Shot at Love

by Melody Heck Gatto

  Kaleb took one little taste and spit it right in her face, as well as all over her shirt. From the small amount of lima bean and turkey puree that she’d inopportunely tasted, she agreed it was disgusting. She didn’t blame little Kaleb for his response. The back-up plan was a container of squash puree. It had an orange tint, so she could only assume there were some sweet potatoes or carrots in it, too. Whatever it was, it was better than the lima beans, apparently. That had gone a bit smoother, right up until the end. The last bite must’ve been amusing, because Kaleb let out a burst of air with a laugh, propelling the last spoonful of orange squash in her direction.

  After his bath, she rocked him for half an hour until he fell asleep. Then she had to wash the rogue squash off the wall and had tried to clean herself up as best as she could. She’d just go home after and shower, but she needed to soak the green lima beans and orange squash that stained the Renegades t-shirt she was wearing. Knowing her brother wouldn’t mind her borrowing a shirt, she grabbed a Renegades t-shirt from his closet. It was too long on her, so she tied a knot at the waist. The knotted shirt, in addition to her current attire, was comfortable. Her hair was in a ponytail, she had athletic shorts on, and she was barefoot.

  She probably looked like a bum, but she was just babysitting; she didn’t need to be dressed to impress.

  After getting comfortable on the couch, she channel surfed until she found a home decorating show. She was self-proclaimed crafty and enjoyed these shows, always picking up little ideas and hacks for her apartment.

  Kassie helped herself to the leftover pizza from the refrigerator and some potato chips. It was only six o’clock, and her body was exhausted. With the baby monitor at her side, she lay back on a soft couch pillow, and took a few quiet moments to re-energize in the stillness of the house.

  She didn’t move at the sound of the front door opening. Still staring at the television, she called out, “I don’t know how you guys do it. Babies are exhausting!”

  Her brother answered, though not as loudly as her. “Yeah, and if you keep yelling like that, he’ll be awake and ready for round two. Hush, girl!”

  “Woops. Sorry.” She tossed a chip into her mouth and crunched down, still watching the television.

  “Since you say that, it is an excellent reason not to have one any time soon.” Kaden and his big-brother wisdom. His comment simply meant that he wanted her to stay his little kid sister forever.

  Crunching down on another chip, she chuckled, and because she was eating, it sounded more like a little snort. “No worries, bro. Not planning on it.” Not to mention, it would have to be an immaculate conception at this point.

  “Good,” Kaden answered.

  Hearing more racket than she should behind her, she turned around to see what Kaden and Ali were bringing into the house. It sounded like Ali had been on a serious shopping spree. Wrenching her head in his direction, what she saw instead had her jumping out of her seat. In the process, she knocked the baby monitor and bowl of chips onto the floor, and almost landed there herself.

  “Uh, hey.” She caught her balance and nervously brushed at her clothes as if she was trying to wipe off crumbs or smooth out any wrinkles. Because following Kaden were some of the guys from the team. Sam Morris, Dom Zanetti… and Luc. Crap.

  If she’d known her brother was bringing them back here, she would’ve made herself look more presentable, and maybe not have been lounging on the couch, shoving chips into her face. She more than likely wouldn’t have snorted by accident, either. Shit. And maybe she wouldn’t have cared about any of it, if Luc wasn’t one of them.

  “He wasn’t that much trouble, was he, Kass?” Kaden asked, not realizing anything was wrong.

  “No, nope. I mean, well, he took a while to put down. I don’t know if he was just missing you guys or what. But eventually he fell asleep. Oh, and tell Ali that he isn’t a fan of lima beans, apparently.”

  “Yeah, I didn’t think he would be, because who really is?” Kaden said with a chuckle. Nodding at her t-shirt, he asked, “Is that why the wardrobe change?”

  Her cheeks filled with heat. She looked down at her shirt. “Yeah. I figured you wouldn’t mind. Mine is in the laundry room, soaking.”

  “No problem. I’ll toss it in with the next load of laundry for you. I’m now a master at getting baby food out of clothes.”

  Kassie still stood, frozen in place, as the guys filed into the loft.

