Neither was realizing that I’m in love with Everleigh Bradley, yet here we are.
CHAPTER 26: Everleigh Bradley
Stuck
I feel so much closer to Maverick after our night in Los Angeles, but as the plane touches down back in Vegas, reality starts to set back in.
First of all, the viral video of Penny’s cheating asshole husband iseverywhere. I can’t escape it on any social media site, and I hope and pray she deleted all of hers so she doesn’t have to see it.
She texted me her flight information, and she’ll be here with the boys in a few hours.
But aside from that, I can’t help but feel the punch back to reality with where I’m at with Maverick.
We can’t hold hands in public. For all intents and purposes, I’m parading around as his publicist. I’m issuing statements on his behalf, arranging interviews as he gets back to practice this week, and curating his persona to be a little less prickly. We can’tbetogether, which makes these intense, strong feelings all the more confusing.
We ride together back to our building, and it’s as the elevator carries just the two of us up to our floor that I say, “When we’re at the Complex or stadium, you should probably still act like you hate me.”
He turns toward me, and he cages me in. He’s so fast that I’m breathless as he grinds up against the front of my body. “But I don’t hate you. I want to fuck you.”
“Same,” I manage to squeak out. “But we need to keep it professional in front of anyone associated with the Aces. My brother included.”
He clenches his jaw with disapproval as his eyes sear down into mine, and the elevator doors open on our floor, forcing us off. This time he kisses me outside my door.
It’s one of those kinds of kisses that makes my toes curl, but I know Penny and her boys will be here any minute. Sammy and Benji don’t know it yet, but their lives are about to be flipped upside down.
I head inside and make sure my place is ready for guests. I have one guest room that really isn’t big enough for a woman and two boys, so I unpack my suitcase in the guest room instead of the master bedroom. This will work fine for a few days.
I get a call from Milton that I have guests, and I tell him to send her up. I wait by my door for her, and I’m surprised when Maverick comes out of his condo, too.
“Pen’s on her way up,” I say.
“I figured when I heard your door open. Can I meet her and her boys?” he asks.
I nod. “Of course. I’m sure they’d love that.”
The elevator doors slide open, and I rush to pull Pen into my arms. She starts to cry, and Maverick correctly assesses the situation.
“I bet you’re Sam, and you’re Ben,” Maverick says, pointing to the two boys.
Sammy narrows his eyes. “Are you a football player?”
Maverick narrows his eyes back. “How’d you know that?”
“My mom said you’re Auntie Ev’s boyfriend,” Sammy says, and Pen pulls back and mouthssorry.
Maverick’s eyes catch mine, and mine are wide with horror. We’resonot there yet, but it’s also the easiest explanation for a child to say he’s my boyfriend since we can’t exactly say he’s the dude I’m currently screwing even though we haven’t defined anything yet.
“No, Sammy, honey. I said he’s the man Auntie Ev isworkingwith,” Penny says, correcting her son.
I laugh. “We work together, and yes, he plays football.”
“Prove it,” Sammy says.
Maverick grunts a little bit of a chuckle. “Come on.” He heads into his condo, and the boys look at their mom, who looks at me.
I nod. “Maverick is great with kids.”
He turns around, and his eyes dart to mine, and they seem to soften just a little. He takes them into his condo, giving Penny and me a minute alone.
