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“Seriously, Soph?” I scolded.
“What? Am I wrong?”
Before I could say a word, Charlie walked over to us and offered Sophie her hand. “Hi, I’m Charlie.”
Lucas started choking on the sip of beer he’d just taken, and when I glanced at the girls, they all stared at her.
Sophie’s eyes were wide before they softened. She took Charlie’s offering and clasped their hands together. “It’s so nice to meet you. Sorry for my assumption. It’s just that usually when a woman descends his steps—”
“Okay, Soph, that’s more than enough.” After shooting Sophie a death glare, earning me a simple shrug, I gazed at Charlie to see her face turning a pretty shade of pink. Oddly, I didn’t want Charlie to know about any of my escapades. And much to everyone’s surprise, I’d taken a little break over the last couple of months. “Let me make some introductions.” Harley took a step forward. “This is Lucas’s fiancée, Harley.”
“It’s so nice to meet you,” Harley said, shaking Charlie’s hand.
“Thank you. It’s nice to meet you too. I love your hat.”
“Thank you. I own a hat boutique, Brimming with Style. You should come in sometime. Or have Collin bring you by.”
Harley almost always had a stylish hat on her head… for obvious reasons. Moving on, I pointed to Cami. “This is Lucas’s sister, Cami, and that guy who you probably recognize is Lucas Donovan.”
“Welcome to the team,” he greeted.
Charlie raised her hand. “Hi, it’s very nice to meet you all. I’m sure you’re shocked.”
“This has to be the coolest thing ever,” Cami boasted. “You need to tell us how it happened.”
And just like that, the girls moved off to the side and made themselves comfortable on my sectional sofa, as though they’d been lifelong friends.
“Dude, a warning would have been great,” Lucas admitted, shoving my shoulder. “The guys are going to flip. She’s stunning, but beyond that, this is a first.”
“Yeah, I know.” I ran my hand along the back of my neck to rub some of the tension away—or try to, anyway. “To top it off, she’s Sally’s best friend.”
“Wait, Sally, as in your sister? So you knew Charlie before she came here?”
“Knew is a strong word. I haven’t seen her in forever. Believe me, I was as shocked as you were. When I went to the field, I expected a guy. Not someone who looked as though she could win a Miss Virginia pageant.”
“Reese never mentioned it?”
“Nope. I couldn’t care less that she’s a woman as long as she can do her job.”
“And can she?”
“She can kick. I’m teaching her a few rules.”
“Got it. You know, if you need me, I’ll be able to help out. Mack, on the other hand, might want to help himself to—”
The front door swung open.Speak of the devil.We all turned to see Mack walking in with five large pizza boxes. “Hey, sorry I’m late. Traffic sucked.” He set the pies down and looked into the family room. “Holy crap. Who’s that? Man, she’s hot as hell. Please tell me she’s a friend of one of the girls.”
Thanks to his voice carrying louder than he probably thought, all the women turned to look at him. “Subtle,” I murmured, to which he shrugged.
Lucas was right. Mack would totally be into Charlie. But regardless of him being friend and teammate, I wouldn’t hesitate to kick his ass if he tried something. Complications weren’t needed… even if she was gorgeous.
Charlie stood, walked over, and, as she’d done with the others, offered him her hand. “Hi, you’re Mack Mahoney, right?”
He puffed out his chest. I knew the type of woman he was drawn to, and she was standing right in front of him. Putting a quick end to whatever notion formulated in his head, I interjected, “Mack, meet our new kicker, Charlie Nicholson.”
“Get outa here.” His jovial disbelieving retort rendered the room silent. When he took a second to realize I wasn’t kidding, he cleared his throat. “I mean… wow. Congrats. Leave it to Reese, right?” He chuckled, trying to alleviate the weirdness he’d caused. “Welcome to the team. Where did you kick before?”
Charlie looked at me, and I explained how she ended up in Virginia. Then I felt the need to let them know what I witnessed. “Girl has a leg. She was nailing fifty-yarders with ease.”
