His question gave her hope.
She smiled. “Tacos from my favorite food truck.”
Em’s entire body sagged in relief when he stepped to the side and waved one of his hands for her to come in.
Once inside, she went straight to the kitchen. It had been a while since she’d been to the team house, and she’d forgotten how sterile the place was. It was nicely decorated, like a hotel, but it had no personality.
He leaned against the kitchen counter and watched Em as she pulled out two Styrofoam trays covered in aluminum foil. Each one contained five authentic Mexican tacos with chicken, diced onions, and cilantro—her favorite thing from the taco truck. She hoped Grant would like it too.
“What are you doing here, Em?”
Her hands stilled on the small containers of salsa and loose lime slices in the bottom of the bag. “I brought you dinner. Tacos from the place I mentioned during The Dating Game.”
“Yeah, I assumed. I’m asking why you’re here.” He shook his head. “You left me high and dry on our date, I haven’t heard from you all week, and then you show up on my doorstep with food.”
“Not just any food. Tacos.”
He lifted his brows.
He was expecting an answer. She bit her bottom lip as she struggled to come up with one. Why am I here?
Em hadn’t wanted to admit it earlier, but now she was at Grant’s house—and he was looking at her with his intense blue eyes—she had to face the reality.
She was here because, at some point between flirting with Grant at City Bar and showing up on his doorstep, he’d become someone she wanted to spend time with. The no-dating-players rule existed to protect her heart, but it was too late. As much as she’d tried to fight against it, she cared for Grant.
But she was scared. Scared of being rejected—of being hurt again. And that fear had caused her to treat Grant unfairly.
She squeezed her eyes shut. “I...I’m pretty sure I like you. I know I haven’t been very good at showing you that. I ditched you on Saturday, which was pretty awful. If you want me to leave, I’d understand.”
“Hey now. Let’s not get too hasty.” Grant said with a hint of humor in his voice. “I don’t want you to go. I’m just confused.”
That makes two of us.
She kept her eyes shut and nodded. “Me too.”
Grant was silent for a long time. Em wasn’t sure what happened next. Were they going to have an awkward talk about defining their relationship? Was he going to tell her he’d changed his mind, but they could still be friends?
The knots in her stomach from earlier returned with a vengeance. They twisted tightly and just when Em didn’t think she could stand it anymore, she heard Grant push off the wall. Her breath caught when he walked over to where she still stood next to the food. She opened her eyes and looked up at him.
He had a warm smile on his face. “I was going to eat a bowl of cereal for dinner. Tacos sound much better.”
That was not the reaction she was expecting, but it was exactly what she needed after the difficult day she’d had. How did Grant know that she wasn’t ready to work out the details just yet?
Em let out a relieved breath and shook her head. “You’re such a helpless bachelor.”
“Not anymore.” He jerked his chin at the food. “A pretty girl who likes me brought me food. I’d say I’m living the dream.”
“You’re the worst.”
His brows lowered. “You say that, but you just admitted your gigantic crush on me. I’d have to question if you even know what that word means.”
Em’s face felt like it was on fire, but she giggled and lifted one of the lime slices and squirted it over her tacos. If he wanted to keep things light, then so could she. “I don’t remember using the words ‘gigantic crush.’ Must be your male ego inflating things.”
“Probably.” He popped a stray piece of chicken into his mouth and leaned against the counter.
“So what were you planning on doing before that pretty girl showed up at your doorstep? Other than eating cereal.”
He shrugged as he followed her lead and grabbed a lime of his own. “I was going to watch the game and feel sorry for myself.”
“Ooh. Sounds exciting.”
He lowered his voice to whisper. “Very.”
Em’s entire body shivered. “We can still do that, you know. The game starts in fifteen minutes. Just enough time to eat and get comfortable before kickoff.”
“Sounds good.” Grant grabbed his tray and walked out to the living room. In it was a sofa with a small coffee table. On the opposite wall there was a TV on top of a simple stand. The only piece of art on the walls was a generic ocean scene.
Just another empty, boring room.
Em had never stopped to think about how strange it must feel living in a house that wasn’t really yours—knowing you wouldn’t be there longer than the season. There was no reason to make it feel homey, and yet it made her sad to think that this was where Grant spent his days.
They both sat down on the sofa and put their trays on the table in a choreographed way like they’d been doing this together for years. Tacos on the couch while they watched a game. Is this what Friday and Saturday nights would look like if they were dating?
No, because he’d be playing again soon. But maybe it would be the latest episode of their favorite show when the season was over. She pushed the thought down, still unsure of what to make of the feelings building between them.
Grant sat on the end of the couch and lifted one of the tacos. “Here’s the moment of truth.” He leaned forward and took a bite. His eyes closed when he started chewing, and Em swore she heard a moan from the back
