Page 16 of Sideline Sweetheart (Greenville Generals #4)
Chapter Sixteen
Mackenzie
I place my tablet in my purse as a knock sounds on my office door. The door opens and Talaney Jane, Leo’s assistant manager, steps into my office. “Hi, Dr. Flynn. Leo sent me down to get your bags.”
“Oh, thank you, but you didn’t have to make a special trip, I would have brought them up.”
Talaney shakes her head. “It’s no problem. We were going through our checklist and noticed we hadn’t gotten yours yet.”
“Well, I appreciate you keeping me on track. I’ll try to get my things to you earlier next time.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Talaney Jane says extending the handle on first my medical bag and then my suitcase. “It’s our first road trip of the season; this will all be second nature in no time.”
Talaney Jane rolls the bags through the open door, and I follow, turning off the lights and closing the door behind us.
We make our way down the hall and out to the loading area where buses are waiting to take us to the airport.
When we step outside, Bryce looks up from his phone and smiles before making his way over to me.
He wraps his arm around my waist drawing me into his side. “Hey, beautiful.”
“Hey yourself.”
“Ready for your first road trip?”
“I am, but the bigger question is are you ready?”
“Babe, I’ve been ready since February.”
I can’t help but laugh and roll my eyes. “Of course you have.”
With his hand on the small of my back, Bryce ushers me to one of the buses and I stop before climbing on board. “I thought we were riding to the airport on separate buses?”
“Originally we were, but I traded seats with Rosner’s wife so we could sit together.”
I smile up at him. “Good, now I won’t get in my own head about meeting your parents.”
Bryce chuckles behind me as we climb onto the bus.
I find two seats together and slide into the window seat as Bryce takes the aisle seat beside me.
As soon as he’s seated, he reaches over, takes my hand and entwines our fingers.
“Babe, I told you, you have nothing to worry about. They are going to love you.”
I sigh as I squeeze his hand. “I hope so.”
When we arrive at the airport, the buses pull up in front of a private hanger where the team’s jet resides.
As the bus comes to a stop, we are instructed to wait inside until the crew completes their preflight checks.
Bryce steps off the bus first and offers me his hand as I follow him onto the tarmac.
When we enter the hanger Bryce moves us out of the way of the rest of the team, but it doesn’t take long for his teammates to begin joining us.
Justice Rosner approaches first along with his wife. “Coban,” he says offering a fist bump to Bryce before turning to his wife. “Cas, you remember Bryce?”
“Of course,” she says slipping her arm around her husband’s waist. “Thank you, Bryce for trading seats with me so I could spend more time with this guy.” She looks lovingly up at her husband, and he drops a kiss on her lips.
“I was more than happy to trade, but you should know it was purely for selfish reasons.” Bryce grins and winks at me. “Cassie, this is my girlfriend, Mackenzie Flynn.”
Cassie offers me her hand, which I accept. “It’s great to meet you, Mackenzie.”
“You too, Cassie,” I say releasing her hand.
“Flynn?” She says glancing between me and Bryce, before looking up at her husband. “Didn’t you say the new team doctor’s name was Flynn?”
“I did,” Justice says casting a quick glance my way as Bryce fights a smile.
I cautiously raise my hand. “That would be me. But I can assure you, my relationship with the players is strictly professional.”
Bryce clears his throat causing me to correct my statement. “Except for Bryce,” I say leaning toward Cassie to mock whisper. “And trust me I resisted as long as possible before he completely wore me down.”
Cassie laughs. “Oh, I know all about being pursued by a football player. They can be hard to resist,” she finishes with a wink. “The wives and girlfriends usually get together for a drink the night we arrive while the players are in a meeting. It would be great if you’d join us.”
“I’d love to, thank you.”
Before we can continue our conversation, the team manager announces we are ready to board. As Bryce steers us up the stairs to board the plane, he leans in close to my ear, hand resting on my hips. “Stop worrying.”
I glance back at him. “What?”
“I can feel the anxiety rolling off you. If meeting the other women for a drink makes you this nervous, don’t go,” he says with a shrug.
I turn to face him, and he tucks a lock of hair behind my ear, as he continues. “But, keep in mind, you’ve already won over Cassie, and I know my beautiful, badass girlfriend will have the others eating out of her hand in no time.”
I slip my arm around his waist and close some of the distance between us. “How is it we’ve only been dating a few months, and you know exactly what I need to hear?”
Bryce grins as his gaze dips to my lips. “Because sweetheart, to be a football player at the highest level you have to pay attention to everything around you on and off the field.”
“It makes you a pretty good boyfriend too.”
His grin widens as he dips his head and brushes a soft kiss on my lips.
“Save it for the hotel, Coban,” one of the players calls from behind us. I instantly recognize the voice belongs to Harris Mathis.
I bury my face in Bryce’s chest and laugh before calling over his shoulder. “Watch it Harris, I’ll order a colonoscopy for fun.”
The entire crowd behind us burst into laughter, including Bryce who then pulls me into his chest and kisses the top of my head. “That’s my girl.”
“Have I mentioned how much I love being called your girl?”
“No, but I love it too, beautiful,” he says as we make our way onto the plane. “Window, aisle or teammate?”
I laugh. “Let’s find two together, no way am I sitting between two football players all the way to Colorado.”
Bryce chuckles behind me. “Good choice.”
We settle into our seats, and I pull my phone out of my purse to send mom a quick text letting her know we are about to take off. Her response is almost instantaneous, making me smile. I send a heart emoji before placing my phone back in my purse.
“Everything okay?” He asks.
“Yeah,” I can feel Bryce watching me as I buckle my seatbelt. “I was letting my parents know we are about to take off.”
“I should probably, text mine as well,” he says pulling his phone from his back pocket and typing a quick text. Bryce returns his phone to his pocket and then reaches for my hand lacing our fingers together and kissing the back of my hand.
“I’m excited to meet your parents.”
“They’re excited to meet you too. I talked to them last night, once they got back from dinner.”
Before I can comment further, the pilot’s voice comes over the speakers letting us know we will be taking off in the next few minutes and instructing the flight attendants to prepare for take-off.
Bryce leans over and kisses me. “Buckle up, beautiful, time to fly.”