He curled his fingers into a fist to keep from touching her soft, flushed skin, from tracing a line from one freckle to the other. There was something seriously wrong with him. The best thing he could do, for both of them, was end their fake relationship. Laughter drew his attention from Em and the running commentary in his head. His team walked across the field, reminding him of the reason he’d suggested fake-dating in the first place.
Em followed his gaze. “You told the guys on your team that I was your girlfriend. So I thought I’d better look like someone you’d date.”
“Okay, just to be clear. I’m not shallow. I don’t choose who to date based on what they look like.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You sent me your list, remember? I checked them out, and you have a type. None of them were plain Janes or sporty girls, and neither was your ex-wife. Oh, and do yourself a favor, don’t go on their social media.”
Leave it to Em to investigate the women he dated. “How bad is it?”
“Let’s just say you probably need to fake-date me more than I need to fake-date you.”
So much for putting an end to their charade. But as much as Em said it benefited him more than her, he couldn’t shake the memory of her confession by the river. So, as he’d done more than a decade before, he shut down his inappropriate thoughts and feelings. He could do this. He could do this for Em.
His cell rang, and he pulled it from the pocket of his shorts. It was his assistant coach. He didn’t know why he was surprised.
“What’s up?” Em asked once he’d disconnected.
“Assistant coach can’t make it. It’s the fourth time he’s bailed since the start of the season. Never has a problem making it to our games though.”
“I can give you a hand,” Em offered, completely serious. As though she read his mind, she said, “Josh, I played competitive soccer and was on the varsity cross-country team; I think I can handle running a few drills.”
“Sure. Okay,” he said as the team crowded around. Josh introduced them to Em.
She gave Drew the once-over. The kid thought he was God’s gift to women of all ages, so he probably assumed Em was checking him out. If he only knew she most likely wanted to drop-kick him for what he’d said to Izzy the other night at Seaton House. The thought gave Josh an idea, and he hoped Em caught on and rolled with it.
“Em lives on Sugar Maple Road, just down from Seaton House. You’ve probably seen her around, Charlie,” he said, adding for Em’s benefit, “Charlie lives at the far end of Sugar Maple Road.”
Em nodded, crossing her arms. “You didn’t happen to see a bunch of kids at Seaton House Saturday night, did you?”
Charlie’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “No, ma’am.”
“That’s Officer Ma’am to you,” Em said.
Oh yeah, Josh thought, she was rolling with it—like a steamroller. He probably should’ve given her a heads-up. He felt bad for putting Charlie on the spot. He was a good kid. Shy and quiet, he was still finding his place on the team. Neil’s son Mike sidled closer to Charlie, lending him support. He was a lot like Charlie, only he tried harder to fit in. Gus, who’d no doubt seen Officer Hard-ass in action, moved to sit between Charlie and Mike, offering the teens emotional support.
“Yes, ma’am. I mean, Officer Ma’am,” Charlie said, patting Gus’s head.
Drew and his crew snickered.
Em pinned Drew with a stare that had him flushing to the roots of his blond surfer dude’s hair. “Which one of you drives a red Ford Explorer?” she asked, reeling off the license plate so that Drew had no wiggle room.
“It’s my dad’s,” Drew admitted.
Em raised an eyebrow.
“It’s my dad’s, Officer Ma’am,” he said, glaring at his friends when they snickered.
“So your father was at Seaton House Saturday night.” Em pulled out her cell. “I’ll just give him a call.”
“No, please don’t,” Drew said.
The pleading note in the kid’s voice confirmed Josh’s concerns about Drew’s father’s treatment of his son. Josh had seen him in action at a couple games last season and had taken him aside, threatening to have him removed from the stands if he ever heard him yell at his son like that again. When Drew’s father complained to the principal, she backed Josh. So had the school board. To say the man wasn’t a fan of his was an understatement.
“Who was at Seaton House Saturday night?” Em asked. Drew and his crew exchanged sidelong glances and then reluctantly raised their hands. “First-degree trespassing is a class two misdemeanor, which means the possibility of sixty days in jail and a thousand-dollar fine. Lucky for all of you, the owners of Seaton House don’t want to press charges. But if this happens again, I’ll be advising them to do so. Got it?”
They nodded. “Got it, Officer Ma’am.”
The boys didn’t catch Em’s lips twitching but Josh did. Probably because they kept drawing his attention. She must’ve put on lipstick or lip gloss. Her mouth was plump and shiny and looked ripe for a kiss. He groaned. In his head.
“Drop and give me twenty,” Em said.
The boys looked at Josh, and he shrugged. “She’s taking over for Coach Delaney at today’s practice.” Like him, they were smart enough to groan in silence.
When the seven boys dropped to the ground, Em joined them. They stared at her. “You were there?” Drew asked.
“Who do you think you heard scream? A ghost?”
Josh got on the ground beside her, and the boys treated him with the same shocked stares. “You ruined our date,” he said.
Em glanced over her shoulder. “What are the rest of you doing standing there? You’re a team, aren’t you? One for all, and all for one?”
Josh snorted a laugh, and Em lifted a shoulder. Then she grinned. “I bet I can beat you.”
“You’re on.” He completed his twentieth push-up ten seconds before she did.
“You might’ve beaten me time-wise, but I had better form. I’ll beat you next time.”
It took a concerted effort not to focus on her form, which might’ve been why his voice came out a little husky when he lowered it and said, “Anytime, anywhere, Officer Hard-ass.” He needed to stop calling her that. His mind went to where it shouldn’t. She walked over to the cart, bending over to pick up the bags for drills. He needed to come up with a new nickname for her ASAP.
The boys fell over themselves trying to help her. “We’ve got it, Officer Ma’am.”
“Em. You can call me Em,” she said and smiled.
Josh had a feeling half his team had just fallen in love with Emma Scott. He didn’t worry about falling in love with her. Falling in lust with her? Yeah, he was a little worried about that.
Chapter Fifteen
Two feet now,” Em said, running the agility drill with Charlie and Mike. The six blue step-over bags were laid out in a straight line one yard apart from each other. “Hut,” she called, watching as Charlie and then Mike ran through the drill. “Two taps,” she reminded them. “Knees up.”