Perfect for You: A Blind Date Sports Small Town Romance (Annapolis Harbor Book 3)

by Lea Coll

  Perfect for You

  Copyright © 2020 by Lea Meyer

  All Rights Reserved.

  This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information and retrieval system without express written permission from the author.

  All characters and storylines are the property of the author and your support and respect is greatly appreciated.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Editing by Evident Ink

  Editing by Heart Full of Ink

  Proofreading by My Brother’s Editor

  Cover Design by Okay Creations

  Photography by Sara Eirew

  Created with Vellum

  Table of Contents

  Books by Lea Coll

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Epilogue

  Books by Lea Coll

  About the Author

  Books by Lea Coll

  All I Want Series

  Choose Me

  Be with Me

  Burn for Me

  Trust in Me

  Stay with Me

  Take a Chance on Me

  Annapolis Harbor Series

  Easy Moves

  Only with You

  Lost without You

  Perfect for You

  Crazy for You

  With Me in Seattle Universe Novella

  Lucky Catch

  Trick Play

  Download a free novella, Swept Away, when you sign up for her newsletter.

  To learn more about her books, please visit her website.

  To my grandmother.

  Chapter One

  DYLAN

  “I won a blind date with Reid Everson!” The tight end and newest captain of Baltimore’s football team. I jumped out of my chair, wiggling my butt as I spun in a circle, performing a little dance in the middle of Champagne Friday, our weekly firm meeting we used to discuss upcoming cases, client issues, and our nonprofit, Kids Speak.

  I paused, gripping the table tightly with my hands to steady myself, breathing hard as I faced my law firm partners, Hadley and Avery. “His personal assistant emailed to confirm.”

  “How did you,” Hadley placed air quotes around the word, “‘win’ a blind date with him?”

  “The usual way. I bid the most money.” We’d planned a silent auction for a Kids Speak fundraiser a few weeks ago. One of the items I’d wanted in the auction was a blind date with a Baltimore football player. The head of Baltimore’s public relations team, Lena Vickers, readily agreed. She loved the idea.

  Avery sighed. “How will it look that one of our own won the auction?”

  “You said you wanted to make a connection with professional athletes. This is our chance.” I sat, excited that our plan was coming to fruition.

  Hadley created Kids Speak to help kids who needed speech therapy because they either couldn’t afford private therapy or didn’t qualify for services through the schools. Hadley’s younger brother, Colin, suffered from a stutter growing up. He’d suggested the idea, implementing the program in the original location for Kids Speak, New Orleans. As a college baseball player himself, he thought it would be good for the team to volunteer. It also gave the kids someone to look up to. The team routinely met them at parks to throw the ball around, engaging them in conversation where they had a chance to practice what they learned.

  “Why does it have to be this guy?” Avery asked.

  “There’s something about him. I think he’d be the perfect spokesman.” Part of my interest came from the hours of film I’d watched. I’d researched every player on the Baltimore team. Something about Reid Everson drew me in. His voice was gravelly like he rarely used it, his cap pulled down low over his eyes, his shoulders hunched as if he’d rather be anywhere then in front of the camera. He answered the questions in as few words as possible. He was gruff when reporters tried to draw him out with jokes. He was uncomfortable. He had all my lady parts tingling.

  The most intriguing thing I’d discovered in my research was the number of interviews Reid granted over the years decreased the more famous he became. I would have thought it would have been the opposite. Most players love the spotlight.

  Hadley gave me a pointed look. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

  “Any connection with a player helps us.” Every nerve in my body was telling me this was a game-changing development.

  “That’s true.” Avery acknowledged.

  “I’ll let you work your magic,” Hadley said.

  The one thing I excelled at was convincing people to support a cause whether it be through time or money. When Hadley moved here, telling us her plan to expand her successful Kids Speak program to Annapolis, I’d immediately offered my help.

  “If it’s a blind date, how are you going to bring up Kids Speak?” Avery asked.

  I’d thought extensively about my options, looking at the possible ramifications from every angle. “The way I see it, I have two options. I can be up front, telling him the date was an opportunity to meet with someone from the organization.”

  “Pitch to him,” Hadley said, her eyes full of respect.

  “Exactly. Or I can act like it’s a date. I can bring it up when he asks the obligatory question about what I do.”

  “You’re assuming he’ll ask.” Hadley tilted her head.

