Page 8 of The Game Plan

She worried her lips with her teeth, and he had to physically restrain himself from reaching out to run his thumb over her soft pink lips in the middle of Carter’s living room.

Releasing the gentle flesh, she replied, “She said you’ve dated a lot of women, that’s all. She also might have said she was a little surprised you were still single, given your breakup with Nicole was a while ago.”

He was surprised by the irritation that flared up at being labeled a playboy. The label didn’t usually bother him, but when she talked about his lack of commitment, he almost felt… bad?

What the hell is happening to you?

He ignored the screaming red alert that went off in his mind, instead choosing to tamp down the irritation and play it off. “I do enjoy the presence of female company, yes.”

He cleared his throat. “Right now, though, I need to focus on the game. We have one more to win before we get to the big one, and right now, I’m giving it my all.”

She tipped her wine glass in his direction. “I can understand that. Two very important events back-to-back definitely require your full attention. I’ve been there.”

He smiled, and she said, “Well, not quite the same way as y’all do. The two big events things, I mean.”

“It’s okay,” he said, putting a hand on hers. “I get where you’re coming from. Do you have a lot of occasions?”

“We do, actually. We recently had a community day for Christmas with kids who wouldn’t get any Christmas presents. We are a children-based foundation, so we have a lot of kid friendly events.”

“You must love kids,” Reese said.

“I like kids, sure. I don’t plan on having my own, though.” Sutton took another drink of her wine. “I’ve never felt that pull to be a mom, but I like helping the kids at Somebody’s Child.”

A funny look appeared on her face. “I think you would have to at least like kids to work at a child organization.”

“Very true,” Reese said. “We do a lot of those kind of events, too, and there’s always a bunch of kids.”

“Do you like kids?” she asked.

“I like them enough, but not enough to have my own. I am more than willing to be the fun Uncle Reese, though. That way I can spoil them and hype them up on sugar and send them back to mom and dad.”

She laughed, finishing off her wine.

“Now, the most important question,” Reese stated. “Do you wear Tennessee Orange? There is only one right answer here.”

A mischievous glint appeared in her eyes. “I don’t.”

He clapped a hand on his chest. “Heartbroken.”

His eyes narrowed as he took her in. “University of Texas?”

She shook her head and took a step back, motioning to her red dress.

“Oh no,” he said, taking it in. With all the drama he could muster, he said, “Please don’t say Georgia. Anything but red.”

She put her hand on his arm, and he did his best to ignore the heat that splintered through his disappointment.

“University of Georgia, class of 2018,” she said. “Go Bulldogs.”

He looked forlornly down at the empty glass in his hand. “And here I am, out of scotch. I need a drink after that information.”

“Now, now. I’m sure there are others here who don’t love the orange as much as you.” She pointed to Preston. “I know for a fact that he went to the University of Arizona.”

He laughed, drawing people’s gazes to them. “Oops.”

She smothered her smile with her hand, a pink tinge on her cheeks.

He tugged his phone from his pocket and texted Carter that he was going to grab some more scotch from the basement.