“Damn.” Then I exhaled and pretended to drift off to sleep. I didn’t think I’d make it, but maybe she—
“You never talk about yourself.”
I groaned. “You’re like a dog with a bone. It’s late. Get some sleep.”
She blew out a breath, and I believe she made an attempt to stay quiet. She certainly remained still for a few seconds, long enough for me to hope that I’d won. Then she flopped onto her back with a growl of frustration.
“Gia—” I protested, but she cut me off.
“I’ve got one night with you.One night. I want to use it to get close to you. To find out—”
“My secrets?” I rasped out. My eyes shot open as I glared at her. “So you can use them against me in some article?”
She reared back as if I’d slapped her, and with good reason. That wasn’t at all what she’d meant, and I knew it. But that little voice in my head kept telling me that whatever I told her would come around to bite me. Meanwhile, she was insulted enough to fight back. Hard.
“First, I work for the Bobcats, so whatever I wrote would be in your favor.”
Until she didn’t. Jobs changed. Priorities shifted.
“Second, do you really think I’m that kind of person? To take pillow talk and splash it all over the sports pages?”
No.
“Third, I told you that you would see anything I wrote. You have the power to ax anything.”
I didn’t trust promises. I rarely trusted contracts. So why would I trust her word that she wouldn’t change her mind somewhere down the line?
She grimaced. “You don’t believe a word I’m saying. I can see it in your face.”
I really needed to turn off the bathroom light. It revealed too much.
“Damn it, Connor, why won’t you say anything?”
I was saying a lot, but only in the privacy of my thoughts. Which, honestly, wasn’t fair.
“What if I swore that I won’t print anything you say now?” She waited, and when I remained stubbornly silent, she grimaced with frustration. “What the fuck is it going to take for you to talk to me?”
“A miracle.”
She reared back enough that she nearly fell out of bed. And in the scramble to stop herself, she ended up sitting up—a glorious sight with her breasts bouncing free as she glared down at me.
“What the hell did I ever do to you?”
I heard the hurt in her voice and knew she didn’t deserve it. And since she was up, I knew the chances of her drifting off to blissful dreamland was at an end. So I matched her pose, pushing up in bed so that I could face her, eye to eye.
“I don’t trust anyone, Gia.”
“Bullshit. You trust your teammates. I’ve heard you give that speech to the guys. All about trusting each other to do their jobs right. You trust your coaches and the docs.”
I grimaced. She was right. “I trust them on the field, not with the details of my life.”
She nodded as if she’d expected as much, but she kept pressing me. “You trust Cassie.”
“She’s my sister.”
“So, you trust Sophia?”
I buttoned my lip. I didn’t trust Sophia out of my sight. I didn’t trust her with a camera anywhere near me. And I sure as hell wouldn’t trust Sophia with any of my inner thoughts.
