The Second Chance Groom Read online

  Kade stopped next to some cones and a sack of balls on the field. No one was around, except some staff setting up the drills. “Listen, I know I don’t have to tell you this, but just be careful ticking off Mr. Knight. He messes with your life when he’s mad at you.” He sighed and grabbed a ball, heading out to throwing distance. “And be careful of the press.”

  Anthony’s hands snapped up to catch a pass from Kade, and he gripped the ball between his hands so hard he thought it might pop. Pulling it back, he sent it sailing back to his brother. “You think I need a lecture on the press? I am a Kincaid. And I know I messed up, okay?” He glared down at his shaking hand and squeezed it by the wrist, hating that he was so jittery sometimes.

  Kade caught the ball and put his hands up in surrender. “Chill, it’s fine. Let’s just focus on today.” He pumped his eyebrows at him. “Look at those reflexes!”

  Anthony scowled at him, not needing his brother’s kid gloves. He backed up and tossed it back quickly.

  With a huff, Kade backed up and snatched it from the air. “Okay, guess I won’t go easy on ya.”

  Anthony went wider and caught the next spiral. This was what he liked the most about being back and on the same team with his brother: they could just throw the ball sometimes. “I’ll be taking your spot before you know it, bro.”

  A spark lit up his brother’s eyes. He threw the ball harder.

  Anthony caught it, but it kinda knocked the breath out of him. He laughed. His brother was making a point.

  Kade laughed too. “About time I saw that fighting spirit in you.”

  Anthony paused mid-throw. “What?”

  “I’ve been waiting for you to stop whining.”

  “Oh, I’m a whiner now?”

  “Kinda been sounding like it.” Kade quirked his lip up.

  Anthony went farther back and laid out a spiral. Kade had to run to catch it, diving for it as he tucked and rolled. It really was amazing how fast and controlled his brother was. Kade might have been able to transition to a lot of other positions on the field. Of course, he didn’t have the speed of X or Ace, but he might if he worked to develop it. Anthony laughed, and then he realized how good it felt to let go and just play. He’d gotten inside his own head lately, worrying about everything.

  Kade threw a spiral at him, a bit off, not too far away, not the kind Anthony had just thrown where he would have to dive. Anthony took off after it, catching it easily.

  “Nice.”

  Anthony turned and shot it back at him. They were getting farther and farther apart, but it didn’t matter—both of them were quarterbacks, used to throwing it far.

  He thought about that day, after he’d gotten into that car crash and Kade had shown up in Houston. It’d been an ugly scene with his father yelling at him. Kade had pushed their dad out of the hospital room, then sat by Anthony and had a bonding moment. He thought about how he had confessed to his brother that he missed just playing catch together as kids.

  Kade shot the football back at him, still spreading wider. They were almost half a field apart now, but their eyes met and Kade’s face lit up with a big, goofy grin as he punched the air. “Kincaids!”

  It was something his father had always done to them when they were on the field and it was go time. This was where he was meant to be. He might not understand how his life had ended up here, but he was here nevertheless, playing with his bro again. He pushed aside all his insecurity, doubt, and fear, and he pushed his fist into the air. “Kincaids!” he yelled back.

  “Hey!”

  Both brothers turned and Anthony saw Brandon Walker, affectionately known by the fans and team as Scar, walking toward them.

  Scar wasn’t Anthony’s favorite person. He was third-string quarterback and had been pretty vocal about crying nepotism in regards to Anthony being on the team. Granted, Scar always got a lot of leeway because he was an ex–Navy SEAL and had the presence of a warrior to boot.

  Scar went to Kade, who fist-bumped him. “Glad you finally showed up,” Kade teased.

  Anthony couldn’t hear what Scar said back, but Kade roared with laughter. The guy could trash-talk; that was the truth.

  Scar gave Anthony a nod. Anthony gave a half wave and turned to check out the field.

