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  He’d left the scene for the past few months thanks to his and his mom’s illnesses, and he didn’t like being rusty. Maybe he just needed to take Lily’s hand and stare deeply into her eyes. That used to work back in college. Back when life was simple and he wasn’t a celebrity. Crap. He was reverting to college tactics.

  “Yes.” She pushed the rice around on her plate. The sad droop to her lips told him she also knew this night was a failure. Was it going to be awkward to train together next week? Why had he tried to push their relationship out of that good zone? Just because she was local and he could actually make a date happen without leaving his mom alone for too long? Or was it because her eyes were sparkly and her hair was shiny and her figure was amazing and she made him laugh and she had grit?

  Okay. He was taking this way too far on the worrying scale.

  “So your family is still there? In Georgetown?”

  “Yes.”

  This was lame. “How many in your family?” He picked up his knife to butter a roll.

  “Nine.”

  The knife dropped. “Nine! What on earth were your parents thinking?”

  Lily giggled, then chuckled, then laughed so hard tears were streaming out of her eyes.

  Hyde didn’t think she’d laugh that hard if he’d offended her, but he honestly was not sure.

  “Seven children, so it’s not quite as bad as it sounds.” She wiped her eyes with her napkin and shook her head. “You just don’t know how many times I asked my parents that very question as a teenager.”

  He nodded to encourage her to continue sharing. Maybe the night wasn’t a lost cause. He sure hoped so, and not just because training would be awkward after this.

  “I’m the oldest, and we never had any money for anything extra—and I mean anything. Our vacations were climbing one of the mountains near our house or going fishing and being thrilled that we’d helped ease the strain of the family food budget.”

  Wow. The floodgates had opened and she was really sharing.

  She smiled wistfully. “But it was kind of great too.”

  He could imagine. Hiking and fishing with a big family sounded great.

  “I always had some sibling to talk to or hug or do something with. My youngest brother is eight, and he is stinking hilarious. He idolizes you.”

  “Smart kid. I like him already.”

  “He would be in heaven to just meet you. Seriously, it would probably be awkward and he would just stare at you with his mouth open.”

  Hyde smiled at the image. “I’ve done awkward a lot.”

  Her mouth pursed. She took a sip of water and then quickly rattled off, “How about you come to Sunday dinner with me tomorrow?” Her eyes widened as if she’d realized what she said. “I mean, wow. That would be fabulous if you came, but if you don’t want to, you don’t have to. I can’t believe I just invited Hyde Metcalf to Sunday dinner at the crazy Udy house.”

  Hyde laughed, took her hand, and did his best to stare deeply into her eyes and hope it looked sexy. “So I can’t fly you to the beach tomorrow because that’s too personal, but I can go eat Sunday dinner?”

  She bit at her lip and arched up one shoulder. He really liked the definition in her arms, but he could sense she was going to rescind the invitation if he didn’t act quickly.

  “Will the main course be fish that someone in the family caught?” he asked.

  “Oh.” She laughed. “Probably. You like trout?”

  “Yes, I do. What time shall I pick you up?”

  Lily impulsively leaned out of her chair and hugged him. Hyde was surprised, but he leaned in and savored the smell of her sweet perfume, which reminded him of his mom’s flower gardens. The muscles in her shoulders were tight, yet her skin was still smooth and soft under his fingers.

  “Thank you!” She pulled back and simply beamed at him. He’d never seen her so lit up. “You don’t know what this will mean to Josh.”

  “Your brother?” The brother was the key. This was the first time she’d really dropped her “let’s keep it professional” mantra. For her brother, maybe, but he didn’t care. He was going to Sunday dinner with Lily.

  “Yes. Honestly, this is going to be better than Christmas. I hope you’re ready to be idolized.”

  Hyde puffed out his chest. “Never minded being idolized.”

  “I hope not, because you think I’m an ardent fan? Holy cow. Josh puts me to shame. I’ll tell my mom I’m bringing a friend so she has enough food.” Her face flared red at that, and she continued quickly. “But I won’t tell her who, and we’ll just waltz in there and—oh!” She clapped her hands together. “Thank you. This is just the coolest thing you could ever do for me.”

