minutes until game time and no sign of them. I jog down the sidelines where Chance is standing with Thomas.
“Hey, you heard from them?” I ask him, not giving a single fuck that he and Thomas are in the middle of a conversation.
Chance glances over at me and his eyes are dancing with laughter. “They’re on their way.”
“What?” Thomas asks. “Is this the infamous Emma you won’t stop talking about?”
Yeah, so I might talk about her a little. Okay, a lot. “She’s coming to the game.”
“You nail that down?” he asks me.
“Not yet.”
“What are you waiting on?”
To show her? “Just giving her time to process it. Going from a small-town girl, to the girlfriend of a professional athlete is a big deal.”
“Girlfriend?” Chance asks, surprised. “Does she know about