  “Hey, Kass,” Dom said with a wave. He made himself at home, like he always did, flopping down on the couch. He and Kaden had been close for a long time. Nodding at the spilled chips, he chuckled. “Neat-freak Kaden is going to have a conniption fit when he sees those crumbs on the floor.”

  “Shut up, Z,” Kaden countered. “Get up and grab the hand vacuum, lazy ass. This isn’t the Holiday Inn. You can help out too; you’re here enough.”

  Without another word or even a question, Dom got up and grabbed the hand vacuum, and cleaned up her mess. It should’ve surprised her, but it didn’t. Dom was treated just like one of their siblings. The downfall to that was he also regarded her as the little sister. So she didn’t have just one older brother, she had two. Which was both a blessing and a curse.

  Kassie took the bowl, with any chips she could scoop up off the floor, to the kitchen. “Hey, bro,” she greeted Kaden while trying extra hard to keep her eyes off Luc. “How was the charity event?”

  “It was nice. The kids love those things. And we raised a decent amount for Children’s Hospital, which is always good.”

  “The kids love Kaden. He’s always a big hit with them,” Sam said.

  “Hey, what am I? Chopped liver? The kids love me, too!” Dom responded.

  “Yeah, they do seem to like you too, Z. I think they like your tattoos. They think you’re a grown man with drawings all over his arms.”

  Dom shrugged, obviously not letting the comment bother him. “So?”

  Turning her back to her brother and Sam, Kassie washed the bowl and then scrubbed her greasy hands. She knew someone was behind her and assumed it was her brother.

  Spinning around to grab a towel, she was face-to-face with Luc. Dammit. Butterflies danced in her stomach, and her breath caught in surprise.

  Luc handed her a towel. “Nice shirt,” he commented with a sexy-as-hell smirk on his face.

  Words spun frantically round in her head, none stopping long enough for her to string an articulate response together. She stood there just staring at him, her mouth hanging open. Until finally she spoke one single word. “Thanks.”

  Thanks? She was dressed like she was ready to go for a run or hit the gym. If she’d known she’d be around Kaden’s teammates, she probably would’ve just let the t-shirt hang down. Not that her bare midriff was that taboo; she just felt a little more on display than necessary. And it was all because of Luc. The way his eyes floated over her. And his simple comment was flirty and hot. Or maybe she just took it that way because she was overheating. But all she could come up with to say was thanks.

  “You going to use that towel, or shall I put it back?” Luc didn’t seem fazed by her nervousness.

  “Um?” Kassie looked down at the towel. Wipe your hands, she told herself, and did as instructed.

  She was trapped under his stare. Unable to move, to talk, or to think. What was this power he had over her?

  “Kass,” Kaden said, entering the kitchen. He tugged at the knotted waist of her shirt before he grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator. “What is this? Nineteen eighty-five? You could’ve grabbed a shirt of Ali’s.”

  Welcoming a break in the unspoken tension between her and Luc, she directed her focus to her brother. “I just figured you wouldn’t care if I raided your closet. Girls are a little more picky about their stuff. I would’ve wanted to ask her first.”

  “And Luc, are you in here annoying Kass?” Kaden jokingly accused his friend.

  She didn’t wait to hear his response. Instead she used the opportunity to slip out of th
e kitchen and catch her breath. “I’m going to go check on the little guy,” she mumbled before hurrying down the hall.

  Her heart beat so hard it felt like it was in her throat. Why is he affecting me like this? And was he that arrogant to flirt with her right under Kaden’s nose?

  Kassie opened Kaleb’s bedroom door a crack and peeked inside. The room had a little night light in the corner, and a soft lullaby playing. Her nephew was sound asleep. He might be a lot of work, but he is so darn cute. Her heart rate was finally calming, as well as her breathing.

  Very quietly shutting the door, careful not to wake the baby, she turned towards the living room, smacking right into a very hard body.

  “Sorry—” she whispered into the man’s chest.

  When she looked up, she immediately got lost in those dark and devious eyes. Luc. Her body stiffened, and her heart jumped back into her throat. The sexy way he stared her down told her that he’d forgotten nothing from the other night. It took everything in her power not to quiver under the weight of his stare.