  Hyde loved this exuberance. Whatever barrier she’d put up between them was gone. “Better than the beach?” he asked.

  “A million times.”

  They finished their dinner and he took her home. She gave him a quick hug and a thank-you on the doorstep. Hyde was tempted to go for a kiss, but he didn’t know that this was his moment. He was making some little guy’s dreams come true tomorrow. He hoped he would live up to the kid’s expectations. He really hoped he would live up to Lily’s.

  Chapter Nine

  Lily wasn’t sure if she should be concerned about losing Hyde’s training contract if he became overwhelmed or offended by something one of her siblings might say or do, or thrilled that he was doing this for her family. She still couldn’t believe she’d gotten caught up in the moment and asked him to Sunday dinner. Nuts, but how cool was Hyde that he’d accepted?

  The ride up the mountain to her secluded hometown was fun. Hyde asked lots of questions, and Lily found herself telling him all kind of stories about growing up with six siblings and how great the small-town life was, especially the bakery in town that was simply called Cake. The owner, Annie, would give them day-old cookies or cupcakes, and it was sheer heaven to Lily.

  He took it all in with a smile and follow-up questions that she thought meant he was interested and not just humoring her.

  Twenty minutes into the drive, he reached over and took her hand in his. Lily hoped she didn’t jolt. She loved the pressure of his large hand covering hers and the warmth of his touch. Would her family think they were a couple? Oh, that her life could be that good and that simple. She couldn’t be a couple with Hyde. Not yet, at least.

  They pulled into the valley, and she breathed in deeply. “Oh, I love it here.”

  “It’s fabulous,” Hyde agreed. “I haven’t been up this way in years.”

  They passed the lake first. The mountains towered on three sides, protecting the little town that looked like something out of the eighteenth century. She heard the train whistle and smiled. “We’ll have to come back another day and ride the train, go on a hike, and go to Cake.”

  He squeezed her hand. “It’s a date.”

  Lily sighed happily. This whole weekend was beginning to feel like something out of a fairy tale. She’d enjoyed every day this week training Hyde for two hours and getting to know him better. The rest of each day had been booked with training sessions for other clients. She was making more money than she ever had, but the best part was being with Hyde. No matter how hard she tried to keep things professional, she liked being with him.

  She briefly wondered what would happen in two months when he started his regular practice schedule for the season and moved back to Atlanta. It was across the country. She’d probably never see him again. She shook her head. It wasn’t like they had some relationship. They’d gone to dinner once, and he was doing her a favor coming to meet her family.

  She directed him to drive on the bridge over the creek, pointing to it. “See, this is a creek.”

  Hyde chuckled. “Doesn’t look like much fun to race down, though.”

  “No. Your creek definitely takes the medal on that.”

  As he went past the park, she noticed that it was looking a little overgrown and brown, especially when compared to his landscaped yard.
Would he think her town was dumpy? She thought of her parents’ modest home and cringed. He would definitely think her home was lacking. Maybe this was an epically bad idea. Was she really bringing this man, who had homes around the world, to the shack she’d been raised in? Why hadn’t she thought about how he would react to her humble upbringing?

  “Lily.” He watched her with a line growing between his brows. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah. Why?” She was panicking hard-core, but he couldn’t know that. She was his trainer. Why had she been so caught up in the moment, so excited to see the looks of glee on her family’s faces, and not thought about the consequences? The best thing she could say about their house was that everybody did their chores and it was clean. Unless Josh was on toilet duty this week. Josh was horrible at cleaning and spent more time complaining that he was the only one that was asked to do hard cleaning jobs. Dared she instruct Hyde to not use the restroom? Oh, this was awkward.

  “I just asked you where to turn, and you were in your own world.”

  “Sorry.” She pointed, but dropped her hand when she realized it was trembling. “It’s the gray house just past the park.”

  “Okay.” He drove around the park. “Must’ve been fun to have a park in your front yard.”

  “Yeah. The fort thing wasn’t here until a few years ago, but we always loved the park.” Her teeth were chattering.

