Free Tempting the Player by J. Lynn

Why would he when the waitress suddenly appeared out of freaking nowhere, popping a hand on a nonexistent hip as she stared up at him like he was on the appetizer menu. Bridget couldn’t blame her. His easy grin made her stomach flutter as he took the menu from the waitress, his long fingers brushing hers as he did so.
    “There’s a water for you,” the waitress said, her cheeks flushed and eyes bright. “Would you like something else?”
    Chad shook his head. “Nope, that’s perfect. Thank you.”
    Bridget bit down on her lower lip at the sound of his deep, smooth voice and told herself to look away, but now she couldn’t. She stared at him like she was nine kinds of crazy, part of her willing him to look away and another part hoping he disappeared.
    “Are you sure?” the waitress asked, batting lashes like she was having a seizure. “I’ll be more than happy to get you something a bit tastier.”
    Madison choked on her drink.
    “Water is fine, but thank you,” Chad said, polite as ever. And then he added, “But I’ll keep your offer in mind.”
    Bridget sighed, totally foreseeing an exchange of numbers in their future.
    Finally, the waitress disappeared with a promise to be back to get their orders and an extra swing in her hips.
    “Can’t take you anywhere,” Chase said, grinning.
    Chad chuckled. “Whatever.”
    And then he reached toward Madison, no doubt about to ruffle her hair, but she jerked back, eyes narrowed. “Do that and you won’t be making the waitress’s dreams come true anytime soon.”
    Her threat was no deterrent, though, and he managed to mess up her hair before Chase stepped in, threatening to do bodily harm.
    Bridget was slowly sinking into the cushion, keeping her hands still tightly clasped. Maybe he would never notice her. Seemed probable, since he hadn’t looked in her direction once, but then Chase had to open his mouth.
    “Oh, you haven’t met Bridget, have you?” Chase nodded in her direction, and she felt her eyes go saucer-size wide. “She works with Madison.”
    Oh God, oh God, oh God …
    As if time came to a crawl and she was stuck in one of those cheesy movies, Chad turned toward her slowly. A wide, welcoming smile split his lips as his gaze flickered over her. He was already leaning down and extending a hand toward her.
    Their eyes met.
    The smile on his face faded as he jerked back, his eyes widening slightly in recognition.
    Oh, crap.
    Chad stared at her so long heat infused her cheeks, and then he spoke one word, breathed it really. “ You .”

Chapter Seven
    Holy shit, it was her .
    Here, with his brother and Maddie. He almost couldn’t believe it. He was still pretty pissed that she had bolted on him that weekend, but he’d finally come to accept that it was unlikely he’d see her again. But here she was, a month later, popping up in a restaurant in the middle of the day with his brother, which meant there was no way in hell Bridget hadn’t known who he was related to when they met that night. First off, he looked just like his brother and secondly, everyone knew the Gamble brothers. Everyone .
    Chad was struck stupid.
    Today had started off like any other off-season day. Four-hour workout in the morning—it was true. Players really were made in the off-season—the training, the workouts. Then he managed to evade his babysitter for the rest of the morning. The stick was even farther up her ass than normal since he’d gotten caught leaving his brother’s bar with Tony. Yeah, he’d been a little intoxicated, but damn, he hadn’t been with a female and he’d behaved himself. Mostly. According to Miss Gore, having a few drinks was tantamount to punt-kicking a baby.
    He’d kept a low profile the last month, but Miss Gore wasn’t impressed, and every time he stepped out of his house, she was right on his ass. So when Chase had texted him about lunch, Chad jumped at the chance to get out and also piss off Miss Gore at the same time. But the last thing