  I rolled my eyes. “Isn’t that dating 101? What do you do for a living? I’m an attorney, yada yada, and by the way I’m part of this amazing organization that helps bring speech programs into schools that don’t have them or to schools where kids don’t qualify for services.”

  Avery smiled, shaking her head. “You could sell to anyone.”

  Growing up, my parents were part of a lot of charitable organizations. I’d grown up watching them schmooze people. I’d learned from the best. I enjoyed helping others.

  Hadley shot me a pointed look. “What if you end up liking him?”

  I stilled, uncertain of her meaning.

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “What if you’re attracted to him?”

  My face heated. I was looking forward to meeting him. I wanted to know if he would be as
gruff in person like he was in those interviews. I wondered if his gravelly voice would rumble in his chest, ridding me of my no relationship rules.

  “Yeah, what then?” Avery asked.

  “Kids Speak comes first. You want a spokesman. I’ll get one.”

  Hadley pursed her lips. “What if he likes you but he’s put off by your sales pitch?”

  “It’s a risk I have to take if we want Kids Speak to be successful.” Hadley no longer had her father’s financial backing. We needed to find another way to draw attention to the organization one that would bring in a guaranteed source of funding. Our firm was relatively new, we didn’t have the time to promote Kids Speak the way it deserved.

  Hadley grimaced. “I don’t know about this. It has bad idea written all over it.”

  Avery pointed at her. “That’s what you said about me helping Griffin.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, look how that turned out.”

  Griffin came to Avery asking for help with his brother’s estate. Now they were in a serious relationship.

  Hadley narrowed her eyes. “I have a feeling this is going to be a whole lot messier.”

  I ignored her ominous prediction. Kids Speak was as important to me as it was to her. What I hadn’t told either of them was it was personal for me too. My mom was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis when I was in high school. Recently she’d begun having issues with her speech. Other than her mobility, her inability to form words or say what she wanted was deeply upsetting to her and me. Not being able to talk to her whenever I wanted, the thought of never hearing her voice again was devastating. My parents kept their health issues private, so I hadn’t confided in my friends.

  I wanted to help people who had similar issues. I wanted to take the stigma away from it. I didn’t want my mother or anyone else to feel ashamed of their symptoms. I hadn’t been able to convince her to seek the help of a speech therapist. Maybe I’d be more successful with the kids in Hadley’s program.

  Chapter Two

  REID

  “With numbers like you put up today, do you expect to get more passes this year?” asked the reporter during the post-game press conference.

  My fingers tightened on the podium. The bright lights blinded me, my collar tight, the rapid-fire nature of the questions froze the words I’d prepared to say on my tongue. Mentally shaking my head, I reminded myself I’d been doing this for years. I had to breathe deep and focus.

  Playing football and dealing with reporters went hand in hand, no matter how much I’d avoided it over the years. I’d taken the captain position this year with the expectation I’d need to be more vocal, get involved in the community, be a leader. My contract was up the end of the year. If I wanted to prove to the owner, Lincoln Aldrich, that I wanted to be here, I needed to try to be more of a leader. A multi-year contract equaled endorsements and financial security for me and my family.

  Standing in front of a room of people, the heavy weight of expectation crushing my chest, I wasn’t so sure about the intelligence of taking more of a leadership role this year. I thought it would solidify my role on the team, making me a franchise player. I wasn’t sure anything was worth this.

  “Coach is in the best position to comment on that.”

  “Chase is throwing you the ball more often. Does he not trust his other wide receivers?” A reporter sneered.

  Anger surged through my body, clearing the fog from my brain. “Chase and I have a good connection. He has faith in all of his teammates.”

  I tapped a finger in time with the beat of my heart on the podium. Maybe I needed to channel anger. That seemed to help my focus.

  “That’s enough questions.” Lena stepped in.

  As the head of PR, it was her job to keep the reporters on task, asking relevant questions. She put a stop to it whenever they went off course. I unwrapped my fingers from the podium, taking a step back, drawing in my first deep breath since the conference began.

  My personal assistant, Callie was at my side instantly, her hand on my elbow, guiding me out. “You did good.”

  Her voice was soft and soothing.

  One of the assistants handed my bag to me. I nodded in thanks. “I’m just glad it’s done with.”

  “You did great.”

  I exchanged a look with her. “I didn’t take too long to answer?”

  “It was fine. No one noticed.” Callie squeezed her hand around my arm, reassuring me.

