Page 25 of Playing It Forward

Hudson gets all constipated looking when I complain. Which is why I do it as often as possible.

The door to the physical therapy suite opens and Nolan steps into the hallway.

“Thanks for the help, Hazel.” He waggles his eyebrows. “You can rub me down anytime.”

A pit forms in my stomach. What the hell? Nolan has been flirting with me, begging for my attention, for weeks now.

I’m such an idiot. It’s not about me. It never was.

The star quarterback is a player. He wants another notch on his bedpost. Not a partner. I should have known.

“We don’t have to tell your boyfriend,” Nolan says.

A haze of red covers my vision. What a pirate prick! It’s bad enough he’s a player, but Hazel has a boyfriend. A man she spent nearly a decade pining for.

I march to him. “What in the name of blazing pirates are you doing?”

He grins at me. “Terri. I’m happy to see you.”

“Happy. Right.” I snort. “You were literally flirting with Hazel five seconds ago.”

“It was all in good fun.”

I ignore him. “You have no idea. Zero. Zilch. None. Hazel moped around this island for years because Miles broke her heart. They’re finally back together and in love and you’re ruining it.”

“I’m not… I didn’t mean… It’s only a bit of fun.”

I fist my hands on my hips. “A bit of fun? Is that what I am? A bit of fun? You chased after me. You made me think you might actually care.”

He reaches for me but I retreat. “I do care.”

I motion toward Hazel’s treatment room. “The way you care about Hazel.”

He grimaces. “We were joking around.”

“Does Hazel know you were joking around?”

Hazel peeks into the hallway. “I do. Most of my patients use humor to mask their pain. And, trust me, I would never cheat on Miles.”

“I know. I’m not accusing you of being a cheat. Your brothers, on the other hand…”

She giggles. “Thomas and Ian are too busy causing mayhem to have time for romantic relationships that last longer than a night.”

“Are the sheep still pink?”

“Yep, and my brothers refuse to believe it’s their fault. If I hear Ian claim it was temporary dye one more time...” She trails off.

“At least they gave up their illegal sheep race betting ring.”

She rolls her eyes. “They didn’t have a choice. Mayor Lana lost her mind when the bridge to the island was closed for two hours while they rounded up the sheep.”

“In retrospect, using the bridge for an illegal sheep race was not the best idea.”

“I think I’d like these brothers. I’d love to meet them,” Nolan says and I whirl toward him.

“Uh oh,” Hazel mutters. “The vein on Terri’s forehead is about to explode. I’m out of here. If you need me to phone an ambulance, let me know.”

She shuts her door but I holler after her. “The police are more likely.”