  “Hey there, Kassie.” He reached up and twirled the end of her ponytail between his fingers. “You have squash in your hair.”

  What? “What?” The exhilaration of literally running into him instantly drained from her.

  “Maybe it’s beans. Or”—he messed with her hair and smirked— “both?”

  Kassie put her hand on her hips and cocked her head. She found her voice and forgot all about the odd way he affected her. “It happens. Especially when babies don’t like lima beans, or if they laugh when they eat squash. I would guess you’re not around babies much.”

  “No.” He laughed, still messing with her ponytail, even though they weren’t talking about the dry baby food any longer.

  She may have had the butterflies under control, but her knees turned to jelly and threatened to buckle at his bellowing laugh. The way he towered over her had her under his spell.

  “What are you two up to down here?” Kaden’s voice interrupted. “Kass?”

  “Nothing.” Kassie shook her head and pushed by Luc, exiting towards the living room.

  “Yep. Nothing going on here, K-man. Just chatting with your sis,” Luc answered.

  Just Luc’s saying your sis made her stomach twist. She couldn’t have feelings like that for one of her brother’s teammates. And Luc made no mistake that she was still Kaden’s little sister.

  “Luc was heading to the bathroom and I accidently ran into him when I was sneaking out of Kaleb’s room. Oh, and by the way, he’s still sound asleep. I think little guy is down for the count. No worries about him. Excuse me.”

  Kassie hurried past the living room and into the kitchen. Kaden followed. His words were sharp with concern. “Kass, you good? Did he say something to upset you?”

  “Luc? No!” Her breathing was hasty, and it took effort to calm down fast enough so Kaden wouldn’t notice. “No. You know better than I do how he’s all calm and slick with the ladies. He’s a big flirt. Tried that crap on me, but I don’t easily fall for it.”

  “Okay. If you say so. But if he keeps it up, let me know. I’ll kick his ass.” Kaden was joking, but she could read his face, and he wasn’t amused. She knew the rules; his buddies did NOT mess with his sister. It’d been the same all their lives.

  “Nah, it was nothing. I told you, I’m immune to that shit.” Kassie waved it off. She didn’t have any choice now. No matter how Luc made her feel, they could be nothing but friends, or her brother would kill him. But that wasn’t going to be easy.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Luc

  Seeing Kassie last night had put Luc in a fog all morning. He was slow in practice, got yelled at by Coach, who assumed he was hungover, which lead to his being forced to do laps. But taking the punishment for his faux hangover was better than admitting in front of Kaden that he was really just feeling the aftereffects of seeing Kassie O’Conner. She was on his mind all night, keeping him awake.

  Now back in his townhouse, all Luc wanted to do was take a nap. Lying down on the couch with the television on for background noise, his brain relaxed. Unfortunately, it drifted right back to Kassie, and the way she had moved at the club the other night. He only hoped that she knew what she was doing and wasn’t as drunk as she was letting on, because he enjoyed all of it. Every bump and grind, every contact her body had with his.

  He didn’t want to be attracted to her. She was Kaden’s sister. The guys didn’t mess with a friend’s or a teammate’s sister. Everybody knew that. It was an unspoken rule, and something he obeyed all these years.

  Until Kassie O’Conner.

  She had sass and spunk, yet was total class. Her body was tight in every place that it counted, and he loved watching her move. Last night, the way her shirt was tied, her midriff was showing. All he wanted to do was reach out and slide his hand around her bare waist. He knew he’d made her nervous just by standing close to her. And if he read that correctly, it meant she was as affected as he was. Just one problem: she was still his friend and teammate’s little sister.

  Luc awakened to the music ringtone on his phone. His exhausted body must’ve finally given in to sleep. He didn’t make a conscious effort to move until long after the ringing stopped.

  There was no voicemail, but he did have a text message from Sam.

  Sam: Dinner at our house tonight? Be here at four.

  Dinner at the Morris house sounded better than what he had planned, which was to either raid the fridge or order some Thai food. Even though Thai food was delicious, it was boring to eat alone. Dinner with the Morris clan, it was!

