Kaitlyn smoothed down her pencil skirt and wondered if high heels and a red silky blouse were too fancy for a picnic at Chickadee Lake. She didn’t really have a chance to dress down as she was on her lunch break, which Jessica had graciously extended to an hour and a half, after prying far too many details out. At first, Jessica hadn’t been certain Kaitlyn should meet with Axel, but she knew all about Kaitlyn’s frustrations and insecurities with her and Mason’s relationship. Also, Jessica’s romantic side had kicked in, and that had helped her rally behind the idea. Kaitlyn understood why Jessica was torn though. Everybody adored Mason, but Jessica herself had once thought she should marry her high school love until she fell for Gentry, so she understood better than most.

Kaitlyn twisted a lock of hair between her fingers and checked her phone again. One-ten. Why was he late? Had he changed his mind? Her stomach was doing the mamba, worrying if she was doing the right thing even being here and how in the world she’d get through a lunch sitting next to her all-star superman. Now she wondered if he was going to ditch her.

A man jogged into view, and her heart slammed against her chest when she recognized Axel. His hair was wet like he’d just gotten out of the shower. He was wearing a blue Under Armour t-shirt and grey shorts. Yep, she was extremely overdressed. He grinned when he saw her and jogged up to the picnic table she was sitting at. She stood slowly, and his eyes swept over her.

“Hey,” he said.

Such a simple word, but with the way he was smiling at her, she was sweating and excited and already much too invested in this lunch meeting.

“Sorry, I’m late. A couple players stayed after camp asking about college recruiting. Mason and I were both sharing our experiences. Then I had to shower quickly.”

She cringed as he said Mason’s name, and sadly, he noticed.

“Sorry. I wasn’t going to bring him up.” He set down the bags of food and exhaled. “This is tough. I’ve been dying to meet you since I first saw you at a game in April, but Mason’s a total stud, and I feel like a …” His mouth twisted, and he gave her a half-smile. “I shouldn’t say that word. I feel like a jerk trying to steal his girl.”

Kaitlyn bit at her lip and ducked her head, but then she forced herself to look him in the eye and say, “You’re trying to steal me?”

For some reason, this felt like a chick flick Lolly would make her go to, but their connection was already more real than anything she’d experienced. When Axel stared at her with his deep brown eyes, she saw a maturity, depth, and longing that were all man. “I’d give up my lacrosse career to be with you.”

Kaitlyn’s throat went dry, and her heart slammed against her chest. She tried to tell herself that she didn’t know this guy and he was probably just toying with her. It was insane to throw away everything she had with Mason and jump into the unknown, but she couldn’t stop herself from swallowing and making her own confession. “I thought I told you last night that Mason and I are dating other people.”

“So, I might be blessed enough to be one of those people?”

Kaitlyn grinned and gave him a saucy wink, glad that she could break out of the seriousness of the moment and tease him. “We’ll see. There’s quite a lengthy list.”

“I’m sure.” Axel chuckled, shaking his head. His eyes focused in on her again, and he nodded. “Too many to count.”

She pushed at his arm, a thrill shooting through her when she connected with the solid bump of his bicep. “Whatever.”

He flicked his thumb against his leg a few times before asking, “Am I coming between you and Mason?”

She wanted to tease him about being too sure of himself that he was the reason she’d finally talked to Mason about her concerns. Okay, in a huge way he was, but she found she couldn’t tease about this. Mason was too good to make light of him. “Things have changed between us. We’ve dated for a long time, but we act more like friends now. It will be good for both of us to date other people and see if we’re meant to be or not.”

Axel’s brow wrinkled. “I don’t like the thought of you ‘meant to be’ with anyone else, but I appreciate you sharing that.”

Kaitlyn glanced down, energy pulsing through her. Meant to be with anyone else? “I probably shared too much.”

“No. Mason’s a great guy, and I’d hate to think I ruined his relationship with the most perfect woman in the world.”

Kaitlyn’s eyes flew up to his. She’d thought he might be teasing, but his gaze was steady on her.

She cleared her throat and pointed at the food. “That smells so good, and I’m starving.”

He laughed a little bit unsteadily. “Glad I got a lot of food then.” He unpacked the bag of Fay’s specialty of Monte Cristo sandwiches, sweet potato fries, cinnamon rolls, and strawberry lemonades.

They sat next to each other, which was almost too intimate, but Kaitlyn thought it was probably easier than having him staring at her. Those dark brown eyes just got to her. They ate in silence for a few minutes. Fay’s homemade bread and the touch of jalapeno jelly made the sandwich delectable in Kaitlyn’s opinion. The salty ham and creamy cheese were perfect as well. She washed down a bite with the sweet and tangy lemonade, liking just being next to Axel and glad they’d gotten past the talk about Mason. A duck quacked in the nearby lake, and children’s laughter wasn’t too far away, but it felt like they were in their own world. Even the sweet, bready scent of the cinnamon rolls couldn’t overpower his yummy musk, amber, and lime cologne.

“Can you go on a hike with me after we get your chocolate from Kenworth’s?” Axel asked.

