“What?” Gabe asks, even as Devon recognizes the situation they’ve put me in and scuttles out of the way. “Oh.”
Slipping my shoes off, I glance around until I see Jase bouncing on the balls of his feet in front of a speed bag, his fists nothing but blurs. I watch for a moment, enjoying the way sweat gleams on his skin and his muscles flex and bulge as his powerful arms move. Eventually, a timer blares and he steps away and mops his face on a towel. When he turns, our eyes catch, and a flutter-volcano erupts in my soul.
Immediately, he drops the towel and beelines toward me, greeting me with a lopsided grin. “Hey, cutie pie.”
Gabe stares at him, and Devon snorts with laughter, but Jase ignores them, looping his arms around my waist and drawing me in for a thoroughly sensual kiss. The moment our lips touch, all my promises about being professional go out the window and I clutch him closer, only mildly aware of the fact his sweat is rubbing off all over me—and so is something else. Some kind of oil that reeks of menthol and is hot but icy at the same time.
“Whoa,” one of the men mutters as the kiss drags on.
I plant my hands on Jase’s shoulders and gently push. “What happened to keeping it quiet?”
“Oh, shit. Sorry.” His face falls. “I was excited to see you.” He glances at his friends. “You didn’t see anything, right?”
Devon nods. “Riiight, bro. ’Course not.”
“Please guys,” I say. “Don’t mention this.”
“Don’t worry. We won’t,” Gabe assures me, and his sincerity calms me somewhat.
“Thank you.” I turn to Jase. “Can we talk in private?”
Devon guffaws. “I think that’s code, bro.”
Cue eye roll. “It is not. Strictly business.”
Devon’s eyes widen, and so does his grin. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather date me, Lena? Because I guarantee I’ve got more moves than this idiot.” He shoves Jase playfully.
“Go away,” Jase says, making a shooing motion. “I have PR stuff to do.” Taking my hand, he leads me to what appears to be a changing room, where he backs me into the wall and cradles my face in his palms. “Are you sure you’re really here for work?” he asks. “’Cause I think I could change your mind.”
Laughing, I disentangle myself from him and circle around so he’s the one with his back to the wall. “You could try. But let’s be serious.” I rub my lips together to moisten them because I’m not sure how he’s going to react to this. “This morning the Albright Literacy Foundation reached out to me. They have a fundraiser and their keynote speaker dropped out yesterday. They saw the article about you, remembered that you’re one of their big contributors, and contacted me to find out if you’d consider speaking for them. It’s on Sunday.”
His jaw drops almost comically. “As in, two days away? That Sunday?”
“Yeah.” I swallow. “That Sunday.” I grab for his hand to prevent him from escaping. “Please think about it. This is big. It could blow the article out of the water. If you do this, I promise your problems with Erin will be the last thing anyone is talking about.”
He stills, then levers his jaw closed. “Will there be any other publicity stunts coming my way if I agree to this?”
“I can’t say for sure, but I doubt it. This should be enough to get you back on track—unless, of course, Erin decides to press charges. But she’d need some kind of evidence in order for that to happen, and she might just decide to slink back out of sight.”
He appears to weigh my words. Finally, he exhales, his big shoulders dropping. “I’m not much of a public speaker.”
My lips twitch up, but I drag them down, not wanting him to see my amusement. “I’d disagree. You always know exactly what to say to build up an audience or smack talk an opponent for the cameras.”
He shrugs and looks away, apparently uncomfortable with my assessment. “That’s all for show, and it’s all about fighting. It’s not anything that really matters the way this would.” He tries to turn, but I hold firm, refusing to let him hide from me. “I mean, what do I have to say that a literary crowd is going to want to hear?”
I frown. He’s underestimating himself, and this lack of confidence isn’t at all like the Jase I’ve come accustomed to. “Well…” I say, drawing the word out, searching for something to bring him around. “Why do you donate to them?”
Leaning against the wall, he gazes down at me. “Because I want to help kids get out of shit situations. For some, sports might be the way to do that, like they were for me, but for others, like Gabe’s best friend Sydney, their brains are the way out.”
I melt inside. How is it possible for this man to be so irresistible? So good to the core and sexy as hell at the same time. “Then talk about that. Tell them about your own situation and how you want to help others like you. Perhaps use Gabe’s friend as an example, if she doesn’t mind. Or instead of getting into anything specific, you could talk about how you want those kids to have options and hope for the future, and use that to fire the donators up and open their pockets.” Swaying closer to him, I hold his hand between both of mine. “The whole point of the event is to get people with deep pockets to open them, so you say whatever you think will make the money flow.”
Those dark gray eyes don’t move from mine, and a shiver courses through me. He watches me with such intense focus that I feel like an exhibit in an art gallery.
“What if I make a dick of myself?”
The words are low, and I have to strain to hear them.
“You won’t.” Of that, I’m sure. He may not be the most eloquent guy, but there’s something about him that’s captivating. He has charisma, and any audience will sense it.
