Page 24 of Run the Play (Nashville Rampage #2)

His arms tighten around me. “I was twelve. I can still remember coming home from school to find our mom crying on the couch. Dad was killed at work. He was in construction, and a steel beam was loaded wrong and dropped. It landed on him. He was gone instantly.”

“Oh, Landry.” I place my hands over his, and he laces our fingers together. “I can’t even imagine.”

“It was just the three of us then. We had each other, and we were doing okay. We missed him, but we were moving forward. It wasn’t until the summer after Corie graduated from high school that our worlds flipped upside down again.

Mom had knee surgery. It was routine. They’ve done thousands of them in the past. The surgery went great, and all was well.

However, she developed a blood clot. We didn’t know.

It went to her heart, and she was gone.”

His breath shudders, and I can’t take it. I turn in his arms, placing my hands on his chest. “You’ve been through so much.”

“So have you. I’ve suffered the loss of loved ones, but nothing as cruel as what that asshole did to you.

It kills me, Roe, to have to play on the same team as him.

I hate seeing him in the locker room every day, knowing what he did to you.

” He lifts his hands and cradles my cheeks. “He hurt my girl,” he murmurs.

The intensity of his eyes tells me something is shifting. I don’t know what it means, but this feels like more. More of this incredible man doesn’t scare me as much as I once thought it would.

When I learned that Chaz was being traded to the Rampage, I was certain I would have to leave and find a new place to call home.

A new job, new friends, and a new family.

However, this man has shown me that I’m stronger than I think.

Sure, I left, but I was running scared. I was prepared to run again, but now, I don’t want to.

I don’t want to run.

I want to stay right here.

With him.

With all of them.

Landry stares at me and bends his head. I think he’s going to kiss me, and I think I’m going to let him. I lick my lips, and his eyes follow the motion before coming back to me. He lowers his head further.

“Everything okay?” Baker asks, coming into the room. He’s got his head tilted sideways, drying his hair.

I immediately step away from Landry and turn to face Baker. “He’s an angel. We all napped, and I just laid him down. Are you hungry?”

“Starving.”

I glance over my shoulder at Landry. “I know you’re hungry.” I chuckle. “Give me five, and I’ll have some food warmed up for both of you.” I fidget, ready to hide away in the kitchen. We almost kissed. What’s worse is that I wanted it. I wanted him to kiss me.

“You need some help?” Landry asks.

“No. I’m good,” I tell him as I slide past Baker and rush down the hall to the kitchen. I get right to work making all three of us a plate and heating each one in the microwave before grabbing each of us a drink and setting three places on the island.

“I know you said five minutes, and I don’t know how long it’s been, but damn, girl, that smells incredible,” Baker says, walking into the kitchen carrying a baby monitor.

“What he said,” Landry agrees.

“Eat up. I’m just going to start the dishwasher that I loaded earlier.” I turn toward the sink to do just that when I feel hands on my hips.

“Thanks, babe,” Landry says huskily. He kisses my cheek and then releases me before joining Baker at the island.

My movements are slow starting the dishwasher as I get my breathing under control. Never has a man affected me so much. I thought I was attracted to Chaz, and I was, but this… it’s intense and feverish. I’ve never felt this way before.

I don’t know why, but all of a sudden, Landry is more than just a friend who’s helping me out.

He’s always been sexy, but I was able to look past that and see the man—the same man who has been a pillar of support for me.

I didn’t feel this way with Chaz, so I don’t know what this is.

I can’t ask Corie because Landry is her brother, and Sloane is her best friend.

There has to be some kind of code, right?

She’d tell Corie, and then what? Will she hate me?

Finally, I make my way to the island and take my seat next to Landry. He offers me a goofy smile that I return, and just like that, the sexual tension is gone, and he’s just the fun-loving guy he’s always been.

By the time we’re finished eating, Camden is awake and in need of a diaper change. “I’ll get it,” I tell Baker. “Just take a few minutes to breathe.”

“I can do it.”

I point at him. “Don’t you dare move out of that chair. Take the help while it’s here. Do you want me to stay tonight so you can sleep?”

“I’ll stay too.” Landry is quick to offer.

“Thanks, guys, but I think I’ll be okay. The shower and the nap helped tremendously. Me and the little man need to figure it out.”

“Just remember, while you’re doing that, you have people who care about you that you can lean on. Don’t hesitate to call any of us.” I can say with absolute confidence that any of the group would be more than willing to help in any way that they can.

Two hours later, Landry and I are walking out to our cars, with Baker promising to call either of us if he needs backup. When we reach my vehicle, Landry pulls me into a hug, and I immediately return it.

“Let me know when you make it home.”

“Okay. Be safe.”

He bends and kisses my cheek. “You too, Roe.”

I slide behind the wheel, buckle my seat belt, and pull out of the driveway.

My heart is racing, and my mind is moving just as fast. Things are definitely changing between us.

It’s exciting and scary all at the same time.

I know Landry is nothing like Chaz. He’s a good man, but if this—whatever this is—doesn’t work between us, where does that leave me?

No friends? No found family? I’m the new girl in the group.

I need to remember that.

I might be falling for my fake boyfriend, but I can never have him for real. I could lose everything I’ve finally found, and that’s scarier than having my heart crushed by the wide receiver.