Lacey is acting strange. When I first arrived at her apartment and discovered she wasn’t home, on a Friday night, my mind started running wild with ideas of where she could be. I refused to believe that less than twenty-four hours after being with me, she was out fucking someone else, but I couldn’t shake the thought.

“Do you want to go out for dinner or would you rather order something in?” She gives me a carefree smile like she’s almost happy I’m here.

“Are you okay? You didn’t hit your head on your way home or anything, did you?”

She laughs, but it’s fake. “Oh, Jake. You’re too cute.”

I squint at her as I attempt to figure out what she’s up to. “Let’s order something in. That way I can get you naked sooner.”

She doesn’t roll her eyes or act annoyed at my comment. “Sounds perfect. I have a list of takeout places on the fridge. I’m going to change into something a little more comfortable.”

Okay, something is definitely up. Lacey is a firecracker disguised as a sparkler. You can tell from just one look she’s the type of woman who’d light up for the right man—which is exactly what she does for me—but if she gets pissed, she blows up in a way I personally find sexy. Tonight, however, she seems all too willing to let me have my way.

I grab the menus off the fridge and call the first place I see, ordering two extra large pizzas.

“What did you decide on?”

I almost swallow my tongue when I turn and find her wearing a tight tank top and a pair of silk panties…and nothing else.

“Geez, Girard, you act like you haven’t seen me naked before.”

My hands flex as I fight the longing to run my tongue over her silky skin.

“I don’t think I could get tired of seeing you naked or like this.” I wave my hand her direction. “I bet every man who sees you in those fucking sexy-as-hell dress suits you wear in court tries to hit on you.”

She smirks but doesn’t deny my claim.

This is how I know she’s different from all the rest. In the past, if I even caught the woman’s name before I fucked her, I sure as hell didn’t give a shit what she did, or who she did after I walked away. With Lacey, however, a strong primal urge starts to consume me when I think about her with another man.

She clears her throat and says, “I’m not really relationship material, but I decided maybe I could try.”

“Why do you think you aren’t relationship material?”

This woman can be a spitfire, but on paper, it seems like she has her life together. A degree, a job, her own apartment—no matter how crappy it is—I can’t imagine for a second she hasn’t caught someone’s eye before. Unless, of course, she’s telling the truth, and she shuts down every man who attempts to break past the shield she clearly has in place.

She brushes a finger over her lip before she shrugs. “Come on, Girard, just because you play a professional sport doesn’t mean you own the market on demanding careers. Until the last year, when my firm decided I’d start spending half the week in court, I spent close to seventy hours a week going through files. I was lucky if I had time to go out once a week with my friends.”

“But you’ve decided—suddenly I might add—I’m worth changing your ways for?”

Her eyes flash with a glint of fear, or maybe just concern, before she forces another smile.

“Yes,” she says breathlessly. “But I don’t think Jordan or Chase should know about us…about this. I don’t want to add to their long list of problems.”

She crosses her arms over her stomach, waiting on me to say something. I find it hard to believe someone who’s willing to give a relationship a genuine try would want to keep that same relationship a secret from her best friend unless…

A realization smacks me in the face.

“You think I’m full of shit. That this is some kind of game or maybe a way to spend my time until I go back to Arizona?”

Her eyes dance back and forth between mine.

“You’re wrong.” I rub my hands over my face in frustration. “I can’t promise you jack shit. I am every stereotype you’ve probably pictured. But what you don’t seem to understand is I was that way because I hadn’t met anyone worth changing for. I was living life wrapped up in my own fucking head, and that worked for me until suddenly…it didn’t.”

Her expression hardened. “You sound better with your mouth closed,” she snaps before dropping down onto the couch.

I can’t help but smirk, because this is the woman I met. When faced with something that stresses her out, her claws come out. “Come on, a feisty woman like yourself isn’t going to be intimidated by anyone. You don’t have to believe me, but I suggest for now we just go with the flow and see where things take us.”

She glances up at me with an intense look in her eyes. “When exactly do you plan on leaving New York?”

“I don’t have a set date in mind.”

“Okay, well…” She trails off when we hear a knock. “What did you order?”

“Pizza. I ordered one with extra sausage because I know how much you like it.”

She dramatically rolls her eyes as I walk to the door. It feels like it takes forever to get it unlocked, which worries me. There’s a reason she has this many locks. I push that thought out of my head for now to get the pizza that smells fucking great from the delivery man and walk back to her kitchen.

