Intercepting Love

by L. P. Dover

  I had the sudden urge to fan myself, but the last thing I wanted was for Cooper to think I was going to fawn all over him. That wasn’t going to happen … ever. Thankfully, I wasn’t alone with him since Joel stood off to the side of the room; at least, until his phone rang and he excused himself. Once he left, an awkward silence filled the room, and all I could hear was the pounding in my ears as I slowly walked up behind Cooper.

  I usually didn’t get nervous being around men, but unfortunately, there was something about the tall, dark, and handsome quarterback that lit my body on fire. Licking my lips, I was about to ask him questions about his medical history when Joel came back into the room.

  Glancing at both of us, he held up his phone and said, “I’m sorry you two, but I need to get out of here. Something’s come up.” Then he looked specifically at me. “Kate, do you mind giving Cooper a ride home? He moved two houses down from you, so it shouldn’t be an inconvenience.” He smiled quickly and waved good-bye. “Thank you and I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

  Before I could even protest, he disappeared around the corner, his footsteps racing down the hallway. What the hell? Since when was chauffeur added to my job description? Not that I wouldn’t help out someone on the team, it’s just I didn’t want to help the man sitting in front of me. He already made me feel uncomfortable. When we could no longer hear Joel’s voice echoing down the hallway, Cooper spoke.

  “Dr. Townsend, don’t worry about taking me home. I can call a cab once we’re done here. I don’t want to cause any problems with your husband,” he stated, sounding tired … almost weary.

  Mouth gaping open, I froze in place and tried to hold back my snicker. The husband part was kind of funny, and I was pretty sure my brother would get a kick out of that … especially when Cooper found out that my protector was really my brother. However, I had to hand it to him, he actually sounded sincere. I knew for a fact that a lot of the guys on the team wouldn’t have cared if I was married.

  “Actually, Cooper, I’m a PA, not a doctor, so you don’t have to call me Dr. Townsend. Andrew Sawyer is the real team physician, but he’s on vacation right now. You’ll see him around in a couple of weeks.”

  “I see,” he replied.

  “Also, just so you know,” I added, “I don’t mind taking you home. It wouldn’t make any sense for you to call a cab when you live two houses down from me.”

  He peered at me over his shoulder. “Thank you, I appreciate it. The last thing I want is there to be more tension when I know no one wants me here.”

  Setting down his chart, I circled around the chair and faced him, gently taking his elbow and lifting his arm so I could check his mobility. He winced just a tiny bit when I raised his arm higher, his muscles tensing.

  “Do you really think that? That no one wants you here?”

  It was sort of true, but we were only worried that he would screw up and bring bad publicity to our team. Shrugging his shoulders, he smiled even though I could see the sadness in his gaze. “Hey, it wouldn’t be the first time no one wanted me. You get used to it after a while.”

  When he averted his gaze, I moved behind him and kept my hand on his shoulder while I rotated his arm in a circle. He must’ve been talking about his old team. I hadn’t realized what kind of impact that would have on him.

  “It’s not that we don’t want you, Cooper. I think we’ve all seen the newspaper articles on your … issues. It’s just we don’t want to be in the crossfire of bad publicity. I’m assuming you’ve given up your bad habits?” I asked, trying not to sound like an accusatory mother.

  With my hand on his warm skin, I could feel his chuckle through my fingertips. “And what exactly would those bad habits be, Kate? There are too many to count.”

  Rolling my eyes, I snapped, “Do you still do drugs? Drink heavily? Those kinds of bad habits.” Done with his evaluation, I faced him head on with my arms crossed over my chest, waiting on him to reply.

  Cooper got to his feet and smiled while slowly reaching over my body—brushing his own against mine—so he could retrieve his red T-shirt that was draped over the table. Breathing in deeply, he slowly rubbed his arm against mine, making my skin tingle with the contact. He was pushing my buttons, and I didn’t know if I should be pissed off or enjoy those forbidden moments.

