Romancing the Running Back Read Free

nice.”
    Cassie let the running water fill the silence for a moment, then asked, “Has anyone been bothering you recently?”
    “Anyone?” Anya asked dryly. “Just any random person? No, no random drive-by botherings in my neighborhood.”
    “Fine.” Cassie huffed and glared at her. “You’re going to make me say it. Any news from Asshole? Like, maybe, his dick fell off from an incurable disease?”
    “You can’t call him “Asshole.” He doesn’t even rate a nickname. His name is Chad, and it is a four-letter word for a reason.” All ex-husbands rated a four-letter nickname. Or, well, soon-to-be ex-husbands . . .
    Cassie snorted. “But has he been calling you again? Causing trouble? Showing up at work like he used to?”
    “No, nothing new, recently.” Coming to Santa Fe for dress shopping and wedding prep was a real deal, but the timing couldn’t have been more perfect than if she’d planned it. Escape was the name of the game. It galled her to admit she was all but on the run from her ex, but there it was.
    “Maybe you . . . hey, Josiah.” Cassie beamed at him as he walked in and paused to give her a peck on the cheek. He wore an outfit almost identical to the one from a few days ago. Just a different T-shirt, still worn but clean. Same ball cap, same jeans and shoes. He set his helmet down on the bench that led to the garage.
    Anya simply grabbed the first head of lettuce and began to rinse it off.
    “Ready to head out to Cali?” Cassie asked.
    “Ready and willing, as usual,” he answered.
    Anya felt eyes staring at her, but she refused to turn around. Childish, maybe, but hey, the lettuce wasn’t going to wash itself.
    “You remember Anya, right? From the other day?”
    “Sure, yeah.”
    She kept rinsing, as if she hadn’t heard anything over the water. Then she felt him at her shoulder, and knew she could no longer ignore him. She didn’t have to look, though. “Hi.”
    “Hey. Stuck with kitchen duty, huh?”
    “I’m a disaster with the grill, and squishy meat freaks me out.” She gave him a small smile, while Cassie went back to mixing with her hands. “So I’m left with veggie prep. It’s more my speed.”
    “Cool.” He watched quietly as she put the first head down on paper towel to dry a bit and moved to wash the second one.
    Maybe she’d misjudged him. He didn’t seem so condescending now, or judgmental. It could have been herimagination. Travel brain. Or even a holdover from Chad’s douche-y ways.
    “You know, there’s a better way to rinse off the lettuce.”
    She blinked. “Huh?”
    “If you don’t properly rinse it, then you risk a lot of the pesticides still contaminating the food.”
    She stared at him, his solemn eyes, and realized he was totally serious. The man was criticizing her vegetable-washing methods. “You’re not serious.”
    “Josiah is always serious about pesticides,” Cassie sang out, then bumped Anya aside with her hip to wash her hands quickly in the sink. “I’m delivering the meat to the grill master. Hustle with the toppings, Anya!” She picked up the massive bowl and left them alone in the kitchen.
    “I was just saying there was a more efficient way,” he said tightly. “I wasn’t trying to be rude.”
    “Oh, well, in that case . . .” Anya rolled her eyes and pushed the water back up to full blast. The sound made it more difficult to hear anything. “I think Trey might need help flipping burgers.”
    He looked as if he might want to say something else, but then stepped back, shoved his hands in his pockets, and walked off to the back patio.

Chapter Two
    Was she too sensitive? Probably. Between Chad’s delightful way of deteriorating her self-confidence during their short time together, to the highs and lows of attempting to start her own company, and now Chad all but stalking her—and what a mindfuck that had been . . . “You’re worthless, you’re nothing, wait I want you, come back to me”—she’d taken a