AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Aw, that’s sweet. He hasn’t won the role of brother-in-law yet, but he keeps hoping.” She grinned at Hyde, Lily, and Teresa, who were all watching them now, along with her parents and siblings. Embarrassment filtered in. Would her family and Hyde’s be thinking,what is sweet little Sariah doing talking to the big, bad football player? She could never hope to date someone like him.
“We’ll see if he gets my stamp of approval before March.” She tried to act confident and not reveal to Mack yet how pathetic she was.
Mack chuckled softly and it was the most glorious sound. Sariah wanted to help him make that sound every day of his life. Whew, she was racing ahead of herself.
The rest of her family and Teresa were looking at the two of them with interested smiles. Well, except for her dad, but he was crazy overprotective of her since her publicized heartbreak and humiliation almost four years ago. Hyde looked … ticked. She tried to remember if she’d ever seen Hyde ticked. Even last year when Lily had been livid with him when she blamed him for Josh and Caleb’s accident and she’d slapped him across the face at the hospital, he’d responded humbly. Did he not appreciate Sariah teasing him? That made no sense, she always teased Hyde. He was the big brother she’d never had. She had plenty of younger brothers and they were great, but a fun-loving, bantering, and slightly overprotective big brother was amazing.
Her brow wrinkled and she tugged at her hair. Had she said something wrong? Had she exposed her scars? She turned her right side slightly away from Mack just to make sure. Normally she would escape the situation, but this might be her one and only chance to talk to Mack Quinn. She had to be bold and stay in it. Then she could live on the memories of the interaction for a long, long time.
“Hyde’s a good man, I’m sure he’ll get that stamp,” Mack said in his low, melodious tone.
Sariah absolutely loved Mack’s brother Kaleb’s, country music. She felt like Mack’s voice was very similar to his brother. Wouldn’t it be glorious if she could talk him into singing?
Instead of smiling at the interaction and Mack’s compliment, Hyde released Lily’s hands and gestured with his chin toward the locker room. “Let’s go,” he said shortly to Mack.
Mack studied him briefly, as if debating if he should tackle him or obey him. Hyde folded his arms across his chest and arched an eyebrow. Mack focused back on Sariah. “It was nice to see you,” he said.
“It was lovely to be seen.” She winked boldly at him. She hadn’t been bold with a man in years, but this might be the only chance she had to talk to him. She begged him with her eyes to ask for her number, or if she wanted to go for milkshakes after the game or something. Okay, maybe milkshakes after the game was a high school thing and would reveal she hadn’t dated since close to high school age, but she desperately wanted to extend their time together.
Mack gifted her with his melodious chuckle then he tossed an imperious glare at Hyde and strode past him to the locker room. Hyde gave them all a forced smile. “I’ll see you in a bit,” he muttered before storming after Mack.
“What was that all about?” Lily murmured.
“I’m as clueless as a man at a makeup counter,” Sariah said.
The family all laughed like they always did at her lame jokes then Josh and Caleb started recounting every play that Hyde had made today. Sariah watched Mack disappear into the tunnel that led to the locker room, Hyde hot on his heels. It was almost as if Hyde didn’t want Mack talking to her.
Sariah thought through and savored each word and smile. She didn’t expect anything to come of it, but she still wanted to talk to Mack more.
* * *
Mack rarely got upset, even when he’d been teased about a speech impediment as a child. He’d shut down and stopped talking, but he didn’t remember being mad. When he’d been kidnapped last spring as a ploy by a criminal to capture his new sister-in-law, Jasmine, he’d been uncomfortable, upset, and concerned but not outright angry. Right now, he was ticked. Hyde Metcalf had no reason to shut him down when he was finally having a conversation with Sariah. He’d respected Hyde over the past month and not approached Sariah, but he knew,knewthat she stared at him throughout each game he played, and he could not get her out of his head. He’d had to at leasttryto have a decent conversation with her. Now he had and he wanted more.
He made it into the tunnel leading to the locker room, made sure there were no press anywhere, and whirled to face Hyde. Hyde came up short and glared at him. “I warned you to stay away from her.”
“No.” Mack shook his head and folded his arms across his chest. A lesser man would’ve cowered at the sight of his cut and massive biceps. Hyde didn’t flinch. “You told me she was a special angel to all of you and that she lived in Denver. You didn’t demand I stay away.”
“You’re right.” Hyde pushed a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, Mack, I respect you and I like you, but I need to ask you to stay away from Sariah.”
“Why?” he demanded. “She’s an adult. She can make her own choices.”
“She can,” Hyde agreed. “And believe me this has nothing to do with you personally, but your family is well-known and Sariah just can’t be exposed to the media like that. She’s not ready for that emotionally. It would tear her apart.”
“Why?” Mack asked again.
Hyde blew out a breath. “It’s her story to tell, but please just listen to me. She’s been … injured in so many ways and she’s like the little sister I never had. I have to protect her.”
Mack hated, hated the thought of Sariah being injured. Some man had hurt her, or was it something else? He respected that Hyde wouldn’t share her secrets but how was Mack to find out those secrets from Sariah if Hyde wouldn’t condone him being near her? He tried to soften his stance, releasing his clenched arms and rolling his shoulders back.
“I would never hurt her,” he said softly.
Hyde looked him over. The moments stretched on too long and Mack thought he should put up a better argument. This woman was all he’d ever dreamed of and he needed the chance to get to know her.
“I’m not saying you’d try to hurt her, but I just can’t take the risk that you, or everything you would bring with you, wouldn’t inadvertently hurt her. You don’t understand Sariah. How sweet she is. What she’s gone through.” He shook his head. “If you respect me at all, please stay away from her.”
Hyde strode around him and disappeared into the locker room. Mack called himself all kinds of names for not going after the guy and begging him, or pinning him down until he conceded. The problem was he did respect Hyde, and even though he didn’t know Sariah, he cared for her far too much to risk hurting her. Yet his mind whirled with ways to get around Hyde’s request and somehow talk to Sariah. The devotion he already felt to her meant he couldn’t give up, without her being the one to tell him to stay away.
CHAPTERTHREE
