Free Player's Challenge by Koko Brown

“No this is my agent, Gemma Clarke. Gemma, this is Aimée Millard, the owner of Aimée’s Cottage.”
    Looping arms with Devin, Aimée eyed her up and down, literally sizing her up. “Pretty, but not exactly your type, non . Most of your girlfriends have all been tall, slender and blonde. Et vous , not quite.”
    Did she just call her a pretty toad? Feeling somewhat lacking and left out, Gemma followed the pair.
    “This is an odd choice.” Situated in the middle of the room, the table didn’t afford them any privacy. Reminded of last night’s set up, she plopped down in the seat to his left.
    Devin shrugged. It was a simple roll of the shoulders, but it made his muscles bunch beneath his snug, white Henley and caused her to drool. “I like the sunshine.”
    “The regular?” Aimée asked.
    “We’ll have two. Heavy on the Nutella filling.” Devin rubbed his washboard abs. “High carb day.”
    Aimée threw Gemma a look. “ Et vous? Light on the Nutella?”
    Great! Not only did the woman think she was a toad, but a fat one in need of a diet. Before she ripped the woman a new arse hole, Gemma bit the inside of her cheek.
    “Skip the Nutella altogether,” she muttered not really a fan of the hazelnut filling. “I’ll take my crepe with blueberry sauce.”
    “She has a crush on you,” Gemma pointed out as soon as Aimée left to fetch some coffee.
    “She’s harmless.”
    “To you, but I swear she wants to ride your dick.”
    Devin laughed, drawing the attention of several patrons. “You sound jealous,” he said, wiping at tears.
    “Far from it.” How did this turn to her?
    “Just like Aimée doesn’t have a crush on me.”
    “Believe whatever you want. When our plates come, we’re trading.”
    While Devin suffered through another bout of laughter, Gemma’s cell pinged with a text message from Yvonne regarding the soccer academy. Crap! Her thoughts were so monopolized by this thing zinging between them, she’d forgotten today’s task. Back on track, Gemma punched out a quick reply.
    “Who was that?” Devin asked when she set the phone aside.
    “Jealous?” Two could play that game.
    “When it comes to you, I’ll always be jealous,” he said candidly and with so much conviction, Gemma was glad they were sitting down. She was suddenly feeling a little dizzy.
    “The text was from my boss,” she confessed. After his declaration, how could she hold out on him? “You need to make yourself available this weekend. She wants you to participate in Croydon’s soccer academy.”
    Groaning loudly, Devin raked his hand over his mouth. “No.”
    “Why not? It’ll be great publicity for you.”
    “Can you believe the club charges three hundred pounds per child to participate? I love kids but most of them come from posh households. I would do it if the kids were selected from a lottery and weren’t born with a silver spoon in their mouths.”
    His admission caused a light bulb to go off in Gemma’s head. “Have you thought about hosting your own soccer camp for disadvantaged children?”
    “I’ve thought about it, but my schedule is so busy and with no one in my family willing to help me get the ball rolling, the idea has remained just that.”
    Gemma smiled to herself. He’d just dropped a huge bargaining chip into her lap. “How about we make a deal?” She held out her hand. “You participate in Croydon’s soccer camp this weekend and I’ll plan yours.”
    Devin eyed her hand, but left her hanging. “Can you plan the camp before the end of the transfer window? Once the season starts, my schedule will be all over the place.”
    Shocked by the immediacy of the project, Gemma almost wavered. “It sounds like I’ll be wrangling cats, but I think I can plan and execute your event in six weeks.”
    Devin blinded her with a dazzling smile, making her belly flutter with more than just hunger. “We’ve got a deal,” he said, his hand engulfing hers.
    “Awesome!” Gemma shook his hand,