  Hyde turned off the car and hurried around to get her door. She smiled at him gratefully as he took her arm. She wasn’t sure if she could walk on her own right now. Maybe they should just turn around and go.

  “Lily!” The call started from the open front door; then it spread and became a chant. She loved her siblings so much. There was nothing like coming home, even if you were going to be humiliated because you unthinkingly invited a mega-stud and he was so awesome he willingly came with you. Dang Hyde being such a nice guy.

  Boys and girls started spilling out of the front door. Her fourteen-year-old brother, Brandon, noticed Hyde and stopped dead. “Lily’s here, and she’s got a boyfriend!”

  Josh darted around in front of Brandon. His mouth fell open, and he started jumping up and down. “That’s not a boyfriend—that’s Hyde Metcalf!” Josh did his celebration dance, complete with whoops, then sprinted across the grass and slammed into Lily.

  He about took her down, but Hyde wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her hold her ground. Josh was a solid kid. “Hi, buddy.”

  “You brought me Hyde Metcalf. I love you so much!” He pulled back and looked worshipfully at Hyde. “Is this a dream? I can’t believe this is real.”

  The rest of her siblings approached more sedately. Brandon rolled his eyes, grabbed Josh’s arm, and pinched him hard. “It’s not a dream, dum-dum. He’s here.”

  Josh yelped and pulled his arm away.

  “Don’t do that,” Lily admonished.

  Hyde wasn’t moving. He stared at all of her siblings in a sort of shocked daze.

  Lily wanted to shrink into the ground. This had been a bad idea. Should they go? That would break Josh’s heart.

  Hyde snapped out of wherever he was and stuck his hand out to Josh. “Hyde Metcalf. It’s great to meet you.”

  Josh’s eyes were wide as he reached up to shake his hand. “Josh Udy, Mr. Metcalf, sir. You’re the best wide receiver ever!”

  Hyde laughed and ruffled his hair, then moved on to greet Sariah, Caleb, Brandon, Mary, and Trudy. He shook their hands and talked with each of them for a moment before moving on to shake the next hand. By the time he was done, every single one of them was staring at him in awe. Except Sariah, who had made a funny quip that made Hyde laugh but then she drew to the back of the group and tucked her hair around side of her neck. Sariah had been badly burned as a child, but even worse had been belittled because of her burns. She was hilarious, but very shy around men, and she always kept her scars covered by her hair. Lily tried to convince her of how beautiful, funny, and amazing she was but she didn’t know what would bring Sariah out of hiding.

  Hyde turned his attention back to Josh. “Hey, buddy. Can you help me get some bags out of my car?”

  Josh nodded hurriedly.

  Bags? She didn’t know he’d brought anything. Her face grew warm as she worried he’d brought food. She shouldn’t have said they fished for their dinner regularly. They had plenty of food; they just didn’t have the money for name-brand shoes, competitive sports teams, or college. Lily had been blessed with a full ride scholarship and grants to get her through school, but she still worked almost full-time through school so she could eat and pay for housing. She was grateful she was enough older than her siblings to be experiencing positive cash flow and help out the family.

  Hyde opened the rear of his sport utility with a click of a button, talking softly to Josh as they walked around the vehicle. If Josh’s smile was any bigger, he would probably burst. They returned seconds later, loaded down with bags—all boasting the Georgia Patriots logo.

  “Hyde,” Lily whispered.

  He grinned at her. “You said your family were fans, so I thought they might like some paraphernalia.”

  “Oh, Hyde.” She could’ve kissed him right there, hang professional boundaries.

  Her parents came out of the house. Her dad sized Hyde up like he would any man who was dating his daughter. A tall, thin man, he couldn’t have intimidated Hyde if he tried, but Hyde immediately handed the bags off to Caleb, saying, “Can you see who wants what, buddy?” Then he crossed the grass with sure strides and extended his hand. “Hyde Metcalf, sir. It’s very nice to meet you.”

  Lily’s dad faltered. “Jonas. This is my wife, Gabby.”