  I hope no one had. After stumbling over the r sound during a few press conferences in college, I’d worked on techniques to calm myself in stressful situations. When I was nervous, I was more likely to mispronounce words. Thankfully, I didn’t have an issue with all r sounds.

  When I was in college, I’d overheard a woman I was dating laughing about how I must be slow because of the way I spoke. It reinforced my father’s opinion that I must be stupid. The rational part of my brain told me that my father was a loser who abandoned my mom and siblings. The insecure part of me worried others would view me the same way.

  Callie paused at my car, letting go of my elbow. “We need to prepare for the blind date Lena set up with a fan.”

  “I was hoping Lena would pick Chase or Jonah.” One of the other more affable guys, who loved the attention.

  “Lena said it had to be you. She wants you to do more publicity. She wants the fans to get to know you. The owner loves it when his fans identify with his players.”

  “I just want to play football.” I told her multiple times a day.

  She patted my arm. “I know. We’ll go through possible questions. You’ll do fine.”

  I ground my teeth together. I took the captain position knowing I’d have to do the things I’d avoided over the years. If I wanted to solidify my position on the team, I had to be a leader. Fan events were part of it. I hoped this woman wasn’t a crazed fan.

  Chapter Three

  DYLAN

  Arriving early at the restaurant to rehearse my strategy for the evening, I followed the hostess to a two-person table in front of the windows. The Rusty Scupper was located three stories above the Inner Harbor Marina in Baltimore boasting impressive views of Harbor Place, the Inner Harbor, and Fell’s Point.

  The fresh flowers on the table, the pianist playing softly in the background, and the lights of the city reflected on the water was romantic.

  “Ms. Gannon?” asked a familiar gravelly voice.

  I rose from my chair, taking in the way Reid’s thighs strained against his suit pants, his trim waist, broad shoulders, and his dark hair. His chin held a delicious amount of scruff though his brown eyes were wary.

  I’d seen pictures of him in uniform, even the head shot they used for games. I wasn’t prepared to see the man in a suit. My heart picked up, pounding in my chest, roaring in my ears.

  He stopped in front of me, his eyes flickering down my body to the red evening gown which I knew clung to every curve. I licked my suddenly dry lips, my head light at his proximity and his impressive size.

  “Nice to meet you.” I held out my hand as if he was a potential business associate even though the tumbling of my stomach indicated attraction.

  His large hand closed firmly around mine, engulfing me with warmth and strength, sending tingles up my elbow.

  When he released me, I cleared my throat, moving to sit as he pushed the chair underneath me, smoothing my evening gown over my legs to quell my sudden nerves. My plans to pitch Kids Speak flew out my head. This felt like a date with a man I very much wanted to impress.

  I was adept at social interactions, speaking engagements, and charming anyone in a room. Meeting him unsettled me.

  He sat across from me, his large body filling my view. His leg brushed mine under the table, his steady gaze meeting mine. “You won a date with me.”

  “I did.” My lips curled into a smile when he moved his leg so it wasn’t touching mine anymore. Was he as affected as I was?

  His brow raised. “Am I what you expected?”

  I wa
nted to say something witty and funny, but I couldn’t. My gaze fell to the tablecloth covered table between us. I’d called the front office to request him. I couldn’t tell him that.

  I lifted my eyes, attempting to infuse my voice with a teasing tone. Instead, I sounded breathless. “You’re more than what I expected.”

  He regarded me for so long I shifted in my seat. Had I admitted too much?

  “You love football?”

  I hated to admit I didn’t, especially when I needed his help. I placed my elbows on the table, leaning toward him. “I don’t. I’m embarrassed to say I don’t know much about it.”

  His eyes dropped to my cleavage. The move was like a caress, heating my bare skin.

  He slowly lifted his gaze, tilted his head as he considered me. “Then why did you bid on the date?”

  There was something about you. I found you attractive. I wanted to get to know you better. “I wanted to help out Kids Speak.”

  He let out a breath. “I’m happy you’re—” he cleared his throat, “not an enthusiastic fan or a cleat chaser…”

  His voice dropped on the word chaser. I snorted, covering my mouth with my hand to cover the unladylike move. “I don’t know what that is. I’ve never chased anyone.”

  His eyes sparked. “Is that so?”

  I nodded, a smile playing on my lips.

  I’ve never been attracted to athletes. Their size or large muscles never did it for me. It was his turbulent brown eyes that intrigued me. I wanted to sift through the shadows, weighing each one before turning them over in my hands.