He nods and crosses his arms over his chest. “Coach Killian says you won’t take any money. You do know this is a paying position, right?”
I put my glasses up on my head and smirk at him. “I’m not taking money to help coach my nephew, Grif.”
I glance over Grif’s shoulder at Megan again. She’s looking out on the field, and I keep watching her, waiting for her eyes to settle on me, but I don’t get a chance.
Grif turns and looks over his shoulder at Megan and then back at me. “Made any progress on that?”
I huff out an impatient breath. “No, none at all. She’s definitely not into me.”
Grif smiles broadly, obviously happy to hear I’m having trouble on the lady front. “Really? Kade the Ladies Man Lincoln has finally met a girl that’s not interested? Wow!”
I roll my eyes. “Shut it, Grif. You know I always hated being called that, and look, she thinks I’m some kind of dumb jock—"
He laughs. “Really? You own a million dollar tech company that you started from the ground up, so I really doubt that’s it.”
I look expectantly at my brother. “What about Krissy? Your wife and Megan seem chummy. She said anything?”
He shakes his head. “Nope. Nothing.”
“Fuck,” I mutter, not wanting the kids to hear my frustration.
Grif rubs his hand through his beard as if he’s really thinking about it when in fact, he’s probably trying to figure out how he can bust my balls some more. “Maybe it’s your nickname from when you played. Even now, any current write-up on you always has your nickname in it. Megan’s a single mom with a shitty ex. Of course, she’s not going to want to get mixed up with someone that has the nickname Ladies Man.”
I grit my teeth. I don’t want to hear it, but I know I need to. Fuck, if my brother can help me figure this shit out, then great. I obviously can use all the help I can get. “That’s not me, Grif. It never was. Plus, I’m forty years old. I’m not some twenty something recruit anymore.”
He holds his hands up at my lethal tone. “Hey, I’m not the one that came up with it.”
I shake my head and look over at Megan. She’s looking at her computer screen again, and I shake my head. I can’t continue like this. We may not have talked much, but I already know a lot about her. Enough to know she’s perfect for me. She’s my dream girl, and I can’t fuck this up. I won’t let myself.
Grif is shaking his head. “I know that look. That’s the same one in the last inning of the 2012 World Series when you had a full count on Alexander Gorges. Bases were loaded, two outs. You had him at a full count. The next pitch was going to win the game or lose it.”
I smile at him. “Yeah, and what did I do?”
He smiles with me. “You threw a fastball down the middle. He never saw it coming...”
I nod. “That’s right.” I turn to the field and see the boys are wrapping up on warming up. “I gotta get to it. Thanks for the support, little brother.”
He rolls his eyes as he towers over me. “Right. Little brother, my ass.”
I jog off, laughing. Grif is in fact my little brother, but there’s nothing little about him. I still can’t stop busting his chops even if we are grown men. I get the guys together and go over the practice plan. Coach Killian stands beside me, nodding his head. He’s the head coach, I’m just here to help, but he lets me run practices the way I see fit.
As soon as the team breaks and goes into their positions, I turn to look at Megan. She’s looking at the field, her hand above her head shading her eyes. I wish I knew what she was thinking right now. Oh well, it doesn’t matter because after practice, I’m going to make sure she knows I want to get to know her.
Chapter 2
Megan
It’s a good thing that people can’t read my mind. If they did, they’d know exactly what I’m thinking about the off-limits coach. I mean, how trite is it to have the hots for your son’s coach? It’s crazy, and all the longing and yearning is not going to get me anywhere. He’s definitely out of my league.
I give up on working and close my laptop before putting it back into my bag. The women have all brought their chairs around me, while I’ve been daydreaming about Kade, my son’s baseball coach. As soon as his sister-in-law Krissy sits down next to me at the picnic table, I try to get my mind out of the gutter. It’s hard, though, because all I can think about is Kade. It’s been like this all season, and a part of me is ready for it to be over. There’s no way I have a chance with him, and now I’m starting to imagine things.