  It looked like Ace Sanchez’s sister was helping here today. She was talking with the girl who organized the event, the latter holding a baby on her hip. Was that Teo Parata’s kid, the new guy? He knew Teo’s wife had passed the previous year, but why had he brought his kid?

  It was hard not to notice Hailey Knight, James’s daughter, prancing onto the field toward the other women. She was cute, not that Anthony cared about any kind of relationship at the moment. He’d put women on the back burner for now, choosing to concentrate on football.

  Anthony turned back to Kade, who leaned back and released a perfect spiral to Anthony without breaking conversation with Scar.

  A stampede of kids thundered onto the field, yelling, “Zeus!”

  Anthony met Kade’s eyes, and they shared a smile before Kade disappeared in the crowd.

  One kid pulled at Anthony’s shirt. “You’re Zeus’s brother, aren’t you?”

  Anthony laughed, savoring the desire to teach these kids. This was really the best part of their jobs, when they could give back. It was good to remember that. “Yes, I am.”

  The woman with the kid on her hip walked toward them, holding a clipboard and looking official. She held a whistle to her lips and blew it loudly. “Okay, kids, when you hear the whistle, it will be time to rotate stations.”

  Anthony pulled his eyes away from the woman and picked up another football, ready for the first group.

  “Still can’t stop yourself from the cheerleader addiction?”

  There was a brief lag as Anthony registered the familiar voice. His heart stopped, and he turned slowly, uncertain whether he was just hearing things.

  Cassidy Stone stood next to him with her arms crossed, her honey-blonde hair still flowing down her shoulders as it had done in high school. She wasn’t giving him the hero-worship look she used to give him from the sidelines, although she still had those Cleopatra eyes that had always mesmerized him.

  “Cassidy?” he asked, like she was a mythical being that had appeared out of thin air in front of him.

  Their eyes held and he thought about all that had happened between them, all those years ago. Truthfully, he’d thought about it so many times, even looked her up a few years ago to discover she was a famous writer for the magazine Elite Athletes based out of Florida.

  Her lips turned up, not exactly in a smile, but a tight, controlled assessment of him. “I’m the freelance reporter assigned to get some statements from you guys and write a puff article about this event. Lucky me.” Her piercing stare took his breath away.

  The football slipped out of his hands. His mouth went dry. Reflexively, he looked at her ring finger, which was bare. “I heard you were engaged,” he blurted out before he could stop himself. He’d remembered someone mentioning it. Kade? His father? He tried to remember when he’d heard it. Maybe last year after his injury.

  Looking down at the fumbled ball, then back to him, she shook her head and pursed her lips. “None of your business, I don’t think.”

  Another whistle blew, followed by someone yelling to gather for instructions.

  Cassidy glanced at the group, then back to him. “If you just want to give me a quick quote,” she said curtly.

  Anthony watched all the kids and players start to gather to Mr. Knight, but he was glued to this spot. He turned to her, and the past washed over him, thinking of the day he’d buried his mother. The first night he’d ever kissed her.

  More memories assaulted him, including the one where he’d watched as she and her father had left, dust kicking up from the gravel as he stood there. “I’d rather talk, Poe,” he said softly, using his old nickname for her.

  Anger flared in Cassidy’s blue eyes. “Don’t call me that. If you don’t w
ant to give me a quote, that’s fine. I’ll interview your brother first.” She rushed away from him. “Kade!”

  Kade turned, and a stupid grin swept over his face. “Cassidy Stone?” He opened his arms.

  She laughed as they met and fell into a hug.

  All the old jealousy flared through him, but only for a second. He still could not believe she had been standing in front of him.

  Happiness burst into him. Cassidy Stone was here … and she wasn’t wearing a ring.

  Chapter 2

  Cass sat on the edge of the bleachers, gathering her notes and looking over the interviews. She had most of it done.

  It hadn’t occurred to her that when she took the job with the Dallas Star as a favor to her father—who was best friends with the owner, Henry Wilks—she’d end up face to face with Anthony Kincaid. She’d been too distracted with her father’s cancer lately. She scoffed now, thinking of the Kincaids. Of course the dynasty would be together.

