“Contestant number two.”
A woman wearing jeans and a tee walked into view. The shirt was just as tight and low as Grant expected. He also gave her a quick hug before she walked off the field, though she held on a bit after he’d let go.
“And contestant number three, your special date in the VIP section for the rest of tonight’s game, Emmeline O’Brien.”
Grant couldn’t stop the wide grin as she walked around the corner. He was happy to see her expression mirrored his own. He put his arm out waiting for her hug and held his breath when she hesitated.
After what felt like an eternity, she walked to him and let him wrap his arm around her. “I knew it was you,” he whispered near her ear.
She shivered.
When he pulled back, he jerked his head over to the table set up for their date. “Shall we?”
“We shall.”
They walked off the field and the Storm office and arena staff grabbed the chairs and partition. In no time, the field was ready for gameplay again, and not a moment too soon. The players were returning from the locker room. They passed by them as they walked to the VIP section.
Bastian’s lips turned down into a frown after his gaze passed between Grant and Em. He slowed down and opened his mouth like he was going to say something but shook his head and kept walking.
A couple other guys, including Silas, gave him wide-eyed looks as they passed.
When Finn got close, his brows lowered, but he didn’t look angry. Confused, maybe?
It didn’t matter. Not now.
All that mattered was him and Em and the next hour they got to spend together. It might be the only chance he got to convince Em to date him.
Grant planned to make the most of this opportunity.
Emmeline
Em tried to ignore the look Finn gave her as they passed each other on the field.
He knew her no-dating-players rule better than anyone else.
When Travis destroyed her trust in men in high school, Finn had quickly become the only guy she trusted. Not only had he beat the crap out of Travis, earning him a week-long suspension, his reputation had protected Em the rest of her high school days.
When Mark had done something similar in college, Finn hadn’t been around to teach him a lesson, which was good since there would have been legal repercussions since he wasn’t a juvenile anymore, but he’d been there to listen to her as she vowed off men forever.
He was the only family she had, and he always looked out for her. Always.
So she knew he had to be confused about her walking off the field with Grant. She’d make sure to explain everything after the game. It was a silly thing to help Miriam. Grant wasn’t like Travis or Mark. He wasn’t even like Damien, who Finn used to play with on the Storm.
But she’d deal with that later. For now, she was going to enjoy the next hour pretending the VIP section of the arena was a special date.
When Grant and Em arrived at the high-top table decorated for their date, a waitress in a long, black dress approached them with a large glass bottle. She bowed at the waist. “Good evening. Can I start you off with some sparkling grape juice?”
Oh, yeah. This is going to be cheesy.
At least Grant didn’t check out the other woman’s cleavage when she bent over.
Miriam had told her that they weren’t serving alcohol as part of the date, but surely she could buy some on her own dime since the arena had a bar? She looked up at the waitress. “Can I get champagne instead?”
The waitress’ facade faltered. “It’s not included in the date. And I think we only have white wine.”
“That’s totally fine.”
The waitress turned to Grant. “And you, sir?”
“I’ll have a beer.”
“Of course.” She looked down at the untouched bottle in her hands. “I wonder what I should do with this.”
Em pointed to the box seats where Miriam and Frida still sat. “I’m sure those two ladies would love to drink it. The blonde is the lady who set up The Dating Game in the first place.”
The waitress smiled and nodded. “Okay. I’ll be back with your drinks in a minute.”
Once she was gone, Em looked over at Grant. For the first time since the big reveal, she got to get a good look at him. His blond hair was combed back from his face giving her a better view of his blue eyes. He wore a gray suit that hugged his muscular frame—and covered his tattoos.
“You look really nice tonight,” she said, barely resisting the urge to tell him to take off the coat jacket and push his sleeves up.
What is wrong with you?
His mouth curved into a wide grin. “Thank you. You do, too, though I feel a little strange knowing you’re wearing another man’s jersey.”
Em giggled. “It’s my brother’s. You know that. And besides, it just so happens to be my last name too.”
He leaned forward. “Still, I wish it was my name on it.”
A shiver ran through her at Grant’s deep voice. She fought against her trembling and forced her voice into a light tone. “Well, if you’re so worried about it, you could just give me one of yours.”
“Is that all it takes?” His face lit up, and she almost laughed at how easy it was to make him happy. “Since this is my first year playing professionally, I’ve only got the two game day jerseys, but I’ll happily lend you my away jersey anytime we play a home game.”
“I couldn’t. I’d be too afraid something would happen to it.”
“I know you’d take good care of it. And it would give me an excuse to see you after our date, which is already going better than I thought it would.”
“Tell me about it. It’s way better than my last date with a Storm player.” She clamped her lips
