“Kid? She’s twenty-three. That’s hardly a kid, Forrest.”
“She’s a kid compared to me,” Forrest pointed out.
“Fair point. She does tend to make me feel old with how energetic she is.” Daniel shook his head. “Jared does have his hands full with that little minx.”
Forrest gritted his teeth. He did not want to hear anyone refer to Chrissie as a minx.
And he needed to calm himself down. Chrissie was not his, so he needed to lower his hackles and calm down.
But that was easier said than done when he caught sight of a familiar figure standing by the bar, openly staring at Chrissie as she and her friends got their drinks and went to a nearby booth. His face was in partial profile, his back to Forrest, but it was clear to see the hungry in his eyes.
This was not good.
“I think he’s going to have his hands full once he realizes who’s got Chrissie in his sights.”
“What?” Daniel looked to where Forrest was staring, and groaned. “Oh, great. I thought someone told Benton to back off of her.”
“He was told to back off. Multiple times. I heard Chrissie telling him off before she switched with one of the other physios. To say she was angry is an understatement.”
Drake Benton was a damn good quarterback, and he knew his skills were in high demand. He was like a magician on the pitch, but off the pitch was something else. He was known as a player who didn’t respect women very much. It didn’t matter if the woman was single or in a committed relationship, if Drake liked the look of her, he was after her.
And he had been focused in on Chrissie pretty much since she started as an intern during college. He did go of with other women, but he always circled back to Chrissie, as if she was the catch he desired the most.
Tonight looked like he was going after her again.
“Hasn’t she complained about him?” Daniel asked. “I haven’t heard anything about it.”
“If she hasn’t, it’s not reached us. But Drake knows she’s not interested.”
And the bastard keeps coming back. Forrest watched as Chrissie talked and laughed with her friends. Drake was still watching her, not seeming to move at all. It was like he had turned into stone.
Then he finished his drink, putting the glass down with a decisive thud, and pushed away from the bar. Forrest tensed. He didn’t like this at all.
“He’s making a move.”
“Should we go and intervene?”
“Given how many friends she’s with, she might be okay.” Forrest swallowed as his chest tightened. “But Drake is…well, he’s something.”
Daniel was giving him a strange look.
“Are you okay, Forrest? You’re looking rather odd.”
“What? Oh, nothing.” Forrest cleared his throat. “I’m fine.”
“You looked like you were ready to murder someone.”
“Well, she’s my best mate’s kid. I’m just concerned.”
Daniel’s expression said he didn’t quite believe him, but he didn’t say anything. Forrest picked up his glass, wishing that his fellow coach couldn’t read him that easily. If he looked further into it, he might figure out how Forrest really felt about Chrissie Frost.
That was going to be an interesting conversation. One that Forrest didn’t want to have.
Chapter Two
Chrissie had been enjoying the evening so far. Like she had said to her friends many times, she was still able to have fun even when she was sober. Her group of friends made things entertaining when they were drunk, and Chrissie didn’t want to ruin it by knocking it back herself.
She had a sore throat from the karaoke at the previous bar, and her ears were throbbing from the loud music, but there was still plenty of the evening left. Rita was buzzed, talking loudly in her ear about the hunks at work. When she had had a few, her best friend did end up talking a lot about guys. She had also confessed to being jealous that Chrissie got to work closely with gorgeous athletes every day.