Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
“The only reason you are in here with me is because you were the last one added to the list for this event,” Diana hissed at Amil once they were inside the cat room.
Yes, she actually hissed. Jesus, was she turning into a cat?
Or, more accurately, a feral woman. A feral, horny woman.
Ugh.
The cat room was a glassed in area about the size of a mudroom, with half a dozen cat trees, a bunch of hammocks hanging between them, just as many litter boxes, and tiny stuffed mice everywhere.
The humane society staff was going to let in two fans at a time, and they were currently giving the first pair a detailed explanation of what to expect, which allowed Diana a moment to talk to Amil without anyone overhearing.
“You’re the one who added me at the last minute,” he pointed out in that annoyingly logical way of his.
Yes, she had. It had been an impulsive decision, partially an effort to help him bond with his new team. The fact that she had found someone willing to hang out in the cat room—she’d made an assumption, based on the way he took to Lazlo—without coercion had been a bonus.
The fact that she would be in here with him was an aspect she had tried not to think about.
Until she had no choice.
Although, real talk, other than these few minutes, they wouldn’t actually be alone in here. And the entire room was made of glass, so they might as well be in a fishbowl. Everyone could see everything happening in this room.
“I saw the way you grinned at Jalen,” she said, obligingly picking up a pure white long-haired ragdoll cat. It draped itself over her shoulder, and she stroked its soft fur.
Amil scratched the ears of a young calico that perched on a cat tree and batted at his arm. His hand was larger than the cat’s body, yet he was as gentle as…what? A giant?
“He’s now the third guy who has warned me away from you,” Amil commented, seemingly casually, while he cuddled the calico.
Ugh, why did observing him holding a cat make her insides all gooey? She did not need this today.
Or ever.
“Do you blame him?” she managed to choke out. “He’s the one with the crush.”
“That’s more than a crush. If you’ve put him off like you say you have, he’s more like obsessed. I mean, I get it. If you two ever banged, even if it was once, I can see where he’d get addicted.”
She scoffed. “Stop. I do not have a magic pussy.”
He arched his brows. She couldn’t retort again—no idea what she might have said anyway, because one of the staff opened the door and two Mountain Lions fans hurried into the glass enclosure.
While the dad was clearly there to meet Amil, his son was there for the cats, and in the end, they walked out with plans to adopt a six-month-old black-and-white kitten.
The rest of the event went by quickly and with no opportunity for Diana and Amil to talk again. She was both relieved and frustrated, not that she had any idea what they might have talked about.
They’d talked to death the fact that they were not going to hook up again. And the Jalen situation, well, she had no clue what to do about it.
Other than talk to Jalen. Again.
Amil had told her he’d handle it, but based on the way they’d snipped at each other earlier, it did not look like that was going to be the best solution to the problem.
And honestly, the only problem was that Jalen and Amil were now teammates, so they needed to get along. That was it. Whether Jalen still held a candle for her didn’t matter.
Because she and Amil were not getting together, so Jalen had nothing to get upset about.
By the time she met with the humane society staff and collected all the adoption stats from today’s event so she could use them for team publicity, it was late and she was exhausted.
She’d thought she’d text Jalen, see if he’d like to meet her so they could talk.
Get this whole obsession, or whatever it was, straightened out once and for all.
But she wasn’t up to it, and considering how late it was, she really didn’t want him to get the wrong idea, so she promised herself she’d talk to him tomorrow.
When tomorrow came, her boss, Jeff, summoned her into his office. “We need a new photographer,” he said as soon as she crossed the threshold.
“Good morning to you too,” she said, placing his favorite coffee, a caramel cold brew, on his desk.
“Thanks,” he said. “You’re too good to me. And I’m sorry. It’s just that the guy’s going to be out for at least two months and the season starts in two weeks, and that is not enough time to secure a solid sports photographer.”
“Actually, I might have someone,” Diana said, thinking quick.
“Good. Go make it happen.”
Sometimes it was flattering that her boss had so much confidence in her that he did not even need to hear her ideas before letting her run with them.
Sometimes she would have preferred to bounce them off him first, at least to ensure they were on the same page before she actually enacted said ideas.
When she stepped back into the hall, Amil was striding toward her, dressed in workout gear, his backpack on his shoulders. She forced herself not to stare longingly at his body.
He slowed when he reached her. “What’s wrong?”
“Why do you think something is wrong?”
“You look perplexed.”
She sighed. “The photographer is out for at least two months. We need to bring someone on quickly. I have an idea and I just want to make sure what I’m thinking actually makes sense.”
She was only talking to him because he was the first person to come along after she left Jeff’s office. If one of the custodians had asked her, she’d have spilled her guts to him, too.
Or so she told herself.
“I have time. Bounce it off me.”
