Perfect. Just what he was in the mood for.
Several hours later, he was at the park, meeting the rest of the guys on his team. Wyatt. Dell, whom he already knew. Dell’s brothers Adam and Brady, both of whom looked very capable of kicking ass. A guy named Grif, whom Parker wouldn’t bet against. And Joe, who was filling in for someone, too. They were playing a team of first responders, which included Kel.
Kel grinned at the sight of Parker. “You here for me to wipe the floor with?”
Parker grinned back. “Try it.”
In the first huddle, Joe looked over at Parker. “You the reason she hasn’t made a decision?”
He assumed the “she” in question was Zoe. “Decision?” he asked.
“I offered Zoe an equal partnership in the FBO,” Joe said. “She said she needed to think about it for a while.” He paused. “She didn’t mention it?”
“No.”
Joe grinned. “Maybe you’re not the reason after all, then.”
Parker wondered about that, about why she wouldn’t take such an offer. Assuming the offer was good, it seemed right up her alley, having a stake in the business she loved.
He’d have thought about it some more, but the game was an immediate distraction. It was supposed to be touch football, but Parker learned in the first quarter that touch was more like tackle, and apparently there were no refs and no pussies allowed.
“Jesus,” he said, swiping the blood from his cut lip at their first time out. They were tied fourteen to fourteen. “What about personal fouls?”
“No blood, no foul,” Wyatt said.
“There’s blood,” Parker said, jabbing a finger at his own lip, then at Dell’s bloody nose, and finally at Grif’s arm, which had blood running down it from an elbow gash.
“Nah,” Brady said, grinning. “Has to be arterial blood.”
Zoe had exactly one hour to herself in between two flights. She’d figured she’d go home and find some excuse to banter with Parker, but when she’d landed, she had a text from her brother.
Recruited Parker for football tonight, thought you’d want to know.
Hell yeah, she wanted to know. Rec league football in Sunshine meant sitting with her girlfriends on the stands, eating hot dogs and popcorn, heckling the players—and who in their right mind didn’t want to stare at a bunch of hot guys tackling each other for a couple of hours?
She got to the park during the second quarter and found she had a seat waiting for her next to Darcy and the gang, who included Dell’s wife, Jade; Dell’s brother Brady’s wife, Lilah; and two other dear friends, Holly and Kate, all of whom had a significant other on the field.
“How’s everyone’s man doing?” she asked, biting into the big, juicy hot dog that Darcy handed her.
“Great,” Darcy said. “Including yours.”
Zoe choked on her hot dog.
Darcy grinned and patted her on the back. “Yeah, and not only does Parker fill out a pair of jeans almost as good as AJ, he can run faster than anyone out there.”
“He’s not my man,” Zoe said distractedly.
“Uh-huh,” Darcy said. “Just watch.”
“He’s not.” But Zoe did just that, her eyes drawn to Parker on the field like a moth to a flame.
And holy mother of mercy, Darcy was right.
He did fill out a pair of jeans.
And he was faster than anyone else out there.
And . . . damn. She wanted him to be her man. Bad.
At the half, Parker had found his stride, but they were down twenty-one to fourteen. Dell threw long and Parker went for it with Kel breathing down his neck for an interception. Parker went airborne in the touchdown zone, Kel with him, and by the very tips of his fingers Parker angled Kel out and got the catch.
They landed hard, Parker on the bottom.
A bunch of people landed on top of them both, some cheering, some yelling denials.
Under all of it, Parker, with elbows and knees pummeling him, shoved free and sat up, revealing he still held the ball.