4. Liam
Fuck.I should have known that Saoirse from that stupid gossip rag would have weaseled her way into the party.
She was the reason most of my relationships didn’t get past a second date. I was always finding a way to spin a story when I was seen out with someone.
But hearing Ava, the team publicist, bellowing out that I was with my fiancée?
Well, I should have been more pissed, but instead, my cock was harder than ever.
I’d never thought about settling down with a woman, especially as I went through a bevy of them in my twenties as my star rose in the rugby world.
But now, looking at Emily with her wide blue eyes and blonde hair, I couldn’t help but think about a future with her.
What she would look like walking toward me down the aisle.
Her stomach rounded with my baby.
I had to stop imagining it because my cock was straining painfully against my jeans.
“What’s going through your head right now…” I asked, tracing the line of her jeans along her outer thigh.
She sucked in a breath but didn’t move my hand as her body shivered underneath my hand, and I imagined what it would feel like to have her bare and laid beneath me.
Nope. Nope. I had to stop thinking that way.
“Why would that lady say that about us? Do you think everything’s okay?” She shook her head, her eyes widening. “Oh my gosh, do you think Michael heard?”
I took her hand and squeezed it lightly, which forced her to look up at me. “Hey, whatever it is, it’s okay. That was our PR girl, Ava. One of the gossip column ladies was poking around and probably said the first thing she could think of to make sure she’d leave us alone.
Emily blinked those long eyelashes. “And the first thing she thought of was that we were engaged?”
I shrugged. “Well, I did say you were here with me when we walked in, so maybe she spun it a new way.”
Emily groaned, but this time, it was not in a good way.
“Do you want me to text Ava? Have her come in here? Do some PR work?” I asked.
Emily sighed. “I guess because there’s no way I can walk out there right now.”
Pulling my phone out of my jeans pocket, I noticed Emily’s eyes flitting toward my lap, and, where it was painfully obvious, I was still trying to hide the bulge.
Her cheeks flashed crimson before she looked away, pretending to fiddle with her drink.
Swiping through my contacts, I quickly found Ava’s name and sent her a message.
Liam: Can you come meet us in the snug?
Ava: Sorry, not the threesome type of girl.
Liam: You know why you need to come in here and explain your reasoning for what you just told Saoirse.
Ava: Fine. Let me get a fresh drink. I think I’m going to need it.
Liam: Grab Emily and me an orange, too.
Ava: Will do.
Within a minute, Ava was knocking on the snug door, and I pushed it open, letting her slide in as she deposited our drinks on the table before sliding into the booth on my other side, leaving me in the middle of the two women.
Once the door closed behind her, I sucked in a breath, the dim light doing nothing to highlight Ava’s scowl.
She was a pretty girl, not as pretty as Emily for sure, but with her dark auburn hair and curves for days, there may have been more than a few fantasies created about her.
But now, there was no one else I could see. No one else I cared about other than Emily.
And Ava had just royally pissed her off.
“So, this is your lovely fiancée. A pleasure to meet you; I’m Ava, Head of Public Relations for the Shamrocks,” Ava said, sticking out her arm, covered in gold bangles that jangled as she shook Emily’s hand.
“I’m not actually his…” Emily stuttered, her eyes widening as she looked between Ava and me.
Ava shook her head, sliding her finger in the air across her face. “Nope. We aren’t saying that. We are sticking with the story, and hopefully, this time, Saoirse doesn’t find a way to spin it in a bad light.”
“This time?” Emily asked with a squeak.
I squeezed her hand. “She has it out for me. She is always trying to find something bad to say about me online.”
“Ex-girlfriend?” Emily asked quietly.
Ava snorted. “She wishes. Probably still sour from when you turned her down last year after the tourney.”
“She needs to let that go,” I grumbled, dragging a hand over the top of my head.
“Well, she’s not, so you two are the newest happy couple. We can release a press statement tomorrow with the team, and I can send a photographer over to your house to get a picture of the happy couple.”
