Her stomach suddenly felt like it was full of lead, the butterflies long gone. She kept a brave smile on her face. “Keep dreaming, rookie.”
“I haven’t stopped since I first saw you.”
Em’s breath caught in her chest, and her smile fell. When he said sweet things like that, it made it much more difficult to pretend this was just a silly crush—that she wasn’t really at risk of getting hurt. Flirting was much easier when they kept it light, just taking jabs at one another.
A blue card called on the other team’s forward saved her from coming up with a reply to his heartbreakingly adorable comment. That meant the Storm would be up one player for the next two minutes.
Silence fell over her and Grant as they watched the game play in front of them. Or at least Em tried to watch the game. As much as she loved seeing her brother in action, it was difficult to focus on what was going on in front of her when Grant was sitting so close.
She was all too aware as he lifted the mug of beer to his lips. She couldn’t help but notice the way his Adam’s apple bobbed as he took a drink. Em lifted her own glass to her lips with trembling fingers and took a sip.
Why are you so nervous?As much as Grant teased, it still wasn’t a real date. And she didn’t want it to be. Or did she?
She took another sip of wine for good measure as she watched Silas take a shot on goal. It was blocked by the other team’s keeper.
“Did you really know it was me?” she asked, her eyes trained on the field.
“From the very first word. You made me speechless.”
Miriam had jokingly said that during the game, but hearing it from Grant made her insides warm.
“But your not-so-subtle reference to my hometown helped.”
She thought of McKensie and how Miriam had gone out of her way to stop the crazy chick from playing. “Not too stalker-y?”
“I thought it was sweet.” He paused. “Just like your violin rendition.”
Em covered her face with her hands. “It was pretty bad, wasn’t it?”
Grant chuckled. “I think my ears bled a little.”
She pushed him again. “What was I supposed to do? Be the third drum set? I panicked.”
“I actually loved it. You weren’t afraid to make a fool of yourself in front of all those people.”
Her face burned. She could only hope none of the fans were recording the show on their phone. If anyone posted that, she was sure to be the butt of several online jokes. Thank goodness her students were too young to have cell phones, or they’d all see it for sure before Monday. “Well, I guess it goes to prove that people like the violin better than drums.”
“I likeyou.”
And there he went again, being all sweet and serious and making Em break out into a sweat. Every time he said something like that, it lessened her resolve. She knew better than to fall for a smooth talking soccer player. If only there were some kind of test to see what kind of boyfriend Grant would be six months down the road.
She played with the stem of her glass. “You don’t even know me.”
“Isn’t it enough that I want to? I know we don’t know each other that well, but isn’t that why you go on dates with people? To get to know them better?”
Em sighed. It felt like she was fighting an impossible battle. “Okay. Then let’s say this is a real date. What kind of questions would you ask me over dinner?”
He sat up straighter, his eyes bright and eager. She didn’t know if she should laugh or groan. “Well, I already know that Finn is your older brother, but you don’t have any pictures of the rest of your family online.”
Em blinked a few times. He was coming out swinging, and he didn’t even know it. She bit her lip. “That’s because Finn is the only family I have.”
Grant reached out and grabbed her hand. His fingers were warm as they squeezed. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize. How old were you when they died?”
“It’s not like that.” She pulled away her hand and shook her head. “Last time I checked, they were both very much alive, living out their lives in California.”
His brows lowered. “I’m confused.”
That made two of them. Em had made peace with the fact that her parents were complete pieces of crap years ago, but it always made questions like this uncomfortable for everyone.
