Page 97 of Let You Love Me

I burst out laughing, and Lane stops, mouth gaping beneath cheeks red as a sunburn. “Mom!”

“What?” her mother asks innocently.

I take that as my cue and step forward into the foyer of the Turner home, stretching out a hand toward her mother and clearing my throat. “Hi, ma’am, I’m Teagan Nichols, a friend of Lane’s from school.”

Lane crosses her arms over her chest. “He’s also one of Dad’s tight ends.”

“Ahh,” her mother says like she gets it now, and I wonder if she knows about her husband’s warning to the team, or Lane’s apparent aversion to socializing with football players, maybe both.

Whatever it is, she doesn’t seem to care as she takes my hand with a spreading grin. “Nice to meet you, Teagan. I’m Dolly. Come on in.” She waves me inside and Lane groans. “So, I’m confused. Are you also selling something?”

I chuckle. “Nah. Lane was just messing with me. You know, Lane, always a little jokey jokester,” I say, reaching down and ruffling her long hair with my hand until it tangles like a bird’s nest atop her head.

Lane swats my hand away while her mother watches on with amusement. “Interesting. So, you two arefriends?” she asks, pointing between us.

“If you could call us that,” Lane says dryly at the same time, I reply:

“Thebestof friends.”

I rock back on my heels, a smile plastered to my face while Dolly laughs. “Well, that is just wonderful to hear.” She claps herhands together. “Lane could certainly use more good friends in her life.”

“Mom.” Lane scowls.

“Ed!” Dolly calls out, and I stiffen for a moment while Lane shoots me a vengeful look. “Ed, come here and say hi to one of Lane’s friends.”

Footsteps echo down the hall, and the next thing I know, Coach Turner rounds the corner, his eyes blinking with surprise when he sees me standing here in his foyer on a Sunday afternoon. Beside him, Sophie clutches his hand, but when her head lifts and her eyes lock with mine, she drops his giant mitt like a hotcake and dashes straight for me.

“Teagan!” She flings her arms around my legs and squeezes.

My hand finds the top of her hair, which is braided into a halo around her head. “Hey, Sweet Sophie.”

Beside me, Lane visibly softens while Dolly looks as though she might pass out from sheer joy, and Coach stares at me through narrowed eyes. The three couldn’t have more opposite reactions if they tried.

“Well, I see Sophie already knows you well.” Dolly glances between us, failing to hide her approval. “Just how much have you two been hanging out?”

Coach crosses his arms over his chest and lifts his chin. “Yeah. How muchhaveyou been seeing my daughter and granddaughter behind my back?”

“Ed,” his wife admonishes.

He turns on Lane, ignoring her. “You made it sound like you only saw each other in class.”

I clear my throat, and nerves dance in my stomach when I open my mouth to speak at the same time Sophie releases me and spins around.

“We get pizza at Slice!” she blurts, beaming. “Mom says we can only have it one day a week, even though Teagan has itthreetimes.” Dolly chuckles while Coach’s brows rise. “Andhe came to the lake house the other night to play with me.”

Oh shit.I wince.

Stiffening, I glance at Coach to gauge his reaction.

His cheeks redden, and if the muscle flickering in the side of the jaw is any indication, he’s pissed.Reallypissed.

Fuck, I’m screwed.

I rack my brain for something to say, something to make this sound better than it does, like I’m not trying to date his daughter, which in the grand scheme of things is exactly what I’m doing.

I step forward, but Lane places a hand out to stop me when she glances at Sophie. “Pizza once a week is plenty,” she says to Sophie. Then to her father: “We were talking on campus and I mentioned how Jason was doing me a favor by meeting me at the lake house after practice to go over the contract.” She shrugs. “Teagan didn’t like the idea of me and Sophie meeting him alone at night.”

Dolly clutches her hands in front of her chest, looking a little like she’s praying. Even Coach seems to relax a little.