Ninety minutes later, I’m standing in my brother’s entryway with Cami, completely ignoring the peevish look on her face.“When are you going to stop buying her boy clothes?” she huffs, after peeking inside the small bag I brought with me.Cami’s beautiful. I know she doesn’t realize just how beautiful, which is one of the things that’s so special about her. Her medium blonde hair curls softly around her face and shoulders, and accents her large green eyes. She’s put on a little weight since having my niece, and it looks good on her. Her boobs look even better, which I can’t help but notice, and I need to get my mind out of the gutter.“When you take her out of girlie shit and teach her to eat a little dirt,” I reply as she hands the bag back. “Where’s my brother so I can have some backup, since you seem to be in a mood?”Her eyes take on a harder glint. “We were up all night with the princess, so don’t expect him to help you out. He’s in the garage, working on the boat.”Another thing

I’M MORE COMFORTABLE ON the field taking a pounding than watching a match and seeing it happen to others. Danny owns the field, but takes one hit too many a few minutes before the end of the match. She’s slow to rise and then stays hunched over as play continues downfield. She drops to a knee and looks toward the blood bin.Crap, I can see red streaming down her face. It’s obvious another player’s cleat connected. She’s holding her side between her breasts and belly, which is a good indicator of a problem with her ribs. A referee notices Danny and stops the game. Two of her teammates run from the sideline and assist her to the blood bin. A blood replacement is called out from her teammates who are not playing, and the game continues. Danny takes a careful seat on the bench while holding her side. Normally, she would have fifteen minutes to reenter the game without it counting against her team, but the game’s almost over.I’m sitting a few rows up and focus completely on Danny. Her tee

I’M KEEPING A FIRM grip on Danny’s arm. “If you can’t walk, I’m putting you over my shoulder,” I tell her as she stumbles a bit.“Nope, that would hurt my ribs, pretty boy.”Okay, she’s really drunk. Danny never admits to pain and she usually only calls me pretty boy over the phone. She stumbles again and I’ve had enough. “Arms around my neck; I’ll cradle you.” I sweep her up and she giggles, which is totally unlike her, as she places her arms around me. “Are you putting me to bed shoo, pretty boy?”I don’t bother correcting the shoo into too. It won’t make a difference. “That’s the plan, Danny girl.” God, she smells good. Soap and woman. No perfume. Her body is hard and muscular, and I think of this to remind myself I like soft and voluptuous. Now that I’ve taken notice of Danny, it’s hard to turn that notice off. I keep reminding myself that Danny’s a friend—one of the guys. For some reason, carrying her in my arms this way no longer makes me think of the guys. She wiggles a bit and

I DIDN’T SLEEP WELL. Hell, I didn’t sleep at all! It’s now Saturday morning and I have no plans other than calling Danny and setting things right. I eat a bowl of cereal and wait for the clock to hit eight. Danny needs sleep, so this is me being patient. The minutes refuse to go by fast enough and fifteen seconds before the designated hour, I hit speed dial.She doesn’t answer. I’m holding a rugby ball in my hand staring at the phone in consternation. “Just pick up,” I say out loud, the cell plastered to my ear while I toss the ball from one hand to the other. I receive no answer from the room and decide to try again at eight-thirty.Once more, no answer. I try to keep my frustration on the downlow and barely manage.At nine I get the same “leave a message” request and, again, I don’t bother leaving one. After a shower and endless minutes of contemplation, I jump in the Rover and head to her apartment. We are getting this out of the way and going back to friends. I don’t care how badl

I can see the steel in her watery gaze, which is zeroed in on me. I give in. “I’ll follow you.”She nods and climbs out of the Rover. I wait for her truck to pull in front of me then keep her in my sights all the way out to my place.My house isn’t exactly close. I grab my phone from the middle console while driving, find Jeff’s number, and dial. I don’t let him finish saying the name of his law office. “Danny won’t be in for the rest of the day. She’s not feeling well. She’ll be in early tomorrow to do whatever it is she needs to work on.”“Okay, Van, but do not hurt that girl.”“Got it.” I end the call and drive. Finally, my house comes into view. I drive up to the front porch and climb out. Danny, who’s already parked, does the same. I walk around her truck and take her hand, leading her up the steps. I don’t know why I suddenly need all this hand-to-hand contact with her. I’m not a hand-holder. For some reason, I’m just afraid she’ll slip through my fingers if I don’t hold onto he