“I think I read about that.”

“Her network brought cameras and filmed a story about it that was broadcast at halftime the Sunday after Christmas.” The memory of Cameron’s excitement at hosting the holiday gathering (and the obvious love and pride in her husband’s expression as he looked on) still made Drew smile.

“You all went to Children’s Hospital later that day as well.”

“Now THAT was fun. A few of the guys made a toy run the night before Christmas Eve, and we handed the stuff out. They made sure to get low-tech stuff like board games and Jenga so we could play with the kids for a little while. The boy I was playing Uno with has cancer, but I made him laugh. I made sure he got a few extra cookies too. I think it was the best Christmas I’ve had so far,” he said.

The boy’s name was Nolan and he was Drew’s favorite Tuesday afternoon appointment these days. If Drew moved his ass tomorrow, he’d make it back to Seattle in time to stop at the hospital with a frosty Dick’s chocolate shake and maybe some French fries he smuggled in. Every time he went to visit now, Nolan wore the team logo hoodie Drew peeled off himself on Christmas Day and put on Nolan. It hung to the kid’s knees. They’d had to cut the sleeves to accommodate the IVs, but Nolan would be getting a brand-new one when he left the hospital.

Drew found out Nolan’s mom was a single parent. She was having a tough time paying the rent while her son was in the fight of his life. Drew did a little scouting around and pre-paid her rent for a year—confidentially, of course.

Kendall’s voice was gentle. “I’ve heard several of the Sharks go there every Tuesday afternoon.”

He blinked a few times and cleared his throat. He wasn’t Mr. Emotional as a rule, but he saw his own nieces and nephews in every kid in those hospital beds. If spending a few hours every Tuesday afternoon visiting brightened their day, he was happy to do it.

“Yeah. Our QB takes one for the team every week. The media takes pictures of him, and a bunch of us sneak in through another entrance.”

She leaned a little closer to him. “My parents thought I’d be a nurse.”

“Why is that?”

“I kept bandaging up my dolls. Being a nurse went out the window, though, when I figured out I couldn’t stand the sight of blood.”

“That might be a problem.” He leaned closer to her. “I’ll save you from it.”

“You will?”

“Of course,” he said. “I specialize in rescuing women.”

He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and dropped her hand to cup her cheek in his palm. She reached up to touch the tendrils of hair that escaped the elastic band he’d pulled it into to keep it out of his face.

“It’s so soft,” she whispered.

Her lips were trembling a bit with emotion. She moved a little closer to him\ and looked into his eyes as she touched and explored. Growing his hair out was now the best decision ever. He pulled in a breath and savored the tart, clean scent of green apples.

“I want to run my fingers through it. Is that weird?” she said.

He reached back and pulled the elastic band out of his ponytail. His hair spilled down his back and over his shoulder. He looped the elastic over his wrist.

“Hell, no,” he said. “It’s all yours.”

She bit her lower lip and reached out for him with both hands. Her fingers stroked his sun-warmed hair. It was thick, fine, and the length slid through her hands like liquid silk. His response was to pull her closer. By now, she was settled in his lap, and she laid her head on his shoulder.

“Has everyone you’ve dated wanted to play with your hair?”

“My ex-girlfriend didn’t like it when it wasn’t tied back. It got in her lip gloss.”

“Maybe she should stop wearing lip gloss,” Kendall blurted out.

He grinned at her. “I like how you think.”

“No offense, but she’s crazy.” The laughter rolled out of him. She twirled a thick lock around her finger. “I can’t stop touching it.”

He passed one big, gentle hand over her hair. “Your hair’s soft, and it smells like green apples.”

“Long hair looks terrible on me.”

“I don’t believe that,” he said. “Has anyone ever told you you look like Snow White?”

“I tried out to be Snow White at Disneyland one summer. I couldn’t make it work with my current job,” she joked. She ran her fingertips over the stubble on his cheeks and chin. “Maybe another time.”

“You know, the same thing happened when I auditioned for that movie—what was it? Thor?” he said. “They told me I worked out too much and they were going to have to pick some actor instead.” He pretended to let out a sigh, and she had to laugh. “Their loss. I guess I’ll just have to play football instead.”

“Thor probably wants your job,” she said.

“He has stunt people. I don’t.”

HE MOVED CLOSER. He was going to kiss her, and she was going to let him. She was going to take him upstairs too. She was going to spend all night touching his hair because she couldn’t get enough. Tomorrow morning, she was going to watch him walk out of her house, and she was going to spend the next few years counting the minutes until he retired from the league.

Talk about playing with fire. This was all kinds of stupid, but she couldn’t let go of him right now. She couldn’t have stopped if she tried. She was going to have to keep tonight a secret. And do her best to forget it when it was over to protect her heart.

Chapter Seven

DREW CUPPED KENDALL’S face in his hands. Every time he looked at her, he was struck anew by the changeable gray of her eyes. Right now, they were the silver-gray of a winter’s dawn in Seattle. She’d probably laugh if he told her that, but he couldn’t think of anything else he’d ever seen that compared to the color.

She was still holding strands of his hair and rubbing them between her fingertips. He’d grown his hair out for the hell of it when he was in college, and it was now part of his identity—that guy with the long hair that wasn’t the other guy in the dandruff shampoo commercials. He’d never met a woman who wanted to touch his hair like Kendall did, though, or run her fingers through it.

“I want to kiss you,” he said.

She looked up at him from beneath her eyelashes. She said she didn’t want to date him, they couldn’t get involved, but she was currently sitting in his lap with her fingers in his hair. He’d better ask a few more questions before they got physically involved. They were a little carried away already, but he wanted to make sure this was what she wanted to happen.

“I want you to kiss me too,” she said.

“You still don’t want to date me.”

“Aren’t we on a date right now?”

“There could be an argument made for that.”

“Let’s kiss now and argue about it later.”

“I love the way you think,” he said, and he brushed her mouth with his.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, fused her lips to his, and he felt her tongue slide into his mouth. She tasted like the wine, with a little tang from the raspberries. She’d tangled her fingers in his hair again. He slid his hand over her lower back and under the waistband of her pants. She was soft everywhere, and he was harder than nails right now.

He’d always liked kissing. He wanted to take his time, tasting, touching, and discovering what a woman enjoyed. Every woman he’d ever kissed was like a treasure map; he sought out her secrets one at a time as he made his way. This one was currently rubbing up against him while she devoured him. He wasn’t objecting. Maybe they could try it his way in a little while. Right now, he was all for her doing whatever she’d like to him.