Unstoppable (A Country Roads Novel) by Shannon Richard

ogleworthy, so today was guaranteed to bring out the women in droves.
    Mel unlocked the wooden coverings that were on the two windows over the counter. She pushed back the doors before she turned and looked out at the field.
    Men from both teams were on the red dirt: the Stingrays in black and white, and the Bears in orange and brown. Mel spotted Bennett right away. He was throwing the ball back and forth with Baxter, his muscles rippling under his shirt. And damn did his thighs fill out those tight pants, so did his butt.
    Dear God, the man was attractive. He was what Harper had described as ho-o-o-o-o-t, every single inch of him…well, Mel was pretty sure every single inch of him would be.
    “Caught in the act.”
    Mel jumped, startled, and turned to find Preston Matthews standing next to her.
    Preston was another incredibly good-looking guy, with his sandy blond hair and bright blue eyes. It was too bad he played for the other team, and Mel wasn’t talking about sports. Preston was tall and muscular, but not nearly as muscular as Bennett. No, Preston was lean and had the body of a basketball player, which made sense, since he’d played basketball all the way through college. Now he was a lawyer at his father’s law firm.
    “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Mel said, shaking her head.
    “You’re a bad liar, Mel. If you were staring at him any harder there would be steam coming out of your ears.”
    “I plead the Fifth.”
    “Which means you’re guilty,” he said with a grin.
    “You’re obnoxious.”
    “You’re just mad because I’m right. Admit it.”
    “Fine, you’re right. But it doesn’t matter.”
    “Why?” Preston asked, throwing his arm around Mel.
    “Because he’s not interested.”
    “Well, then he’s a moron,” Preston said seriously.
    “Thanks. And why are you here so early, anyway? The game doesn’t start for another forty minutes.”
    “My adorable boyfriend forgot his glove, so I had to bring it to him. And now I’m going to harass you for a little while.”
    Mel couldn’t stop herself from smiling her first genuine smile of the day. She hadn’t seen a lot of Preston lately, and she was excited about getting to spend a little time with him. He’d been pretty busy with his new, and first, boyfriend. Mel couldn’t be happier for Preston and Baxter.
    “Come on,” she said, heading toward the stand. “I’ll buy you a soda.”
    “I don’t think so. I’ll buy you a soda.”
    “What is it with men and their refusal to let me buy drinks?”
    “Who refused to let you buy a drink?” Preston asked raising his eyebrows.
    “No one.”
    “Ah, Muscle Man Wonder. Well, that’s one point in his favor.”
    “Muscle Man Wonder?”
    “I think the nickname is apropos. I mean he was the reason you were drooling a minute ago?”
    She slapped his arm. “I wasn’t drooling.”
    “Oh, yes you were. And to answer you’re earlier question, men don’t let women buy drinks when they are interested in them.”
    “You want to buy me a drink, and we both know you’re clearly not interested. Much like you-know-who,” she muttered under her breath as they walked into the stand. Three of the kids were already there, and Stu was assigning them jobs.
    “Like I said before,” Preston said, lowering his voice, too. “That man’s a moron.”
    *  *  *
    Mel was wearing those damn cutoff jeans again. The ones she’d been wearing the night Bennett almost kissed her. The sexy-as-hell ones. The ones that put dirty, dirty thoughts in his head and made it difficult for him to think of anything else besides sliding his hands up her bare thighs.
    They really weren’t indecent shorts or anything. Mel was fairly modest in most aspects in life, and her clothing choices were one of them. She was a teacher and she was working with her students in the concession stand, so the shorts weren’t all that short. But for some reason they drove him crazy.
    She’d journeyed out of the stand