Page 34 of Play For Me

Ash shakes his head. “She’s a fucking menace,” he mutters. Then he meets my eye again. “But she’s also one of my favorite people.”

I nod, having no problem believing that.

“Which is another reason I want to help you out.” He looks more serious now. “Playing soccer is the most important thing in the world to her.”

I could point out that it’s pretty obvious her family is the most important thing to her, but it doesn’t really feel like my place to argue.

“She never talks about it, not to anyone, but I think she probably has some hang-ups about her injury,” he continues. “And I don’t want that to hold her back from getting healthy.”

“I don’t want that either.” I think again about the way she’d looked during the game the other day, the pure joy I’d seen on her face. Her injury holding her back would be a damn tragedy.

Ash nods, then glances down at the phone in his hand. “Shit, I’m gonna be late.” He types a quick text then turns his attention back to me. “Good luck. Try to be patient.” His lips tilt in a knowing smile. “And try not to let her bully you.”

I snort a laugh. “I’ll do my best.”

ELEVEN

CECELIA

“It’s so obvious she’s pregnant, but she refuses to say anything,” Vega says. “It’s driving me crazy.”

I nudge her shoulder as we make our way across the campus green. “Your sister will tell you when she’s ready.Ifshe’s pregnant. You might be reading the signs wrong.” When she doesn’t say anything, I look over, trying to decipher her expression. “Vega, youcannotask Everly if she’s pregnant.”

She actually gives a little stomp of her foot. “Why not? She’s my sister! We talk about everything. If she’s having a baby, shouldn’t I be the first to know?”

I laugh, slinging an arm around her shoulder. “First of all, Everly has three sisters, so no, I don’t think you necessarily should be thefirstto know. Secondly, asking a woman if she’s pregnant—even if that woman is your sister—is a sucky thing to do.”

“Easy for you to say,” Vega grumbles. “You have three nieces and nephews. And Violet is going to have four soon! It’s not fair.”

Violet and Ash are going to have four nieces and nephews soon because their brother, River, and his wife seem determined to breed like rabbits, but I don’t point that out. I also don’t point out that Vega’s brother-in-law, Bodhi, is physically incapable ofkeeping a secret. If he and Everly are having a baby any time soon, the family is going to know about it.

I’m about to change the subject to our dinner plans when a shadow falls over us and Vega abruptly stops walking. “Oh,” she squeaks, looking up, and I tear my gaze away from her face to see who’s interrupting us.

“Of course,” I mutter when my eyes land on Solomon’s face. He’s been popping up at random times, trying to rope me into more training sessions. But this is the first time he’s approached me outside of the athletic complex.

“Good afternoon, Cecelia,” he says in that low, steady voice. The one that always makes me want to lean in a little closer. I nod once, knowing I’m being rude but finding it hard to care. Why can’t he get the hint that I don’t need extra help?

He adjusts the duffle bag on his shoulder then turns to Vega, his face shifting to a smile. Something twists in my stomach that I don’t quite understand. If I didn’t know any better, I might think it was jealousy. But there’s no way I feel jealous just because my cousin got a smile while I only got a decidedly wary look.

“Hey,” he says pleasantly, and there’s that twisting feeling again. “It’s Vega, right?”

“Right,” she says, voice a little high-pitched. I wonder if she’s nervous after what happened last time—or if she’s merely reacting to the absurd level of hotness this guy displays without even trying. He’s wearing his glasses again today, and that somehow ups the attractive factor even over what it was on the field the day we got paired together.

I scowl, annoyed.

“I’m the punch spiller,” she goes on, her cheeks reddening. “And I’msosorry. I’m pretty sure I said it that night, but I was way drunk so I wanted to be sure you know that I’m so, so sorry?—”

“Hey.” He cuts off her nervous rambling. “Don’t worry about it. I actually wanted to apologize to you.”

My eyes snap up to his face, but his attention is fixed on Vega. I somehow get the feeling it’s a struggle for him, making eye contact. There’s a tick in his jaw and his hands are fisted at his sides.

“Why would you apologize to me?” she asks, surprised.

He shrugs, allowing his gaze to slip a few inches to the side. He immediately seems to relax a bit. “I was pretty rude that night.”

She laughs. “Oh my God, please don’t worry about that. You just had punch thrown all over you! Anyone would be pissed about that.”

“I wasn’t angry,” he says, voice a little lower, a little strained, like he really doesn’t want to be explaining this. I have the strangest urge to stop him, to step in between the two of them and do something to wipe that nervous, tense look off his face.