They were not.
It is, quite possibly, the worst painting I’ve ever seen in my entire life. And that includes the drawings from random toddlers I’ve received in the fan mail that gets sent to the Rogues. It’s an eclectic mix. Cute little drawings and thirsty letters from female fans that sign off with weird shit likeI Byrne for you.
Shudder.
I want to laugh, but Blair looks ready to crawl under the car and never come out again. She wraps her arms around her torso, hugging herself, and her shoulders slump. I glare at my buddies, who are shaking with the effort it takes to hold in their laughter. Then I lie.
“It’s not that bad. I can totally tell it’s a tree. And the pumpkins are perfect.”
My teammates turn to gape at me, mouths open. I ignore them. I only have eyes for the beautiful woman who has me all twisted up and confused as she searches my face for ulterior motives.
She won’t find one.
And that scares the shit out of me.
sixteen
BLAIR
“I havethe most fun project for you both.” Tess flies into the office, a whirlwind of excitement, coffee, and bright eyes. She looks between Bryson and me expectantly. “Honestly, I’m considering being selfish and doing it myself.”
Bryson laughs, used to her antics, and I can’t help joining in. I love when Tess gets like this. Her energy and excitement are infectious, and you never know what’s going to come out of her mouth.
“It’s that good, huh?” Bryson leans back against his desk, folding his arms over his chest.
Tess nods, her sleek black bob bouncing. “Um, yes. It involves shirtless men and adoptable puppies. You know what? As I’m saying those two things together, I realize you’d hate it. I can help Blair.”
That has him belly laughing. “Help Blair with what?”
“I’ve been keeping this quiet because I wasn’t sure we could make it work, but we’re teaming up with the local shelter to do a fundraiser. A calendar. Think half-dressed Rogues players andadorable adoptable puppies.” Tess fans her face, and Bryse isn’t the only one who ends up laughing.
“And the team agreed to this?” he asks.
“Of course,” Tess says, rolling her eyes. “Okay, well, not the shirtless part. That’s just wishful thinking on my end. But the photos and puppies and the charity calendar? All a go and happening in an hour. I need the two of you to head down and help the photographer set everything up, meet the shelter people, and wrangle puppies and players.”
My cheeks heat at thewrangling playerspart as my mind involuntarily flashes back to that night in LA when Logan and I wrangled each other right out of our clothes and into bed, but luckily, neither Tess nor Bryson seems to notice. God, I’ve been thinking about that night more and more ever since our girls’ night ended up at the bar with the guys.
How pathetic am I that all it took to have me thinking about Logan again was him pretending to be nice for the last part of the evening?
So. Pathetic.
How am I supposed to watch the man hold cute little puppies and maintain the last shreds of my indifference? Because I don’t buy the wholenicething. I’m sure he was trying to save face and not look like a complete jerk in front of his friends. But I know better. I also have eyes, and the man is gorgeous. And I know what his penis looks like. And feels like inside of me. So watching him withpuppies?
This is such a bad idea.
I only half-listen as Tess gives us the rundown about the project and what’s expected of us, and when Bryson elbows me, I know I’m not being subtle about it. Luckily, he doesn’t say anything until Tess dismisses us and we’re making our way down to the arena, where they’ll be taking the photos.
“You okay? You seem distracted.” There’s a glint of amusement in his eyes that makes me wonder if he and Adrienne have been talking about me, and he suspects there’s something between Logan and me. Or there was. There’s not now, and there never will be. Because Logan’s an ass, and the person who had this job before me was fired for gettinga little too familiarwith one of the players. So even if Logan suddenly turns into Prince Charming, there’s no possibility of anything else happening between us.
“Just tired,” I lie. “Reed made it onto the football team, and I’ve been running around after work to pick him up every day this week.”
My coworker’s expression shifts to one of understanding. “Adrienne told me. That’s great that he made the team. I know Eddie’s excited. If you ever need us to pick him up or help, we can. Adrienne helps her sister at least once or twice a week, so it wouldn’t be a problem.”
I offer Bryson a genuine smile, the anxiety that was gripping my stomach and squeezing easing up. He’s a good guy, and his girlfriend is amazing. “Thanks, Bryse, I really appreciate that. I’m sure I’ll take you up on your offer at some point.”
“Good. Now, is that the only reason you’re distracted?”
The teasing lilt of his words keeps me from panicking, but I’m still not going to talk to him about this. Not after the little he told me about my predecessor. I can’t do anything to jeopardize this job.