“Do you know anything about photography?”
He lifted one shoulder, let it drop. “I like looking at pictures. And anyway, that’s not the issue. It’s needing validation for your idea. So run it by me.”
Damn it, why did the guy always have to be so logical?
“Fine. My college roommate—”
“Allison.”
“No.” She shook her head. “There were three of us who lived together in college and for a few years after. Emma is a professional photographer.”
“Sounds perfect.”
“She’s not a sports photographer. She started out doing nature photography, traveling all over the world, but then she had some personal issues and her mom got sick, so she came home.
Er, went home to LA. Now she’s a freelancer, using weddings and family portraits to pay the bills, but I know she’d rather be doing something else.
I’m just not sure if sports photography is it.
Nor am I sure that Jeff will like it if I convince one of my best friends to take this position, which is pretty important for our image. ”
“Would I recognize any of her work?”
“Did you ever pay attention to the art displays in Levi’s Stadium when you were part of the 49ers organization?” she asked.
“Sure. There’s some pretty cool stuff hanging in that stadium.”
“One of Emma’s images is in there.”
“No shit. Which one?”
“It’s a tailgate, all women wearing 49ers gear and cheering on the team.”
“Oh, yeah, I know that one. It got a lot of attention when it first went on display. Attestation that women were sports fans all on their own. No men necessary.”
“Exactly.” Diana felt herself beaming. “I’m going to call her, see if she wants to fly up to talk to us.”
“Great idea. Good luck,” he said before continuing down the hall toward the locker room.
She stood where she was, watching him walk away. Again, without looking back.
She was both elated because he’d helped her talk through this dilemma and frustrated as hell because that had been a perfectly normal conversation. Between friends.
There had been no flirting. No teasing. No underlying sexual tension.
Well, that last part wasn’t true. At least, not for her. Anytime she was that close to Amil, her entire body wound itself into a knot, eagerly anticipating him unraveling her.
And then she was disappointed when it didn’t happen.
Except it wasn’t happening because she didn’t want it to happen.
But she did want it to happen.
“Gah!”
“You all right, Diana?”
She glanced up at Dante, who had managed to walk all the way down that long hall toward her without her even realizing he was there. Man, Amil really threw her off her game. She was beginning to think she ought to just sleep with him again so she could get her equilibrium back.
“I’m fine,” she promised him. “Just a lot on my mind. Have a good practice.” She turned on her heel and strode to her office.
Time to get to work.
Time to turn off thoughts about Amil.
If that was even possible.
It was all coming together. Well, not all, but bringing Emma on to work as the team’s photographer looked like it was going to happen.
Apparently, her ability to catch some amazing shots of a cheetah mid-sprint was enough to convince Jeff that she could shoot a professional football game.
She’d then returned to LA because she had to photograph a wedding on Friday evening.
So here they were on Saturday afternoon, tailgating at the University of Oregon game, because Morgan had invited the Mountain Lions players and friends to come out and cheer on the team her father coached.
Allison had invited Emma to stay with her and Dante until she figured out her own living arrangements, and yet Diana was surprised when Allison and Dante showed up with Emma to the tailgate.
“What happened to house hunting all weekend?” she asked after a round of hugs.
“I have fantastic news,” Allison practically shouted, her hands gripping Diana’s biceps and shaking her. The way Emma was grinning said she’d already heard this news, and it was clearly good.
“Well, don’t keep me in suspense,” Diana chided.
“We don’t have to move!” Allison announced.
Dante, who had collected drinks for all of them, began doling them out.
Diana took a gulp of a seltzer that tasted like mint and lavender. “That’s great.”
Although she felt bad for Amil, who she knew really liked their house and still needed to find a permanent residence. “What happened to change your mind?”
“The winery is opening a tasting room in downtown Portland, and they want me to manage it!”
“Oh my gosh, that’s fantastic,” Diana enthused, pulling her bestie in for another hug.
“Sounds like I still need your services after all,” Amil drawled from her left.
She jumped like she’d touched a live wire. She felt like she had, too. Just being this near to him overheated her skin, her senses. She took a gulp of liquid courage before turning to face him. “What are you doing here?”
He lifted the can in his hand in toast. “Got my very own invite from Royce.”
“Oh, look at you, growing up and starting to fit in,” she teased.
He smirked, and she felt that livewire sensation again. She hated it as much as she reveled in it. The idea that they had been so freaking good together.
The idea that they could be again.
That they got along when sex wasn’t on the table. Just as well as they did with him standing in the middle of the room, clutching her ass while she clung to him and bounced on—gah!
“You look flush,” Amil noted. “Are you too warm?” His eyes told her he knew exactly why she was flushed.
Damn it.
It was going to be a long day.
Hell, it was going to be a long season.