Lee exhaled a long gust of air and shook his head.
“I noticed her over your shoulder a minute ago. She came in with that head PR lady, but Nate found her and chatted her up right away.”
I shifted toward where Lee was pointing, and sure enough, Rachel and Nate were laughing like old friends near one of thecocktail tables. She’d only met him once, or at least once that I knew of, so the familiarity between them seemed off. Wrong.
Fucking unacceptable.
I took in a slow breath so I could get it the fuck together. I couldn’t go over there like the jealous boyfriend I wasn’t and cause work trouble for all of us. Neither of them was doing anything wrong or owed me anything. The rage roaring in my veins from watching them together was as uncalled for as it was polarizing.
Rachel was single, beautiful, and sexy as fuck in a tight black dress that teased just enough cleavage and thighs to remind me of every gorgeous inch underneath.
“You’re going to lose a back tooth if you clench your jaw any harder,” Lee said, snickering as he nudged my shoulder. “Go over and say hi before you get an ulcer, Coach.”
I glared back at him before I stalked toward Rachel, trying to take slow steps to not make it seem like I was ambushing their conversation.
I guessed I could add caveman to the list of what I’d become since Rachel had taken all my attention and most of my sanity.
“Hey, Rachel. Nate,” I said, keeping my voice as even as possible. I’d managed to hold a calm tone during games and Nate’s tantrums over getting his shoulder checked, but it was a lot easier without a beautiful woman between us.
A beautiful woman I wanted for myself but couldn’t claim.
“Hey,” she said, smiling up at me as Nate looked between us. “Nate seems to be the favorite player on my sister’s team since he signed the most. I promised I’d get a picture with him when I arrived, but my cab was stuck in traffic by the bridge. My sister has been blowing up my phone.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask why she hadn’t just asked me to pick her up, but we weren’t friends like that, were we? Friends who could meet and talk without having awork reason. The Bats had chosen a high-end hotel in lower Manhattan, a quick trip from the field in Brooklyn. Picking her up would have been out of my way, but I was making all kinds of exceptions when it came to Rachel.
“I need a drink before I take any pictures.” She pointed to the bar. “All that time in the car has me a little antsy.”
“I’ll get it for you,” I said, the words falling out of my mouth before I could make them make sense. “We should talk about the other article anyway before dinner starts.”
Rachel’s brow creased in confusion since there was no other article to my knowledge, at least not one that had anything to do with me. But I was focused on getting her away from Nate and to myself, and sounding coherent wasn’t my focus.
She was.
“I guess I’ll see you inside, Rachel,” Nate said, squinting at me before he turned and headed down the hallway toward the dining area.
“Another article? Do you know something I don’t?” Rachel asked as we headed toward the bar. Lee had moved to the opposite end, speaking with one of the trainers. His shoulders shook when he caught my gaze, but I didn’t react.
“No, just needed an excuse.”
“An excuse,” she repeated, chewing on her bottom lip as she studied me.
“What can I get you?” the bartender asked Rachel, setting a napkin on the bar top.
“Glass of pinot grigio, please.” She smiled, flicking her eyes from him to me.
“Sure,” the bartender said, uncorking a bottle of wine and pouring it into a glass. I kept my gaze straight ahead and not on Rachel’s smirk in my periphery. I was an over-six-foot piece of fucking cellophane and wasn’t about to deny it.
Again, the only question now was what the hell to do about it.
“So that was another alpha moment,” she whispered, grabbing the glass and taking a sip, smirking at me around the rim.
“Maybe,” I allowed, letting go of a laugh when she chuckled.
“You look amazing,” I told her.
“Thank you,” she said, a tiny smile coasting over her gorgeous mouth. “I never know what to wear to a formal work event. I hoped this was okay.”
“It’s a lot more than okay. You’re fucking stunning,” I said before I could help myself. “It’s why I stole you from Nate.”
