“You looking for someone?”
“Holy shit, Elise! You scared the crap out of me!”
“Sorry?”
With my heart racing, I looked up at the most stunning sight I’d ever seen. Besides the sexy smile she was rocking, Elise had listened and was wearing a pair of jeans that looked like they’d been painted on, a white t-shirt that showed the hint of the white lacy bra I was desperate to know more about underneath, and a badass black leather jacket that had my dick stirring in my slacks.
Unbuckling my seatbelt, I stepped out and greeted her properly with a hug and a kiss on the cheek because I couldn’t not touch her.
“That’s some kind of hello.”
“You look hot as fuck!” As soon as the words left my mouth, I wanted to slap myself up the side of the head. I could’ve said a million different variations of the same thing and they all would’ve sounded better than that. Not that it wasn’t true; it just wasn’t very polite.
“Th-thank you.”
Resisting the urge to apologise, instead I focused on keeping things moving. We were on a time line, unfortunately. “We should probably go,” I offered.
“Okay.” Without saying another word, Elise turned and skirted around the front of the car, and for the first time I got a glimpse of her arse in those jeans. Instantly, my dick stood to attention and there was no talking him down. She had the perfect peach-shaped arse, and my hands were itching to slap it. Squeeze it.
As soon as we were both buckled in, I merged into the traffic and we were on our way, the clock on the dashboard taunting me.
“So, dear, how was your day?” I asked, trying to keep it casual.
“Some days I swear kids are just little shits,” she huffed as she fiddled with the zipper on her jacket.
“I’ll bet.”
“How ‘bout you? How was your day?”
“Busy,” I admitted.
“With?” she prodded.
“Meetings. Gym sessions. Errands. Boring shit like that.”
“Oh my god, Luca, could you be any more vague?”
“Yeah, probably,” I replied honestly, watching her out the corner of my eye as I turned the corner, the stadium up ahead. “So, there’s something I probably should tell you before we get there.”
I heard the sharp intake of her breath and saw her whole body stiffen.
“The reason I asked you to come out early was because I have a press conference tonight.”
“Okay. What time? I can get Jax to come and get me. Or I’ll just Uber.”
“No!” It came out harsher than I’d intended, and I watched as Elise shifted closer to the door and farther away from me. “Sorry. What I meant was, the reason I wanted to pick you up earlier is, I want you there with me.”
“You do?”
“Absolutely.”
“Oh. Okay then.” I could tell Elise was scrambling to find her footing, but I was grateful she was trying. “What’s the press conference for?” she enquired as I turned into the crowded parking lot, driving around the back and away from all the people climbing from their cars and heading inside.
I waited until I was parked so I could turn to face her. Reaching out, I took her hand in my trembling one. I knew I was nervous, but I wasn’t sure what I was most worried about. Elise’s reaction. Embarrassing myself in front of the press. Disappointing my family. Or all of the above.
“I’m announcing my retirement.” The words came out so easily it startled me.
“You’re retiring?” Elise repeated at a frequency usually reserved for dogs.