  It was almost the end of the camp, and Anthony still hadn’t come and taken a turn for an interview. She had all the rest, including Kade—who had been more than kind and had even hugged her when he’d realized who she was.

  As the kids were assembled to leave on buses, Cass watched the players gather the equipment; quietly seething that Anthony had made her wait. She got up, gathering her laptop into the bag and slipping her notebook in, then zipping it shut. She had to get home, to get away from this man.

  Marching out of the stadium, she nudged her thoughts toward a different path. Maybe she would end the day with a ride on the horses—the best part of being back in Dallas was going for long rides. She would forget about Anthony, forget about the past.

  Shoot, when she’d first seen him today, she’d thought they might actually have a civil conversation. Obviously, he was as much of a jerk as he’d always been. Tears burned into the back of her eyes. She hadn’t realized how much she’d needed closure with him.

  “Cassidy!”

  She kept going, knowing exactly who it was. A small, vindictive part of her took delight in ignoring him.

  “Cassidy!” he called again, his voice was getting louder. She could imagine Anthony hurdling over the lines of the children to catch her. He’d always been amazing at running and she wouldn’t lie, she had watched a couple of his pro games and seen the way he used those long legs to hike over hulking men on the field. “Wait!”

  Arriving at her car, her heart thudding, she stopped, not hitting unlock on her key fob, instead turning back to face him.

  There he was, freshly showered, duffel bag over his shoulder. He didn’t look like he’d suffered a neck injury. All traces of hesitation were gone. Yes, she had kept tabs on his recovery, even though she hadn’t wanted to. She’d just been unable to stop herself.

  “Cassidy,” he gasped, out of breath.

  Slowly, she looked him up and down. Before, she’d been so stunned to see him up close she hadn’t had a chance to compare the high school boy to the man in front of her. At this moment she thought he looked absurdly beautiful, in a male model type of way. Tall, dark hair—jet black, to be exact. The same chocolate amber eyes, tinged with yellow.

  She used to stare at those eyes for hours at a time. He used to stare back and play with her hand, drawing figure eight circles into her palm. All those memories stung like a slap in the face.

  A wide grin stretched his face. “I wanted to give you that quote now.”

  “Oh.” Was she supposed to be grateful the prince had graced her with his presence? Her mind scrambled for all the glorious words from only moments ago when she’d thought of a myriad of ways to cuss him out.

  He didn’t say anything, just held her eyes.

  They stood there for a long time. Finally, she cleared her throat and looked down. “I already got your quote from your brother.”

  “Oh.” She heard the ticked-off tone in his voice. “You did?”

  “You made me wait too long.”

  Another moment of long pause between them. Of course she wasn’t talking about the stupid quote. If she were writing this scene in a book, it would be loaded with subtext.

  “What is the quote Kade gave you?” he asked.

  Cocking an eyebrow, she thought of the mischief in Kade’s eyes when he’d said it. “You don’t want to know.”

  “What?” he demanded, putting his arm on the car next to her, getting closer.

  She peered up at him, and her heart hammered inside of her chest. Even though it’d been ten years, she still felt like a teenager, waiting for him to kiss her. Waiting for him to pull her in and hold her. Oh, how she missed him.

  That realization hit her like a ton of bricks. She cleared her throat. “He said, ‘The best day of my life was the day I got hired to play second-string to my brother.’”

  His face went blank, and he had to muster a sardonic, half-amused look. “Yeah, not gonna work.”

  She glared at him, wishing he would take a step back, give her some space. If she stepped back, it would be admitting that he still had an effect on her, so she held her ground. “Fine. What quote would you like me to put in?” She thought of the owner, Mr. Knight, and how he’d told her at the beginning of the camp she could refer to Anthony not as second-string, but as second-chance quarterback. “Are you going to give me some crap about second-chance quarterback?”

