Rules of Contact - Page 45/92

“I should go,” Amelia said.

Flynn frowned. “I was going to make breakfast for all of us before I had to head to practice.”

“I have errands to run and bills to pay and I have to do laundry and grocery shopping, all before I have to go to work tonight.”

“Are you sure? It won’t take long for me to whip something up.”

“Absolutely sure. Spend time with Mia. I’ll see you later.”

“Okay.”

She gathered up her purse.

“I’ll see you Sunday at the game, right?” Mia asked.

She’d almost forgotten about that. “Yes. Definitely on Sunday.”

“Great.” Mia hugged her. “See you then.”

Flynn walked her to the door, then, after turning to see where Mia was, walked her outside and shut the front door behind him. He pulled her against him and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m glad you stayed last night.”

She inhaled his scent, always so masculine. “Me, too. I slept hard. You exhausted me.”

His lips curved. “Good.”

He tipped her chin and brushed his lips across hers. “I’ll talk to you later. Have a good day, Amelia.”

She definitely would now. “You, too, Flynn.”

He waited on the porch while she got into her car and backed down the driveway. He was still on the porch watching her when she got to the end of his street and turned the corner.

She didn’t know how to feel about Flynn. She wanted to keep this light and easy, but there was nothing light and easy about Flynn Cassidy.

SIXTEEN

Flynn didn’t get to see his brothers all that often, so it was great when one of them came to San Francisco. Even better when they played against each other in football.

He’d been busy with practices and with Mia this week—plus Amelia, which had been a nice bonus. Now that his brother Grant was in town, he was looking forward to seeing him off the field. Come Sunday, he’d lay Grant flat. Today, they’d have beers together.

They both had practices today, so they made plans to meet up after. Grant wanted to go somewhere where they could kick back, relax and not have to deal with fans. Mia was going to be in Palo Alto today, and Flynn in Santa Clara, which was also near where Grant was having practice, so at least they were all close.

Mia said she was craving pho, so Flynn sent them both directions to Tamarine. Flynn got there first so he went in and got a table in the far corner and ordered an iced tea, then texted Mia and Grant and let them know where he was sitting. Mia arrived shortly after and found him.

“How was practice?” she asked as she slid into a chair next to him.

“Hard. How was your meeting today?”

“Productive.”

“Are you intending to tell Grant about what’s going on?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t want to tell too many more family members before I tell Mom and Dad, ya know?”

“I understand. I won’t say anything to Grant.”

“I appreciate it.”

He saw Grant walk in so he waved to him. Since it was near the end of the lunch shift, there were hardly any people in the restaurant. Grant spotted them right away and headed over.

Flynn stood and hugged his brother. “Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” Grant said, then hugged Mia.

“I’m so glad I’m here at the right time to see both of you,” Mia said. “You’re not going to hurt each other this weekend, are you?”

Grant looked over at Flynn and cracked a smile. “Of course not.”

Flynn grinned. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Mia scanned both of them and then frowned. “You’re both lying. You guys suck.”

Grant laughed. “Come on, Mia. You know how it goes. We’re going to play each other like we play any team. Tough, and to win.”

“Exactly,” Flynn said. “If I break through Grant’s offensive line—and I will—I’m not going to pull up just because he’s my brother. I’m going to lay him flat.”

“Just as I’d expect from you. Not that it’s going to happen, because I have the toughest offensive line in the league, and you aren’t going to get anywhere close to me.”

“Uh-huh. We’ll see, Little Brother.”

“Yeah, we’ll see your defense huffing and puffing as they run after my receivers all the way into the end zone.”

Mia rolled her eyes. “It’s going to be like this all through lunch, isn’t it?”

Grant’s lips lifted. “Most likely.”

“I should have grabbed a burger at In-N-Out.”

Grant slanted a glance at Flynn. “That does sound good. Should we leave now?”

“It shouldn’t be crowded this time of day.”

Mia sighed. “You’re both assholes.”

Flynn laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m on board for eating here.”

“But we don’t promise to behave ourselves,” Grant added.

Mia picked up her menu. “I don’t know why I agreed to have lunch with you two.”

Flynn knew why. She was hungry. Plus, she loved both of them as much as they loved her, and with all of the siblings spread around the country, they didn’t see each other much. Flynn was more than happy to have his brother and sister in town this week.

Mia ordered pho, Grant ordered the duck and Flynn decided on the sea bass. For appetizers, they went with shrimp spring rolls and lettuce cups.