  Leaning down toward my ear, he murmured, “You don’t have anything to worry about. I’m perfectly fine. I know what’s at stake if I fuck up.”

  For some reason, I wasn’t sure if I believed that or not. I did know that Joel wouldn’t put up with him if he messed up, and if he did it’d be game over. There was nothing I could do about that, but deep down I really did pray he would be what we needed to win.

  Putting his file back in the cabinet, I took a deep breath and turned back to him. “All right, I believe you,” I claimed halfheartedly. “I have faith that you’ll do your best. Now let’s get you home so you can rest up before tomorrow. Just because you’re new to the team doesn’t mean the guys are going to go easy on you.”

  He grinned and started toward the door. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

  It was a fifteen minute drive from the stadium to my neighborhood, and I had a feeling it was going to be one of the most awkward rides of my life, but Cooper surprised me by talking nonstop. At first, it was just questions about Charlotte and about the team, but then it moved on to questions about me. I was afraid to get too personal for fear it would cause problems. I needed to make sure I kept my distance.

  “So how old are you, Kate?” Cooper asked.

  “I’m twenty-five,” I answered.

  “Well, I’m pretty sure you know everything clinical about me from the size of the file you had in your hands earlier. It doesn’t have everything about me in it, does it?” he asked, waggling his eyebrows.

  Laughing, I shook my head. “No, it doesn’t have everything about you in it. However, I do know you’re twenty-nine years old, six foot four, you were born in California, and that you have issues with your shoulder. Other than that I think you’re safe.”

  With his body turned my way, he kept his gaze on me. “Good, I don’t know if I want you knowing everything about me. Although, I can’t help but wonder … why didn’t you want to finish your degree and become a doctor? Surely, you didn’t have much more to go through.”

  And right there was the one question I hated having to answer. Keeping my eyes on the road, I clenched my teeth and tried desperately to keep my mind from wandering to that time years ago. Everything was perfect and I was one of the top in my class, but I was too distraught over everything that had happened with Scott to concentrate on it. I was a mess back then.

  “Kate, are you okay?” Cooper asked, placing his hand on my shoulder. His fingers touched the bare skin of my arm and I shivered.

  Nonchalantly, I plastered on a fake smile and nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. So much was going on in my life, and I never got the chance to complete my year. It’s no big deal, though. Maybe one day I’ll go back and finish.”

  “So you were in your last year and quit?” he asked incredulously.

  At the time, I felt like I had no other choice. I didn’t exactly quit, but when I had my breakdown and missed my mandatory exams there was no other option. My mind wasn’t in the right place to take them, so I settled with being just an assistant, even though I was qualified to be an actual physician.

  “Um … do you mind if we talk about something else, or nothing at all? I don’t want to think about that anymore.”

  “Yeah, of course,” he replied, his voice softening. “So, how long have you been with the team?”

  Now that was something I could talk about. “Only one season. I’ve enjoyed it, especially going to the away games and getting to see places.”

  I could see him smiling out of the corner of my eye. “I like that, too. I honestly thought it would be over after my shoulder got messed up. My whole life has been nothing but football.”

  “Surely there’s mor
e to you than that,” I said in disbelief. “What did you go to college for? I mean, if you didn’t play football what would you be doing? You have to have a backup plan.”

  “I do,” he said. “I studied Architecture at UCLA while I played football there. As soon as I retire in a few years, I’m going to get a job doing that. I’m actually good friends with a guy who owns the West Coast branch of M&M Architectural Design.”

  I gasped. “Wow, that’s amazing. I’m not really knowledgeable in architecture, but M&M is pretty huge in Charlotte. How did you manage that?”

  Chuckling, he shook his head. However, when he suddenly sighed, I could tell his laugh was anything but humorous. “The guy who owns the West Coast branch is good friends with a girl I used to know.”

  I guess it pays to know the right people, I thought to myself.

  “Was she a girlfriend?” I asked curiously. For some reason I couldn’t imagine him being serious about a woman.