  A penetrating gaze caught her off guard again. “You can quote me as saying, ‘I don’t believe in second chances. I believe in proving yourself right here, right now. And that’s what I intend to do.’” The way he stared into her eyes with that ferocity, like a warrior about to go on the battlefield, made her heart flutter.

  She held to the car and tried to remain cool, calm, and collected. He clearly wasn’t talking about football, was he?

  As if to make his point more clear, he closed the space between them and leaned down, gently brushing his lips to hers.

  For a second all she could do was focus on his lips, it was like time slowed and she was sixteen again. It wasn’t long until her brain caught up to what was happening. Cass’s arms flailed and she dropped her bag, using both hands to push him away. Her mind raced. “No, no, no,” she muttered. Even as she said the words, her body reacted to this man. The inner struggle threatened to tear her apart.

  Anthony reached out to steady her by taking her elbow. “I’ve missed you, Cass.”

  Her warring emotions clouded her vision. Without thinking, she slapped him hard across the face.

  His eyes widened, and he touched his cheek. “What the … Cass?”

  She pulled in a ragged breath, picking up her bag, and unlocked the car. “Just stay away.” Her hands shook as she retreated inside.

  “Wait!” He held the door, preventing her from shutting it.

  She revved the engine. “Let go of the door,” she said, still in a controlled voice, even though every part of her felt out of control.

  “Cass.” He wasn’t budging. “Cass, I want you to know something.”

  Despite Cass’s anger, curiosity made her pause. “What?”

  “I’ve forgiven you.” He let go of the door and took a step back.

  Impossibly, even more dormant embers of anger sparked to life inside of her. She yanked the door closed and then rolled down the window. “Well, I haven’t forgiven you!” she roared, slamming on the gas and peeling out of the parking lot.

  Chapter 3

  Anthony watched Cassidy Stone screech out of the parking lot. Standing here, awkward and rejected, made him feel like a fool.

  “Hey.” Kade strolled toward him.

  It was funny how Anthony had spent the past year growing close to his brother again, yet at the moment he felt nothing but fury toward him. He sucked in a breath. “Why did you give her that stupid quote?”

  Kade scoffed. “Why were you a jerk to her?”

  “What?”

  “I saw that kiss, and the slap. You shouldn’t have done that.”

  Anthony ran a hand throug
h his hair. “What the …”

  “I had a chat with her.” Kade glared at him. “She’s back in town because her father has lung cancer. He’s doing chemo and radiation and she relocated to be with him.”

  Anthony’s breath caught. “What? Mr. Stone?” He’d always liked her father.

  “Right.” Kade nodded, putting on the superior look he always got when he was one hundred percent right. “And whatever demons you’re working out from ten years ago when I kissed your girlfriend, you need to just stop, okay?”

  Anthony cursed. “Did you hear yourself? You kissed my girlfriend.”

  Kade folded his arms. “Cry me a freaking river, bro. Grow up. Life’s not fair, Felicity has a heart condition, you got injured, crap happens. And I’ve apologized and paid a heavy price for the stuff between us, don’t you think? Can’t we move on from this?”

  Anthony looked away, knowing his brother was right. “Fine,” he said, pressing his lips together.

  Kade didn’t let him off the hook. “I’m going to remind you, little bro, that you totally dropped her without letting her explain, and she was your best friend.” He shook his head in disbelief. “That girl loved you.”

  Anthony did feel like a total schmuck at the moment. He cringed, thinking of the way he’d acted all superior, telling her he forgave her. A million other thoughts raced through his mind.

  She’d moved less than three weeks after that kiss. Kade was right; he’d never let her explain. It had been the easier thing to do as a sixteen-year-old, heartbroken boy—ignore the situation, ignore her. “You’re right.” He walked with Kade to his truck. “I was a complete jerk—then and now.”

  “Yeah.” Kade unlocked it and threw his stuff in the back. “And her fiancé died. Six months ago on a mission in Iraq.”

  Anthony’s mouth fell open. “What?”

  Kade rolled his eyes. “Yeah, bro, if I were you, I’d find her … and do some serious apologizing.”