I shift slightly so she can’t feel exactly how my body reacts to having her pressed close to me.
“How are you doing?” She lifts up to whisper in my ear, and the fact that she’s checking in on me when she’s the one who is surrounded by strangers stirs something else inside of me.
“I’m good, Specs.”
And that is not a lie. Not fake, not pretend. Somehow, tonight has already been easier than I anticipated. And it’s all because of her.
Chapter ten
Sadie
If you had told me two weeks ago that I would be the constant subject of media scrutiny, I would have laughed and told you to get your head checked because insanity was clearly setting in.
Yet here I am, staring at another freaking gossip page headline. “At least the photos are decent,” I mutter to myself as I close the browser window. It wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for my sister, my friends, heck, even my mom sending me links all the time. My colleagues seem to have settled; perhaps Gus wasn’t wrong to tell me to work from home for the last while. But family and friends don’t have the same boundaries.
Of course, part of it is because in my family, I’ve never been the one in the limelight. Sienna and Simon were the ones who loved the attention, Simon moving to LA to pursue acting, and Sienna taking the synchronized swimming world by storm. I’ve always been content to let them be the bold, outgoing ones. It was easier for me to be the smart one, the helpful one.
Okay, fine, the boring one.
But I can’t dodge my mother’s not-so-subtle insinuation that she would like to meet Maverick for long. Only that’s aconversation I’m not looking forward to broaching with him. He’s a tough nut to crack, and even after two weeks of spending time together several days a week, I barely feel like I know him.
What I do know is that he’s not the jerk the media makes him out to be. His teammates know that, his brother knows that, and I know that. I’ve watched him overtip waitstaff, hold open doors, and swoop in to pick up a book someone dropped the other day. I’ve seen him be friendly with kids who come up to him, and it makes me wonder how no one else can see that underneath the reckless behaviour is a good man.
He’s also an incredibly sexy man who smells like heaven and makes me feel so safe and protected, even when we’re approached by strangers or media.
Standing up from my lumpy couch, I stretch my arms overhead. I stayed up late last night working, meaning I had little to do today, and I just finished my last task. Wandering into my kitchen, I open the fridge and examine the contents. It’s meager. Maverick and I had another fake date last night and we went out for dinner. The night before, Ali and I had a girls night. So I haven’t cooked in several days, and the lack of food is proof.
I grab an apple and a yogurt, and make my way back to the horrible couch, still thinking about how nice Maverick’s arm feels around me. And how I really need to not get used to it. We’ve got just two weeks to go until the foundation gala, which was the agreed-upon end date for our little situation.
I’m busy trying not to think about why that thought makes me a little disappointed when my phone starts to vibrate with an incoming call, and I glare at it. But my sense of responsibilitywins out over my desire to live like a hermit and ignore the world. Then I see who’s calling.
Heidi Morgan used to work as a nurse on the oncology ward until she decided to go back to school to become a doctor, and then moved to Vancouver Island to finish out her residency. She fell in love with another pediatrician, and they’re engaged. It startles me to realize her wedding is this coming weekend. With all the Maverick insanity, the date crept up on me.
“Hi, bride-to-be,” I say, answering the call with a genuine smile on my face. This is one call I don’t want to ignore. “If you’re calling to tell me you have cold feet, I’m going to say you’re nuts and to stick them in warm water.”
Heidi’s giggle is full of so much joy. “Heck, no. No cold feet here. I can’t wait to marry Max.”
The love dripping from her words makes me smile for her. She deserves to be happy.
“Good. So what’s up?”
“Well, when you and Dirk broke up, I know you decided to just get a hotel room in Westport for the weekend. But with Maverick in the picture, I thought you might want something better.”
I arrange my legs underneath me on the couch, frowning slightly as I try to figure out what she’s getting at. Thankfully, she doesn’t keep me in suspense for long.
“The resort finished the renovations on two more cabins, which means there’s one available for you! You don’t need to stay in a boring hotel after the wedding, you and your new man can have a romantic night in your own little cabin. How perfect is that!”
“Perfect,” I manage to croak out. Oh no. Ohfreakingno. How did I not think about the fact that Heidi would automatically assume Maverick would come with me to the wedding? The whole country knows he’s still not back playing ball, so why wouldn’t he accompany his girlfriend on a weekend getaway.
Except he doesn’t know about the wedding, and he’s not my real boyfriend. We’ve never spent more than a couple of hours together, and that’s always been for show. Going to my friend’s wedding and having to play the part of a happy couple for an entire weekend? There’s no way he’d say yes to that.
Especially not the part where we have to spend two nights in a romantic beachfront cabin together…
“Listen, Heidi, I’ve got to run, work call in a couple of minutes.” It’s upsetting how easily the lie falls from my lips, but then again, I’ve had plenty of practice spinning tales these days.
“No worries, I just couldn’t wait to tell you. We’re so excited to see you on Saturday! Oh, and I promise, we’ve already told Sawyer to tone down the fanboy around Mav.”
I give a pained laugh in response to her much more excited one. Max’s younger brother, who’s dating Willow’s best friend, is a huge Tridents fan. This situation just got even more complicated for Maverick.
