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Chapter One
Was it too soon to be meeting his teammates? Peyton glanced over at Simon. Did she even want to meet his friends? What if she didn’t like them? God, she wasn’t even sure how she was feeling about Simon, let alone his friends.Gah.
He winked and reached across the center console to place his hand on her knee. “Relax babe, they’re going to love you.”
“Remind me whose party this is again?” she asked as she slid her hand nervously down her lap, smoothing out her skirt. She clasped Simon’s hand, hoping it would calm her nerves. Going to a party with him felt like a big step. One she wasn’t sure they were ready for.
“It’s a housewarming for Sanchez. He’s new this season and plays left field. He just bought this place. It should be pretty low key, just a few of the guys from the team and their dates.”
“Does he have a first name?”
Simon chuckled. “Yeah, Tony.”
The car pulled up in front of a sprawling rancher in Mission Bay. Peyton scanned the front of the house, her eyes lingering on the beautiful old rose bushes beneath the front windows. Just like the ones at her grandma’s house. She could almost smell them from here and it instantly transported her back to making rose water on summer break as a kid.
She pushed open the car door and rounded the front of the vehicle.
Simon stopped beside her and made a rough noise in his throat, and she turned toward him. “What?”
“Nothing. I thought he would have bought something a little newer. This thing looks like it was built in the eighties.”
Peyton rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t look that old.” She once again scanned the front of the house. “It’s lovely and the location is fantastic. There’s a great public beach right down the street.” She’d love to live in a place like this. Who wouldn’t?
“Yeah, apublicbeach,” Simon scoffed.
“Oh my god, could you be a bigger snob? Seriously, there’s nothing wrong with a public beach. That’s where most of us common folk go to swim.”
He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. “Yeah, but you’re not common anymore, baby. You’re with me now. I don’t do common.”
She tensed at his tone. They’d only been dating for a few weeks, and she’d never dated someone with money before. She wasn’t sure if the slight jabs at her economic level were normal, or his way of trying to brag, or what it was, but it grated. “Let’s go inside.”
He placed his hand on the small of her back as they made their way down the side of the house. Laughing and splashing sounds drifted toward her as they rounded the corner and into the large backyard. Peyton stopped as she looked around to get her bearings. Holy cow. Older home or not, this backyard alone was worth buying the house. A large in-ground pool with several people splashing around took up the right side of the yard. A sweeping decorative cement patio curved around the pool. Off to the left was a beautiful, covered area with a fireplace and a large flatscreen tv hanging above it. Who had a TV outside? This was whole other level stuff than what she was used to.
“Andy,” a deep voice yelled, drawing her attention toward the barbecue.
Simon walked toward the man working the grill. “Hey Tony, thanks for having us.”
“Glad you could make it.” Tony glanced over at her. His dark brown eyes scanned her from head to toe. He smiled and stuck out his hand. “Hi, I’m Tony, you must be Carmella?”
Ouch. Peyton’s shoulders tensed. Who the hell was Carmella?
Simon laughed. “Nah, man, this is Peyton.”
“Oh sorry, my mistake. I’m new, so still trying to figure out who everyone is.”
She glanced over at Simon, and he rolled his eyes like Tony was an idiot for getting her name wrong. He smacked Tony on the back. “No problem, man, it happens. We’re going to grab a drink,” Simon said.
“Sure, help yourself. There’s beer and wine in the fridge there,” he said, pointing to the small stainless fridge in the outdoor kitchen. “And I think Saunders is in the kitchen watching Kendall make margaritas if you want one of those.”
“What’ll it be?” Simon asked.
“A margarita sounds great, actually,” she replied.
They wove their way inside to the kitchen. “Hey hey, looks like this is where the party is,” Simon called out.
Five heads swiveled toward them. “Hey Andy.”
Peyton scanned the group. Good lord, she had not been prepared for the testosterone flowing off these men as she they all swung their attention toward her.
