Page 23 of Marring an Athlete

“They will not.”

Michael leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. He nodded his head. “Yes, they will. Sex is a huge part of marriage. It can also drive a wedge between a couple.”

He thought her face would ignite on fire with how red it was. “Okay, fine. We’ll say we believe in sex for procreation, and that’s it.”

He sucked in his breath. “That’s a bummer.”

Anna waved him away. “Anyway. Moving on.”

Michael laughed as she listed a few more things on the paper. Something to do with bathroom usage and nighttime schedule. He wasn’t really listening to her. Instead, he watched how her hair fell down, veiling her face when she wrote. Or listened to the familiar tones of her voice.

When silence surrounded him, Michael sat up. She’d stopped talking and was staring at him. Shoot. He didn’t know if she’d asked him a question, or if she wanted him to talk now.

“I think no shenanigans with other people here should be a priority on the list,” stumbled out of his mouth. Michael watched her as she thought, and then nodded.

“Sounds like a good idea. Even though we aren’t technically married, we don’t need the resort finding out.” She brought the pen to the paper. “No relationships with other people here.”

He nodded. Good. Now he had a reason to tell her not to flirt with Javier without looking like a crazed person.

She hesitated as she brought her gaze over to meet his. “Do you think you’ll be able to do that?”

“What?”

She shrugged and tapped the end of her pen on the paper. “Not flirt with other people while you are here. I know most of the women are married, but I’m sure you’ll find the single ones who work here,” she said. Her voice was barely a whisper.

He studied her. Was that really her worry? What did she think of him? “I would never cheat on my fake wife.” He smiled over at her hoping to dispel some of the tension that seemed to surround them.

She met his gaze for a moment and then rolled her eyes. “Right. Yeah, I get it.” She set the pad of paper down next to her and stood. She walked over to the desk that sat against the far wall and fiddled with the phone and lamp that were sitting on it.

Just as her fingers grazed the receiver of the phone, it rang. She jumped, and Michael smiled. She had always been easy to startle.

“Um, hello?”

Michael sat back as he watched Anna twirl her finger around the phone cord. There was something about her. The way she’d seemed so nervous during their conversation got him wondering just what she was thinking. Could it be possible that she had feelings for him? Or was she just uptight about sex?

“Right now? Really?” She turned to look at him, drawing his attention over to her.

“I guess. Yeah, I’ll let him know.” She set the receiver down on the base and pinched her lips together.

“Everything okay?”

She smiled at him, but it felt forced. “We are expected at our massage in ten minutes.”

“Massage?”

“Couple’s. . . massage.”

Michael’s stomach lightened at her words. He’d dated enough women to know that those massages meant getting naked in the same room. How could he convince Anna that was not what he wanted to do, even if it was? He worried he’d just come across sounding like an idiot.

So, he stood and slipped on his sandals. “Sounds great. I’m super tense from life. Getting rubbed down sounds amazing.”

Anna just nodded as she passed by him. “Yeah. Sounds great.”

He followed her as he shut the door. He couldn’t help but stare at Anna. She seemed so calm. Did the thought of this not have any effect on her? Probably not. He was a fool to think that it might.

McKenna and Sam were walking up the boardwalk at the same time they got there. McKenna looked as tired as Sam. That was strange. Both of them had slept for most of the trip here.

“Massages?” Michael asked.

McKenna nodded. “You too?”

Anna turned around to shoot McKenna an uneasy look. “Yeah.”

McKenna wrapped her arm around Anna and pulled her close. “You’ll be fine.”

Michael wanted to ask why Anna felt so strange about this, but then shrugged it off. Not everyone was comfortable with having another person touching their body.

Maybe it was time to start showing Anna the fun part of life. To loosen her up a bit. Besides hockey, living a carefree life was about the only other thing Michael was good at.

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