Page 102 of The Romance Line
“Yes. You did. You turned down Joe. You didn’t even let Flynn get a word in so he could ask me out. And you sabotaged my date with Lucas.”
“Sounds like I was helpful.”
“Is that so?” she asks, but she’s smiling.
“It was in your best interest,” I say, unrepentant.
“And what is my best interest?”
I meet her gaze unflinchingly. “Me.”
“So you’re my type?” she asks.
“Fuck yes,” I say, then I sweep kisses up the side of her neck, then down her throat and to the top of her breasts, making her tremble everywhere. “So say yes.”
When I meet her eyes, they’ve already given me the answer before her lips do as she says, “Yes.”
35
THE FAKE OUT
Max
On Friday morning I’m in my kitchen, making coffee and plotting my secret date with Everly for Sunday…with my dad.
“I think I’ll take her to Theo and Soren’s restaurant,” I say to him on FaceTime, mentioning some of his married friends who run a restaurant an hour or so away. That’s key because I need to make sure we avoid the arena area and, frankly, the city too, where most of the people who work for the team live. Sure, there’s always a risk I could be recognized anywhere, but I won’t touch her in public. I don’t want her to deal with an in-person encounter with a co-worker though, so getting away from here will help. “Think you can get me a res?”
Dad chuckles from a couch in the teachers’ lounge at his school. “I’m pretty sure you could get your own, but I’ll be happy to do it for you.”
“No one answers the phone anymore these days.”
He clears his throat. “You know you can get reservations online, Max?”
“Really?” I deadpan.
“Technology is an amazing thing.”
“So much sass from such an old man,” I tease.
“And you wonder where you got it from,” he says.
I shake my head. “Nope, I don’t. I know it came from you.”
“I’ll send them a text to get you a good table,” he says, understandingwhyI asked him for help rather than making one online. I want the best for Everly. Dad pauses, then asks seriously, “So, the woman must be special?”
Easiest answer ever. “She is,” I say, but I don’t tell him anything more. I’m in theconvince herstage anyway.
Those two words seem to be enough for him though. A small smile coasts across his weathered face. “I hope it stays that way.”
I hope itbecomesthat way too, for her.
I say thanks and hang up as Athena saunters into the kitchen, looking ready for some playtime. I pick up her favorite toy from the floor—a ball of tinfoil. Of all the toys in the universe, why do cats dig this one the most? No idea, but that’s the mystery of felines. After I hurl the tinfoil into the living room, my gaze strays to a bag on the tiled floor full of my gear. Gloves, shoulder pads, and helmet…Not the ones I wear in Sea Dogs games, but the ones I use when I coach the kids.
A couple sticks too.
Sticks…
That reminds me of Everly’s warning about Elias. We’ll have to be extra careful at work. But maybe there’s a very specific way to do that.