Page 11 of Hard to Score

“Oh, to be a teenager and carefree again.”

I stare at him, almost daring him to meet my eyes to see if he remembered that night or not.

Probably not.

“What was it called? Forced family fun?” I ask and smile.

“FFF.” He chuckles. “I’d forgotten that term.”

“Your sister made it up, didn’t she?” I ask, remembering the aloof roll of her eyes when we had to all play UNO together one night. But I’m so caught up in the memory that I almost miss the shadow that drifts through his expression.

“Maggie did. And for the record,” he says as he checks the meat, “forced or not, I have a hell of a lot of awesome memories from when our families vacationed together.”

CHAPTER FOUR

BREXTON

DREW’S LAUGHTER RINGS OUT, DROWNING out the sound of crickets and a motorcycle revving somewhere down the street. Evening has taken hold as we sit across from each other, empty plates now pushed to the side with several empty beer bottles beside them, and a whole host of laughter and memories shared between us.

He’s obviously more than easy on the eyes. I knew that when I knocked on his door. What I didn’t expect was to be charmed by his personality as well. What I never considered was that spending time with him would spark something more than that teenage crush.

Not in a million years.

But it has.

Sitting across from him, his easy smile, and his incredible sense of humor, has only made him more attractive to me.

But I’ve sworn off men. Too much heartbreak and not enough heart filling.

Keep telling yourself that, Brex.

“So after the Olympic trials, what happened?” he asks.

I shrug with a frustration I still feel all these years later. “I blew out my knee the first day at the Olympic Village. The turf had a tear in it that snagged my cleat, and down I went.”

“You must have been heartbroken.”

“To put it mildly. But I’m lucky. So many athletes spend their lives competing and don’t have anything to fall back on. I had my degree, and when doctors told me that if I played field hockey again, I had a chance of ruining my knee forever, I made the decision to have a real life.”

“Do you miss it?” he asks.

I angle my head and stare at him as I think it over. “I miss the competition and that anticipation in the air before a game. I miss the smell of a real grass field just after it’s been mowed, and knowing I was part of a team . . . but I have no complaints when it comes to my life now.”

He twists his lips and stares at me, eyes growing darker as they narrow in thought.

“What is it, Drew?”

“So you’re after Justin, then?” he asks.

“That’s who I’ve been tasked to acquire, yes.”

“Do you mind if I ask why?”

“Because it’s the name of the game in this business.” My answer is lame, but it’s a difficult thing to answer. Not to mention, I don’t want to have to explain anything about rival agent Finn Sanderson and our family pact to take back some of the clients he’s stolen from us over the past few years.

“Big-ticket players also come with big-ticket headaches.”

“I won’t argue with you there.” I take another sip of my beer.