Without giving me a chance to gain my mental equilibrium, he spoke. “Are you single, Miss Avesque?”Van Stelson had women drooling over him all the time and here I was doing the same thing. I hadn’t given him a single reason to think I was the least bit professional. Failure clenched my gut. A pretty body and my brain cells turned to goo. I completely ignored his question. “I’m sorry, Mr. Stelson.” I rose from my chair fighting stupid tears. “I’ll call the newspaper and have another journalist take my place.” I would lose my job, but it’s what I deserved.“Hey,” his large hand came down on my shoulder, stopping me. “Look, I’m the one who’s sorry.” I glanced at his hand and he released me immediately. “I think, Miss Avesque, that I owe you an interview. Could we please start over?”He was no longer grinning. There was such intensity in his gaze. He reached up and nudged my glasses higher on my nose. “I’ll behave, I promise.” Just a smidgen of his previous grin returned. He put his hand

I grabbed my bag and ran out to my car with no time to spare. By the time I made it to the actual field, it was five minutes after two. I wasn’t quite sure where to go and stood looking around the inner stadium admiring the size. My research told me the stadium, built three years ago, held twenty-five thousand people. There was a separate college stadium on the campus that doubled as a football field and held five thousand spectators. The Slam’s single functioning stadium had one rival in the U.S.—Vegas’ Sam Boyd Stadium. That one held just under thirty-seven thousand seats.“I’m sure Van wants you front and center.”Having no idea anyone was behind me, I jumped. Turning quickly, I squinted into the shadowed tunnel. Joel stood two feet away. If I thought he looked large leaning against his vehicle, having him up close turned him into a giant.Not surprising, the tone of his words and demeanor weren’t exactly friendly. It took everything I had to try breaking the ice and giving him a s

Van took my elbow and led me through the packed parking lot. I didn’t object because it seemed more helpful than proprietary. He released me when he opened the door. It was dark inside and it was a moment before my eyes adjusted. People milled around waiting for tables. Van took my arm again and guided me into the restaurant seating area.What the hell was he doing?A table near the back in a quiet corner had a reserved sign on it. Van pulled my chair out, walked behind me, and took the inside chair beside mine. The realization hit that he pre-planned this. “You think of everything don’t you?”I could see his sexy smile in the candlelight. “I try. What would you like to drink?”After my disastrous glass at The Slam Tavern, I craved a nice glass of wine. “Red wine would be wonderful.” A waitress approached before I finished speaking.Van barely glanced her way, keeping his eyes on me. “Cheryl, my lady here would like Cabernet Sauvignon and I’ll have my usual.”His lady. He did it again

Joel had no plans to make this easy on me. I ground my teeth because I refused to get into a word war about rugby that I would hands down lose. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’ve never played a sport in my life beyond what was forced on me in PE. As a matter of fact, I have two left feet and the hand-eye coordination of a dinosaur with flappy arms. What I am good at is research and I spent many hours preparing myself for this interview. Is there anything else you’d like to know or do you think you could explain sevens to me?”God I was a bitch, but I could see the twitch of his lip as he fought a smile. He held it back and I sighed internally. Hostility with this brother and sexual pressure from the other. I wasn’t sure which one was worse. Both took me far outside my comfort zone.“Sevens is played with seven players and the rules are vastly different than league ball or union ball. Sevens, league, and union have separate rules similar to the differences in NFL football and arena

“This is where I grew up,” he said softly.“Your mother’s house?” Now the decor made sense.“Now mine and my brother’s. We share the place.”“You both live here?”“Yes, but he has a date tonight and won’t be home until late. Come on into the kitchen and I’ll grab the chicken for the grill. I have potatoes in the oven and a salad made.”“Your domestic side.”“The easiest thing I could think of to make. I can grill, but kitchen duty is not my strong suit.”This was not a good idea, but wild Cami pushed my nerves aside. I followed him into the kitchen walking past a winding staircase that I guessed led up to the bedrooms. Modern appliances filled the kitchen, and I envied the space. I would love to run loose in here. My tiny apartment had a small L-shaped counter with two barstools. It had a total of about three square feet to move around in. This room was a chef’s dream.“Your mother liked to cook?”His grin disappeared for a moment. “No, well yes… all this is new. Joel likes to cook.”