  Lily’s mom jumped in a move almost identical to Josh’s. “Hyde Metcalf!” She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. Her mom was a little shorter than Lily, maybe five-six, but she looked teeny compared to Hyde.

  If Hyde was shocked, he didn’t show it. He squeezed back. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Udy.”

  “Oh, my.” Her mom pushed her graying hair out of her face. “Hyde Metcalf, come to our humble abode. Do you like fried trout, young man?”

  Hyde shared a conspiratorial glance with Lily. “I love it.”

  She laughed, and her parents looked at her with surprise. Her siblings didn’t notice Hyde and Lily’s private joke; they were too busy shouting about the treasures Hyde had brought—hats, T-shirts, sweatshirts, big foam hands. There was more that she couldn’t even see. How thoughtful was he, thinking of her siblings and bringing them gifts they would die over?

  Caleb turned to Hyde. “This bag has flowers in it.” His confusion was evident.

  “Thanks, bud.” Hyde took the bag, pulled a spring arrangement out, and presented it to her mom, then fished a box full of cupcakes out as well. “Golden Mine Cupcakes” was on the box lid. Lily gulped. Those cupcakes were four dollars each. She’d better not tell her mom that.

  “Oh, thank you, you big sweetheart,” her mom gushed. She glanced at her husband, then batted her eyelashes at Hyde. “He really is big, isn’t he? All those muscles.”

  “Mom, no,” Lily said.

  Her dad recovered enough to laugh. “Well, come in. The food can’t get cold, or Gabby will stop flirting and start bemoaning.”

  Oh my. Did anyone in her family have a filter? She hoped this wouldn’t turn into an embarrassing day for her and Hyde. What part of her had thought it would be a good idea to bring a world-renowned, ultra-wealthy athlete to her humble home? She glanced at her ecstatic, chattering siblings. The part that knew how much they would love this experience had obviously overridden any worries.

  Her parents walked into the house, and Hyde followed. Lily placed her hand on his arm. “Thank you. You really didn’t need to do all of this. They would’ve been thrilled just to meet you.”

  “Oh, it’s no big deal. I have so much extra stuff at my house. You wouldn’t believe it.”

  “It’s a big deal to them.” She gestured to her siblings, who were still
sorting out the prizes, clutching their own treasures to their chests, and beaming at each other.

  “I’m happy to do it,” he said.

  “Throwing your money around,” she teased him.

  He bent close to her ear and whispered, “But you’re grateful?”

  “Yes, I am, you mega-stud, you.”

  Hyde grinned. “Remember this when I kidnap you and take you to the beach.”

  “Why?” That sounded heavenly.

  “Because then you won’t be able to say no.”

  “Like I could ever tell you no anyway.” Oh my, she needed to stop with the flirting.

  Hyde winked at her, and she trembled from head to toe.

  Dinner actually wasn’t as crazy as usual at her house. In their excitement over Hyde, they plied him with question after question about teammates, playing professionally, how he felt next season would go, and if he had recovered from pneumonia.

  Josh sat next to him and mostly just stared at him. Josh was built like a tank and loved food almost as much as he loved the Georgia Patriots. Lily wasn’t sure the boy ate more than a few bites at this meal. Occasionally, he’d gaze up at Hyde and say, “Mr. Metcalf, sir. Can I ask you a question?”

  The other siblings teased Josh a little bit, but they understood their brother’s joy at having his favorite football player in his house, and for the most part they laid off of him today.

  Lily felt pretty great that she had facilitated this for her family, but she kept glancing at Hyde for any indication that he was uncomfortable or that he noticed the frayed armrests on the chairs and couches or the stains on the carpet that never came out no matter how much they all scrubbed. Their mom ran a tight ship and a clean house, but there just wasn’t money to update and repair.

  Hyde either didn’t notice or hid it very well. He beamed down at Josh and answered everyone’s questions with kindness and a smile. She’d had a crush on him for a few years now watching him play football on television, and seeing how he always interacted kindly with his fans. This past week getting to know him had only increased her attraction. Today sealed her fate. If he asked her to go to the beach or the moon, she wouldn’t be able to say no.