not cute.”
“Shut up. You’re adorable.” Lachlan messed with his hair.
“Am not.”
“Are too.”
I laughed. “I can’t believe you’re so desperate.”
“Since when are flowers desperate?”
“Since you used your little brother to score you points.”
Lachlan faked an irritated glance at the kid. “What the heck. I told you to play it cool, little man.”
Sebastian was having none of it. “I found her. Can I have my twenty dollars now?”
“Oh my God, you bribed him?”
Lachlan rolled his eyes. “Only twenty bucks.”
“And?” Sebastian crossed his arms. “Ice cream? Remember?”
“And ice cream.”
“With sprinkles.”
“Oh no.” Lachlan shook his head. “I said you’d get sprinkles when you got me the date. No date, no sprinkles.”
“No fair!”
“Heartbreak hurts us all, Bast.”
Sebastian stomped his feet. “My name isn’t Bast.”
Lachlan winked at me. “Shush, Bast. Be chill, little man.”
“I’m Sebastian.”
“You want that ice cream?”
“Yes!”
“Then your name is Bast. Here.” He tossed the kid a ball bigger than his head. “Knock yourself out.”
“When do I get my ice cream?”
“Right after my annulment,” Lachlan said.
Sebastian crinkled his nose. “Your annul-what?”
“Never mind. Just sit there and look cute. You’re helping.”
I laughed as Sebastian dove again at his brother, but Lachlan was too quick. He darted over the sideline, leaping a bench to get away from the kid. The athletic gene ran in the family. Sebastian hobbled over the bench too, emitting a high-pitched warning charge as Lachlan ducked through the offense.
Both boys twisted around Jack before the team ganged up on Lachlan. He captured Sebastian in his arms just in time, warding away the offensive line’s aimed water bottles and towels coiled to flick.
“A wing-man and human shield?” I shook my head. Lachlan twisted his brother onto his shoulders for a piggy-back ride. “Does your mother know you’re manhandling him?”
“Sure. I told her I’d take him for the night.”
“Did you tell her you’d give him ice cream if he successfully wooed me?”
Lachlan’s dimples needed to come with a warning. No girl should have stared directly into that charm. “You’re not going to deny a little boy his sprinkles, are you?”
I crossed my arms. “Sebastian, I’ll tell you want. If he wants me to consider his offer, he better get you double sprinkles and whipped cream.”
The boy cheered. Lachlan winked.
“You should know; I’m willing to include whipped cream on all of our dates too.”
“Is that so?”
Sebastian tugged on Lachlan’s hair. “But no nuts.”
He frowned. “Why not, little man?”
Sebastian pointed to the offense. “Because you told the other football players you’d bust the nuts with her.”
Lachlan cringed. “O-kay. Let’s…not repeat that when you go home to Mom.”
“Why not?” Sebastian asked.
I shrugged. “Yeah, Charming. Why not?”
“Mom is very sensitive about…” He twitched. “Her ice cream toppings. Why don’t you go play with the ball?”
Sebastian frowned at his brother. “But you said you wanted Elle to play with the balls.”
“You’re killing me, Bast.”
I glanced over my shoulder for a moment too long. Peter was gone, but that just made the problem worse.
Ice cream, even without sprinkles, sounded so much better than a conspiracy in Gainesville.
“You okay?” Lachlan hoisted Sebastian higher onto his shoulders. “What’s wrong?”
“Uh…” What was I supposed to say? “Nothing. I just got a bunch of new responsibilities today.”
Lachlan perked up. “Like a promotion?”
“Sure. Something like that.”
“We should celebrate! Let me take you out to dinner. Three times.”
“Lachlan—”
He wasn’t listening. He pinched Sebastian’s leg to get his attention. “Say the line, little man.”
Sebastian flailed, knocking on his head with a tiny fist until he remembered what Lachlan had coached him to say.
“Oh! Right!” The words blubbered out in a steady stream with no real cadence or rhythm. “Lachlan is a lot of fun. You should go out with him because…because you would have lots of fun. And he’s good to have fun with.”
Lachlan nodded. “Smooth, Casanova.”
“He also talked about your butt. I heard him.”
Lachlan shrugged, and Sebastian nearly tumbled from his back. The kid grabbed him like a rodeo bronco, but both of them liked that. Lachlan bucked harder to toss him off.
“I don’t know why you want to be friends with girls.” Sebastian tugged on Lachlan’s hair.
“Not just any girl, little man.” Lachlan grinned at me. “This girl.”
“Oh, very nice,” I said. “Hell, I’ll pay him twenty bucks for this performance.”
“Do I get a date?”
“Nope.”
Lachlan winked. “I won’t stop chasing you, Red.”
Even though I couldn’t say it, I was happy for the distraction. I winked before leaving.
“I’d be very disappointed if you did.”
6
Lachlan
I made a lot of rookie mistakes the first few practices of training camp. Missed a couple passes. Ran the wrong routes. Let