“The heels make hiking a little tough.” She laughed.

“I can take you home to change.”

Kaitlyn felt warmth rush through her. He really wanted to spend time with her. “I have to go back to work. I’m just on my lunch break.”

“Oh, gotcha. You work at the department store in the summer, but you go to school in the city?”

“I’m going to the Fashion Institute of Technology.” Kaitlyn dunked a fry in ketchup.

“You want to design?”

“For sure. I’m going to be the next Attico.”

He tilted his head, confused.

Kaitlyn couldn’t help but laugh, resisting the urge to touch his smooth, tanned cheek. “She’s an up and coming designer out of Milan.”

“Milan. Big fashion place, right?”

She laughed again. “You could say that.”

He set his sandwich down and stared at her. “Is that your dream? Go to Milan and design clothes that very skinny people with severe expressions wear walking down the catwalk?”

She pushed away from the table and stood, walking away from him, then returning with her head tilted up, chest pushed out, a fierce frown on her face, and swinging her arms and hips dramatically. When she reached him, she couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “How was that?”

He caught her hand and pulled her close to him, so she was pressed against his thigh. He smiled up at her. “I don’t think that’s right. You make even the crazy model walk look amazing.”

“Stop.” She laughed, tugged her hand free, and sat down next to him.

He took another bite of his sandwich, chewed, and swallowed before asking again, “But that is the dream?”

“Probably not.” She sipped the icy goodness of the lemonade and tried to discreetly wipe at the sweat on her brow. Was it unseasonably warm today or was Axel making her overheated? “I mean, of course it would be unreal to be some big-name designer, but I want to design more practical clothes, and there are a ton of indie designers having huge success. School has been fun, and I’ve learned a lot, but the biggest thing is the contacts I’ve made, especially my best friend, Lolly. By next spring, Lolly and I will be launching our own swimwear line. Then we’ll branch into tights and casualwear. We’ve got the greatest supplier who can sew anything and has the right contacts with production and … What?”

Axel had his drink suspended in mid-air and was staring at her.

“Well, first of all, you’re amazing. Your own swimwear line?” He set his drink down and nodded appreciatively. “And second, do I get to see you model those?”

“Way to ruin a huge compliment with a typical male response.” Kaitlyn laughed to show him she was teasing, blushing from his compliments.

“Yes, it is unfortunate that I’m all male.” He winked.

The warmth in Kaitlyn’s face turned scorching. He was definitely all male.

“Speaking of me acting like a male, I have a confession to make.”

Kaitlyn turned to him, her lunch forgotten. “Okay.”

“I set up the whole thing to meet you.”

“Whole thing?” Her brow squiggled.

He focused on the ducks quacking in the lake, and Kaitlyn could stare at the well-cut lines of his handsome face without him realizing she was gawking. She designed clothing, but the most perfect lines couldn’t compare to the clean, masculine perfection of his profile.

“At the Lizard’s game when I first talked to you. I set the whole thing up to meet you.”

“The ball with your phone number on it?”

“Yes.”

Kaitlyn’s heart swelled. He’d been as interested in her as she was in him. “I have a confession to make too.”

His gaze swung to hers, and she struggled to pull in a full breath.

“Yeah?”

She swallowed before admitting it. “I keep the ball in my purse.”

He grinned at that, but she wasn’t done.

“I’ve also composed close to a hundred texts, but I’ve never been brave enough to send them.”

“Why not?”

She gestured to him. “Look at yourself. You’re a superhero.”

He laughed at that. “I’m just a normal guy.”

“Not to me, you’re not.”

Their gazes connected, and so much passed between them. Kaitlyn wanted to know everything about him, but she never wanted it to grow old and stale like it had with Mason. Was that even possible? She glanced down. “And I never sent the texts because I didn’t want to betray Mason.”

Axel’s warm fingers touched her chin, gently tilting her face back up until she had to look into his eyes. “It says a lot about you that your boyfriend is such a great guy and that you didn’t want to hurt him.”

Kaitlyn blinked and forced a smile. “Yet I’m here with you.”

He nodded and dropped his hand. “You are, and I can’t tell you how badly I want you to stay with me, but I understand if what you and Mason have trumps someone you hardly know.”

“I’ve been trying for months to not think about you.” Swallowing another gulp of her lemonade she tried to cool the heat in her face before she admitted, “It hasn’t worked.”

Axel smiled.

“And I’ve told Mason I’m going to date other people, so I’m not cheating.”

“But it feels like you are?” Axel studied her as if trying to understand exactly how she perceived things.

“Mason’s the only guy I’ve ever dated seriously.” She shrugged, realizing that might sound juvenile to him, but it was her life, and up until recently, Mason had been a huge part of it. She’d been trying to figure out how to revitalize their relationship for the past year, and only occasionally considered getting out. Then she first saw Axel playing lacrosse.

He nodded.

Kaitlyn was suddenly blinking back tears, realizing her friendship with Mason might be through. She tried to duck her head so Axel wouldn’t notice.