  His blue gaze turned angry for a second before leveling out. “Her name was Claire, and for a long time she was more than my girlfriend. Is that so hard to believe?”

  “I didn’t say that,” I replied, holding my hands up in defeat, but wanting to know more. “What happened to her?”

  With a devilish smirk on his face, he focused those gorgeous blue eyes of his on me. “I’ll tell you what. If you tell me why you didn’t finish medical school, then I’ll tell you all about Claire. You see, I don’t like to think about her so if you want to know, you need to give me something in return.”

  That wasn’t going to happen.

  “Never mind then,” I snapped. “I don’t want to know that badly.” I did want to know, but I wasn’t going to tell him about my past just so that I could.

  In no time at all, we pulled into his driveway, leaving our last few minutes in the car together with nothing but silence. There were still things I wanted to ask him, but I figured we’d spoken enough for the day.

  “Thank you for the ride home,” Cooper announced gratefully, reaching for the door handle, “and for the talk.”

  “You’re welcome. Do you need a ride to practice tomorrow?” I didn’t see a car in his driveway, so I figured I’d better ask.

  His hand stalled on the handle and he turned back to me, his blue gaze curious and alit with humor. “You wouldn’t mind?”

  “No, of course not. You live two houses down from me. Why would I mind?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe because when we were in the locker room I saw your reflection in the mirror when Joel asked you to drive me home. Don’t get me wrong, the ride home was really nice, but I’m pretty sure you’re capable of plastering on a fake smile. You don’t have to pretend with me.”

  I had to give it to him … he was blunt and to the point.

  Although it was true that I didn’t want to drive him home at first, it was actually kind of enjoyable on the way home.

  “Look, Cooper, at first I didn’t want to drive you home, and I’m sorry if you thought I was being a bitch. It’s just I’ve had this notion that you were going to be an arrogant jackass, and I wasn’t too thrilled about having to be around you.”

  “Have I come off like that at all?” he countered seriously.

  “No, you haven’t, which really kind of shocked me,” I confessed. “Anyway, you’re part of the team now, and I know the guys are going to give you hell tomorrow, so the last thing you need is someone else igniting the flame.”

  Surprising me, Cooper’s expression changed and he chuckled while hopping out of my car. “You’re concern is touching, Kate, but I’m going to have to pass on the ride tomorrow. I don’t want to get kicked off the team because I pissed off your husband. I know I definitely wouldn’t want you spending time with another man if you were mine.”

  Instantly, my body tightened when he said the word mine. I hadn’t belonged to anyone in so long I forgot what it felt like to have someone hold me and touch me … to make love to me. Was it wrong of me to wonder? Yes, you idiot. You’ve already ruined one person’s life, the last thing you need to do is destroy someone else’s. It was too dangerous thinking of things like that. I destroyed a life long ago, and I refused to do it again, especially to Luke and Cooper. There was nothing wrong with being friends though.

  “Wait,” I exclaimed before Cooper could shut the door. With a smile on my face, I laughed and said, “You’re not going to get kicked off the team by pissing off my husband. My brother, on the other hand, is a different story. So if you want a ride tomorrow it’s perfectly fine for you to come along with me.”

  “Your brother?” he questioned with a slightly confused look on his face. “So you’re not married?”

  “Hey, I can’t help it if you assumed my so called protector on the team was my husband. I’ll be here tomorrow morning at eight. If you’re not ready, I’m leaving without you.”

  Tilting his lip up in a seductive smirk, he backed up toward his front door, keeping his ocean blue gaze on mine. “Goodnight, Kate. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  With those final words, I pulled out of his driveway and drove the short distance to my house. I was actually curious to see how well he handled the other players. There was something different about him that I hadn’t seen in any of the guys on our team, except for maybe Evan. It wasn’t arrogance—because our players had their fair share—it was more like … confidence. Underneath Cooper’s mask of failure he still had that spark of confidence that made him a winner, a leader. Hopefully, he let those sides of him be seen.

