He was in at second and goal, the ball on the nine-yard line. He pushed off on his route, wide open in the end zone. JW looked left at the wide receiver, then dropped it into Trevor’s hands.

Touchdown, baby. They all did a quick celebration in the end zone, but it was back to work.

New Orleans managed a field goal late in the first quarter, but Tampa’s running backs tore up the clock and JW sneaked one in just as the half ended, putting them up by eleven points.

Good, so far, and defense was working New Orleans.

Second half they broke it open, scoring three touchdowns. Their defense shut down New Orleans’s passing game. Even the rookies got in a little work, but Trevor could tell that rookie receiver Warrell Timmons wasn’t happy Trevor had scored two touchdowns, while he had only gotten into the game late.

The only thing that mattered was the team had won.

Still, he’d promised the coach he’d work on the kid’s attitude, so after they did interviews, Trevor went up to him.

“You got some play time in today.”

“A little.”

“You looked good out there. And you’ll get more.”

Warrell shrugged. Tension rolled off the kid in waves. Trevor could tell he was pissed.

“Hey, I’m going to have some of the team over for a barbecue at my place this week since it’s a bye week. You interested?”

Warrell looked at him as if he didn’t quite believe he’d been included. “I . . . dunno. Maybe. Where?”

“I have a house on the water. Give me your number and I’ll text you directions.”

“I’m after your job, you know.”

“So you keep telling me. But you still gotta eat, right?”

For the first time, Warrell offered up a hint of a smile. “Yeah.”

“Okay, then.”

They traded numbers, and Trevor told him he’d text him with the information. He hadn’t planned on a barbecue, but it was a good idea, and it would give Haven access to some of the players, which would be good for her job.

Now he just had to round up some of the guys, who he knew would show up on short notice. Coach would take care of inviting the rookies.

This should be fun.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“DO YOU ALWAYS THROW IMPROMPTU PARTIES LIKE this?” Haven asked as she sat at Trevor’s dining room table making notes.

They’d been busy since his game Sunday. She’d done interviews and they’d done camera shots before, during, and after the game. God, he’d looked delicious in that uniform. And he’d played amazingly. He was lightning fast and so accurate. She’d been an absolute squealing fan girl during the game, unable to peel her attention away from Trevor.

So much for being an objective reporter.

“Sometimes. I hadn’t planned on it for this week. It just kind of . . . came up, and with this being a bye week, it seemed convenient.”

“I see.” Just kind of came up? As if this kind of thing happened all the time.

Maybe in his world they did.

“Okay, so what are you going to do? Do we need to go to the store and get food?”

“Nah. I’ll have it catered. I already made a call.”

“You did.” Of course he did. Because people like Trevor could make that happen on short notice.

“And what brought this on?” she asked.

“Warrell Timmons.” He was scrolling through his phone, barely paying attention to her.

“The rookie tight end?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re having a barbecue because of Warrell Timmons? Why?”

He looked up at her. “What?”

“What does Warrell Timmons have to do with you hosting a barbecue?”

“Oh. He has some chip-on-his-shoulder issues and they need to get knocked off.”

“By inviting him to a barbecue.”

“Well . . . yeah.”

She blinked, not able to make the connection. It must be a guy thing. “Okay. So we don’t need to go buy food.”

“No. But I need to figure out a way to make sure he and I spend some time together. I know how these events go. All the rookies will band together in a herd.”

Haven leaned back in her chair, pondering how to make that not happen. “What about games?”

He looked up from his phone. “Huh?”

“You know. Games. Organize people into groups and play games. Forced proximity and bonding and all that.” Then it hit her. “Oh, like a scavenger hunt.”

His lips curved. “That might be fun.”