Axel lifted his leg over, straddled the bench, wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her against his chest. Kaitlyn gasped—partially because she was surprised, but mostly because of how unreal it felt to be this close to him. Desire, warmth, and a sense of home surrounded her. Axel simply held her, ushering her head to his chest and then resting his chin against her hair.

“I’m sorry this is tough on you.”

Kaitlyn gave a surprised laugh and murmured, “This isn’t tough on me at all.”

Axel chuckled. Kaitlyn marveled at how broad and manly he was. Mason was just as muscular, so she would think she’d be used to it, but Axel’s frame took it to the next level.

“I mean me pulling you away from Mason.”

“Don’t get too confident, superstar. I broke up with Mason because it was the right thing to do, and you’re only one of many to whom I’m going to give a date.”

His arms tightened around her. “I don’t think so.”

Kaitlyn savored the protective note in his voice and wished she could stay in his arms for the next hour, day, or week. She finally pulled away. “I’d better get back to work.”

Axel stood and offered her a hand up. He gathered up their garbage, and she helped him clear the table. Axel picked up the rest of the trash and the cinnamon rolls they hadn’t touched, and she carried both of their drinks. They walked across the grass toward the main street and Kenworth’s.

“Thanks for lunch,” she said.

“Can I see you again after work?”

“I’m going to dinner with Mason.”

His jaw tightened, but he nodded. “Text me after?” he asked quietly.

Kaitlyn smiled at him. “You shouldn’t have given your phone number to an obsessed fan. I’ll be texting you all night long.”

He grinned. “Can’t think of anyone else I’d want texting me.”

Axel pathetically jumped every time his phone beeped that night. Unfortunately, his mom was on a roll sending him memes. He was going to cuss his brother for showing her how to paste them into her phone. Normally he’d laugh and enjoy the interaction with his mom but tonight he was too wound up waiting to hear from Kaitlyn.

He’d gotten a delicious meat-filled pizza from Jack’s then went on another hike up by the Ruby Mountain Resort. He loved all of the different trails, but his head was so consumed with snippets of his conversation with Kaitlyn and worries about how her date with Mason would go that he missed out on the beauty of the little waterfall he found up the mountainside and the family of deer who bounded out of his way.

With nothing else to do, he went back to the bed and breakfast and tried to answer correspondence with his main sponsor, Warrior. They wanted him to be more interactive with his Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter followers. He sighed and promised he would do a Facebook live feed at camp on Monday and that he would post on all his social media about a promotion they were currently running, giving away a shaft to one of their newsletter subscribers. It was all kind of a pain to him, but it took his take-home pay from thirty-four thousand a year to almost a million, so he really couldn’t complain.

At eleven-thirty, he was laying on his bed, forcing himself to reply to Facebook messages, the ones that weren’t just psycho chicks hitting on him, when his phone dinged, and he jumped. He clutched the phone, reading through the message quickly.

Said I’d text you, so here I am.

He smiled and tapped back, Don’t sound so excited about it.

Hey, any opportunity I get to talk to my lacrosse hero is a good thing. I’m just dead tired from my trail run this morning and working all day in high heels.

She did a trail run this morning? He’d known she was perfect for him, and this just confirmed it.

Maybe I could come over and rub your feet.

Ha! And have my dad come after you with a frying pan.

She lived with her parents? That made sense if she was only home for the summer.

A frying pan? No shotgun for him?

He’s actually anti-violence and kind of a wuss. Don’t tell him I said that.

He grinned then typed: Wait. If he’s anti-violence, he probably doesn’t like lacrosse.

You got it. He’s into mellow sports like golf and tennis.

Bummer. So I guess impressing the Dad isn’t going to happen.

Hey, Mr. Lacrosse, you’ve got to impress the daughter first.

Axel laughed out loud and quickly typed. I guess I’d better get to work on that. Want to go on a hike and picnic with me tomorrow?

Maybe after church.

Chayton invited me to go with them to church.

Guess I’ll see you there. I’m sure it won’t be awkward at all.

He laughed again, but then immediately felt bad for Mason. He was such a nice guy, but maybe he should be feeling bad for himself. Mason and Kaitlyn had been together for a long time. Just because she’d told Mason she wanted to date other people didn’t mean she didn’t still love the guy. He sat on the edge of the bed, sadly deflated, but not ready to give up, not even close. He’d been drawn in by Kaitlyn the first moment their eyes connected at a game and every interaction had deepened his need to be near her.

I’ll see you at church. I’ll be the one in the red pin-striped tie and white shirt staring at the most beautiful blonde I’ve ever met.

I’ll be the one squashed between my parents trying to pretend I don’t have a crush on the lacrosse star.

Axel’s chest swelled. She had a crush on him? He punched a fist in the air. Stop pretending. I won’t mind.

We’ll see how the hike goes tomorrow. You keep getting ahead of yourself. Good night.

Night.

Axel wished they could go on texting all night long, or better yet, he could go over and sneak her out of her parent’s house. He smiled at himself. He was twenty-six and at the peak of his career, and he was giddy and fully invested in a woman he barely knew. He liked the feeling. He liked it a lot.