by Sarah Curtis
He was staring at her, and she realized he was waiting for her to say or do something. “Hello.” No, too formal. “Hi.” Better. “Um, would you like to come in?”
And the awkward award goes to…
He stepped over the threshold and instantly scanned the room. “Nice place.”
“Thanks. I like it, though I’m sure it’s not what you’re used to.”
A line appeared between his brows. “What makes you think that?”
Oh, poodoo, had she offended him? “I just figured, being a big-time celebrity and all, you must live someplace really nice. You know, like a mansion or something.”
She grew uncomfortable under his stare, shifting her weight from one foot to the other until finally, she took a deep breath ready to blurt another round of nonsense.
Thankfully, he saved her from that embarrassment by speaking first. “I liked it better when you didn’t know who I was.”
That threw her, and she frowned.
“You were the real you then. Now I make you nervous.”
“I hate to tell you this, but other than the slight flutter in my stomach, this is the real me.”
“No, it’s not. I want the woman who was brave enough to stick up for herself.”
“That’s me when I lose my temper. Otherwise, I’m really a big dork.”
He shook his head and eyed her pink hair that now sported the dark-burgundy highlights she’d added that morning. “A little eccentric maybe, but too cute to be a dork.”
Did he… Did he just call her cute? Then to prove her point to the world that she really was a big dork, she spouted, “But not nearly as cute as you.”
She dropped her head, closing her eyes, praying the floor would open up and swallow her whole. Instead, she got Jason’s belly laughter filling her ears.
Someone kill her now, please. Or better yet, kill Jason.
Chapter Four
Colt
Colt turned his head at the sound of laughter. The same guy from yesterday stood in an open doorway, shoulder leaned against the jamb, barefoot, wearing shorts and a tank. So, he lived there. Colt wasn’t sure why that thought bothered him so much even though Ivy had said he wasn’t her boyfriend.
“I see you put your foot in your mouth again.”
Colt’s hackles rose. Who was this asshole?
“I’m going to run upstairs and change.”
He turned back to Ivy when she spoke. Her cheeks were flaming almost as dark as the new red streaks in her hair.
“Wait,” he called, halting her as she reached the bottom of the stairs. “You don’t need to change.” Though he figured her disappearing act was for another reason altogether—namely the asshole.
She looked down at herself. “I’m overdressed.”
That was his fault. He shouldn’t have worn something so casual, but he had come straight from practice and hadn’t thought to bring anything dressier with him that morning. “Please don’t go to the trouble of changing.” He could tell she’d made an effort. “You look perfect.”
“Really, I’ll feel more comfortable.”
He conceded with a nod, not wanting to be the cause of more unease.
The guy had moved into the kitchen and was staring into the fridge. He popped his head around the side of the door. “You want a beer?”
“No thanks.” He didn’t usually drink during the season, and he was also driving. And Colt never drank and drove.
Beer in one hand, the guy navigated around the kitchen island, coming back into the living room, and held out his free hand. “Name’s Jason. I’m a huge fan.”
Colt glared at the guy’s hand. What he would like to do was ignore it and tell the guy to fuck off. Sadly, that wasn’t an option. Though he’d never be dubbed the Nicest Guy in the World by the media, he’d always been careful not to let his emotions show in public. He’d also worked hard to never disappoint a fan.
He shook the guy’s hand and forced a smile. “Thanks.” There. Pleasantly neutral.
“Would you like to sit down? Ivy might be a few minutes, struggling over what to change into.”
“Do you always criticize her in front of others?” That was twice now he’d done it.
Jason flopped into a recliner, set his beer on a side table, and shrugged. “It’s what we do.”
Colt had no idea why Ivy was friends with the guy. One of her many mysteries he planned to find out.
Thankfully, he didn’t have to make idle conversation with Jason for long. In less than five minutes, Ivy came bounding down the stairs. She’d matched his outfit of t-shirt and jeans, though hers hugged her curves like a second skin.
“I’m ready.”
She sounded winded, and like any true guy, of their own accord, his eyes fell to her chest and were met by some strange-looking tree dude who declared his name was Groot.
“Let me just grab my bag and we can leave.”
He forced himself to acknowledge Jason as they walked out the door. “Good meeting you.”
“You t—”
Colt shut the door, cutting off anything else Jason said.
“So, that guy, Jason, have you known him long?” Colt asked as they strolled down the sidewalk leading to guest parking.
Ivy laughed, having him turning his head so he could witness it. “I’ve known him my whole life.” At his frown, she elaborated, “He’s my brother.”
That explained their dynamic, though Colt still didn’t think he should be airing that shit in front of strangers. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her just that, but at the last second, he decided it was none of his damn business and veered the conversation a different direction. “Do you like pizza?”
“What’s not to like? Chewy crust. Gooey cheese. Spicy pepperoni.”
“You left out the tangy sauce.”
“So I did. And really, it’s the most important part. A bad sauce can ruin the whole pizza.” Keeping on the subject, she added, “Did you know, Norwegians consume the most pizza in the world?”
No, he didn’t, but he was fascinated. “Really? I thought it would be the U.S.”
