I followed him to the right side of the car and waited for him to open the door. Carson scowled. It was really sexy when he did that.
“What are you doing?”
I blinked. “Getting in the car. What are you doing?”
“Drivingthe car,” he smirked. “We’re on the left over here.”
Bloody hell. I’d forgotten. Nodding, I moved to the other side and opened the back door. I placed Allister’s carrier on the seat, then gently closed the door. My shoulder ached a bit from lugging him around for a full day.
Sliding onto the right side, I closed the door and sighed.
Even though I’d slept on the plane, I was exhausted. My adrenaline was dropping quickly along with my energy. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I’d be out.
“Is this all you brought?” he asked as he started the car. The quiet engine purred to life, relaxing me more.
“Yeah.” I turned toward him but didn’t lift my head from the headrest. “I figure it’s warm here, so I didn’t need a lot of clothes right now. My best mate has a couple of boxes to ship when I need them. Besides, I hear beaches here don’t mind the nudies.”
I watched as his jaw ticked, unsure of what to say. He flipped on the AC, then fumbled with the radio.
“It’s hot in here,” he mumbled, pressing the button for his window.
It wasn’t, but I grinned. “If you say so.”
“Put on your seatbelt. It’s the law.”
His stern, bossy side was working for me, so I complied and did as he asked.
Carson slipped on sunglasses and backed out of the parking space. The late afternoon sun was well above the horizon as we left the parking lot. It was tomorrow morning in Australia, and the fatigue was setting in.
He didn’t speak as he scowled out the front window. He had a bee in his bonnet, and it made me wonder if it had anything to do with the lawsuit he’d referred to.
“Why did you think I was suing the league?”
When he didn’t reply, I turned to look at him. He was still scowling, but his ears were now turning red.
“What?” I asked. “What aren’t you saying?”
He cleared his throat and stared intently at the stoplight.
“A teammate told me you were suing the league. And you’d come over here to bide your time until it was settled.”
I shrugged. “I did come over here to bide my time, but not because of a lawsuit. I want to play, and sitting around for eighteen months wasn’t going to get me a paycheck.”
He huffed out a breath through his nose, still not looking at me.
“What else did you hear, mate?”
The stubborn ass clammed up but turned the radio up to fill the void. He was an odd lot. One minute he’s chewing me out, the other he’s personable. Something was off, and I had to get to the bottom of it.
“You okay, mate? Have I already made you uncomfortable?”
He snorted. “No. What makes you think that?”
I shifted in my seat. “Well, when you seized up tighter than a virgin when I kissed you, I thought I might have knocked you off your rocker.”
Glancing over at me, the scowl was back.
“I’m not…” he sighed, then ran a hand over his mouth. “I’m not a pretentious asshole. But I’ve heard a lot of things about you. And if you’re here to take my job, I’ll tell you now good luck and fuck off.”
