Page 3 of Reckless With the Rookie
I roll my eyes, feeling my cheeks warm.Mara’s brows are pinched together in a curious look.
“Number one?”
“From her spreadsheet.”Jules slings her massive handbag over her shoulder.“Let’s get out of here.”
Lorraine just watches us go, probably knowing anything else she says will just make things worse.I shoot her a withering glare on the way out the door.
No one dulls my sister’s sparkle.This wedding day is probably the only one we’ll get between the two of us because I closed the door on men a long time ago.We’re going to enjoy every last second of planning this celebration for Jules and Noel.
“Tell us more about this spreadsheet,” Suki says once we’re out in the ice-cold Cleveland winter wind.
“Or don’t.”I groan.
“The baby wants a cookie,” Mara says, pointing to a bakery nearby.
“That’s in the opposite direction of the car,” Suki grumbles.
Mara angles her belly toward Suki.“Tell the baby Aunt Suki said no.I’m sure the amniotic fluid will absorb all the tears.”
Suki rolls her eyes, smiling.“Fine, drama queen.Is this what Leo has to live with every day?”
“I’m incubating his progeny.Rubbing my feet and bringing me cookies is the least he can do.”
We speed-walk as fast as we can with a very pregnant woman in our group, and when we walk into the bakery, we’re greeted by the smell of baking chocolate chip cookies.
It’s a quaint local spot, the display cases filled with all kinds of cookies and brownies.There are tables with chairs and also a few lounge areas.
Once we all have our orders, we sit down in one of the lounge areas with a green velvet sofa and two pink leather wingback chairs.Suki takes a bite of her cookie sandwich—two chocolate chip cookies with frosting in the center—and hums with satisfaction.
“I’ll be getting a box of these to go,” Mara says.
She ordered the same thing, but her frosting center is also covered with sprinkles.I went for a frosted brownie, and Jules got a German chocolate brownie.
“Back to the spreadsheet,” Suki says.
Jules’s eyes light up.I take a long drink of my iced coffee, dreading what’s to come.I don’t have many friends because I’m so busy with nursing school and my kids.Suki and Mara are about to find out something I never meant for anyone but my sister to know.
“When I was new at my job, Blair made me a spreadsheet of eligible players,” Jules says.“She thought I’d want to try to date one, but I didn’t.I didn’t even mean to date Noel, but hedated meso hard and well, I fell for him anyway.”
“The spreadsheet was foryou,” I remind her.
She ignores my comment.“The number one man on her spreadsheet is Magnus Lundgren.”
Suki’s jaw drops.“Yes!He’s so sweet.Did you guys know he knits?”
“Number one forJules,” I say.“I don’t date.”
“Leo says Magnus lives at a hotel,” Mara says.
“I think he’s afraid to commit to a permanent place here because he doesn’t know if the team will offer him a contract,” Suki says.“He’s on a one-year prove-it deal.”
“Well, he’s proving the hell out of it,” Jules says.“He got a natural hat trick in Tampa the other night.”
“Let me set you up with him.”Suki gives me a pleading look.“He’s not a womanizer.Carter says he never goes out with the guys and he doesn’t drink at all.He’s completely focused on getting a contract.”
My pulse pounds nervously as they all look at me.“Let him focus then.I’m completely focused on nursing school and my boys.I don’t have time for a man.”
“He doesn’t have to be up in your business every day,” Jules says.“He’s on the road a lot.Wouldn’t it be nice to go out for dinner with him once in a while?”
