Chapter 3 #2
She gaped at me for a second, then burst into laughter. “She’s living a real-life romance novel,” Talia giggled.
I raised an eyebrow. “Romance novels, huh?” I hoped that meant she would be as tolerant as Brielle because I had a feeling that I wouldn’t be any better than Lennox when it came to my girl.
Talia blushed but didn’t look away when she shrugged and grinned. “We all need a little fantasy in our life.”
Oh, baby. I intend to fulfill every one of our fantasies.
I shook my head to clear away the thickening haze of lust inside me. I needed to think about something else before my hard-on became even more apparent. “Back to the favor. I need an edge over the other guy fighting for this spot. If I had a serious girlfriend…”
Talia’s blue eyes filled with confusion. “Are you asking me to set you up with someone?” Her tone made it clear that she was not happy about that suggestion.
I smiled and shook my head, then grabbed her hips and pulled her against my body. “I’m asking you to be my pretend girlfriend. I think we have the chemistry to pull it off.”
Her cheeks heated again, making her look like a doll. “Pretend girlfriend? For how long?”
Pretend? Not long. Real? Forever, I thought, but I kept that to myself for now.
“Um, until I’m officially chosen, I suppose?”
Her gaze dropped to my chest, and she mumbled, “How long do you think that will be?”
“They’ll choose soon. We have a game coming up on Sunday.” I cupped her chin and lifted her face. “What do you say? I played the part of boyfriend, will you be my fake girlfriend?”
Talia licked her lips nervously, and I bit my tongue to keep from diving in to taste her shiny lips again. “Okay. Since I owe you.”
“Great.” I didn’t let her have any time to reconsider. Instead, I tucked her under my arm and we weaved our way through the tables.
“Um, I came with a coworker—friend. I should probably—”
“Where?” I asked, halting until she pointed a few tables away from my teammates. When I spotted the heavily pregnant woman sitting there, I smirked. The universe was clearly on my side.
I changed direction, and we walked over to her friend. “Dakota,” I greeted the wife of one of our offensive linemen, Ames.
“Hey, Brady!” she chirped happily, but then her brows drew down as she observed my arm around Talia.
“I see you’ve met my girlfriend.”
“Your girlfriend?” she repeated incredulously.
Talia shuffled her feet, and I glanced down to see an uneasy expression on her face.
She didn’t like lying to her friend. I didn’t want to force her to do it, but I would do just about anything to convince Talia that she was mine.
And if that meant going through with this ruse, then I wasn’t going to budge.
I peered back at my table of friends and nearly laughed when I spotted her husband. How had I missed it earlier? “I assume you brought Talia here because Ames is over there brooding and watching you like a hawk.”
Dakota sighed. “It was the only way he’d agree to let me go out with a friend.”
I did laugh this time but quickly smothered it when Dakota glared at me. I didn’t want to upset her. Ames would kick my ass, but also, I was afraid to cause her to go into labor.
“I’d like to introduce my girl to everyone, why don’t you ladies join us?” I suggested.
Dakota huffed, and her lips turned down into a pout. “Did Ames put you up to this?” She observed me suspiciously, but since he honestly hadn’t, she believed me when I denied it.
“Okay, but I need you to help me up. And then you have to get me a kiddie cocktail since you distracted Talia while she was on a mission to get me one.”
I held out my hand, but before she could take it, her husband pushed me out of the way. Once she was out of the chair, he scooped her into his arms, ignoring her protests as he carried her over to his seat and dropped down, settling her on his lap.
“So…I guess your team owner isn’t the only caveman Nighthawk?” Talia asked with a cheeky smile.
I followed Ames’s lead and sat in my chair, then tugged her onto my lap. She blinked up at me in surprise, her body sitting rigidly upright.
“Relax, baby,” I crooned as I leaned down and nibbled on her earlobe. “Serious girlfriend, remember?”
Talia’s breath caught in her throat when I licked the shell of her ear, then she exhaled slowly and let her tension bleed away.
I took in the shocked and curious faces of my teammates and grinned. “Guys, this is Talia. My girlfriend.”
