Most Likely to Score
I seethe inside. He never deserved Jillian. But I let the anger fade because his actions gave me this chance. Seated next to Jillian, I lean in and speak softly. “I’m glad Kevin’s with that skank.”
She laughs quietly. “You are?”
“Because that means he’s not with you.”
She smiles at me, and it’s an arrow straight to my heart. It hits me hard and fantastically, and I want to keep earning the right to all her beautiful smiles. “Also, you look beautiful tonight,” I say in a low voice. “Stunning.”
I tell her because I want her to feel as beautiful as she is. But I need her to know something else, too. Something more important. That there are guys who would never violate her trust. How I’m one of those guys. I want her to know that even though I might’ve started as a player, I’d never do what he did. When the ceremony ends, and the bride and groom walk down the aisle to the wedding march, I grab Jillian’s arm and whisper, “You have to know that even though I might have a past, I would never do what Kevin did.”
She turns her gaze to mine, that vulnerable look I love flashing across her brown irises. “I’d never think you would.”
Even with all these people around us, I can’t stop looking at her. “I need you to know I’m a one-woman kind of guy.”
As the guests clap and cheer, she mouths words just for me. I’m a one-guy kind of woman.
All my instincts tell me to pull her close and seal this moment with a kiss, but once more, I’m painfully aware we can’t. We’re a secret—one-time clandestine lovers attending a mutual acquaintance’s wedding for a quick hit of one another’s company.
I hate that I can’t kiss her in public, or at all.
We’re ushered into the reception room. People chat and snap photos, and I get pulled in a few different directions, posing for shots with fans, with Sierra, and even with Kevin. He yanks Harlan next to him on the other side. I have no doubt Kevin is going to post this picture everywhere. Bumping into two of the Renegades at Sierra’s nuptials. Isn’t he oh-so connected?
“So good to see you two,” his baritone voice booms, and I want to punch him and thank him at the same damn time.
But most of all, I don’t want to be him.
Because I don’t want to lose her.
And I don’t even have her.
After the pictures, I keep trying to snag a private moment with the woman I love, but it’s a fool’s errand since this is a crazy-ass public event. I don’t know why I thought this would be a good idea. I’m running into the same wall everywhere I see her. I can’t talk to her the way I want to. I can’t be with her the way I want to. But I’m relentless, and I don’t stop hunting for an opening, just like I do on the field.
Harlan must sense it. He’s no dummy, and he has to know what I said at training camp is a lie. He also doesn’t care that I fibbed to him, since once the dancing begins, he says, “How about I take the first dance with Jillian, and you take Katie for a whirl. You feel me?” His eyes pin me.
“I fucking feel you. And I love you for it.”
He smacks my shoulder. “I know what’s going on, and it’s cool with me. I’ve got your back. I always do.”
“I know, man.”
Harlan holds out an arm and asks Jillian for a dance. They dance as two colleagues do. Nothing more. They maintain a professional distance while I join Katie on the dance floor, her hands chastely on my shoulders.
“You better treat her well,” Katie says, shedding formalities instantly.
My answer is true and honest. “I will.”
But her blue eyes brook no argument. “I mean it. If she goes out on a limb for you, do not let her down. I know that you’re a foot taller than me and probably one-hundred-fifty pounds heavier, but I don’t care. I will kick you in the balls if you hurt her.”
I flinch instinctively, wanting to cup the goods. “Damn.”
Katie isn’t done with me yet. “She is the best person I know, and she tries to live her life with honesty and integrity. If you make a move for her, you better make that play for real. Be prepared to put your whole heart into it.” She pauses, softens her expression, and flashes the biggest smile. “Or you will answer to me and my steel-toed cowboy boots.”
My balls wince just thinking about it. “You will never need to break those out with me. Also, I can see why you’re her best friend.”
When the song ends, we switch partners, and Harlan seems none too sad to have another chance to chat with Katie.
Once Jillian is in my arms, I struggle mightily to resist bringing her close. But what I can’t say with my body, I say with words. “Jillian,” I rasp out. “Something’s gotta give.”
Her voice is soft, overflowing with emotion. “I know. We can’t keep looking for stolen opportunities like this.”
“I need to find a way to be with you. I want that more than anything.”
Her breath hitches. “I want that so much, too. I nearly told Lily the other day.”
My eyes pop out. “You did?”
“Almost, but I didn’t have a chance to. I was tempted, though, because I don’t want to keep pretending.”
“I don’t like it, either. All I want is to pull you close and stop pretending right now.”
“Me, too.”
Her hands wind more tightly around my neck, and I groan.
A soft murmur escapes her lips.
My gaze roams her gorgeous face, and I can see in her eyes, in the tightness of her jaw, in the rush of breath from her lips, that the fight is real for both of us.
Real and painful.
I want this fight to end. I want us to give in. “Do you have any idea how hard it is for me not to kiss you senseless right now?”
“As hard as it is for me?”
I laugh softly, then the laughter fades. “I need to be with you, baby.”
“I need that, too.”
“I don’t know why I thought coming to a wedding with you would be a good idea. I feel like a starving man. I’m just trying to get crumbs. But now I have these crumbs, and I want to gobble the whole pie.”
She laughs. “A cherry pie.”
“Don’t say words like cherry. It’s too sexy. It turns me on. They make me think of all the things I want to do to you. You’re like a cherry, and I want to eat you up.”
“I want you to eat me up like a cherry.”
“You’re. Killing. Me. We need to get out of here.”
Worry flickers across her face. “Don’t you think it would be obvious if we left together?”
“Yeah, but I kind of don’t care anymore.”
“Sneaking around is risky,” she whispers, caution coloring her tone. “You know it’s dangerous.”
“I know, but we can pull this off. We have to.”
Her eyes flash with the same desperation I feel. “Are you sure?”
“I can’t stand not having you tonight. Are you with me on this?”
She glances around briefly, as if she’s debating her options. When her gaze returns to me, she nods. “I’ll say my goodbyes and leave first. Then you stay behind ten minutes or something, so it’s not obvious. I’ll wait in the car until you make it out.”
I nod approvingly. “Look at you, making plays, devising strategies.”
“Finding openings,” she adds, with a lift of her eyebrows.