About The Novel
Football is one hundred percent the focus of my life—until a squawking toddler, with a temper to rival my own, lands in my lap and flips my life upside down.
I’ll never be Dad of the Year. Anyone will tell you that. Except maybe Sienna, my sister’s former roommate, who somehow manages to make my broody ass laugh and sees something in me no one else does.
When Sienna offers to let me and my little princess move in with her, I’m not sure if it’s to help or because she wants revenge on my teammate and long-time rival, who broke her heart.
Either way, I’m game. Because I need to get my ex off my back, and Sienna doesn’t mind pretending to be my girlfriend.
Only neither of us is ready for the sparks that fly between us or the consequences when they do.
As always, to Matt & my girls
You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.
— Henry David Thoreau
1
SIENNA
A burst of joy spreads through me when I open the door.
“Hey, Cal!”
My boyfriend gives me a sultry smile, the one I call the panty-dropper. Unfortunately, we don’t have time for a naked rendezvous since I’m already running late, and I can’t miss my flight home to California or my father will kill me.
I start talking a mile a minute. “Thanks for driving me. I’m all packed. I know it’s a long drive, but...”
He shuts me up with a kiss, and I can’t say I’m inclined to complain.
We’re not even through the front door and his hand is up my shirt.
“Gonna miss you, gorgeous,” he says with a squeeze to my boob.
I stare up into his blue eyes, out of breath.
Our relationship is intense. It started out as a one-night stand, which quickly morphed into an entire weekend of sex.
He eventually admitted he wanted more with me. We’ve been official since December, and I can admit I’ve completely lost my head over this guy.
If the rumors are true, no one ever thought Cal Winston, the star wide receiver for our national champion football team, the Lone Star State Broncos, would ever settle down. But he has! With me.
He has a bad rep for some reason, but I’m a big believer in ignoring gossip. My father is a tech mogul, a little fact I tend to keep to myself, and if I believed all the gossip about him, I’d be too disgusted to ever speak to him again.
I make a point to always go by someone’s actions. By their word. By what I’ve learned about that person from firsthand experiences.
Because the gossips tend to lie or exaggerate, and I’ll be damned if I let a good thing slip through my fingers because of rumors spread by jealous jocks or jersey-chasers.
Since we became a couple, Cal has treated me well, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s what matters. He brings me breakfast on Sundays, and we always have fun studying together.
Besides, only a boyfriend who cared would offer to drive me to the airport all the way in Austin. It’s a hike, and the traffic is terrible.
I bat my eyelashes at him playfully. “I promise I’ll make it up to you when I get back.”
We’ll probably go into a sex coma. I laugh to myself. I’ll only be going home for four days, but right now that feels like an eon. I’m not looking forward to the lecture I know my father will lay on me.
Why can’t you stick with one major, Sienna? Why can’t you buckle down for once in your life? Why did you have to go to some no-name school? Was Stanford really that bad?
My dad would have a coronary if he knew I picked Lone Star State by throwing a dart at a map. But going to my father’s alma mater, which also happens to be where my brothers attended and aced every class, was torture, and I needed a change. And picking a school in Texas meant being a thousand miles away from my family and their expectations. Transferring the second half of freshman year was the best thing I ever did, even if it was a little impulsive.
Schools frown upon switching mid-year like that, but if your dad is a regular on the Fortune 500 list, guess what? They welcome you with open arms.
But now my father saves his lectures for my trips home, which is why I’m dreading this visit. It doesn’t matter that I got certified to teach yoga. That’s not the kind of accomplishment my family cares about.
The light at the end of the tunnel is that I’ll join Cal at South Padre Island for the last part of his vacation before summer training starts in August. Cal deserves the break. After clinching the national championship in January, he’s been going nonstop. This will be our chance to relax.
I’ve already packed a small glass container for the sand I’ll collect as a memento on our trip. It’s a silly thing I do whenever I travel somewhere new, but the collection is my favorite possession. It’s a perfect example of how different I am from the rest of my family. My father collects art and retro cars, and my brothers hoard ridiculously expensive first-edition comics, while I prefer recycled bottles filled with sand, the kind that sits just beyond the reach of the waves.
Thoughts of sunny beaches fade away when Cal cradles my jaw. His eyes go soft as he looks me over.
This is it! This has to be it. I’ve been dying for him to admit his feelings for me, to tell me he loves me.
“I’ll hold you to that, to making it up to me.” He leans closer, whispering into my ear. “I plan to violate all of your holes next time.”
My mouth opens and closes.
Um.
For once in my life, I’m at a loss for words.
If there’s one ingredient missing from our relationship, it’s this—it wouldn’t hurt if he was as enthusiastic about us as a couple as he is about sex.
Not that I have anything against sex, but I’m starting to worry that’s all this is for him.
Then why would he say he wanted me by his side at the draft? That’s a whole year away. Why would he drive me to the airport? Why would he ask if our lunch breaks align in the fall when school starts up? Guys don’t do that kind of stuff when they don’t care.
A throat clears behind us, and to my great mortification, my neighbor Ben is standing there. Judging by the look on his face, he heard what Cal said.
I must’ve been an asshole in a prior life because karma is a mean bitch, and clearly she has it out for me. Because the only other guy I’ve ever had a hardcore crush on in my entire life is Ben Rodriguez, my former roommate’s brother. Of course, I didn’t know Ben was Gabby’s brother when I signed the lease last August.
For the record, Ben’s now firmly in the “don’t drool over” category. Because friends don’t check out friends’ brothers.
Plus, I’m dating his teammate.
Even if those two things weren’t true, Ben has a neon sign over his head that says ‘No Trespassing.’ He’s one of the most emotionally unavailable men I’ve ever met.
Three very good reasons to stay far, far away from my torturously sexy neighbor who lives across the street.
Ben is basically the opposite of Cal. Where Cal has surfer-boy good looks with blond hair and blue eyes, which are underscored with an easygoing party vibe, Ben has dazzling dark brown eyes, thick black hair, and is broody as fuck.