Beautiful Storm (San Francisco End Game #1)

CHAPTER SIX

Luke

O ur media liaison, Keeley, smiles as she finishes telling us all about Project Storm while I wait for the backlash. Three, two, one…

“No fucking way,” my friend Dylan, one of our star wide receivers, protests. “I’m out.” He walks away, grumbling about not wanting to be on camera, and I get it. He’s never wanted the limelight. He plays because he loves the game, but if he could, he’d do without all the bullshit that comes with the job. In fact, I was ninety percent sure he was going to retire when his first kid was born, but then he surprised me and kept playing. But his family and privacy will always come first.

Me on the other hand… “I think it’s a great idea,” I say honestly. “Count me in. Just tell me where I need to be.”

According to Keeley’s big speech, the San Francisco Storm is set to feature in a new TV series showcasing the world of professional football players. It’s not the first show to spotlight a football team and won’t be the last, but from the way they’re pitching the idea, it sounds like the first to be this intrusive. They’ve basically been given a backstage pass into our lives.

And it’s great! I have nothing to hide… anymore .

“Thank you, Luke.” Keeley giggles, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d assume she was flirting. But I’ve been there, tried that, and discovered she does not mix work and pleasure. Such a shame . “We’re not sure who they want to feature yet, or how it’s going to play out, but I’m grateful for your enthusiasm. All I know at this stage is that it’s happening, and the crew are coming in next week for a walk-through to discuss plans.”

“Why the hell would the bigwigs agree to this?” Wyatt, our offensive tackle, asks under his breath, confusing me. I would have put all my money on this being his thing. “I mean, I’m all for it,” he adds, making me grin, “but I’m genuinely shocked.”

We all are, with the exception of Thomas, our quarterback, who suspiciously doesn’t appear shocked at all. And if he already knows something, he and I are going to have words.

The meeting adjourns shortly after Dylan’s walkout, and I rush to meet up with Thomas. “How long have you known?” I ask, catching him in the hall.

Thomas pauses, turning to face me. “What makes you think I knew?”

“Uh. Maybe the complete lack of surprise on your face when they announced it. You forget how well I know you.” Thomas and I have been friends since high school, and now he’s engaged to my sister. It’s safe to say, I can read him.

He sighs as his shoulders drop. “They mentioned it last week, but I wasn’t allowed to say anything. I was told in case they needed backup selling the idea.” He shrugs like it’s no big deal.

“Why would they ask you to do that? You hate the idea.”

“What?” His eyes widen, making me burst out laughing.

“Come on. Don’t bullshit me.”

“Okay, fine. I hate the idea. The last thing I want is someone digging around in my private life.”

That’s what I figured. “Then why agree to help them?”

“I made a deal. I said I’d help if they kept me out of the spotlight. I’m more than happy to be featured when I’m here at the stadium, or for anything to do with the game, but my personal life is off-limits.”

“Fair deal, but…do you really think you’ll get much pushback?” Other than Dylan who’s probably thinking the same thing Thomas is.

Thomas raises an eyebrow. “I can name a few.”

“Well, I am not one of them. I have nothing to hide. Let them see it all.” I spread my arms wide, letting the world know I’m an open book, laughing to myself. But when I glance back at Thomas, he has a strange look on his face, making me pause until I register what I said. “Shit. I didn’t mean that you had something to hide. I—”

“Relax, I know. This expression,”—he waves his hand in front of his face—“is one of a man who does not want to see it all when it comes to you. Why does it feel like you’re about to become famous for all the wrong reasons?”

I bark out another laugh while a knot forms in my stomach. “Because, my friend, I was born for this.” And the past is firmly locked in the past. I’m sure of it.

“God, what have they done?”

I try not to focus on the tension in my middle as we walk together to the locker rooms, and with the team all abuzz with the news, I easily push it from my mind. Then the second we run out onto the field, my focus shifts to where it should be…football.

Pre-season has barely begun, but I can already tell it’s going to be our year. When Thomas joined the team a few years back, the Super Bowl talk revved up, and since then, we’ve been getting stronger by the day. If it’s going to happen, I’d put all my money on it happening this year. Which, now that I think about it, is probably why they’re making a show about our team and why the bigwigs, as Wyatt called them, agreed to it. The networks get a boost to their ratings and we get more exposure. It’s a win-win.

A s soon as I get home after practice, I dump my bag in the hall and head straight for the sliding door leading out back. “Shadow?” I call out into the yard, listening for my energetic black Labrador retriever, smiling as I anticipate her bound around the corner.

