Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 96129 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96129 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
“I would never kiss you.” His brows rose. “You said you didn’t even kiss Dominic the other day, and from what you’ve told me about him, well, I’d like all of my limbs to remain intact.”
I rolled my eyes, transferred the glass to my other hand, and put my hand in Jimmy’s. He took a deep breath as if bracing himself for something to happen.
“You realize Dominic isn’t going to shoot you just because you’re holding my hand, right?” I asked. “Besides, as far as I’m concerned, I can do whatever I want.”
“Yeah, because you know he wouldn’t hurt you.” He raised an eyebrow. “He hates the Jets, and his girlfriend is holding the hand of their new QB. I don’t even own a gun and I’d shoot me.”
At that, I laughed. “Friendly reminder that I’m not his girlfriend.”
“Friendly reminder that he probably still sees you as such.”
My lips twisted. “Do you see Jessa as yours?”
“No.” He scowled.
“What did you do when you found out she was cheating with that unemployed asshole?”
“He’s not unemployed.” Jimmy smiled. “We got into a fight in the middle of a game.”
My brows rose. “I bet ESPN had a field day with that one.”
“Try field month, and when I was traded and took his job?” He shook his head. “They still haven’t stopped talking about it.”
“Ah, so the animosity makes sense.” I looked around again. “They seem cool though; I bet once they get to know you, it’ll be fine.”
“Yeah.”
“What’d you do to Jessa?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing at all?” I blinked, turning to face him slightly. Our held hands were dangling between our bodies, but we were definitely leaving room for Jesus, as my mom used to say, and I wondered if getting closer would be more convincing.
“I mean, I yelled at her.” He took a sip of his wine. “She’d been seeing him for months. What could I do?”
“You could’ve shoved all of her clothes in a bag and set it on fire, and then you could’ve snuck into his house and set that shit on fire while he wasn’t home. They’d live, but at least they knew they messed with the wrong guy,” I said. Jimmy’s expression shifted and I laughed at his sudden change of mood. “I’m kidding. Geez. But yeah, I guess you can’t really do that if you’re a famous –”
“I guess it’s a good thing I would never cheat on you.” His voice rumbled from behind me, and my heart instantly dropped into the pit of my stomach as I whipped around.
He was wearing a tux. His dark hair, which had been tousled when I last saw him, was brushed back to perfection, his beard trimmed and perfectly lined up. God, he looked like he could play the role of a tattooed 007. When I finished drinking him in and met his eyes again, they were twinkling and snapped me right out of my reverie.
“What are you doing here?”
He arched an eyebrow. “It’s a paid event, open to any Jets fan with a large enough bank account.”
“You hate the Jets.”
“Hate is a strong word,” he said, eyes dancing.
My eyes dropped to the lapel of his jacket. “You’re wearing a New England Patriots pin.”
That only made him grin, that wolfish, sexy grin he must have known drove me insane.
“Considering that both times I've seen her, I’ve heard how much you hate the Jets, I’d say hate is the correct word,” Jimmy said behind me.
“Go Jets,” Nico said, coming up to stand beside him. He was holding a plate full of hors d'oeuvres.
“What the hell, Nico?” I whispered. “You’re in on this?”
“Hey, I wasn’t going to miss this event.”
“Traitor.” My eyes narrowed.
“You two are more alike than you think.” He chuckled, lifting the tiny fork he’d been using for the clams on his plate and pointed it between me and Dominic. I rolled my eyes. He smiled at Jimmy. “Great to see you again, Ryan.”
“Yeah. You too.” Jimmy sounded like he couldn’t quite understand what was happening.
“I don’t know what this is, but I’m here on business,” I whisper-shouted to Dominic.
“Are you?” His jaw twitched as he nodded toward my hand, which was holding onto Jimmy’s for dear life.
“The handholding was her idea,” he said, somehow managing to get his hand out of my grip.
“I told you he wouldn’t shoot you for that,” I huffed.
Dominic’s eyes glittered. “You told him I wouldn’t shoot him for holding your hand?”
“Yes.”
“You have a lot of faith in me, tiny dancer.” His chuckle sounded forced, dangerous. My heart started beating a little faster.
“I do,” I said quietly. “Not that it matters anymore.”
“It matters.”
“Not anymore.” I drained the last of my wine, set it on the tray walking by, and picked up another. “You need to leave.”
“I paid for these tickets.”
“Dominic.” I sighed heavily and inched closer to him, so close that I could smell the scent of his cologne and felt like I might just pass out. “It’s taking everything in me not to slap you right now.”