Chapter 20: Hannah
Holy shitballs.
I’m in.
Callaghan Entay is about to sign a lucrative endorsement deal, and I know about it before anyone else. This is what I should be focusing on. Instead, all I can see is that he’s looking at me as if I’m a plate of pastries that he wants to devour.
And you don’t get to my physique without a sweet tooth, so the feeling is definitely mutual.
Which is so weird, because I want to hate him. He left a wave of destruction behind that took my body—and heart—years to recover from. He’s cocky and arrogant. His drive is so powerful that it causes him to ignore everyone around him.
That has not changed.
I wouldn’t exactly call him a giver, except maybe in the bedroom.
But from the pinched look on his ex-wife’s face, maybe he’s not even generous there anymore.
That’s a shame.
I should be focusing on the real reason I’m here, but all I can see is that pleading look in his eyes as he said, “Please.” My insides turned to a gelatinous mush. I would have done anything he asked.
A swell of power rises within me as I get the impression that Callaghan Entay doesn’t ask for help often.
Cal won’t let me leave his side. Which, for my purposes, is the best place to be. I don’t even have to eavesdrop. It’s the best of the best of the athletic and sporting world, and Cal, as the starting goalkeeper for Team USA, is a hot commodity.
I take my phone out and grab some video, scanning the crowd. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it, but it’ll be useful for something. I grab a selfie or two, managing to perhaps get some major sports names in the background. I’d love to get a picture of Callaghan, but I certainly don’t want to be obvious about it. Maybe I’ll walk around the room and get one from a distance.
But when I try to wander off, his arm snakes around my waist and pulls me back to him. After about the third or fourth time he does it, I finally call him on it.
Raising my eyebrows, I say, “I’m not your property or prisoner.” I really wish I could raise one at a time. It’d make my statement so much more powerful.
He glances down at where our bodies meet. “Can I consider you my security blanket?”
“Really?”
He leans in, his breath hot against my cheek. “Especially if you’d consider draping yourself all over me tonight.”
I ignore the clench deep in my abdomen. Instead, I burst out laughing. “Oh, my God. Callaghan Entay, that is terrible. Is that the crap you’re spewing to get someone into your bed? Do these lines really work for you?”
His face is still close to mine, and I can feel his cheeks widen into a smile. I pull back to look at him. He’s laughing too. “Dammit, Hannah. Still a ballbuster, I see.”
“No, but seriously, do those lines work?”
He lifts up one shoulder and lets it drop in nonchalance. “I don’t even have to talk.”
“With pick-up attempts like that, it might be better that way. But, if you’re not talking, what are you doing?”
His eyes sparkle. “I just smolder in their general direction.”
