“Cree,” he said in a low growl, and her eyes popped open.
“What?” She covered her mouth slightly with her hand as she continued chewing. “I can’t help it if it’s good, and it’s sooo good. Can I have some more?”
Tristan shook his head and chuckled. “I thought you didn’t want anything to eat,” he said as he fed her more.
“That was before I knew you made lasagna.”
As he continued feeding them both, Cree started going over the offers. He had time to think about the coaching offers, but he needed to make decisions regarding the endorsement deals. Cree gave suggestions and made notes as they talked.
Tristan knew his worth when it came to being a star running back with the NFL, but it was mind-boggling to see companies offering him millions to endorse their brands and products.
He had come a long way from growing up on the Southside of Chicago in one of the roughest neighborhoods. Back then, his parents, each working two jobs, had barely made enough to keep food on the table and a roof over his and his siblings’ heads. Now he made more in a year than most people made in a lifetime.
“I’m not sure how thoroughly you went through this document,” she said, lifting a page for him to see it was the one from a popular, sports apparel company. “But they want to film several campaigns at once, which would explain the amount of money they’re offering. And they want to film in Atlanta.”
Tristan sighed. He’d thought it would be one commercial and a photo shoot. Filming several commercials might take weeks, which would keep him from home and Cree. He’d done his share of commercials while playing football, and though some had been fun, they were also tedious with the retakes.
“How long are they saying it will take?” he asked.
“Minimum a week, but they don’t think it’ll take more than two weeks if all goes well. I’m not sure if that’s true because they are planning to shoot in two different locations.”
“What about the photo shoot?” he asked, biting into his garlic bread and trying not to moan. Damn, this is delicious if I should say so myself.
When he caught Cree looking at his mouth, or maybe she was looking at the bread, he held it out to her. He had offered her piece a few minutes ago, but she had declined. She claimed that, after all the lasagna, she didn’t need more carbs.
“I don’t know why you’re trying to cut back on bread, but you’re going to want to taste this. It’ll be worth every calorie.”
After a slight hesitation, she leaned in and took a large bite while he held it, and damn if that wasn’t sexy. They were both big eaters and used to feed each other all the time. Just something else he missed about their time together.
Cree closed her eyes and moaned again, the sound making his body stir. He struggled to hold in his own moan as he watched her chew and then swallow. He wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her so bad, but he couldn’t. One wrong move this evening could mess up any progress he’d made with her so far. Yet, he wanted more than anything to feel her lush curves hugged up to him, and her sweet lips pressed against his.
“You’re right. That was worth every calorie and so was the lasagna. I see you haven’t lost your cooking skills.”
“Baby, I’m a hundred percent better at everything,” he said, holding her gaze and making sure she understood what he was saying. “Just let me know if you want to experience any of my other skills.”
“Tristan,” she said in a warning tone that also sounded like a whine.
She wanted him. Cree wanted him as bad as he wanted her, but she was still fighting the attraction.
“Are you dating anyone?” he asked.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but no. I’m focusing on my career, and speaking of which, let’s get back to this offer. Regarding filming in Atlanta, I talked to the director and the cinematographer earlier today about the schedule. One mentioned you’ll have a couple of fittings before they start shooting. So, I’m thinking we should have them add something in the contract about you only being available for two weeks. Additional time can be negotiated if needed, especially since the photoshoot will need to be worked into the timeframe.”
Tristan wiped his mouth with a napkin and sighed. “I’d prefer to only be there a few days, but since I don’t want to have to go back and forth with filming, I guess I’m going to have to hope they stay on task.” That would mean being away from her for weeks. He didn’t want the progress he was making with her to regress. Unless…
“Actually, to ensure they stay on schedule, you could always go with me,” Tristan said, and the more he thought about the idea, the more he loved it.
“Nope. Not going to happen,” Cree said as she jotted a note in the margin.
“Why not? You love traveling.”
She snorted and rolled her eyes at him. “How would you know? You and I were so broke, we didn’t get a chance to do much traveling.”
“True, but now I have the means to make sure you get to go anywhere in the world you want to go.”
Tristan had planned to take her to New York on a shopping spree with the signing bonus he was promised when he had signed with Philadelphia. But that idea got crushed once she kicked his ass to the curb.
His plan had been to give her the world, except he never got the chance. Not only did he want to give it to her now, he owed her. She deserved so much more than just lunch, a trip, and a percentage of his contracts. If given the chance, he’d give her everything her heart desired.