“I have no idea how much you eat, but I can already tell you this is way too much for only two people.”

“I worked out most of the day. Believe me, I’ll eat more than you’re expecting me to.” Plus, I wanted to make sure she had leftovers. When I opened her fridge the other night, she barely had anything in there.

With a plate of pizza in our hands, we walk over to the couch.

“Did you work late? Or is this a normal time for you to get home?”

“Oh, I met Caleb earlier for a drink.”

I force myself not to growl with disapproval. I don’t know Caleb. The only time I met him, he seemed like an okay guy. He even invited me to go out with them. Rationally, I know they’re friends, but as a guy, I find it hard to believe anyone could be just friends with a woman like Lacey Davis.

“Oh, that’s nice,” I finally say.

Her mouth turns up before breaking out in laughter. “Green is not a good color on you, Jake. Caleb feels like the brother I never had, and believe me, growing up with three older, bitchy sisters, I prayed almost daily for a brother.”

“I believe you.”

“Good, because Caleb isn’t going anywhere.” Before I have the chance to reply her phone starts ringing. “Crap, it’s my mom. Sorry, but I need to answer or she’ll keep calling.” She slides the phone on. “Hello.”

I watch her physically shut down before my eyes as she listens to whatever her mother says to her.

“You can’t just expect me not to have plans when you call at the last minute.” She huffs and rolls her eyes. “Well, I’m not Morgan. Try calling me instead of passing off your crappy message. Because I don’t want to go home for this stupid party.”

Anger bleeds into her expression before she looks over at me. “Fine, but I’m bringing a date.” She suspiciously watches me. “You heard me correctly; I’m bringing a date. He’s just a guy I’ve started seeing, so don’t start planning our wedding, or this will be the last time I bring a man home with me.”

She plans on introducing me to her parents. I swear my breathing starts to pick up at the thought, but this is supposed to be a good thing. I feel almost desperate to see where things could go, and now…now she’s finally on board with my plan to make her fall for me—or at least she’s pretending to be—but throwing her parents into the mix is a lot. That seems huge, like fucking huge.

“Okay. We’ll leave in the morning. Yep, see you then.” She disconnects the call with a grin on her face. “My mom is having a party for my selfish sister Jena tomorrow and wants me to attend.”

“And now I’m coming with you?”

“You don’t have to. I mean if this is too much for you, I understand,” she challenges, but it’s clear as day what she’s doing.

I rub my hands together. “I can’t wait to meet your folks.”

She arches a brow in question. “Good. I can’t wait to introduce you.”

When I left here last night, I was thinking of all the ways I could sweep Lacey off her feet and convince her to give me a real chance. Whether she’s being genuine remains to be seen, so for now, I’ll just go with the flow.

Lacey informed me she usually takes a bus to her family home in Wakeford Connecticut. But after a heated argument, one that ended with us naked in her bed, she conceded to my offer of renting a car. By the time we hit the city limits of Wakeford, she was noticeably agitated.

“Do you hate everyone in your family or just someone in particular?”

“What?” Her eyes flash with anger. “No. I don’t…hate anyone. I just don’t necessarily enjoy going home.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask her why, but I don’t. I can already tell how she’ll react, which won’t go in my favor.

“My parents’ house is on the next block. Third one down on the right.”

When I arrive in front of the house, I find an impressive two-story home that’s clearly in a good neighborhood. “Nice.”

Her eyebrows rose in surprise. “Just because I live in a shit box doesn’t mean I came from one, Girard.”

“I didn’t mean to imply anything.”

Lacey frowns as she stares at her parents’ home. “Let’s get this over with so we can get the hell out of here.”

With a scowl on her face, she gets out of the car and starts walking up the sidewalk, leaving me to chase after her. Without knocking, she walks straight in. The inside of the house appears to be just as nice as the outside.

“Mom? Are you home?”

A woman with soft grey hair who appears to be in her late fifties comes around the corner after hearing Lacey’s voice. “You made it. I was going to call you in a few minutes to see if you needed someone to pick you up from the bus stop.”

“Jake decided to rent a car.” She waves her hand my direction. “This is Jake by the way.”

“Oh my goodness, what a handsome young man.”

I immediately relax and attempt to deliver a dazzling smile. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Davis.”

