Well,this isn’t going very well.
Grant hadn’t meant to scare Em off. He was only trying to find common ground after finding out what an awful childhood Em had. He’d mentioned that his sister had approved of Em instead of mentioning how supportive his parents were, but apparently that had been the wrong choice.
Why could he never seem to say the right thing to her once things got beyond the teasing? As long as they were joking and laughing, they were fine. But he’d finally had the chance to dig a little deeper, and he’d messed it up. Now he felt like a jerk and didn’t know how he would turn things around.
When Em didn’t return right away, Grant turned to the field. It was the first time he was truly watching the game since sitting down for their date. He could catch the replay online, but he only got one chance to make a good impression on Em.
Too bad he’d completely blown it.
The timer counted down through the final minute of the third quarter. When the buzzer sounded, the teams switched sides, putting Finn close to the VIP section. The keeper glanced over at Grant through lowered brows.
Grant was sure Finn was looking for his sister. He’d seen them leave the field together, and now she was gone. Grant’s gaze went over his shoulder looking for Em. He’d done it about a million times in the ten minutes since she’d left. Every time he hoped to see her walking in his direction, and every time he was disappointed.
His gaze then went to the box seats next to the home bench. Miriam was still there, but she was alone. Frida had disappeared shortly after Em’s hasty retreat and still hadn’t returned.
At first, Grant had hoped they were doing that weird thing where girls went to the bathroom together. He knew Em probably needed to talk to her friend after their date went sideways. But now…
Now, he wondered if she was even still at the arena.
He’d only wanted to make a lasting impression on Em, not bring up all her childhood pain.
When the waitress walked by the table, Grant flagged her down and asked for the tab. The woman gave Grant a sympathetic smile and told him the drinks were on her.
Oh, great. Now the waitress feels sorry for me.
His attention went back to the game. The ball was in play on the other side of the field, and it was difficult to see the action. When Grant’s eyes glanced over to Finn, he was surprised to see the keeper staring at him again. And it was less of a stare and more of a glare.
Grant shifted in his seat, his face growing hot under the continued scrutiny of Finn’s narrowed eyes.
It wasn’t like Grant had chosen to be the bachelor. Not only that, he didn’t know Em would be one of the contestants. None of this was on purpose. He would just explain all of that to Finn when the game was over—and conveniently leave out the part about how he’d chosen Em once he realized it was her.
There was no sense in getting all worked up over things he couldn’t change, especially now that it was painfully obvious she wasn’t coming back to finish their date. In a way, Grant hadn’t broken the no-dating-my-sister rule—he just hoped Finn would agree.
The restof the fourth quarter crawled by as Grant sat alone in the VIP section. The Storm scored two more goals and won the game with a final score of seven-to-three. When the players walked across the field toward the locker room, Grant pushed himself up on his crutches. He followed behind them feeling a little ridiculous in his suit and tie.
Since he’d been sitting the entire game, he took a spot against the wall as they all shuffled into the locker room. He leaned his back against the cool surface to take pressure off his leg and set the crutches to the side.
Coach immediately went into his recap of the game. One by one, he called on players to give them a rundown of their strengths and weaknesses. “Grant.”
His head jerked up, surprised that he was included. “Yes, Coach?”
“You just keep taking care of that ankle. I want you back out there playing as soon as possible, do you understand?”
Relief washed over him. It was good to know he was missed, even as a rookie. “You got it.”
“Great.” Coach continued to call on individual players to tell them what they needed to work on this week before the next game. They’d be traveling to Oregon and needed to be in peak performance. Playing in another team’s arena always came with challenges, but dealing with such a drastic time change would make it even harder.
Coach clapped his hands together when he was done. “Get cleaned up, and get out there for the autograph session.”
Grant grabbed his crutches, eager to get out there. Even though he didn’t play, he would be on the field with a marker in hand. He didn’t make it more than a couple steps before Finn approached him. The entire locker room was silent as the other players pretended not to watch out of the corners of their eyes.
Looked like he’d be explaining the non-date date sooner than he realized.
Grant cleared his throat, wishing they could have this talk without an audience. “Hey, Finn. Good game.”
Flattery is always a good way to start, right?
“What’s going on between you and my sister?”
