Page 16 of The Linebacker

“From him, not me,” Diana snapped, pointing at Dante.

Amil didn’t try to suppress the laugh this time.

“I’m going to go change clothes,” Allison announced, her lips twitching. “Want to join me, Diana?”

“Instead of me?” Dante teased.

“Later, big guy,” she promised, patting his chest, and damn, was it hot out here? Amil was pretty sure he’d never experienced such blatant flirting in his life.

He liked it. Well, he’d like it if he could participate. And by participate, he meant with Diana.

The two women disappeared into the house while Dante stepped up to the grill and moved the sweet potatoes to a platter.

“I’m going to grab the steaks,” he said. “More wine?”

“I’ll wait for dinner,” Amil replied. “But I won’t say no to water.”

When Dante returned, he carried a platter of steaks and two glasses of water. Amil hurried over to take the waters so the guy didn’t drop something.

Dante placed the steaks on the grill, closed the lid, and turned to Amil. “You need to tread lightly, my friend.”

“I know.”

“I’m not talking about Jalen.”

Ah. He shouldn’t be surprised that Dante was bringing this up. He and Diana hadn’t exactly been hiding their weird dynamic. Or, at least, he wasn’t.

“Pedro already warned me.”

“About Diana?” Dante asked.

“He told me she was too good for me. To stay away from her and focus on winning the Super Bowl.”

“Pedro’s a smart man.” Dante frowned. “It fucking sucks that your previous team has the ammunition to potentially mess with Jalen’s game. He’s one of the best receivers in the NFL. The talent on this team is top-notch. Even more so now that you’re with us. And yet, look how close we came to losing it all.”

He flipped the steaks, closed the lid again.

“But that’s not what I’m talking about, not directly, anyway,” Dante added with a swift glance over his shoulder.

Amil’s interest was officially piqued.

“Diana is an awesome person. Probably is too good for you. But Allison is too good for me, too, and look where we are.”

Interest was shifting to hope. Fast.

“Unfortunately, Diana has her own issues”—Dante lifted a hand in the classic stop motion—“and before you ask, no, I’m not going to go into detail. I’m just going to tell you to be careful. She’s a great person. She loves fiercely. But she does not give that love easily. She has built up some major walls over the years. And, frankly, I’d rather you focus on this season with your new team than on trying to break through those walls. Whatever you think you feel for her, if it’s real, it will still be there in February.”

Well, hell. Hope deflated. Fast.

This was the second teammate who felt the need to warn him away from Diana.

Was the woman cursed or something?

Chapter

Six

Dinner was delicious. The company was wonderful.