“The Biltmore.”
“The fancy hotel where Obama stayed when he came to Phoenix?”
“Yes, that is the exact place.”
She did a little wiggle and the movement caused her small breasts to strain against her dress, and the best part about her was that it was genuine. She wasn’t trying to bring attention to her chest, nor was it a manipulated or calculated move. It was pure joy, and for the fucking life of me, I couldn’t explain why that was sexy.
We got into the car to head to the hotel. With rush hour, it would take a good thirty minutes before we would arrive. A memory sparked. “Why did you have an empty plate?”
She frowned, but it turned into a smile just as fast. “Fernie. He likes when I bake him things, even though I tell him I snuck poison into it.”
“You made him slutty brownies?” I made a face of disbelief and sat back with pretend shock. “Sarah Blue, that is not lady-like.”
“Shut up, you.” She pursed her red lips and gave me a sly look. “I did not give him those. I thought it best to go with lemon squares because he’s a sour tart of a man.”
I held up my fingers and counted down. “Let me get this straight. He’s an ass. He doesn’t like you. So that means you bake for him?”
She mocked me with her own fingers. “I think he likes it when I push back. He seems lonely. And I like to bake desserts. You just put yourself on thedo not bake forlist.”
“Not a real list, Blue Bell.”
“Yes, it is. It is very real and everybody on it regrets their decisions.” She crossed her arms over her chest and looked real smug. “You’ll see. I will make all sorts of treats and make sure the aroma goes under your door.”
“You’re more evil than you’d think.”
“It’s because of my size.” She shrugged and continued. “People think I’m a pushover and nice because I’m petite. I like to consider myself an F1 tornado.”
Words left me, because who the fuck said things like that? “Uh, why?”
“On the Fujita scale? Tornadoes are rated based on the amount of damage they leave and an F1 is like a small tornado that can cause harm, but not too much of it. Like the sirens go off, but it’s not that scary. That’s me.”
I shook my head and couldn’t hold back a full-body laugh. “You’re weird.”
“I’m aware, but life is too boring to spend time withnormalpeople. Who wants normal?”
I saw her point and merely nodded at her. The driver turned up a famous pop song and Sarah made no moves to try to steer the conversation somewhere. She watched out of the window with a half-smile on her face looking content. A little excited, but happy, and it charmed me to know I had something to do with it.
A short while later, we pulled up to the venue and I hurried out of the car to open her door. She fanned her face and pretended to faint. “Brigham, you were raised very right with all your manners.”
“I’ll tell my mom.”
“Please do. I’ll send her a thank-you note.” She grinned up at me, and it would’ve been the perfect opportunity to kiss her. The sunlight hit her face so her eyes lit up and her mouth parted, like she wanted me to go for it. But Charles’ text from earlier flashed in my mind.
Glad you’re finally on board with the plan. I’ll make sure the right headlines are out.
“Let’s check in, shall we, Blue?” I held my elbow out for her and it gutted me to see a slight fall of her shoulders. We had chemistry, that was obvious. But she had to know I was protecting her—not turning her down. She wrapped her arm around mine and we entered the venue. We checked in at the table and people were already staring at us. Men and women, old and young, all whispered in our direction.
Were they talking about Sarah? I hoped to god not. I would not forgive myself if her name got dragged through the mud, but it was then I heard my name cross their lips.
“Think he has coke on him here?” one woman said underneath her breath. “Shameful he’s so good-looking.”
I ground my teeth and led us to our table, where Sarah stared at the set-up. Tea lights hung all above us and the tables had unlimited amounts of beer, wine and food. But she wasn’t caught up in the glamor. She stared at the table with the rescue dogs and dragged me in their direction. We didn’t get far though. A guy with a large camera pointed to us and held up the device. “No thanks, man,” I said, my voice on the verge of a growl.
“For the event. Please,” he said, already clicking away. Sarah hesitated before sliding her slender arm around my waist and I pulled her closer against me. She seemed tense, really tense, and I gave a closed-mouth smile to appease the guy.
“Sorry about that,” I said, trying to gauge her mood. She frowned at my words and sucked that delicious lip into her mouth. “One of the downsides of being an athlete.”
“Sports ballers.” She shook her head and chuckled at herself. Then she got shy. “Will…people think we are together?”
