She studied him and heard his sincerity. “What do you do with all your money?” They hadn’t yet talked about that. Would he be weird about it? “Besides spending it on that killer condo with a view.”
“I invest, give to charities.” He shrugged. “I try to keep it quiet because people can be greedy, and I only help real places needing it.”
“Like?”
He squirmed.
“Tell me.”
“Well, there are a lot of homeless in the city, you know. And kids. I’m a sucker for kids who want to play sports, and, you know, eat, and can’t afford it.”
She fell harder for the big guy because he kept glaring, as if daring her comment on his generosity.
“Not bad.” She changed the subject, letting him off the hook. “I will admit to being impressed by your condo. I like it. The views are amazing.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“And what about my amazing truck? You never told me how awesome it is.” He seemed offended she’d ignored that one. “It’s like a modern-day chariot, am I right?”
She smirked. “Amazing? Please. Will’s work truck has more horsepower than that thing you drive.”
“Sacrilege.” He blinked in shock and put a hand over his heart. “Take that back.”
“No.”
“Fine. Then walk home,” he growled, yet she saw the twinkle in his eyes.
He loved arguing as much as she did. “Maybe I will.”
He leaned closer and kissed her on the nose. “Nah. You can’t. I need to protect you from the crazies in this city. Did you not see half the guys making eyes at you earlier? You give them an inch, they’ll run a mile over and through you. Don’t trust any of them. Maybe Colby. But only because he’s more afraid of me than he is not getting laid.”
“Nice mouth, Demon.”
Damon and Marlie looked behind them to see an older man approach with a smile. He wore jeans, a gray cashmere sweater, and a Raptor’s scarf and managed to make the ensemble fashionable.
“Hey, Hal.”
When Damon moved to get up, the older man waved him back down. “No, no. Rest that leg. You’re still injured.”
“I’m healing fast.”
“But you’re not all healed yet,” Marlie reminded him, ignoring his scowl. “So keep your ass in your seat.”
The older man laughed and held out a hand, sitting on the other side of her on the stool. “Name’s Hal.”
“Marlie. Nice to meet you.” Hal seemed nice, and he had to be important to be in the team suite. “So who did you schmooze to be here?”
Hal grinned. “Let’s just say I know the right people.”
“Me too. Although I don’t know if ‘right’ is the best description for this fella.” She nodded to Damon, who glared at her. Amused, she continued, “In fact, my mother was close to arresting him.”
“Oh, she was not.”
Hal blinked. “Really?”
“No,” Damon growled. “Her mother’s the sheriff and pretty protective. Why, I’ll never know. Marlie’s meaner than I am.”