Emily shook her head, her blonde hair whishing about her shoulders. “This is crazy. I’m just here visiting my brother, Michael. I’ll only be here for a week. Can’t we just say that? It was a misunderstanding.”
Ava wrinkled her nose. “The dogs have already been given a bone, and Saoirse is going to run with it.”
She then tapped her long red nails on the table. “So you’re staying with the boys then? That actually does help this story…”
“But…”
I squeezed Emily’s hand and met her worried gaze. “Hey, this is just a PR thing. We can be in a fake relationship for two weeks, and then when you leave, we can come up with any excuse you want.”
Ava waggled her finger between us. “Not any excuse. Not something that makes Liam look even worse in the press, so no infidelity.”
“I’m supposed to go back for college orientation…” Emily asked, worrying the lip between her teeth.
“Perfect. You left to pursue your college dreams in America, and I wouldn’t leave Ireland,” I said, even though the words broke me.
The tightening in my chest was new.
How could I have just met the woman, and the thought of her leaving already pained me?
Emily nodded slowly, letting out a deep breath. “I guess that could work.”
A pounding on the snug door had us all jolting before Michael’s voice boomed through.
“You guys better not be doing anything in there I wouldn’t do.”
Ava laughed before pushing the door open. “Michael, please, we know there isn’t anything you wouldn’t do.”
My teammate scowled, scooting inside and taking a seat.
I’d seen him intimidating the opposing team on the field; his nostrils flared, and his dark eyes narrowed.
But this time, the man looked like he was down right ready to kill.
“So, what’s this? I hear around the bar that you two are getting hitched?”
The scent of whiskey radiated from his breath, and I had to lean away from him; Emily must have smelled it, too, because she winced in response.
“It’s for publicity, Michael. We all could use some good PR,” Ava said, straightening her blouse.
Michael’s dark eyes flitted to Ava’s ample cleavage, but it was so quick that she must not have noticed because she cleared her throat, continuing on with her spiel.
“Your sister is only staying for a week, so when she leaves for school, we can just announce that Emily went to follow her dreams of attending college in America after a quick, whirlwind love affair.”
Michael huffed, crossing his huge arms over his chest, flexing so the black tribal tattoo on his bicep bulged.
“That doesn’t make Emily sound great. Do you think my baby sister would just leave like that? No. How about if Liam cheated? Give him someone on the staff to flirt with.”
“I would never cheat on Emily,” I growled.
Emily tightened her grip on my hand. “I know, but it’s just pretend…right?”
Ava was quick to interrupt, waving her arms between us. “No, no. No cheating. We’ll go with a whirlwind romance and reality hit when Emily has to go back to school and Liam can’t leave Ireland. Maybe we can even wiggle into some contract negotiations with this. Another year in Dublin with the Shamrocks?”
I sighed, leaning my head against the wood wall of the snug. Of course, it would come back to the team. That’s what Ava did.
I couldn’t blame her either.
I’d made hints about retiring. At thirty-two, my body wasn’t the same as that of these young guys like Michael.
It didn’t mean I couldn’t play with the best of them, but I was ready for something new.
And this was the first time I was actually thinking about that.
About possibly settling down.
For real.
“Yeah. If it makes me look like the bad guy without cheating and the press won”t vilify me, then let’s do it.”
I looked back down at Emily, staring into her wide blue eyes.
“What do you say, Emily? Want to have a fake engagement for one week?”
“Do I have a choice?” she whispered.
I pushed back a strand of her hair, letting it fall like silk between my fingers. “You always have a choice, mo ghra. If you want, I’ll go out there and tell Saoirse and whoever else is sniffing around that it was a misunderstand.”
“You’d do that?” she asked, blinking those irresistibly long lashes.
“I don’t think that’s a great idea,” Ava muttered, but I ignored her, keeping my focus on Emily’s bright blue gaze.
“I’d do whatever you wanted, Emily.”
She sucked in a deep breath and then let it out slowly. “Okay. Let’s try this fake engagement. What could it hurt?”