She shook her head. “But we’re a close second. Off the top of my head, I can’t remember how many slices we consume every second, but it’s a lot.” She grew quiet a moment, then mumbled, “Sorry.”
“For what?”
“As my brother puts it, my nerd was showing. I tend to babble useless facts.”
Colt’s jaw hardened. Her damn brother. He should’ve punched him while he had the chance. “Don’t ever apologize for being you.”
She smiled up at him. “Even if I bore you to tears?”
Somehow he doubted that could be possible. “I’ll make you a deal. If that ever happens, I’ll let you know.”
Her smile grew broader. “Deal.”
They reached his car. He pressed the button to unlock it and opened the passenger-side door. He waited for her to climb in before shutting it and walking around the front to get in on the driver’s side.
He’d just closed his door when she said, “This is a really nice car. Again, I’m sorry for hitting you. I’m glad it’s still drivable.”
He pressed the starter button and the car roared to life. “Accidents happen. Don’t worry about it.”
“I called my insurance company today and claimed full responsibility. You shouldn’t have any trouble on your end.”
He nodded dismissively, wanting to move on from the topic. He hated that she still worried about it. He racked his brain for something else to talk about. Unfortunately, conversation wasn’t one of his strong suits. He fell back on their prior topic. “Ever been to Mama Rosa’s?”
“No. But I’ve been meaning to go. I hear the pizza there is amazing.”
Colt nodded. “One of Portland’s best. Won’t eat pizza any place else.”
She didn’t respond and the silence dragged. He tried again. “You like pepperoni?”
“Yes. Pepperoni. Sausage. Canadian bacon. I love all the meat.”
<
br /> Chuckling, he quickly glanced her direction.
Her head was bowed, shaking back and forth. “That did not come out how I meant it to.”
They stopped at a red light and he turned in time to see her raise her head. With flushed cheeks, her tongue darted out to moisten her lips. His dick hardened, surprising him so much, he lost concentration. It wasn’t until a horn honked behind them that he noticed the light had changed to green. He hit the gas, his hands tightening on the steering wheel and jaw tensing at the reminder she was a distraction.
The restaurant came into view and Colt made a right into the parking lot. The place was busy, and he had to circle around twice before he found a spot.
“I hope they have a table.” Ivy was looking out her side window, scanning the full lot.
“This place is always busy. But most of these cars are probably from people getting their pizzas to-go.”
“Well, that’s a relief. We wouldn’t get much accomplished if the place was too crowded. I’m sure you always get a lot of people asking for your autograph.”
He unbuckled his seat belt. “We won’t need to worry about that.”
“We won’t? Why not?”
He opened his car door. “You’ll see.”
She followed suit, opening hers. “Are we getting ours to-go, too, and eating in the car?”
He cringed at the thought of grease stains on his leather seats. “Definitely not.”
As predicted, there was a long line at the pick-up window but only a handful of people sat in the waiting area. He didn’t stop at the hostess podium. With a hand at the small of Ivy’s back, Colt guided her through the dining area to a door marked employees only.
“Won’t we get in trouble?”
Before Colt could answer, a man as round as he was tall approached. “Ah, Mr. Colt. Welcome. It’s been too long since we’ve seen you.”
“Thanks, Marco, but you know I need to stay away during the offseason. A diet of pizza and garlic bread isn’t good for the waistline.”
“Bah,” he waved a hand. “You don’t need to worry. Now, if you had a waistline like mine…” He patted his robust stomach and gave an even heartier laugh.
Colt waited for Marco’s laughter to fade before he asked, “Is the room upstairs free?”
“For you? Of course. Wanting a little privacy for you and the signorina?” He gave them an exaggerated wink and another belly laugh.
Ivy tensed. “Oh, it’s—”
“Come, come.” Marco gave them his back, cutting off whatever she was going to say.
They followed Marco up a short flight of stairs to a private dining room. He and his teammates had used it several times in the past for celebrations or when they wanted to eat a meal undisturbed.
Colt held out a chair at one of the smaller tables and waited for Ivy to sit before taking the seat across from her.
“Would you like your usual?” Marco asked as soon as Colt was situated.
“No, I think we’ll have a large meat lover’s.” He looked over at Ivy and winked.
She dramatically plopped an elbow onto the table and face-planted her palm, making Colt laugh. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?”
His non-answer had her peeking at him from between her fingers.
Marco cleared his throat. “And can I get you something to drink?”
Sitting up, Ivy said, “I’ll have a Sprite, if you’ve got it.”
“Of course.”
“I’ll take an iced tea.”
They both watched Marco disappear down the stairs.
“I didn’t take you for an iced tea drinker.”
“No? What would you have guessed?”
She shrugged. “Beer, maybe soda.”
“I don’t drink a lot of alcohol, especially during the season, and soda is nothing but useless calories.”
“There’s diet soda.”
Colt grimaced. “Never could get used to the taste.”
Ivy scrunched her nose. “Me either. Did you know diet soda was first created for diabetics and people with cardiovascular problems?”
He shook his head.
“Yep. But it didn’t take long for dieters to discover it, which had soda companies scrambling to develop their own brands.”
