She flicks between his eyebrows with a well-placed forefinger. “My heart belongs to another. And I can’t fucking skate.”
He gives her his most dazzling smile, but her eyes have landed on my half-naked body and widened.
I know lust when I see it, and the fire flickering in her eyes makes me want to preen just a little. “You okay?”
“Me?” She points at herself. “You’re being raked over the coals in today’s paper, and you’re asking if I’m okay?” She shakes her head. “Cute. I stopped on my way to practice to check if you’re okay. If you want to bail on this weekend…”
“He doesn’t. He’s not.” Sully steps forward and slaps my pec, drawing Rhiannon’s attention back to my sweaty, bare skin. “He’s got his penguin suit ready.”
She tucks her hands into her back pockets. “You sure?”
Sully opens his mouth to answer, but she slaps her hand over it, her brows jerking up. “Are you sure?”
I love that she’s not taking any of his shit. He probably does, too. He gets off on it. Nothing gets him wound up more than a strong woman who can hold her own.
I nod. “I’m still in for the benefit.”
She squeals and snatches her hand away, making a show of wiping it on her pants. Sully has either licked or bitten her hand because she’s glaring at him. “Fucking man-child.”
“Thanks.” All he fucking does is grin. “I like her.”
I cover my face with my palm. “There aren’t enough sorries in the world for… him.”
She gives me a small smile. “We don’t apologize for other people’s actions, remember?” She toes the tip of my trainer. “A few of us are going out on Saturday.”
For her birthday, but she doesn’t say that, nor does she meet my eyes. She stares, instead, somewhere around my belly button.
“You don’t have to come, especially since we’ll be together on Friday night, but I wanted to invite you.”
I’m not sure if we’re being awkward because Sully iswaggling his eyebrows at me, or what, but something has shifted between Rhiannon and me, and my pulse is racing.
“Where are you going?”
“We’re doing bottomless brunch in town, then karaoke. Or at least that’s what they’ve told me. I have a strong suspicion that there’s a surprise party in the works.”
“Sounds like fun. You sure you don’t want to keep it family only?”
She looks at her feet, so I hook my knuckle under her chin and tip her head up. “I don’t mind if you need to do some things by yourself, you know.”
Her cheeks turn pink. “I’d like you to come.”
Sully drapes his arm across my now-cool shoulders. “We’d love to.”
I smack him on his rock-hard stomach. “You’re not invited.”
He stares at her, and she doesn’t say a word. “She didn’t say no.”
She blows out an exasperated sigh. “I need to get to training, but let me know?”
I brush my thumb across her face before she pulls away. “I’m in, for the fundraiser on Friday, your birthday on Saturday, and the Morrigan firing line on Sunday.” I wink at her, making her smile. “For the ’gram, right?”
“Gotta keep the social cred up. Give people stuff to distract them from the arseholes posting crap about you.”
I nod. We’re on the same page. On the pitch, she doesn’t look to shine… she looks to make the women next to her shine.
Right now, she’s here in my home, trying to make sure I don’t lose my shine.
And from the looks my best friend is giving me, he knows I’m fucking screwed when it comes to this woman.
