“After the games finish up, there’s always more work. Post-game analysis. Social media posts.” He laughed bitterly. “That’s when it feels like a job. I love all the rest of it, though.”
I liked tired Luke. Some of that stiffness from earlier was gone. He wasn’t barking at me or making rules. He was just talking about his day like we did this all the time. It was nice and I didn’t want to leave the bed.
I forced myself to move before I did something I would regret.
Luke glanced at my bare legs, and I tried to not squirm under his gaze. I rolled my lower lip between my teeth. “So which room is mine?”
He motioned through the open door to the bedroom across the hall. I bowed, then winced because I had never bowed in my life before. I rushed to my room before he could see how red my cheeks were.
I buried myself under the covers of the cold bed and I missed the smell of Luke on the sheets.
The next morning, Luke woke me up at seven a.m. “Rise and shine.”
He was already dressed again and looking impeccable, but I hated him a little when he opened the blinds, making me recoil and squint like a vampire. “Get up. We have a lot to do today.”
“Did you even sleep?” I asked, not ready to move.
He checked his watch like a reflex. “I slept as much as necessary. I already went to the gym. Now come on. We’re burning daylight. I brought you your suitcase and your phone.”
“Such a gentleman. Now give a lady some privacy.”
With a frown, he left and I dug out some clothes from my bag. I had always leaned toward more colorful clothing and preferred a thrifted sweater over anything too plain or done up.
Luke was still wearing that perpetual frown when I emerged, yawning. He had his phone pressed to his ear while he scanned his laptop. Luke had seemed so much softer only a few days ago in Texas, a totally different version of the grouch lord he was now. Like being home again forced him to strip down to who he was at his rawest, and here, in this cold, modern penthouse, he’d been forced back into his armor.
Luke looked me up and down from head to toe, but I couldn’t decipher his expression. He hung up the phone. “Lenny is waiting for us downstairs.”
CHAPTER 11
LUKE
On the ride down to the lobby, I became acutely aware of how close we were. Clara’s vanilla scent filled the elevator just like it had filled my nose last night when I’d finally slipped into bed. My senses had rejected it at first. No women ever made it into my personal sanctuary.
My hookups were in hotels and the backs of limos. The few conquests who actually made it back to my place had been entertained in one of the guestrooms. The idea of someone invading my private space was upsetting, but the reality of it was less so. After a few minutes, I had been breathing her in like intoxicating smoke. It lulled me to sleep.
When I had woken up, I smelled the vanilla before I even opened my eyes, and wild excitement had filled me, knowing we would be spending the morning together. That was a terrible sign. Taking Clara shopping was simply an errand to run, not something fun to look forward to. The last thing I needed was to start thinking our arrangement was the real thing.
That way lies madness.
The elevator doors opened and we got out. Clara looked at me with sleepy eyes. “Before we do anything else, can we please get some coffee?”
I frowned. “We’re on a tight schedule.”
“All the more reason to get me caffeinated,” she said with a smile. “I move a lot faster with coffee.”
I rolled my eyes and nodded. “Fine. I’ll have my driver take us to a coffee shop before we get going.”
“Oh, is Lenny here?” Her eyes lit with excitement and she looked around the lobby like he might be inside, instead of out waiting with the car.
Jealousy stabbed my heart unexpectedly. “Look who’s suddenly awake,” I said, trying to hide the anger in my voice. “Maybe try not to gush about other men when you’re pretending to be my girlfriend.”
I walked toward the exit without waiting for her.
She hurried to catch up. “Sorry, I just like his accent.”
“Well, lucky him,” I groused without looking at her. “If you’d rather pretend to be his girlfriend, go ahead. Maybe he has a spare bedroom for you and an extra hundred grand lying around to pay you.”
I slammed open the exit before the doorman could get it first. He looked like he was going to say something to me, perhaps a greeting or an apology for not being quick enough, but the expression on my face must have scared him. He closed his mouth, nodded, and kept his eyes lowered.