Only I’m met with silence.

“Shadow. Where are you, pup?”

Silence again.

Turning around, I groan as I walk back into the house, collecting my phone on my way to the living room.

I know exactly where she is. That pain-in-the-ass sister of mine has pup-napped my dog again . She lived here for a few months, and now she thinks we’re co-parenting or something, and it drives me crazy.

I’ll admit, I got Shadow on a whim, and sure, it took me a little while to get used to the commitment, but now she’s my world. The only female I’ll let sleep in my room. My lifelong companion. And I want her back.

I dial Lainey’s number as I fall onto the couch.

“ Chipmunk ,” I whine when she answers. “Have you taken Shadow again?”

Lainey groans at the new nickname I’ve given her before confirming my suspicion. “I have. When’s the last time you walked her?”

“Yesterday.”

“Yesterday? Bullshit.”

“No bullshit. We went for a run along Edger’s Beach. She helped me meet a—”

“I don’t want to know about your hookups. And dammit, Shadow, you hustled me.”

“Shadow hustled you?” I question her slowly, not bothering to tell her that I didn’t actually hook up that time. It’s more fun to make her squirm.

“She did. I walked over to say hi and she was all sad with her puppy-dog eyes gazing longingly out the window. I assumed she’d been stuck inside.”

I try hard to hold back my laugh, but it bursts out of me. “Okay, yep. She most definitely hustled you.”

“I know,” she complains.

God, I love that dog.

“Anyway, we’re almost back to your place. I’ll be there in a minute. You’re alone, right?”

I roll my eyes even though she can’t see me. “Yes, Alice in delusionland. Would I be calling you if I wasn’t?” She’s under the impression that I’m never alone, that I have a girl with me twenty-four seven. And I guess she’d usually be right… if she hadn’t stolen my dog.

Shadow’s always with me when I’m home. As for the other girls… They come and go.

“Alice in delusionland. Really?” Lainey scoffs, her love for my ever-changing nicknames wearing thin. “You must be running out of ideas.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty more where that came from.” Finding new nicknames for Lainey should be considered a full-time job, but I can’t call it work because it’s too much fun.

“You’re lucky I know you do it out of love.”

“Love? Yeah, right. I reserve nicknames for the people who annoy me the most.”

“I’m here,” she announces, ignoring me. “I’m hanging up.” She hangs up before I can respond, and seconds later, Shadow comes racing toward me just like I expected her to do outside.

“Come here, gorgeous girl. How was your walk?” I drop to the floor and roll around with her, razzing her up as she licks me. “Did your aunt look after you?”

I sense Lainey watching us and when I look up she has an amused grin on her face. “If your women could see you now.”

“They’d love it. Why do you think I got her in the first place?” It’s true that I’m guilty of wanting Shadow because I thought she’d help me with the ladies, but I quickly discovered she was better than that. She’s not just a show pony; she’s my life.

“If only you could find a woman to love like you love that dog.”

“That dog is the only constant love I need in my life. When are you going to listen to the fact that I’m happy?”

Honestly, I expected more from Lainey. She knows me better than anyone else. I’m not going to change.

“I know you’re happy, Luke. And you know I’m usually the one to defend you when others try to set you up, but I’d love a sister.”

“You’ve got Summer,” I state the obvious. Summer is Thomas’s sister and our teammate Dylan’s wife.

God, our team is way too close for comfort.

“I do have Summer,” Lainey admits. “But I want someone that will be forced to come to our family functions. With our parents. Someone to share in my misery.”

Ahh . It all makes sense now. Mom and Dad just celebrated their fortieth wedding anniversary and Lainey struggled with it. While she’s in a relatively good place with our family now, there were times it got a bit tense and the big events usually hit her hard.

“Well, aren’t you the sweetest?” I joke to lighten the mood, knowing she won’t want to talk about it. “Work on Ryan. You’ve got two brothers, remember? You’ve got a better chance with him.”

Lainey blows out a breath as her phone rings, but when she looks at the screen, her expression instantly lifts and she smiles.

“It’s Thomas.” Of course it is. I’ve never seen anyone else elicit that expression. I love Lainey, and I love Thomas like a brother, but no one should place that much of their happiness in one person. It can’t be healthy. “I’m going to go,” she adds, walking to the door. “See you soon?”

“If not before, then I’ll see you the next time you steal my girl.”

“Looking forward to it.”

“Oh, and Pink Barbie, if you’re nice to me, I’ll try and find someone to bring over for Thanksgiving.” The next big family event. “Maybe I can find a fake date or something.”

