“Ready,” I reply.
“Great. I had my assistant Annie check over those few local fans’ social accounts you sent over. She flagged two she’s worried about.”
“Okay. I can get a last-minute plan put together and send it out to the team tonight.”
“I was actually about to head out to dinner at Biologica, a restaurant down by the harbor. Do you two want to join me?”
I look at Carter, still uncertain if I should be pissed at him or not for Trent’s unexpected arrival. He matches my posture, arms crossing over his chest as he locks eyes with mine. A double eyebrow raise suggests it’s my call. I can almost hear him saying “I’ll follow your lead.”
“Sounds good.”
“Great. It’s a date!” Jaxon says with a smile. A smile that makes me very much regret agreeing to dinner.
Chapter nine
Carter
“Youwhat?”Isayinto my phone as I sit in the lobby of our hotel in downtown Vancouver. After leaving the stadium fifty minutes ago, Kelsey, Jaxon, and I agreed to meet here for dinner, since Jaxon insisted he change into something nicer before we left.
The Jaxon I knew twenty years ago didn’t ever care too much about that sort of thing, but I suppose between time and fame, he’s likely changed a lot from the sixteen-year-old I knew.
“I’m not going to be able to make it to dinner after all,” Jaxon repeats. I can hear him pacing on his end of the line, though no muffled voices like I would expect to hear if the rest of his staff is there.
“Okay,” I say.
“You and Kelsey should still go without me, though.”
“That’s all right, I’m sure we’ll just grab something from the hotel restaurant.” Though the idea of going out with Kelsey and taking inthe city sparks something in me that I have to work very hard to snuff out.
“Andre will be heartbroken if you don’t go. He worked really hard to get that reservation.”
“I thought Annie handled all your meal scheduling.” And as the most no-nonsense middle-aged woman I’ve ever met, I highly doubt Annie would care if we didn’t take her reservation.
“Andre likes to help,” Jaxon replies.
“What?” I ask.
“Don’t worry about it. Just go, or Andre will be mad. Okay, have fun on your date!” The last sentence all runs together like he’s in a rush to get it out, and then the line goes dead.
“That little liar,” I say to myself, absentmindedly picking at a loose thread on my khakis.
“Who’s a liar?” Kelsey asks, startling me with her nearness.
I give myself one full second to take her in—just one. I’ve learned the hard way that it’s the only chance I have of pulling my eyes off her. A bulky black jacket covers her all-black outfit. It looks like one of those jumper things where the top is connected to the bottoms for unknown reasons. It’s just tight enough to show off exactly how fit she is, her petite frame wrapped in long runner’s muscles. With her thick, curly hair down for the first time since that morning we drove to Denver, she looks radiant.
Shit. I really thought the crush I had on her in high school was long gone. Turns out, it’s a lot easier to pretend you’ve moved on from a crush when you aren’t actively seeing and interacting with the woman.
Kelsey sticks her hands in her pockets, giving me a similar once-over. I dismiss the idea as quickly as it enters my head, knowing it’s notthatsimilar. I highly doubt she thinks I look radiant. Or debonair. Maybe attractive—I’m aware I’m decent-looking.
Regardless, I’m glad I went with a dark blue button-downwithoutthe Mitchell Security logo on it.
“Jaxon canceled on us.”
“Oh.” She looks around and then down at her outfit. “Shoot. I was really looking forward to eating at Biologica.”
She doesn’t sound like she’s being sarcastic, but sometimes her delivery is so deadpan, it’s hard to tell.
“You…were?” I ask.
