Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
“We were just going to grab something to eat.”
“Thanks for waiting for me while I talked to Sinclair,” I tell her, falling in line with the ruse. “You ready to eat? It smells incredible.”
She nods, smiling up at me, but it doesn’t reach her eyes.
I turn us so that we’re walking toward the food and away from him. “See ya!” I call out, raising my hand in the air but not bothering to look back. Sure, I could see the anger on his face. I know he’s pissed, and that’s fine as long as he turns that anger to me and not to her.
We each grab a walking taco, a huge stack of napkins, and a couple of drinks and move to a table that’s set up in the far corner of the makeshift dining area. I wait for her to sit before taking the spot next to her.
“This is bad, Landry. So, so bad,” she says, biting down on her bottom lip.
“Hey.” Reaching over, I place my hand over hers. “It’s all going to be okay. He thinks you’re with me. He’s not going to try anything and get kicked off the team and lose his contract. This is a good thing.”
“Landry, we’re not together.”
I shrug. “Then we pretend that we are.”
“What?” she asks, her mouth falling open.
“What’s the big deal? We’ll pretend like we’re dating, and he’ll leave you alone.”
“You don’t know him like I do.”
“I don’t, but I do know that if we make it known that you’re mine, and he does try something, the team will step in. This might be exactly what we need to get something on him. He doesn’t belong here, Rowan. You do.”
“There are policies and steps to take.”
“And we’ll take them.”
“I can’t let you do that.”
“Babe, we just started dating, and you’re already trying to control me.” I laugh. “What if I give you a back rub later?”
“Landry, this is serious,” she says, but I can see some of the tension leave her body.
“I know it is, Roe. Trust me, I know. I promise this will work.”
“You have to pretend to be my boyfriend.” Her cheeks instantly turn a bright shade of pink.
“I can handle it. Can you?”
“After life with Chaz? Yeah, I can handle it.”
“Good. Then it’s settled.” And just in time, I see Roger Hampton, the owner of the Rampage, walking to a table near ours. “Roger, good to see you,” I call out to him, and he changes course, coming to our table instead. “I was hoping to see you today. Got a minute?” I ask him.
“For my wide receiver, anytime.” Roger laughs as he pulls out a seat and takes a huge bite of his pulled-pork sandwich. “What’s going on?” he asks after he’s finished his bite.
“I wanted to tell you that this beautiful lady and I are dating.” I bend my head toward where Rowan sits next to me.
“Well, all right then. She’s likely to have to work on you, but since you’re not her boss, I don’t see an issue with it. You let me know if anything changes. Thanks for bringing it up. I’ll make sure I put in a notice with HR that you’ve come to me, and all is on the up and up,” Roger tells us. “Seems this is starting to be a trend.” He laughs, taking another bite of his sandwich.
“Maybe.” I wink at Rowan, and the corner of her mouth tilts into a relieved smile. We make small talk with Roger until we’re all finished eating, and he leaves to track down his wife.
“You want more?” I ask Rowan.
“No, I’m good. Thank you.” She looks down at her lap, then lifts her head to look me in the eye. “Landry, this isn’t going to work. He’s going to know that we’re lying.”
“No one knows that but us.”
“We have to tell your friends. We can’t lie to them.”
“Fine, we’ll tell them when we’re not here, but they’re not going to say anything.”
“It’s going to take a lot to convince Chaz I’ve moved on. I—that’s not me, hopping from man to man.”
“You didn’t. You hopped to me.” I tap my hand over my chest. “Trust me, Roe. I’ve got this. You just have to pretend to be madly in love with me, or at least tolerate me, and I’ll take care of the rest.”
“You’re so confident.”
I take her hand in mine. “I’m not going to let him near you again, Rowan. I promise you that. This is going to work.”
“What happens when you meet someone you really want to date?” she asks, lowering her voice.
“I’m not looking. Besides, I got my girl right here.” I raise her hand to my lips and kiss her knuckles. I’m rewarded with more of her cute blush and a smile that reaches her eyes.
Grabbing my phone out of my pocket, I start a group text. We can’t very well spill the beans where anyone can hear us, and today, well, we’re going to have to put on a show.