Lainey spins to face me as she bursts out laughing. “Thanks, bro. Love you.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Now I just have to find someone that won’t get too clingy.

A week later, there’s a strange energy in the air when I arrive at the stadium. It’s not all doom and gloom, but it’s definitely not the excitement I thought would be hovering after our first preseason win over the weekend. Not that everyone played, but still…

“What’s going on?” I ask Reed, one of our running backs. “There’s a weird tension in the room.”

Reed grimaces. “You just missed a very heated discussion between Zane and Easton.” Zane’s our rookie and let’s just say he’s a whippersnapper on and off the field, while our teammate Easton has a don’t-be-a-dick policy. East and I don’t speak that often. For obvious reasons.

“Damn. What did Zane say this time?” Poor kid just has to open his mouth around Easton these days.

“He wolf whistled at the crew.”

“What crew?”

“The film crew. Where’s your head this morning?” Back in my bed where I should be… Wait.

“The crew are women?” This show just got a lot more interesting—a female crew. Lucky for me. “Ouch. Motherfucker.” I rub my arm where Reed just punched me. “What the hell was that for?”

“That was on behalf of all the women in the world. This isn’t the fifties. Of course some of the film crew are women.” He rolls his eyes, and I cringe.

“I didn’t mean it like that. I knew there would be females, but when you said it, my mind went to an all-female crew, and oh, the possibilities…”

Reed laughs but I can tell he still thinks I’m a dick. “I’d love to spend a day in your mind.”

“I bet you’d love to spend a day in my body too.” I wink, making him laugh harder. He knows he’s hot. He doesn’t need my body to get the girls. He could rival a bodybuilder with the muscles he’s working and he’s just as pretty. But he needs to get out of his head. He’s been in love with his best friend, Bria, for years.

“So, when do I get to meet this crew?”

“They’re coming back at—”

A whistle blows, cutting Reed off, though none of the other players notice it, until…

“The whistle means quiet, people,” Thomas’s loud voice booms, and the rest of the team hush as Keeley jumps onto a bench seat to get our attention.

“I know you’re due to have a meeting with the crew and the coaches soon, but I’ve been asked to set a few ground rules.” Her gaze moves to Zane and I internally groan. I can already guess rule number one. That fucker just ruined it for the rest of us with one little wolf whistle.

“Rule number one . The crew are not here for your enjoyment. They’re here to work and they’re off-limits. That means no flirting, no exchanging of phone numbers, and definitely no dating.” Her tone makes it clear that the term “dating” is actually her way of saying “do not fuck the film crew,” and that puts a downer on things.

“And rule number two?” Zane asks, forever being his smart-ass self.

“I’m glad you asked, Zane . Rule number two is…don’t be like Zane.” The guys cheer and laugh, with those close to Zane patting him on the back. But of course, Zane smiles proudly. Keeley shakes her head and waits until the ruckus dies down before adding, “Let’s keep the schoolyard antics out of the stadium and conduct ourselves in a professional manner. After all, you never know what might end up on the TV screens of your fellow Americans.”

She announces a few more rules—but most of them are obvious things like “try not to swear on camera” and “check for cameras before getting naked”—and once she’s done, we’re called onto the field for a meet and greet with the crew.

I find it funny that Keeley mentioned schoolyard antics when this whole shebang could be compared to preparing us for a field trip. Stay in line. Don’t interrupt. Be on your best behavior. No touching the display… or in this case… no touching the crew. Seems more trouble than it’s worth, if I’m honest.

When we’re all gathered on the field, Keeley once again steps up to the mic, and my eyes flash to our head coach. If he’s not up there, then I’m almost certain he’s not at all happy about what’s going on. Which begs the question… Why is he going along with it during such a huge season for us?

“Before I introduce you to the team from Brighton Productions,” Keeley begins, “I want to thank you all in advance for your participation. I’m excited about this new venture and can’t wait to get started.”

With our team lined up in workout gear, the production crew stand out in their business attire as they walk toward us. But through the bodies of people, one stunning figure shines brighter than the rest. My eyes drag up from her sky-high red stiletto heels, taking in her tight fitted pants—that would undoubtedly show off a perfectly sculpted ass—before moving up to her white, almost see-through blouse that dips just low enough to tease a little cleavage while not actually revealing anything at all.

I could stare at her body all day, but when I finally get a look at her face, I don’t know whether to laugh or choke on thin air. “What the actual fuck?” Amelia?

It’s safe to say, the no-dating rule isn't going to be a problem. At least where my dear “friend” is concerned.