“So, how did you guys meet? Silas never said.”
I stilled at Lee’s question and swiveled my head to Silas.
“He…knows that we didn’tjustmeet. He’s not going to say anything.”
“Nope.” He pinched his thumb and index finger together and pulled them across his lips as if he were zipping them shut. “But I’m curious. The big guy usually doesn’t say much, so I’m just curious how the conversation started.”
“I punched him in the stomach as he was walking by.”
I lifted a shoulder as Lee squinted at me.
“True story,” Silas said, bobbing his head in a slow nod.
“By accident, I swear,” I said, holding up my hands.
“I’m sure.” Lee smiled as he looked between us. “I’m going to see if that day at American Girl Place is still open for bids. I mean, the actual price would be cheaper, but charity and all that.” He cracked a sneaky grin as he padded toward the back row of items.
“Was this a ruse to get us away from the table?” I asked Silas.
“Probably,” he said, following me as I scanned the next few items. “I can’t say I’m mad at him for it.”
“Me neither. My boss is so into getting Kent to spend more money in promo, she won’t notice anything else at the table anyway.”
“I wanted to sit next to you, but?—”
“Too obvious? No, I told you. I could be on fire next to her, and she’d just scoot her chair closer to Kent to finish whatever she’s pitching to him.”
“Not because of that.” His gaze raked down my body, heating up every inch of my skin in its path. He glanced behind him before he leaned in to whisper in my ear.
“That dress, those legs,” he rasped. “My hand would want to reminisce all the way up those beautiful fucking thighs, and I wouldn’t be able to stop there.”
“Silas,” I groaned, turning around and pretending with all my might to be interested in the ugly vase behind us with a high bid of two thousand dollars.
“Let’s talk after this. I know it’s complicated, but maybe it’s simpler than we think.”
He traced his thumb down my shoulder before dropping his hand.
“You really are so fucking beautiful.” I felt the scratch of his stubble as his breath fanned hot against my neck. I waited for him to walk away before I turned, taking slow steps back to the table.
I couldn’t do this again. Ishouldn’tdo this again. It was one thing to allow myself to enjoy Silas’s company, but to hop back in bed with him had all kinds of consequences. Not only could I lose my job, but I didn’t want the girls to whisper about me in front of Taylor if they found out—like some of the girls I’d known as a kid always had about my mother in front of me.
Consciously, I knew it wouldn’t be like that, at least not exactly. I wouldn’t be known for a revolving door of seedy boyfriends, and my sister’s teammates would probably think it was cool that I was dating the Bats’ manager. The fight to never put anyone before my sister was an unhealthy hang-up. There was no reason why I couldn’t take care of her and make room for someone else in my life.
But the thought of even making the attempt frightened me to my core.
If I ended up with Silas tonight, it wouldn’t be another fleeting night. Hell, that one night was neverjustone night. It had haunted me before I’d run into him again, and it would be even harder to walk away a second time.
But would it be worth it? I knew with a bone-deep certainty that it would be everything and more because he wasn’t just a guy I’d run into by chance this time. He was someone I knew, that I admired, that I liked for who he really was, not the fantasy he’d been then and after.
I headed back to the table and found Gayle alone, punching something on her phone screen.
“I’m going to head out. I’ll let someone else have the spa day.” She gave me a wary smile. “I just had to tell Letty to ease up on the flirting with the cute catcher over there.”
She jutted her chin to one of the players’ tables. Letty was a new assistant, only in her mid-twenties. I wasn’t surprised that she was flustered around all these gorgeous athletes, but I was sure she was fangirling more than flirting.
“I’m sure she was starstruck?—”
“She knows the rules. The players are clients, as is their entire organization. Hopefully I put a stop to it before it was too late.”
