Page 76 of Tangled with the Tight End

“And then we can toss the ball around,” he says with a casual air that makes me wonder if I was imagining what I thought I saw a moment ago.

“I can play catch with the great Declan O’Connell?” I ask, keeping my tone intentionally bright.

“You can just throw the ball around with everyday, ordinary Declan,” he says.

“Even better,” I say, looking up into his eyes and smiling softly.

Though, even here, there’s nothing everyday or ordinary about him. The way he looks at me. No one has ever looked at me like that.

A silence hangs between us.

I’m in danger of reading into it, so I say, “I should go.”

He just nods. “Yeah. You’ve got book club.”

He pivots. I follow him, carrying the ball in and placing it on a counter in the laundry room.

When we’re at the front door, I ask him, “Do you have everything you need?”

“I’m good,” he says.

“Thanks for putting up with all my questions. And thanks for the throwing lesson.”

“It was fun,” he says.

It was something. That’s for sure.

Maybe a little space will put things back into perspective.

Declan propels onto the porch and watches me get into my car. When the gate to his property is sliding shut behind me, I look up into my rearview mirror to see him still standing on the porch, watching me go.

I drive the first few blocks on autopilot.

The weight of Declan’s hand over mine. The way it felt to sink back into him. The low timbre of his voice when he laughed at my flub-ups. What was that look in his eyes right before I said I had to go—like he was deciding something—or maybe that was just me wishing for something I obviously can’t have.

I push Bluetooth and call Cass to tell her I’m on the way.

“Do you need me to pick anything up?” I ask her.

“You know Emberleigh and Syd bring the goods.”

“True. Can you bring my book? It’s in my bedroom,” I ask her.

“Sure. Where have you been all day?”

“I was at Declan’s.”

“This whole afternoon?”

“Yeah. We watched the game together.”

“The Thunder?”

“Yeah. Can you believe it? And we won!”

My excitement must carry through my voice because Cass asks, “So you’re finally a fan of football?”

“I’m starting to see the appeal.”