Touchdown - Leslie North Page 0,6
“And just remember, I’m here whenever you need to talk. I can’t imagine what you’re going through, but I want to help if I can.”
“Appreciate that, Sullivan.” Maxwell clapped his buddy on the back, feeling slightly buoyed for the first time since…well…since the accident, but that wasn’t entirely true. No, meeting Jill had buoyed him too—in more ways than he wanted to admit to himself.
The workday passed quickly, though Maxwell couldn’t tell if it was just pre-playoff adrenaline that had him and his teammates hyped up, or if he was really that excited about having a dinner out of the house and without the triplets. In a regular season, life consisted of only football, workouts, and sleep. But now? It was all that plus child-rearing, and he certainly hadn’t planned on wedging those duties into the season this year.
At this point, after only a few weeks of the dedicated-daddy lifestyle, the possibility of a kid-free dinner felt too good to be true.
After practice ended around 5 p.m., he zipped home as quickly as he could to touch base with the triplets and the nanny. He spent a half hour with them, playing and cuddling, before it was time to meet his teammates at Ernie’s, their favorite post-practice restaurant. He spotted Mark and James right away, relief trickling through him. Yes, they were both fathers, and yes, they could still have evenings away from home. He needed to remind himself of that every so often.
Life will get back to normal soon.
He slid into the empty seat next to James, greeting all the teammates at the table. About half the team was here, and they came to this place so regularly that they had a permanent reservation at a central table. It was an unspoken agreement between them and the restaurant—the promise of running into the NFL team was a draw for the local customers, while the team got beyond top-notch service, with no limit on how many modifications they could make based on their individual diets.
Maxwell could feel the near-constant attention of other restaurant-goers as he and his teammates settled into conversation and ordered drinks. Before long, he felt a different type of attention on him. Something made the hairs on his arm stand at attention.
He looked around. Jill stood near the hostess stand, her beautiful brown eyes locked in on him.
His breath disappeared much in the same way it had when she’d shown up at his door the day before. He found himself falling down the same rabbit hole—paralyzed by the stun gun of her beauty, everything around him falling away as he got lost in her gaze, even from across the crowded restaurant. A nudge at his side brought him back to earth.
“Dude. What’s wrong?” James asked.
Maxwell swallowed hard, finally looking over at his friend. “Oh, I just saw someone I know.” He waved at Jill, beckoning for her to come over. “Wayne’s cousin. She’s moving back to Savannah to help out with Wayne and Carmen’s estate and to get involved with the kids.”
Jill grinned from the front of the restaurant, saying something to the woman at her side before she started weaving her way around tables toward him. He couldn’t look away from her for even a second as she came over. Someone at the table whistled.
“Damn, Maxwell, who’s this now?” his teammate Franklin said under his breath a few seats down.
“A friend,” he blurted. “I mean, a family member, I guess.” Defining her flustered him. If she was a family member, then he had no right to be this struck by her. But damn, how was he supposed to act like she wasn’t the most gorgeous woman he’d ever laid eyes on?
“Hey there, Maxwell,” Jill gushed as she sidled up to the table. Her handbag hung from the crook of her elbow again, but this time, she wore a blue jewel-tone dress that contrasted excellently with the brown-gold of her skin. Her long black hair was shiny and smooth, her full lips glistening pink. Every detail on her was flawless, and he could tell the entire team took notice.
“Jill. Fancy meeting you here.” He fought to restrain himself from sliding an arm around the luscious curve of her ass as she came near. No, that wasn’t an appropriate greeting for someone he’d only met once. Not appropriate at all. But something about her begged him to get closer. To bring her onto his lap and show her off as more than just the triplets’ aunt.
“Hope I’m not