  After falling asleep to the sound of the television, I woke up at precisely six in the morning like I did every day. Everything in my life moved like clockwork. My body knew when it needed a fix, and as soon as my eyes opened every morning I was happy to oblige it. I had hundreds of those little white pills ready to take their place in my body. They could do wonders on the muscles and the soul.

  By the time seven o’clock rolled around, I was geared up and ready to go. What Kate didn’t know was that I actually didn’t need a ride to the field. A few weeks ago, when I’d flown into North Carolina, I had bought a silver Mercedes G-Class and it was sitting in my garage, all shiny and brand new.

  In my mind I kept telling myself to keep the ruse up and let Kate offer to drive me every day, but my conscience wouldn’t let me. As much as she intrigued me yesterday with her stubborn glares and sexy southern belle accent, I didn’t want to deceive her. She wasn’t the type of woman you could mess around with and escape unscathed. From what I could gather in the little time I’d spent with her, pissing her off would be a huge mistake. Which was why I was on her front porch, waiting on her to answer the door.

  I hadn’t realized it was only a few minutes after seven until I looked down at my phone. To my surprise, she answered the door with a smile, fully clothed in a pair of black pants and a pink lacy top that hugged her breasts perfectly. Instead of in a ponytail, her blonde hair was left loose down her shoulders, falling in soft curls. My fingers ached to grab a handful of it and hold her to me as I claimed her lips with my own. She was so goddamned beautiful.

  “Good morning,” I greeted her. “I’m on time even though I know you didn’t think I would be.”

  Smiling, she opened her door further. “Yes, but now you’re too early. I’m almost ready, but you can come in if you want.”

  As I walked past her into the house, I noticed it smelled exactly like her. Even though we were in her Jeep riding home with the top down yesterday, I could still smell her skin as the breeze blew her scent my way; it was almost like apples, and her house was enveloped in it.

  I followed her into her kitchen, where she hastily finished her cereal and placed her bowl in the sink. “Did you want anything to eat?” she asked politely, rinsing out her bowl. “I’m sure I can find something around here that you’ll like.”

  When she looked back at me, I shook my head. “No, that’s okay. I already ate this morning.” It happened to be in the form of a couple of white
pills.

  After she grabbed her purse and keys off the counter, she nodded toward the door in the kitchen and opened it. I knew once she pressed the button for the garage door to open she was going to see my car in her driveway. As soon as she did, she lifted her brows and did a double take before turning to me with pursed lips.

  “Is there something you failed to mention to me yesterday, or did you go out early this morning and buy yourself a new car?” She walked out the door and I followed her to my car.

  Sheepishly, I held up my keys and smiled. “If you want the truth, my conscience got the better of me. If you’d like, I can drive us since you drove me around yesterday. I bought the car a few weeks ago and it’s been in my garage. I think it only has fifteen miles on it.”

  Kate whistled. “Wow, I think my Jeep has over one hundred thousand miles on it now. I probably need to get a new car soon. It’s hard to get rid of things you’ve grown attached to.”

  I knew that all too well.

  Strolling past her, I opened the door to my car and waited for her to get in. “I can let you drive if that’ll get you to ride with me. I need to get used to the roads here and I figured you could show me around again.”

  She slid in, and when I was about to shut the door she held her hand out to halt me. “Oh, wait, I have a problem. There’s somewhere I have to go to today, so I was planning on dropping you off at practice and coming back later. I’ll need to drive my car so that I can leave.”

  Moving her hand, I shut the door and hopped in the driver’s side before she could say anymore. I didn’t want excuses, and if she rode with me she had no choice but to ride back. It was a win-win for me. “No worries, you can take my car wherever you need to go, and then come back to get me. I know you drive safe because I was about to fall asleep when we were on the highway yesterday.”

  “Hey,” she scoffed, smacking me in the arm. “I do not drive slow if that’s what you’re implying. However, if you insist on me driving your brand new car, I’ll be happy to do that. If I wreck it, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”