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)
Their eyes met, a simple, powerful understanding passing between them in that moment. Then it shifted, just a fraction. A problematic fraction. The eye contact held a moment too long, the intensity of the connection a little too deep.
They both jerked their heads away, suddenly deeply focused on their meals.
Ignore, ignore, ignore.
Her phone buzzed. Buzzed again. And again. Thanking the heavens for the interruption, she grabbed it from her pocket. “My girlfriends,” she said. “They must’ve just seen my post. They’re going nuts in our group chat. Veni’s playing along.”
“Of course the rest of them are hyped up.” Danny leaned back in his chair in that sprawled-out male way and held out his arms. The position emphasized the sleek musculature of his chest, showed off the line of his biceps, made the light shine on his far-too-sexy forearms. “Because I’m superhot.”
“This is hell.” Catie threw up her hands in lieu of strangling her fluttering stomach. “What did I do to deserve it, that’s what I want to know.”
“Oh, you doth protest too hard, Caitlin. I think the fans are right. You’re madly in lust with me.” He widened his eyes. “Should I lock my door tonight? Will you be able to resist the urge to break it down and attack my fine bod?”
Catie would not laugh. She. Would. Not. Laugh.
But a snort escaped her nose, and then it was all over. Only Danny could do this to her—make her laugh so hard that her stomach hurt. Especially when he joined in with that infectious, warm laugh of his.
Wiping away tears a long time later, she pulled up the chat. “A whole bunch of ‘you’re a sly one’ followed by ‘we’re so happy for you!’ and oh, they want to know if you’re good in bed?”
She looked up just in time to catch dark red bloom across Danny’s cheeks, his mouth falling open before he snapped it shut and pushed back his chair. “I’m going to clear the table.”
Bemused at that reaction from Danny Esera, Sexiest Man in Sport, as voted by the masses, she didn’t regale him with her friend group’s other cheeky comments. She also didn’t reply to the nosy parkers. Thirsting on an actor or sportsperson she’d never met was one thing, but she knew Danny. He wasn’t just a picture on a wall she’d never meet.
He was all too real… all too sexy, all too funny, all too smart.
And she was going to be in serious trouble if she didn’t find a way to squelch this soon.
“You cooked,” she said and got up after setting her phone aside. “I should clear up.”
Ignoring her, he kept on with it. Her lips pursed, her blood hot without warning. “I said I can do it.” She hated it when people tried to “help” her, all the while disregarding her autonomy and abilities as a full-grown adult.
“Catie,” Danny said, giving her a narrow-eyed glance that was pure steel. “Are you treating me like some ableist fuck? Because no, just no. That’s not how we do things.”
The blunt question and statement brought her up short. She’d reacted instinctively and, honestly, not that sensibly. This was the same man who played touch rugby with her like they were on a professional field and he needed to win the championship. Never in a way that would hurt her, but with serious intent. Not once in their relationship had he treated her as anything but his equal.
“Then why are you keeping on with the washing-up when I said I had it?” she argued back.
“Because my mother would whup my ass if I sat around while a woman cleaned and tidied around me.” No give in his tone. “You know she would.”
Okay, he had a point. No one sat on their butt in Alison’s kitchen unless they’d done another chore. “You cooked,” she pointed out again. “Your mum always says the cook is excused from the cleaning.”
A scowl followed by an exhale. “Yeah, okay. I just didn’t want to sit anymore. I feel—” Putting the dishes in the sink, he gripped the edge of the stainless steel and sharply square bowl. “A stranger put something in my drink and suddenly, I had no control. It’s…” He swallowed hard.
Putting down the dishes she’d grabbed, Catie placed one hand on his muscular back. The heat of him burned through the fine cotton of his tee, his muscles all bunched up under her touch. “I know,” she murmured. “Realizing that other people can change your life without any input on your part? It sucks.”
Danny glanced at her, his eyes shiny before he looked away and blinked. “I’m blowing this out of proportion, aren’t I? I mean, compared to what happened to you—”
“That’s not how it works, hotshot.” She poked him in the side because the two of them, they messed with each other. It was their normal. “It’s not a misery Olympics. Things can both suck in different ways.”