Page 81 of Lessons in Lemonade

“Just because I’m not playing football, that doesn’t mean I can’t still have it be a part of my life in another way. Three days ago, the day I decided I was coming here for you and not taking no for an answer, I got a call from Brick.”

“The head coach at The Citadel?” Her forehead wrinkles with confusion.

“Yep. He said he knew it was a long shot, but considering my age and the injury, if I was ready to retire then they were interested in speaking to me about being their new offensive coordinator.”

She tosses her phone to the side, her hand flies to my arm, and she squeezes it with shock and excitement. “No. Way.”

“Yes way. I met with them this morning and accepted the job.”

She gasps again then scrambles onto my lap, straddling me, still naked, but now pinning me down.

“You were that sure of me? Of us?” she asks, the enthusiasm still present but now accompanied by caution, too.

I sit up to be closer to her and take her face in my hands. “Without one doubt in my mind.”

“Jack . . .” She exhales my name, and between her legs, she can feel what that sound does to me, what she does to me. “How did I get so lucky?” she whispers.

“Funny, I’ve been asking myself that same thing for months now.”

Her chin trembles and her eyes shine, but I can’t have her crying again, so in one swift move, I have her flipped over on her back and I settle between her legs. She squeals at the quick motion, but that turns into a moan as her back arches against me and my mouth finds that tender spot just under her ear.

That moan . . . I swear it’s one of the best sounds in the whole world, at least it is until I slide inside and listen to her come undone for me.

Me.

I always knew we had chemistry—that came easy to us, from the friendly banter to holding her hand—but now knowing I get to spend an indefinite amount of time lost in her soft skin and her sweet smell . . . well, that tastes like forever, our forever, and I am the happiest man to ever walk this earth.

“So, back to the house talk,” I mumble against her shoulder sometime later. I know she’s exhausted and I am too, but I’m also excited.

“You’re not going to let this go, are you?” She shifts to lie more on her side, reaches up to run her hand through my hair, pushes it off my face, and then trails her fingers down over my jaw. Just that simple move from her has my heart tripping in my chest, and I hope she’ll touch me like this always.

“Nope, because I might have put in an offer on one of them.” I also am having a hard time keeping my hands to myself, and I reach around her to pull her closer to me. My hand settles on her ribcage, and my thumb slowly brushes back and forth underneath the swell of her breast.

“You did not,” she whisper-shouts, her whole body tensing.

I blink at her through the early morning light and can’t help the smile that creeps up on my face. “Yep, I sure did.”

“Which one?” she demands. Her dark curly hair is spread out all over her pillow, and her eyes narrow suspiciously.

“The Cooke house.”

It takes her a second to register what I’ve just said, and then she shoots up to sit on her knees. Damn, the sight of her naked is something I will never get tired of, and I can’t help it when my eyes drag down over her.

“Stop it for a second.” She shoves me over onto my back, and I laugh. “Are you messing with me?”

“Why would I do that?” I interlace my fingers behind my head and grin at her.

“I don’t know, but I love that house. I didn’t even know they were wanting to sell it.”

“I don’t think anyone did. When I spoke to them about renting the garden for the night, he teased that the house was also for sale if I wanted it. He might have only been partly serious at the time, but I told him to name his price, and he came back to me yesterday with one.”

“How much?” She leans forward, putting her hand on my thigh.

“Don’t you worry about it.” I shake my head and watch as she goes from excited to angry. Her fingers dig into my skin, and I yelp.

“Of course I’m going to worry about it! Those houses are insanely expensive. Jack, what were you thinking?” She gets out of the bed and starts pacing around the room. Again, she’s still naked, and I’m loving every second of this.

“Did you forget that I played in the NFL for ten years? I have money—plenty of it.”