Intercepting Love (Second Chances #5)(10)
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.”
Putting the car in gear, I backed out of her driveway. “I’m pretty sure I know where to find you to collect for damages. Besides, this thing is a lot safer than your Jeep.”
“That might be true, but my Jeep has been through a lot with me over the past few years.”
We both chuckled, but then the car went silent. “So,” I began, “if you’re not married, are you dating anyone?”
Crossing her arms over her chest, she narrowed her gaze and studied me. “Why do you want to know?”
“No reason really,” I said nonchalantly. “Just asking since it looks like we’ll be spending a lot of time together.”
“Well, as of right now, I’m not officially dating anyone.”
“Is that because you don’t want to be, or because you haven’t found someone you want?” I inquired curiously.
She laughed nervously. “My God, you ask a lot of questions. Maybe a little bit of both, I guess. I got hurt a couple of years ago and it kind of stuck with me.” Pressing her lips together, she looked down at her clasped hands, her eyes sad and distant. She wasn’t the only one in the car who had been hurt.
“You’re not asking me out on a date are you?” she blurted out, lifting her head to face me.
“Would you say yes if I did?”
Sighing, she rested her head against the seat and smiled halfheartedly. “Oh, Cooper, I’m the last person you’d want to get involved with. I don’t think I’m your type anyway. Besides, we work together, so if anything were to happen it would be very awkward.”
It was all excuses, but if I was anything, it was persistent.
“We’re adults aren’t we, Kate?”
“Yeah, the last time I checked.”
“Well, then I’m sure there’s a way we can mix business with pleasure without causing problems. We don’t even have to tell anyone on the team if that helps. However, the real question here is why do you say you’re not my type?”
She scoffed. “I’ve seen pictures of the girls you date, Cooper. I’m not a fashion model or some glamorous movie star. I’m just a normal girl that lives in a small town in North Carolina, earning probably a quarter of what you’re used to. We’re from two different worlds.”
“Do you honestly think that?” I asked, clenching the steering wheel tight. “You have no idea where I’m from or what I want. Why do you think I picked a house in your neighborhood, Kate?”
She paused, eyes wide, and shrugged her shoulder in reply.
“Okay, I’ll tell you. When I lived out in California, I didn’t have the opulent mansion like my friends. Yeah, my parents are all about the money, but I chose to live in a smaller place out in the middle of nowhere because that’s what I liked. I didn’t want to show off what I had. Forget what you’ve seen in the tabloids and newspapers, and find out who I am on your own. I’m so goddamned sick of everyone judging me when they have no f*cking clue.”
“Hey,” she said softly, placing her hand gently on mine. “Look, I’m sorry for being presumptuous, but with your record how could I not be? People change, I get that, and I can tell you’re a great guy, but you also have to see where I’m coming from. I have to be careful what I do, because if I let something happen between us it could not only cause a hardship between me and you, but also with the team. I don’t date the players, Cooper.”