Reaching into his file of useless trivia, he offered, “Like Tab?”
“Exactly!” She pointed a finger for emphasis. “But Diet-Rite actually came first.”
Marco reappeared with their drinks and a basket of bread.
Ivy looked up at him and smiled. “Thank you.”
Marco nodded and scampered away again.
Ivy reached over and flipped back the cloth napkin covering the bread. “Mmm… it smells so good.” She grabbed a piece and tore off the crust, popping a bite of the soft center into her mouth.
All Colt could do was stare as her tongue came out to lick at the garlic butter coating her lips.
“What? Do I have crumbs on my face?” She swatted by the side of her mouth.
“No… I was watching you lick your lips. I can’t seem to stop staring.”
Her throat worked as she swallowed. “Are you…” She took a sip of her soda and plonked the glass down before staring him in the eye. “Are you hitting on me?”
Ivy
Ivy gave herself a mental head-slap. She did not just ask that.
Colt’s forehead puckered and she couldn’t tell if he looked disgusted, confused, or amused.
Maybe all three.
She held up a hand. “Don’t answer that. Sorry, I tend to blurt things out before thinking. Just ignore me while I extract my foot from my mouth.”
“No, it’s me who should be sorry. I wasn’t thinking. You seem to have that effect on me.” He shook his head as though annoyed with himself. “And, I shouldn’t have said that, either.” He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “Listen, I’m going to be honest with you.”
Honesty was good.
“I find you very attractive. No, if I’m being completely honest, I think you’re gorgeous.”
Okay, so far this honesty business did not suck but she sensed a but coming on.
“But…”
Yep, there it was.
“I can’t get involved with anyone right now. I need all my attention focused on this upcoming season with no distractions.”
Well, that was a bubble burster, but it was probably for the best. “I can understand that. Besides, mixing business and pleasure is never a good idea.” She wanted this account. It would be the boost she needed to get her company recognized.
His shoulders deflated in relief, and he smiled. “Good, so we’re on the same page?”
“Not only the same page but the same paragraph. No, the same sentence, even.”
He picked up his glass and held it aloft. “To a productive yet platonic business relationship.”
Ivy picked up her soda and clicked his glass. There, settled. Now maybe she would stop stalking him on the internet.
Yeah, the odds of that happening were about the same as that oceanfront property in Arizona actually selling.
Pizza consumed, her stomach so full she had to sneakily unhook the button on her jeans, Ivy held in a groan as she reached down to grab her notebook from her bag.
“I made a few notes.” She flipped to the correct page and went over the key points she thought were most important.
Colt paid attention. His eyes stayed focused on her and never once looked away. He even asked all the right questions.
She followed up with, “So, I think with a good campaign strategy, you’ll see an increase in donations.”
“That would be great. As it is now, our online donations only make up ten percent of our funding. Most of our donations come from local fundraisers.”
“The goal is to flip that percentage around, raising overall profits.”
“Sounds good. I’d like to get started soon. Do you think you can have some ideas in place by Saturday? You can come to my place, say around ten?
”
“I can have a list ready for your approval by then.”
“Perfect. We’ll go over your fees at that time as well.” He held out his hand. “To a successful partnership.”
She took it, heat penetrating hers as his much larger one engulfed it. They shook, but he didn’t let go. At least, not right away. Seconds ticked by before he finally released it, and the loss of its warmth caused a shiver to race down her spine.
At least, that’s what she told herself.
It definitely wasn’t the rough, calloused skin of his palm as it glided along the much softer skin of hers. Or his strong fingers with their tips softly grazing the inside of her wrist. It wasn’t the mesmerizing way he held her spellbound as his eyes probed hers so deeply it felt as if he were looking into her soul. Or the way his lips faintly tipped up, making her think that his smile hid seductive secrets he was too much of a gentleman to share.
No, it definitely wasn’t any of those things.
Chapter Five
Colt
Colt was up before the alarm. Hell, it was still dark out. Sacrilege for a day off. He’d be seeing Ivy soon. Once that thought popped into his head, he was wide awake. And there was no way in hell he’d be falling back to sleep.
He tossed the covers off and got out of bed. He had a Saturday morning routine. Workout, protein shake, shower. He’d have plenty of time to accomplish all that before Ivy arrived.
Getting on the treadmill, he set the timer for an hour to get his blood pumping. Free weights would come next and then he’d cool down with some stretches. He pulled out his phone, set it in the cradle, and in the mood for old-school, pulled up AC/DC Back in Black and hit play.
He wondered what bands Ivy liked. Was her taste in music as eclectic as her personality?
Of course, she popped into his head again. When his mind was free to roam, she always seemed to be there. It didn’t matter what he told himself or how many times he tried to convince himself he wasn’t interested. Ivy was becoming his obsession.
His first mistake had been calling her. His second, hiring her. And his latest, inviting her to his home. How many more mistakes would he make when it came to her? She was a weakness. And with his team in top shape and the Super Bowl within their grasp, it was a weakness he couldn’t afford. He couldn’t let victory slip through his fingers. Not for anything. Not even a five-foot-two slip of a woman with pink hair and the most beautiful eyes he’d ever seen.