Page 47 of Tattered (Lark Cove 1)

She laughed. “Trust me. If all the people who you normally intimidate into silence were sitting in my spot, they’d tease you too.”

“I—forget it.” I swallowed my retort and focused on the game.

One of the forwards on the other team was dribbling the ball toward Charlie’s goal and it sent an uneasy feeling up my spine. For five, the kid’s footwork was impressive. He knew how to handle the ball, and if he scored on Charlie, the game was over. It would end in a tie, which was still losing in my book.

My hands extended past my sides as I mirrored Charlie’s stance. She was ready and waiting to make the save.

The kid with the ball had a cluster of others behind him, all trailing along and not trying to do anything but watch and see what happened. Parents and coaches on the other side of the field were cheering and clapping the enemy on.

Come on, Charlie. Come on.

My heartbeat roared in my ears as everything else went silent. I blocked everything out, focusing only on the ball and my daughter.

The kid moved in range and swung back his leg, hammering his foot into the ball and sending it flying over the grass.

Charlie made the right move, leaping left for the ball. She held out her hands, stretching her small body. Her knee hit the ground first as she fell to the side, with her arms still extended. Her fingertips had just enough reach to swat the ball away from the net right before her body collided with the grass.

No score.

“Yes!” My arms shot in the air. I punched the air a couple of times before clapping and shouting, “Way to go, Charlie! Nice save!”

I was so damn proud. I hoped she could hear me yelling. Her success felt better than any I’d ever had personally, and I’d known her for just a couple days.

Parental pride was incredible.

And I wasn’t alone in my feelings. When I stopped cheering for my daughter, I looked to my side to see that Thea had gotten off the blanket and was cheering too. Her smile was beaming, brighter than any I’d seen before.

“Couldn’t stay seated?” I nudged her elbow with mine.

“Quiet, gorgeous.”

Gorgeous.

I’d been given nicknames in the past by women. My girlfriend in high school had called me Lo-Lo. Emmeline used to call me darling. Alice had annoyed the fuck out of me by whispering stud in my ear. I hadn’t really liked any of them, not even Emmeline’s.

But Thea’s gorgeous was hot as hell.

Mostly because she said it with that smile.

She could call me an asshole or a douchebag with that smile and I wouldn’t care.

I stepped a little closer so I could feel the warmth from her arm on mine. She sucked in a tiny breath, tensing a bit at the electricity between us. When she looked up, her smile was gone but her cheeks were flushed.

I wished she wasn’t wearing those mirrored sunglasses. I’d do anything to see her eyes darken with the same desire they’d shown in her workshop last night.

The whistle blew on the field, breaking us apart. Thea’s face whipped back to the game and she took a step away before sitting back down on the blanket.

As much as I hated it, I understood her reason for keeping some distance and for stopping me before I’d kissed her last night. We’d burned hot six years ago, and that fire between us was still hard to ignore. B

ut it would be best for Charlie if she was the focus.

Kicking thoughts of sex and Thea aside, I focused on the game. The kids were all lined up to shake hands. Charlie was getting high fives from a couple of her teammates, and just like her mother, the smile on her face was blinding. It made breathing difficult to see that little girl so happy.

My little girl.

“She’s a natural between the goal posts,” I told Thea, taking the seat beside her. “She could be an Olympian. Maybe we should look at getting her a professional coach. Or at least getting her into some bigger leagues.”

Thea shook her head but smiled. “Let’s give it a few years, okay? If she still likes soccer when she’s ten, we can discuss the Olympics.”