Catching Summer (Second Chances, #6)(10)

When Lara noticed me staring, she pointed to the plates, then waved impatiently. “Eat up before we run out of time.”

Cooper backed up and stacked a heap of banana pancakes on his plate and sat down beside Lara while I grabbed a plate for myself.

“Are you going to join me at the game on Sunday night?” Kate asked. “If something goes wrong with one of the players I could sure use you.”

Lara nodded excitedly. “Yes, she’ll be there.” When I glared at her, she shrugged innocently. “What? You know Grayson and I can manage the restaurant. Besides, I think you’ll have fun.”

“I’m pretty sure I won’t be the only one having fun. Speaking of which, we need to have a talk about Grayson soon.”

Her eyes went round and she went right back to her pancakes. “Okay, shutting up now.”

To Kate, I smiled. “I’ll be happy to come to the game. It’ll be the first one where I’ll be part of the action.” All the pancakes looked good, so I picked up one of each and piled them on top of each other.

“You’re going to eat them all together?” Lara asked incredulously.

I drizzled the syrup across the top and dug in. “You only live once, right?”

Kate giggled and sat beside me, but before she could speak, Evan came barreling through the door. He had on a blue Cougars T-shirt and a pair of black gym shorts. The baseball cap hanging low over his eyes didn’t hide the fact that his attention was on me. “It looks like I got here just in time.”

My heart started to beat faster and my palms began to sweat. Why did he have that effect on me? He looked around the room, acknowledging everyone, and ended with his focus on me. “Good morning, sunshine. You ready to be surrounded by a bunch of sweaty, arrogant jackasses?”

I swallowed my food and nodded. “Thrilled beyond belief. But you’re not the only ones who’ll be sweaty. It looks like your sister is making me join you.”

“It’s all part of the job,” she replied with a cheesy smile. “You’re the one who wanted to help. I’ve exercised with them every single day.”

Cooper scoffed. “And it used to piss me off watching her wear those tight-ass shorts in front of those horny f*ckers.”

Evan slapped him on the shoulder. “How do you think I felt having to keep them away from her for years? I had to give up when you came along. It was too much damn work.”

Shaking her head, Kate handed him a plate, and he piled two of each kind of pancake on top. Lara spoke up next, glancing at both of our plates. “I swear, you two are disgusting. How can you eat all of those together?”

Evan looked over at my plate and grinned when he noticed I had done the same thing as he had. Kate leaned over and whispered in my ear, “That’s what I was going to say earlier: that you and my brother were just alike. It’s uncanny. Oh, and before I forget, I have you scheduled for a first-aid class on Monday. I have a doctor’s appointment so I won’t be there until later. Is that okay?”

Kate poured me a glass of orange juice and handed it to me. I took a sip and nodded. “That’s fine. I’m pretty sure I can handle it by myself.”

“You won’t be by yourself. You’re going to need a partner so you can practice. Is there anyone—”

“I’ll do it,” Evan interrupted with a wink. “I think we worked well together yesterday.” His eyes twinkled as he regarded me over the rim of his glass.

Kate lifted her brows. “Are you okay with that?”

I looked over at Evan’s sly gray gaze and mischievous smile. “Of course. As long as I get to practice with needles.”

Grinning widely, Kate glanced over at Evan. “Most definitely.”

He snorted. “Keep messin’ with me and I’ll get Derek to take my place. He’s a whiny bitch when it comes to that shit. I thought I was doing you a favor, but I guess not.”

“Oh, stop being a pain in the ass,” Kate said with a laugh. “I’ll put you down as her partner. And for the record, there won’t be any needles.” She drank the rest of her juice and stood. “Just lots of touching.”

Gasping, I choked on my food while Lara cupped a hand over her mouth, trying to hide her smile. Cooper turned his head and Evan looked down at his plate, his shoulders shaking. I, however, was dying of embarrassment. As fast as I could, I finished my breakfast and rinsed my plate off in the sink. “Okay, now that I have a play-by-play of my day, I’m going to rush next door and finish getting ready. If you’ll excuse me.” I smiled and quickly skipped by Evan so he wouldn’t see how red my face was.

Once out the door, I breathed a sigh of relief and slowed my pace. “Come on, Summer, stop acting like an idiot.”

“Talking to yourself now?” Evan teased from behind.

I stopped mid-step and closed my eyes. “Do you enjoy provoking me?”

When he circled around me, I opened my eyes. “Not really, but I do love seeing you blush. I didn’t realize I had that effect on you.”

“You seriously are full of yourself, aren’t you?” How could I be so stupid? There was no way in hell I could hide my face now. I didn’t want him to know how flustered he made me.

Chuckling, he shook his head and kept his gray eyes solely on mine. “I’m really not. I was just hoping to hear your laugh again. I guess I didn’t get enough of it yesterday.”