Falling for the Rookie


 
 
 
 
 
 
 FALLING FOR THE ROOKIE
 © 2022 Carina Rose
 
 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except with brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
 
 This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, things, living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.
 
 All teams, leagues, and calendar of events within the league are fictional and should not be compared with any “real” professional football leagues.
 
 Editor: James Gallagher, Castle Walls Editing
 Cover Design: Sommer Stein, Perfect Pear Creative
 Formatter: Tami Norman, Integrity Formatting
 
 
 
 
 People rarely catch me off guard. I’m Collin St. James, after all, starting wide receiver for the Virginia Thunder, and playing football has kept me on my toes. But nothing could have prepared me to mentor our newest teammate, kicker Charlie Nicholson.
 I wasn’t caught off guard because I had to take someone under my wing, or because Charlie was easily banging sixty-yard kicks through the uprights. It happened when the rookie’s silver helmet came off and long blonde hair spilled out. Completely baffled, I edged closer and took in the prettiest blue eyes I’d ever seen.
 Not only was Charlie a complete knockout, she was also my younger sister’s closest friend, and when she smiled at me, I knew right then and there I was in serious trouble.
 I wasn’t in the mood for a distraction, but thanks to my gorgeous new teammate—and, to my surprise, my roommate—that was exactly what I got.
 Table of Contents
 
 
 
 Dedication
 Chapter 1
 Chapter 2
 Chapter 3
 Chapter 4
 Chapter 5
 Chapter 6
 Chapter 7
 Chapter 8
 Chapter 9
 Chapter 10
 Chapter 11
 Chapter 12
 Chapter 13
 Chapter 14
 Chapter 15
 Chapter 16
 Chapter 17
 Chapter 18
 Chapter 19
 Chapter 20
 Chapter 21
 Chapter 22
 Chapter 23
 Chapter 24
 Chapter 25
 Chapter 26
 Chapter 27
 Chapter 28
 Chapter 29
 Chapter 30
 Chapter 31
 Epilogue
 Preview - Charmed by the Player
 Other Books by Carina Rose
 About the Author
 Contact Carina Rose
 A note from the Author…
 Acknowledgments
 
 Dedication
 
 
 To the girls who could and did.
 
 Chapter 1
 Charlie
 
 
 
 Sensible underwear, check. Sports bras, socks, pretty lace thong and matching bralette (just in case)—check, check… never mind. I almost put the last two back into my suitcase, but I heard Sally’s voice in my ear telling me to pack them, so I did. After going over the contents of my luggage, including my sporting gear, everyday wear, and other necessities, I closed the large bag and set it next to my other one, which was home to my shoes and accessories.
 I stared out the window at the Rocky Mountains and sighed. Late spring in Colorado was one of my favorite times of year. Seeing the freshly bloomed flowers always brought a smile to my face. I couldn’t help but feel a bit melancholy at the thought of leaving the beauty of it behind.
 Moving to Virginia was, on its own, nerve-racking enough. Toss in playing on a men’s professional football team and those same nerves frayed even more. It wasn’t as though I thought I couldn’t do it… well, on some level, I supposed that was true. But feeling the entire weight of the female population on my shoulders had me second-guessing my choice to take the chance. Thankfully, my friend Sally’s brother, Collin St. James, played for the team, the Virginia Thunder, as their starting wide receiver.
 Collin. The boy, now man, who had fueled all my adolescent fantasies. It hadn’t mattered that I was nine when I met him, or that he was a senior in high school and I hadn’t even hit double digits. He still owned my heart. I smiled at the memory of eavesdropping on him and his friend—something his sister and I wove into our sleepover itinerary. I’d heard things, so many things, and even to this day, I still didn’t know what half of those things meant. Sally and I would laugh at their antics, yet at the same time my crush on him grew. Worse yet, my stupid adolescent heart declared that it belonged to Collin.
 Stupid, I know.
 Guys like Collin—football superstar and homecoming king, voted best looking in the class (which made Sally gag and me swoon)—dated girls who were cheerleaders and who were popular, two characteristics that had never, and would never, describe me. It wasn’t that I thought I was wretched looking, but I didn’t fit into the mold of most of the women who caught his eye. Where they were perfectly shaped with measurements often referred to when describing a “brick house”—as the song went—I was more of a stone cottage. Not too tall, and I definitely didn’t have the curves that tune (which happened to be one of my mom’s favorites) boasted.
 I would never forget the time he came home on one of his college breaks after a friend, who happened to be on the high school’s cheerleading squad, asked him to prom. All the couples met at Sally’s to take pictures, and I happened to be there that night. As though he were a movie star, Collin wore a black tux and light-blue tie that brought out his eyes, and despite the formality of the event, his hair looked as though his hand had run through it multiple times.
 Sally had rolled her eyes when his date appeared wearing a dress that reminded me of a nightgown. She was tall and pretty, with boobs that looked like melons—and definitely fit the Commodores’ criteria. Meanwhile, I was only a tween and still hadn’t gotten my