Chasing Jillian: A Love and Football Novel by Julie Brannagh Page A

You missed another dance lesson, though.” He glanced up through the sunroof and blew out another breath. “Maybe we could try this again sometime.”
    “Maybe,” she said.
    Jillian’s mask abruptly cracked in half. She looked stunned, but she turned toward the window so he wouldn’t see it. She wasn’t fast enough. She picked up her purse off the floorboard. “I need to visit the ladies room. I’ll be right back.” She opened the car door and hopped out. He watched her walk away.
    J ILLIAN WALKED INTO the ladies room, stuffed one fist into her mouth, and let out a muffled scream. She knew she wasn’t supposed to be seeing him. If—well, when—John found out, there would be problems. Going for a walk was one thing. Going on what could be construed as a date was something else entirely, and this wasn’t the first time. Seth kept asking her to do things with him, and she wanted to go. The more time she spent with him, the more she enjoyed it.
    She knew he used to spend most of his time hanging around with Drew McCoy and Derrick Collins. Maybe he was bored and looking for something to do because his two best buddies now spent most of their time hanging around with their wives.
    She was never, ever getting involved with Seth, she told herself. Actually, she already was. Why lie? Whenever he was around, she was breathless. She couldn’t think, and her heart beat so fast and so loudly that she wondered if someone else could hear it. Her palms were sweaty. Her mouth was dry. She knew he wasn’t interested in her romantically, and she still felt this way. There was no limit to how stupid she was and how badly she was going to get hurt if she kept hanging around with him. He’d laugh if he knew she remembered how his hand felt when he’d impatiently taken hers on a hiking path or in the ballroom tonight, or how he smelled—the freshly showered, woodsy soap scent she couldn’t seem to get out of her head. He’d probably come up with some kind of “I’m flattered” crap if he had any idea how she felt.
    She’d rather die.
    She took care of business, washed her hands, and fluffed her hair with her fingers. She had to go back to the car, or he’d come in here after her.
    J ILLIAN HOPPED BACK into the passenger seat, dropped her purse on the floorboard, and took the plastic container of garden salad he’d just handed her. “Thanks.” She spread a napkin across her lap. So far, she wouldn’t meet his eyes, and she wasn’t talking.
    “You’re welcome. I ordered a veggie burger for you to try if you’d like.” He grabbed his own container of salad. “I wasn’t sure what kind of dressing you liked, so I took a guess.”
    “Thank you. I should have told you what dressing I wanted before I went to the ladies’ room.” She poured the small container of vinaigrette dressing over her salad. “This is great, though.”
    “Hey, do you mind making one more stop on the way home?”
    “No, I don’t mind,” she said. He probably wanted to run into the store or whatever. She turned slightly to look into his eyes. “Thank you for the dancing lesson. I had fun. I’m glad you invited me.”
    “I had a great time too. I meant it when I said we should try that again.”
    She nodded as she took a bite of her food. Hopefully, she’d enjoy what he had planned next.
    Half an hour later, he pulled up in front of the large gazebo in Kirkland’s Marina Park on the shores of Lake Washington. The park was usually crowded with families and joggers; right now, they had the place to themselves. Nobody was on the lakefront after dark on a weeknight. The moon was full and glistened off the water. It wasn’t chilly. The only sounds were the slap of waves on the shore and the rustle of leaves as the breeze blew.
    “What are we doing here?” Jillian asked.
    “You never got that dance,” he gruffly said. “Come on.”
    “Are you serious?”
    He turned off the engine. His iPhone was still hooked up to the car’s sound