“How could I not? You almost murdered me over it.” A wicked smile parts his lips as he turns and grabs a rose-coloredplastic bag from a dispenser and hands it to me. “Here. Go crazy.”
I eye him as I gently pick up the silver scoop, but I can’t resist. Throwing open the bin, I shovel until the bag is so full my fingers strain to hold it. Decker swoops in, his hands cupping the bottom of it as we work together to twist and close it with a metallic tie.
“What’s next?” he asks, pulling out another bag.
I slap my sack of sugary bounty. “This is it.”
He arches a dark brow. “Anything you want. I’m buying.”
He and I both know that him buying makes no difference.
I shake my head. “This is my favorite. It’s all I want. What about you? What do you want?”
“Can’t. Been trying to eat clean for tomorrow.”
“Right. The kickoff game.” Suddenly, the room is too hot, and I pace until I find a vent to stand under. “Gotta stay in shape for our debut.”
“And what could possibly be my last season of football.”
I freeze where I stand. Retirement? I know he worried about his body holding up for the remainder of his career, but I didn’t realize he wanted to end it so soon. Retiring from something you love, that’s brought you so many opportunities, is hard. I don’t know if I could ever give up my job. I don’t know if my manager would ever let me.
Decker trails after me, standing with me beneath the AC, his arm brushing mine in a warm contrast to the cool, blasting air.
I turn toward him, tilting my chin up until I find his eyes. “What about all that champagne and cheesyfriteswe ate?”
The air kicks on higher, blowing my hair until a few strands stick across my face. Without missing a beat, Decker clears them away. “It was a special occasion. Didn’t want to disappoint my new business partner.”
I stare up into his eyes, examining his tan skin, his green eyes, how perfectly they contrast with his near black hair. When God created Decker, He really showed off. I don’t care how creepy my staring is, I can’t think about anything other than what a beautiful man he is.
“What?” Decker asks.
“I’ve never seen someone with greener eyes.”
“Is that a compliment?”
I hold his gaze. “If you want it to be.”
“Does my girlfriend actually find me attractive?” He leans closer, lowering his voice. “I want to hear you say it, Lena.”
My eyes go wide as a thud pulls me from my trance. I scan the space for any sign of Cole or other eavesdroppers. And that’s when I see it. The pink accordion shades may be pulled tight across the large glass storefront, but the one on the door is too small, leaving its margins completely open. Light peeks through the exposed glass along with someone’s face. And then another face. And then a lens. The flash is blinding as the camera goes off. It’s the guy from the back lot. The paparazzi.
Decker curses, stepping around me to block their view as the mumbling outside builds to excited shouts and screams. What have I done? Did I really think closing the door in that guy’s face would deter him? Paparazzi are relentless. If there’s one truth I know, that’s it. Decker’s warm hands grab my now-frigid arms and sweep me back to the storage room. I attempt to calculate how long I might have until this leaks—until it’s everywhere. Before my mom and Antonia see that I’ve gone completely rogue. Again.
Decker paces as I sit on a box. “Do you think we can make it to my car?”
Loud music blasts from beyond the closed office door, and I can only assume Cole is behind it, keeping himself distracted.
I shake my head. “I’ve gotten stuck places before. I can call Gustav.”
“Why don’t we try to sneak out the?—”
“I had a lot of fun with you,” I say honestly, letting the gravity of the situation pull me back to reality. I can’t just gallivant around like everyone else. My reputation can be ruined in seconds. With one click of a camera or one slip of unkindness from my mouth. I could lose everything. And now with Decker tied to me, our futures are in my hands, even if they’re separate. I have to save both my butt and his. That’s the only reason we’ve connected with one another. Like he said, it’s forbusiness. I can’t lose sight of that, regardless of how much the lines have blurred today.
“We only have until tomorrow. Then we don’t have to be so careful. Today we soft launch, tomorrow we hard launch, and all the rumors will come true. Lena and Decker, star-crossed lovers.” I can’t keep the sarcasm from my voice as I pull out my phone, dialing Gustav.
“Lena, I want you to?—”
I turn away, holding up a finger to Decker as I explain the situation to Gustav. I desperately want to know what he was going to say, but at this point, whatever it is isn’t going to fix our situation. Gustav tells me he’ll be here in twenty to extract me. My mom has meetings, but Antonia will come along, and she agrees that Decker and I should leave separately. The sooner we split, the better. She rambles off more instructions, and I assure her I’ll relay them to him.
