Fox toasted her. “Which is why I’m never getting married again, so unfortunately, I won’t sign up with you, Maddie.”
“Oh,” Matt said. “Well, if Fox is out… Shit, am I the innocent lamb then?”
“Mr. Four-Handcuffs?” Lucy flipped him the bird. “God, if anyone heard this tonight… No, no. You were in the press too because of the whole thing with Maddie.”
“So, who’s left?” Leon asked, irritated.
Lucy grinned. “Well, Moreau! He just admitted that he hasn’t killed anyone yet. He’s never made the headlines in his life — I should know! It’s just easy to forget him because he has such a…um…” She glanced quickly in his direction before whispering loudly, “…evil aura. But he’s our innocent lamb.”
Anna choked on her drink and coughed into her hand before she started laughing. She couldn’t help it. Lucas, the winner of theInnocent Cup…that was like Harry Styles winning a trophy for worst singing. Or a jackhammer winning the medal for the quietest work!
“What’s so funny?” Lucy asked, irritated and uncomfortable. Anna noticed that everyone, without exception, was staring at her.
“Oh, sorry, nothing,” she replied hastily, wiping her hands on her napkin while avoiding Lucas’ gaze. She felt him like warm fingers around her face, and she didn’t like that. “I just saw Leon’s expression.”
Thank God no one doubted that Leon Alvarez could look stupid…
Chapter Six
Sixth encounter
“Lucas…you’re wearing two different socks! One has beer-drinking sloths on it and the other, dancing excavators.”
He frowned as he slowly ran his large hands up her bare legs, pressing his thumbs into the insides of her thighs. “And?”
She swallowed. “Nothing. Now that I think about it, it’s completely uninteresting.”
Why was she here?
Why the hell did she have to be here? Why couldn’t she stop provoking him? It hadn’t bothered him in bed — shit, on the contrary, he’d enjoyed punishing her for her words. But those days were over!
God, would it always be like this? That he couldn’t relax with his teammates anymore becauseshewas there?
When he’d heard her laughing, he’d to be careful not to stare at her for too long. He couldn’t lose himself in memories that shouldn’t be so present.
“Oh, fuck, you’re right!” Leon exclaimed loudly, and Lucas forced himself to look at him. “Moreau hasn’t even been framed for an affair or a sex scandal!” He stared at him open-mouthed as if that were a crime punishable by five years without parole. “Honestly, I’ve never seen you pick up a woman – or a man – or even express interest in another person!”
Good God. Why the hell were they still talking about him? Usually, everyone just left him alone — but since Anna had established that it was okay to make fun of him and pry personal information out of him, others seemed to have jumped on the bandwagon. What a load of crap.
“Come to think of it, I’ve never seen him pick anyone up, either,” Dax said, playfully contemplative. “I’m not even sure he’s ever had sex. Maybe he’s not interested in sex?”
Lucas saw Anna swallow out of the corner of his eye, probably because she knew otherwise. He said nothing. He didn’t care what his friends thought about his sex life, and he didn’t feel he had to prove himself.
“Even though he gets the most underwear sent to him.” Lucy shook her head, feigning sadness. “What a shame.”
“Lucas receives the most underwear?” Anna asked, astonished, and he knew she was staring at him. He felt it in his abdomen, just like he had a few hours ago when she’d walked through the door.
“Lucas?” Lucy asked, irritated. “Nobody calls him Lucas. But, yes, his fan mail contains the most lace panties.”
He pressed his lips together. Anna had better exercise caution.
“So what’s his problem?” Leon asked loudly. “Moreau doesn’t pick up people in bars. He doesn’t talk about women. He doesn’t look at women. He’s never had a girlfriend, fiancée, wife, he…”
“You’re wrong,” Fox stated loudly, patting him on the shoulder with a grin. “There was a woman! I’ve never met her,but he has gone to see her at least once a week since last summer, and has always returned smiling.”
“Really,” Anna said slowly, and Lucas’ shoulders immediately tensed. “Moreau can smile? Maybe he doesn’t deserve the Innocent Cup after all. That sounds scandalous.”
Fox laughed loudly. “Yeah, right? All he said about her was that…”
