Intercepting Love (Second Chances #5)(6)
“On my way,” I muttered, turning around.
Walking through the empty hallway, it didn’t take long to get to the door that led onto the field. Joel’s loud, booming voice echoing through the air caught my attention, praising Cooper on how great he was doing. Slowly, I edged closer and stayed out of view so I could watch. As much as I didn’t like the guy, he sure could throw a football. One after the other, and with exact precision, Cooper didn’t miss one single pass through the holes in the practice net. Our last quarterback couldn’t even do that. When he was done, Joel grinned. I had never seen such a big smile on his face as I did in that moment. He had faith in our new quarterback … I could see it.
Out of the shadows, I sauntered onto the field so Joel would know I was there. Cooper had his back to me, but the second Joel saw me, he clapped Cooper on the shoulder and turned him around. For a split second, my steps faltered and my stomach fluttered when Cooper’s gaze met mine. I hated to admit it, but he looked amazingly different in person than in the newspapers; his hair was a little longer on top and the arrogance I could see in his pictures didn’t show on his face now. He almost looked … lost.
They both stopped in front of me and surprisingly it was hard to tear my eyes away from the hypnotic, ocean blue color of Cooper’s gaze. There was no smile on his face, just the intensity of his stare. His dark brown hair looked almost black, and his sweat glistened skin—which had the golden glow of the California sun—was bare except for the pair of denim jeans he had hanging low on his waist.
Stop staring, Kate, I scolded myself.
“Ah, Kate, thank you so much for coming,” Joel greeted warmly. “I’d like you to meet Cooper.”
Cooper held out his hand, and for a moment I just stood there, still staring mesmerizingly at the bluest eyes I’d ever seen. It wasn’t until the corner of his lip turned up in a smirk that I snapped out of my trance.
Shaking my head, I grasped his hand and said, “It’s nice to meet you, Cooper.”
Mine looked so small wrapped inside his warm, rough hand, but I tightened my hold and shook before abruptly letting go. “The pleasure’s all mine … Kate,” he replied amusingly, his voice dipping lower when he said my name.
Smiling, Joel put his arm around my shoulder and squeezed while looking over at Cooper. “Actually, this is Kate Townsend. She’s one of the physicians for our team. She’ll be the one taking care of you today. I want her to look over your shoulder.”
Cooper’s eyes went wide in disbelief, and finally a smile spread across his face when he looked me up and down. I’d seen that look plenty of times before and it never failed. Each time I told someone that I worked for the team they immediately thought I was one of the cheerleaders. It didn’t make me mad, but I had a lot of people underestimate me … and that was what I hated the most.
“Is there something funny, Mr. Davis?” I asked pointedly.
He shook his head and grinned wider. “No, not at all. I just didn’t expect you to be a young woman. You must have a trying time dealing with a bunch of football players. I don’t see how you do it.”
If it wasn’t for my brother, it probably wouldn’t be as easy as it had been, but I had to believe I could handle it all on my own if I had to. “I think I manage pretty well on my own,” I informed him dryly. “Are you ready for me to take a look at your shoulder?”
Cooper nodded. “I’m ready when you are.”
Once he grabbed his shirt off of the ground and bottle of water, I turned on my heel and marched out of the arena so we could go inside to the locker rooms where I had all of my medical supplies. Joel and Cooper strutted along behind me—talking about random things—but I couldn’t help but overhear Joel’s warning to him.
“I’m warning you, Kate can be a pistol, especially when she has to deal with certain players. Oh, and to give you a heads up, she has her own protector on the team that makes sure no one messes with her. I’m sure you understand what I mean.”
Quickly hooking a glance over my shoulder, I glared at Joel before turning to Cooper. His gaze never wavered from mine when he responded, “Yeah, I understand … loud and clear.”
I could only imagine the things my brother was going to say to him tomorrow. If any of my family and friends thought I got any action from the players they were sorely mistaken. Not that I had any interest in any of the guys, but if I did, I knew my brother would never let me live it down.
When we got to the locker room, I turned on the lights and took a deep breath. My stomach was jittery and I couldn’t tell if it was because I hadn’t eaten anything yet or if it was Cooper making me nervous. Why would Cooper make me nervous? He’s just a damaged football player that let fame go to his head. Just overlook his sexy as hell body, his gorgeous eyes, and that smile of his that makes everything in my body tingle. I could feel his gaze on me the entire time I moved about the room, searching for my notebook and pen, and his file.
With my gaze looking down toward the notes in my hand, I pointed to one of the medical benches. “Cooper, if you wouldn’t mind sitting down for me I’d really appreciate it. All I’m going to do is ask you some questions and do a couple of mobility exercises with your shoulder.”
Joel reached out and took Cooper’s shirt and bottle of water and set them both on the small wooden table that I used to hold my ointments and bandages while I tended to the players. The temperature in the room spiked as I watched Cooper’s muscles flex before he sat down in the chair, but it didn’t stop him from making eye contact with me first. Immediately, I averted my gaze back to my notes.