There was an awkwardly long silence, then Prentice narrowed his eyes and asked, “When did this happen?”
“Around six months ago,” I lied, hoping no one would dig too deep until I had a chance to get to know Talia a little better. “We didn’t want to go public until it was serious.”
I volleyed a barrage of questions for ten minutes—only getting a short reprieve when the server showed up with a kiddie cocktail for each of the women—then shut it down.
My friends took the hint and backed off.
We sat with them, laughing and shooting the shit for another hour.
Talia clearly enjoyed herself, which made me even more certain she was the one for me.
However, I’d thrown a lot at her, so I bent my head to whisper in her ear, grinning when she shivered. “Are you ready to go, baby?”
She nodded.
I caught Dakota’s eye and canted my head toward Talia. “I’ll take her home.”
Dakota smiled and waved at my girl. “See you at work! And let’s do this again. But without the testosterone butting in next time.”
Talia laughed, and we said goodbye before I took her hand and guided her out of the bar.
“I can take the train home,” she said when we walked out into the chilly October air.
“No fucking way,” I grunted.
“But I live all the way out on Long Island. I’m sure it’s far out of your way.”
Damn, this was turning out to be my lucky night. I smiled and squeezed her hand. “Actually, I just moved there. So no more arguing.”
“Okay then,” Talia giggled.
Since I lived out of the city, I’d driven in and parked in the garage Axton owned next to The End Zone. I gave the ticket to the valet, and while we waited, I tucked Talia under my arm. She looked up at me in surprise, and I shrugged. “You never know who’s watching.”
“Oh. I suppose you’re right.” There was something in her tone that I couldn’t interpret, but the car arrived before I could ask about it.
I opened the door and helped her inside, then shut it and stalked around to the driver’s side.
Once I settled behind the wheel, I had her plug her address into my phone.
I wanted to take her home with me, but I knew it was way too soon.
“Add your contact info while you’re in there,” I instructed as I pulled out and turned left.
As I maneuvered the busy streets of Manhattan, I asked, “So you work with Dakota at the investment firm?”
Talia laughed. “Definitely not. Numbers are not my thing. I work at the K-Corp daycare.”
I could hear the smile in her voice and glanced over to see her face had gone soft. “You like kids?”
“I love working with children. They are so amazing.”
I wanted to ask her if she wanted kids, but we’d have more time to get to know each other on our next date.
Talia yawned, then chuckled. “Sorry. It was a long day chasing after those rambunctious little ones.”
The drive to Long Island was only an hour this time of night, and I’d been happy to spend more time getting to know her. However, while I was fighting traffic to get out of Manhattan, she’d fallen asleep.
She looked so sweet and peaceful, and she had clearly been exhausted, so I let her sleep. I turned on some music, keeping it low, and reached across the console to lace my fingers with hers. Talia smiled as she shifted in the seat, and something squeezed my heart.
When we arrived at her home, I hated to wake her…and leave her. But I was consoled by the fact I would see her tomorrow even though I hadn’t told her yet.
I parked on the curb in front of her house and cut the engine, then got out and went around to open her door.
Her pretty red lips puckered just a little, and I couldn’t resist the temptation. I leaned over and brushed my mouth over hers. “Wake up, baby,” I murmured as I pulled back and ran a fingertip down her cheek.
Talia’s eyes fluttered, and her mouth curved up into a sweet smile. “Hi,” she whispered. Then her cheeks turned pink as she became more aware of her surroundings.
I grinned and planted another quick kiss on her mouth. “Let’s go, baby. I’ll walk you to the door.
“Um…okay.”
I reached across and unsnapped her seat belt, hiding a smile when my arm brushed her breast, and she sucked in a quick breath.
When I finally stood, her face was flushed, and I couldn’t help wondering if she’d look like that when I made her come. That train of thought would only get me in trouble right now, so I pushed it away and helped her out of the car.
Keeping her hand in mine, I shut the door and walked her up to the house. “Good night, baby. I’ll pick you up tomorrow at five.”
Talia’s brow rose. “Why?”
“I’m going to take you on a date,” I informed her. “We need to get to know each other better.”
She smiled and nodded. “Okay.”