Page 33 of Not How I Saw That Going

My head shoots to his face—well, it gives a good effort, but it stops at the four rows of numbers drawn from his shoulder to below his pec. There areso manynumbers.

“That’s the tattoo,” I blurt. I kind of saw it at the game from across the field, but it’s so much better up close. So are his muscles.

Ward clears his throat, and I finally look up at his face, which is no less attractive than what I’m currently cradled against.

“It is.” His lips press into a firm line.

Is that thumping coming from his chest or mine?

“Do you have more?” I did not just ask that.

“No.”

“What a shame.” My voice is hoarse.Please stop talking.

A hint of a smile parts his lips, and it’s glorious. Maybe it’s just the angle or the almost smile, but his lips look rather kissable right now.

As quick as it comes, it’s gone, replaced with his regular frown.

“I’ll uh, let you finish.” He pulls his arms from around me, and his shirt comes with it, gripped in his left hand.

I don’t respond. I’m not sure I’d even know how to. What was I doing in the men’s locker room again?

Then he’s gone.

Twelve

Ward

Mycheststillstingswhere Lyndi was pressed up against it.

No. It’s not a sting. It’s something much more desirable than that.

I rub at the spot where her warm breath tickled my skin, but the sensation refuses to leave. I don’t need desires. I don’t need her soft hands on my chest, or her mouth close enough to smell the strawberry on her breath.

“You alright there?” Caleb asks from the office. He’s still in the same spot I left him—right before the world shifted on its axis. Couldn’t he feel its effects in here?

“Huh?”

“I thought you went to change your shirt. Did you forget where you were again, grandpa?” He chuckles then stops. “Oh man, did you eat some of the chili Fitch brought? I told you that stuff goes right through you.”

No. I’d never makethatmistake again. Just a stupider one.

I shake my head. What is wrong with me? Lyndi is just a woman. A woman with a kid at that.

So much more complicated.

“Hey.” Lyndi walks into the office. My left knee buckles and I try to cover up the movement by leaning against the wall, but it’s too far away and I end up falling into it with a thump.

Caleb snickers.

I fold my arms, hoping to appear casual.

Nothing weird happening here. I’m cool. So cool I might have to go for a run later to warm up.

Why am I looking at her hands?It’s not like they were just pressed up against me or anything.

Lyndi’s eyes dart between Caleb and me. “So my car won’t start. I think it’s the battery. Do either of you have jumper cables?” She speaks so fast it takes me an extra beat to decipher what she just said.