  Luc arrived promptly at four. He knew the routine: Trina was very pregnant right now, so when he came over for dinner, he kept Willow occupied while Sam got dinner ready and Trina put her feet up and relaxed. She never asked for this treatment; Sam just did it out of love.

  He heard Willow running to the front door, giggling. Sam opened it for her and she lunged into Luc’s arms.

  “Uncle Luc!” Willow squealed with delight.

  “Hey kiddo! Is it party time?”

  “Uncle Luc, it’s not a party, silly,” the little blonde girl said with a giggle.

  “It’s always a party when Uncle Luc is around,” Trina said before she peeked out from around the corner. Her welcoming smile lit up the room. “Hey Rock-Star. Glad you could come over.”

  “As always, thanks for the invite.” Luc did his best to hug a very pregnant Trina while Willow clung to him.

  Luc fist bumped Sam with little Willow still hanging off him. “Yo, bro. Need any help in the kitchen?”

  “Nope. I got it covered.”

  “Awesome, because I think surfer Willow and I have some Legos to build!” Luc hurried into the living room with the little girl giggling like crazy.

  “Uncle Luc!” Willow said through her laughter. “We’re not playing Legos today!”

  “No Legos?” He put the little girl on the ground and waited to see what they’d be doing today. He never thought he would like little kids until he hung out with her. “What are we going to do, then?”

  Willow ran to her toy chest and pulled out a shoebox, holding it as high as she could in the air. In a strained voice, due to the heaviness of the box, she exclaimed, “Cars!”

  “Uncle Luc’s favorite thing,” Trina said from the couch. She was reclined back with her feet up and a book in her hand.

  “Heck yeah! What kind of cars, kiddo?”

  “Fast cars!”

  “Like I said, right up Uncle Luc’s alley,” Trina commented. “You’ll need the race track in the corner beside the toy box.”

  Just as Trina said, he found a red-and-blue plastic race track in the corner. It appeared too big for little Willow to carry, so he grabbed it. “Where does the race track go?”

  “On the floor, silly Uncle Luc,” Willow said. She flopped down on the carpet with the shoebox of cars.

  He sat down next to her with the track. The little girl showed him how to put two cars
at the top of the winding track and hit the button that raised the checkered flag that began the race down the track. She giggled and squealed with each and every race.

  Willow only let him race the white cars, knowing he drove a white sports car. Once she ran out of white cars, she decided to let him race blue ones, but only blue ones. This girl was a trip, and he loved every second with her.

  During dinner, Willow was quiet as she separated the food on her plate into colors, then some other combination that Luc couldn’t figure out, before she finally started to eat.

  “Sam, since you’ve been practicing with the team, how’ve you been feeling?” Luc asked.

  “Pretty great. No symptoms. I saw the doctor after practice this morning, and he said everything looks good. He gave me the okay to play. Then I met with Coach Walker, and long story short, I’m cleared to play!”

  “Bro, that’s fantastic!”

  “Yeah, I know that he’s thrilled, but I’ll be keeping a close eye on him,” Trina added.

  “And she’ll be holding her breath every time I take a hit. Right, babe?” Sam asked with a sly grin.

  Luc didn’t voice it, but that would be a concern of his, too.

  Once dinner was over, Trina took Willow into the living room to watch a movie and get settled down before bedtime. Sam brought out a couple of beers to the table.

  “I hear you were bothering Kassie the other night at Kaden’s,” Sam said, with a disapproving look.

  “Not bothering, just talking.” Luc took a sip of the cold beer.

  “And at the club?”

  “How did you— Oh. JJ.” Figures.

  “Yeah. JJ likes to talk, but I told him to keep it to himself if he has any hopes of playing with the big dawgs. K-man won’t take very kindly to his spreading that kind of stuff around. I think it’s safe to say it stopped with me.”

  “JJ is a good kid, but probably best not to piss K-man off, just in case.”

  “I thought you were going to let this go, for your own good.” Sam revisited his first thought. “She’s Kaden’s sister.”