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“Thank you,” I said into his shirt.

“You are welcome. I will always be present for you, Abby. Always.”

I nodded against his chest, then pulled away because I had work to do, and there was no sense in wasting any more time spilling emotions about something I could not control. Picking up a shirt, I began folding it, and Bwat did the same, eyeing the piles and quickly decoding what needed to go where.

“What is in these other boxes?” he asked.

I felt the pressure loosen in my chest at the change of topic. “Keychains, and magnets. They’re all just logo items. When we do the photoshoot for the calendar I want some extra photos to make magnets with each of the player’s pictures on them. I think those will sell like crazy.”

He nodded, breaking down an empty box with a quick twist of his hands then opening another.

“Sports figures always make for great merchandise sales, but the Tusks are a team or orcs, so there’s an appeal beyond the human hockey team members. Ozar has quite a following on social media, as does Ugwyll. Eng has that bad-boy wealthy asshole appeal.” I felt myself blush. “And you’ve got a substantial following of your own.”

“I do?”

He sounded genuinely surprised. But that was, Bwat. Genuine. Earnest.

“Bwat, you’re sweet. And totally hot.”

“Hot? You think I’m hot?”

My face heated up once more and I couldn’t look at him. “The fans think you’re hot. Your social media followers definitely think you’re hot.”

“But what do you think?”

“Seriously, Bwat? You’re a good looking guy. And you’re really smart and sweet. And you should know that I consider you a very good friend.”

He smiled, no glowed, as he looked at me. Then he turned his attention back to the shirts. “I consider you my very best friend, Abby.”

That felt wonderful and uncomfortable at the same time, so I did what I always did and changed the subject.

“What would you do if you had ten million dollars? Or a billion dollars?” I asked.

He blinked. “I don’t know how much money that is.”

“Tons. More money than you’ve ever had in your life. Enough money to do anything you wanted to do. So what would you do?” I asked.

He tilted his head to the side, holding a shirt in his hands. “Travel. See all of the human places with interesting things. Meet different humans and talk to them. Learn. Share what I know.”

“That sounds fun,” I said. “I’m surprised you didn’t say ‘return home with a human wife and have lots of children’.”

Bwat shot me a shy smile. “While I would love a wife and offspring, I do not want any wife, and I do not want children without love and partnership. I know the mountain gods will bring me love and companionship and children. I trust in the mountain gods. And while I wait for them to deliver my destiny to me, I want to travel and learn and experience all the beauty this life provides.”

It sounded amazing. “I’m not sure what I would do with Mega Ball-type winnings. I love my job. I actually am really happy with my apartment. I’d probably buy a house for my mom, and…I don’t know, maybe invest or something.”

“Is there nowhere you always wanted to go?” Bwat asked.

I laughed. “Yeah, but not alone. I did a trip to the Dominican Republic with some friends a few years ago, and another trip to New York City, but I don’t like to travel by myself and none of my friends are the jet-setting type.”

“Jordan and Willa and Stephanie don’t like to take vacation trips?”

My heart stuttered that he knew my friends’ names. I mean, of course he would know Jordan’s name because I’m sure that was all Ozar talked about, but the fact that he knew Willa and Stephanie’s names really impressed me.

“Jordan and Stephanie are as career-crazed as I am. I don’t remember the last time either of them took a vacation. And Willa is flat-broke although she never wants to admit it. I’ve offered a few times to pay for her to do a weekend spa trip and she always makes some excuse. It’s her pride, and I can’t fault her for that. I’d probably do the same in her position, especially given how I grew up.”

“Okay, so pretend you have strength-ball money and a good friend who is available and has money to travel with you,” Bwat said. “Where would you go?”

My mind whirled with the possibilities. “Spain. A tour of Alhambra. And then I’d go to Seville. I love the Moorish influence on southern Spanish architecture and artwork and dance. Ooo, and I’ve always wanted to go to Turkey and visit Cappadocia where early Christian monks sheltered in the mountain caves. And Scotland. Aberdeen. The Isle of Skye. The Highlands. I’ve always wanted to see Budapest, too. And Prague. Morocco. Paris. Then in Asia I’ve always dreamed of seeing Vietnam. And China. And climbing Ayres Rock in Australia.” I laughed. “Okay. You’re right. There are a million places I’d love to go and see if I had the money and a like-minded friend to go with.”