Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100873 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100873 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Catie fought not to laugh at his all-too-accurate description of Ani. Tiny and determinedly cute in her aesthetic, Ani was a rottweiler as a publicist, absolutely brilliant at her job—but she also had no off switch. Her battery was at a hundred percent every minute of every day.
“Do you know about toxic masculinity?” she asked sweetly after she was no longer in danger of bursting into laughter.
“Yes, you tell me every chance you get.”
“Guys who cook are hot.” In evidence, she pulled up a familiar profile, then held up the phone so he could see. “See? Romanos Cavalier cooks and he’s a total thirst trap.”
“Are you calling me a thirst trap?” He shot her a grin over his shoulder.
“Not even if I was gasping for a drop of water in a godforsaken desert in the middle of nowhere, Daniel.”
Laughing that big, warm laugh he’d inherited from his father, he began to chop up something on the board. “Okay, Caitlin.”
She decided to ignore him in favor of reading a sponsorship contract she’d intended to get to today. But even as she did so, she found herself thinking about what Soraya and Ani had said. The money she might end up losing would mean a loss of independence, not just for her but for the other amputees she supported via her donations to various small organizations.
“What’s going on?” Danny said after sliding a tray into the oven. “You look like you’re sucking on lemons.”
Catie thought about it, pride coming up against practicality and the need to protect Danny. Though… he did look much better, and this wasn’t only about her. “According to Ani, I’ll bear the brunt of the backlash if we try to walk back the relationship rumors—especially if the public gets the idea that we had a one-night hookup. Could affect my sponsorships.”
Danny, who’d begun to whisk something, the veins on his forearms standing out against the brown of his skin, paused, looked over. “You serious?”
“You’re the golden boy of Kiwi sport, hotshot, part of a family that rose from humble roots to become rugby royalty. I’m the poor little rich girl.” She shrugged. “I get a little leeway because of the whole not-having-legs thing, but put us side by side in a situation like this, and I’m the one who’ll be cast as the bitch.”
Hands braced on the counter, he stared at her with pure thunder on his face. It startled her. She’d seen Danny angry, but never at her. Not this way. Their anger toward each other had always been more on the aggravation end of the scale.
Then he said, “People are assholes if they think I’ve walked a harder road than you. My big brother is the fucking Bishop, a straight-up legend in the game. One of my other brothers is the vice-captain of the national squad—and a shoo-in for the captainship when our current captain retires. My father is a former regional player turned senior-level coach.”
He barely paused for air before continuing. “Hell, Gabe is over ten years older than me. I was playing with a rising star when I was a skinny primary school kid—where the fuck do they think I learned my skills?”
Something inside Catie went sideways. Just a little bit. But enough to make her breath catch. “Sorry, Danny—to the fans, you’re the battler from the streets who made good while I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Let me think about this.” Then he went back to his whisking, all muscles and veins and concentration.
She took a sneaky pic. Not to put up anywhere. Just to keep for herself as a memory of this unexpected weekend. It had nothing to do with the fact he looked hotter than her favorite chef. Of course not. Danny was not hot. Not to her.
Frowning at herself but oddly relaxed after sharing the problem with him, she went to settle back down and read the contract but made the mistake of glancing at her social media first.
Danny looked up right then. “Are you trying to smite me with that glare?”
“One of your floozies just spammed my socials with a diatribe about how you’re hers and I’m a homewrecker.”
“She’s lying. I’m not going out with anyone.”
“I didn’t say she was your girlfriend. Did you recently sleep with an eighties-style big-haired brunette with knockout boobs?” Catie took a closer look at the other woman’s profile pic. “Ooh, she’s gorgeous. Cuckoo bananas stalker given what she’s written, but also gorgeous.”
Danny looked like he wanted to brain her with the whisk in his hand. “I haven’t slept with anyone in the past few months.” Red heated his cheekbones. “Jeez, Catie, I can’t believe you made me say that.” A shake of his head. “There’s a reason I avoid you. You make me crazy.”
Catie smiled proudly. “Thank you.”