Bluegrass Undercover (Bluegrass Brothers)

picture down, leaving him to follow.
    He stopped in front of the wall and took a quick glance at it. He stood with his hands on his hips, the same hips that she had dreamt about straddling. She downed the rest of her wine and coughed when it went down wrong.
    “You okay?” Cade turned and asked.
    “Yes,” she croaked. She took a seat on the couch and watched as Cade grinned. Oh, no, don’t do that. She needed more wine to handle sexy smiles.
    “Wine?” she asked and bolted straight up.
    “Sure.” He followed her to the kitchen and took the glass of wine she poured for him. Cade took a sip of wine to hide the smile on his face. She was so flustered and it was such a good look on her. So was that shirt she was wearing. It fitted her like a glove and outlined those breasts he desperately wanted to feel. It was a shame he would never get that chance. She had made it clear he was to keep his hands to himself. It was strange for him. Most women flung themselves at him and his brothers. As a result he actually hadn’t wanted to date anyone, anyone until the redhead sitting on the couch next to him punched him, that is.
    Now he couldn’t stop kicking himself for kissing her. It was a great kiss, but it had scared her off, and for that he’d always be mad at himself. So, he was stuck longing for her from afar. He was nice when he passed her in the hall but didn’t impose himself on her. He looked for her every game but made sure she didn’t see him looking at her. God, he was a mess.
    “So, what happened after the game?” she asked.
    “Ah, the triplets came back for a visit on command from Gaylen.”
    “The Three Stooges?”
    “No, the steroid triplets.”
    “The bald ones with no necks?” she asked.
    “Yup. They somehow found out I was unhappy with the team’s performance and came to remind me to keep our deal.”
    “How did they know you weren’t happy?”
    “Anyone at the game could tell I was not pleased.”
    “Yes, but the triplets weren’t at the game. Someone must have told them. And that someone is who we need to find.” He watched as Annie jumped up and took a yellow index card from the small side table and wrote out ‘Mystery Game Watcher’ on it and stuck it on her board with a link to Gaylen. Annie stared at the wall for a couple more minutes, then sat back down on the couch. She turned to him, “What happened next?”
    “Well, this is where it gets funny. I walk out of the field house and st art heading for my car. When I’m about twenty feet from the car, I hear tires squealing. The triplets jump out with bats and start destroying the car.” At her shocked expression he smothered a laugh. “But they destroyed the wrong car.”
    Her hand covered her mouth and he heard a muffled, “No!” Her green eyes were wide in both horror and laughter as he watched the emotion play over them. “Whose car was it?” she asked through her fingers still covering her mouth.
    “Coach Parks,”
    “Oh! Poor Parks! He’s such a nice man.” She lowered her hand from her mouth and Cade couldn’t tear his eyes from her lush lips. Just one kiss . That was all he wanted. “What did Coach Parks do?”
    “He yelled at them and then they started arguing over what car they were looking for. Apparently the guy named Steve gave the others the wrong description. Then Coach Parks started yelling and running at them so they high-tailed it back to their car and took off. Parks started to cry then.”
    He watched as Annie’s face turned red. Her shoulders were shaking, but she wasn’t laughing. Then as if erupting, she laughed. Tears started to roll down her cheeks as she grabbed his upper arm as she laughed.
    “I shouldn’t,” she gasped out, “be laughing. Poor Parks! But it’s too funny thinking of the guys messing up over and over.”
    Cade felt the rumbles in his belly as the laughter came. Annie’s face was bright red, and he placed his hand on her arm, just as she was doing to him. Suddenly he wasn’t laughing anymore. They were close and touching, and her eyes were looking into his. Suddenly he didn’t know what to do.
    “Um, more wine?” she asked as she broke eye contact and jumped up.
    “Sure.” He stood and handed her his glass, but she didn’t move. She was standing right in front of him, and this time she met his eyes and held his gaze.
    Cade watched as she leaned forward. Was she going to kiss him? No, she wouldn’t do that. She made it clear, no kissing. But, she took