“Oh, none of that Mrs. Davis nonsense. Call me Beth.”

Before I have the chance to say anything, Lacey snaps, “What time is this party?”

Beth, who looks nothing like her youngest daughter, sighs. “In about an hour. If you could be on your best behavior, that would be nice. I only hope it’s not too much to ask.”

My eyes widen at the change in Beth’s attitude. Clearly these two have a little more in common than I first thought.

“When you decide to throw an engagement party for someone at the last minute and demand I come home for it the night before, then you get what you get.”

Beth fixes a cold glare at her daughter. “I’m telling you now to cut it out.”

“Fine, we’ll just leave.”

“There’s my girl.” A man with black hair and crystal blue eyes comes down the stairs with a huge smile on his face. He approaches us and wraps Lacey in his arms. “How’s my baby doing?”

“Cranky as always,” Beth answers.

The man, who I’m assuming is Lacey’s dad, shakes his head before he looks up and notices me. “Holy crap. You’re Jake Girard.”

Lacey groans.

“Yes, I am, however your daughter is convinced people, especially New Yorkers, don’t recognize professional football players.”

The man laughs. “That’s because she wouldn’t know whether to dribble, kick, or throw a football if she saw one. I’m Andrew Davis, Lacey’s father.”

“Nice to meet you.” I extend my hand to shake his while he still has an arm wrapped around his daughter.

“Why in the hell wouldn’t you call and tell me you were bringing a man who plays for the Arizona Cardinals home with you?”

“Seriously, Dad…you’re not helping. His ego is already the size of Texas.”

I smirk at my firecracker.

“Well, I need to clean up before everyone else starts arriving.” Beth kisses Andrew on the cheek before walking up the stairs.

“Let me fix you a drink, Jake.”

“I’m going to go and…check on something.” Lacey gives me a small smile before she follows her mother up the stairs.

I turn toward the family room where Andrew is standing at a bar fixing two drinks.

“Come in.” He nods at the two empty glasses in question.

“Sure, I’ll take whatever you’re fixing.”

“Great, that’s great.” He hands me a glass of bourbon seconds before his face goes hard. “Now why don’t you tell me what your intentions are regarding my daughter.”

My heart jumps into my throat as he continues to stare at me in an unnerving way.

“We actually just started seeing each other, Mr. Davis. Right now, we’re just testing the waters so to speak.”

“Testing the waters,” he repeats before taking a rather large sip of bourbon.

“Yes, sir. I actually think she’s pretty amazing. She’s just not as convinced something could work out between us.”

“She’s right, and please, call me Andy.” My eyes widen at his quick response. “Look, Girard, I’ve known for years that Lacey was a major-league player who’s always kept herself in the minors, but what exactly is going to happen when you return to Arizona and she’s left behind in New York?” Before I have the chance to answer him, he goes on. “Don’t get me wrong, I know what you see in my girl. I want nothing more than for her to find someone to settle down with, but Lacey is…” He trails off on a sigh.

“She’s loud and bossy and at times even rude, but I like that about her.”

“Good. Because she’s everything you just described and a whole lot more. She uses that attitude of hers as a means to keep people away. She’s done one hell of a job over the years, but under the surface is a sweet woman who’s just afraid to live.”

“Why?” I question without thinking.

“That’s not my story to tell, but let me say this: I don’t want to watch my baby finally put herself out there for a man who’s going back to a life that’s nothing like the one my girl lives. If you’re serious about my Lacey, then you sure as hell make her a priority in your life. And if she’s not, then you make damn certain she knows where your head is at.”

Andy’s blue eyes gleam the same way I’m used to seeing from his daughter.

“I promise, sir, I’m not going to hurt her.”

Andy’s shoulders relax as he nods. “I’m happy to hear that. Now tell me, who are the Cards looking to replace Adams with?”

I blink a few times from the sudden change in topic. “I’m not sure. I don’t think the owner knows what they’re going to do yet.”

“And this is a contract year for you, right?”

I arch a brow, impressed with how well he keeps up. “Yes, sir. My agent assures me I’m looking at a healthy contract any day now.”

“Good to hear. I had you on my fantasy team last year, you scored me a lot of points.”

The tension I felt a few moments ago finally melts. I can talk about football until I’m blue in the face, but dealing with angry fathers is a new concept for me.