If I’d known getting whacked upside the head would lead to a blonde beauty saving me, I’d have spent less time avoiding hits.
Currently, though, I’m avoiding the reality of my contract, my agent, and what’s next in my career—all the questions that have chased me lately.
And I’m dodging reality my favorite way—in the company of a lovely lady.
“Let me drop my board off,” I say when we reach the boardwalk.
“I’ll grab a table,” she says.
I’m parked nearby, so I’m soon loading the board into the back of a truck I borrowed from a friend,then I grab my phone and shades from the console and a hat from the front seat.
Shit. This hat has a Renegades logo on it. Understandable, since Carter plays for the San Francisco football team. But I can’t wear a cap with our rivals on it in public. Or anywhere, for that matter. That shit would jinx my team, and we do not need more bad mojo.
Mostly, though, I kind of want to lie low with Brooke and just enjoy her company. I don’t get recognized every day, but it happens often enough. Having a date is easier if I don’t draw attention. I managed to paddle board without being spotted, and I’d like to keep my streak, so I need a lid.
Aha.
I spot another hat on the floor—light blue, withPlays Well with Otherswritten on it. It’s innocuous enough, so I grab it, adjust the back, then return to Brooke at the bar.
She arches a brow in curiosity, her eyes on my headwear. “Well, that’s good to know,” she remarks.
I adjust the brim. “I like to be direct.”
“Clearly,” she says. “And I appreciate the insider tip.”
“More like an advertisement.” I join her at the table, scooting my chair a little closer. Since…I do play well with others.
Brooke holds out a cloth napkin wrapped aroundsomething bulky. “All right, Mister Paddle Board. I’ve got your ice pack right here.”
Wow. She’s…awesome. “Let the record reflect that you are theonlyperson I want saving me from any future vindictive oars.” I pick up the ice pack and press it against the back of my head, genuinely touched that she’s so damn on top of things.
“I’m the picture of efficiency.”
“And I’m the picture of being concussion-free. Check this out…77, 119, 2056, 2, 34. Also, boat. Cat. Shoe. Car. Book.”
She scoffs. “I was expecting them backward.”
My jaw drops in exaggerated outrage. “Woman, I remembered them fifteen minutes later. I want all the points.”
She heaves a sigh of surrender. “Fine, you get sixty-nine points.”
“Excellent.” We settle in, and when the server swings by, my date orders a margarita and I opt for an iced tea, due to the recent head injury and all.
“All right. I have to know. Are you a big sister? You have some serious caretaker skills,” I say.
“You figured me out. Although I believe Cara would call me a know-it-all, as well as a caretaker. And you? Any siblings?”
“Two half-sisters. They’re nine. Mom re-married and, oops, twins.”
Her eyes widen. “That’s quite an oops.”
“Sure is, but Mira and Sophie are the best. I’ll be teaching them to paddle board soon.”
When the server returns with our drinks, I lift my glass in a toast. “I’ll drink to vindictive oars and angel nurses,” I say.
She clinks back. “I’ll drink to playing well with others.”
“Goals,” I say.