Page 9 of The Way We Collide

Stepping back, it’s important I lay the ground rules for her as well as for me. Even if she’s in Atlanta and I’m in LA, and there’s no way this could be anything more than a post-wedding hookup. Raven Gale is a bit too tempting.

Her brow furrows. “But I’ve seen pictures of you out with women?—”

“Don’t get me wrong, I have dates for special events or awards banquets, stuff like that, but I never date the same woman more than twice.”

“So you’re a player.”

“Not at all. I actually respect women very much. I had an amazing mom, and I have a cool little sister.” Nodding, I put it out there. “I would never want them to be with a guy who loves football as much as I do. I’ve heard of golf widows and hunting widows—I don’t want any kind of widow. It’s not right.”

“What if you met the love of your life, and you didn’t go on a third date with her?”

“I’ve met the love of my life. It’s small and pointy on each end, and I hold it in my arms so tightly. Some people call it a pigskin.”

That makes her laugh. “I understand being obsessed with your work, but you’re saying you’ve never met a woman you wanted to date more than twice? Notever?”

“Once.”

“Ahh, here we go.” She’s so smug, but I have nothing to hide.

“Back when I first moved to LA, I dated a woman for a little more than a month, and it was a disaster.”

Her brows lift in disbelief. “A disaster how?”

“I told her right from the start, football is the most importantthing in my life.” I tilt my beer to the side, shaking my head. “She didn’t believe me, and from there, it was nonstop drama. I almost never got rid of her.”

To my surprise, Raven nods. “She wasn’t the one.”

“I’ve never made that mistake again. I love football. I’m not like my brothers. I have goals, and living up to my dad’s legacy is the most important thing to me.”

“I get that. My career is the most important thing in my life right now—not my dad calling me a weather girl or Lawrence Calder O’Halloran telling me women don’t chase storms.”

Placing my hand on her waist, I pull her closer. “Want to get out of here and get wild?”

She places her hand on the front of my shirt, curling her fingers in the fabric. “What did you have in mind?”

Leaning closer, my lips brush the shell of her ear, and I inhale the floral scent of her perfume. “I have a room at the Bayside hotel. We could go there and get to know each other better.”

Naked. We could get to know each other naked.

I don’t say that part out loud.

I watch her throat as she swallows. She hesitates, thinking, and I’m on the edge of a cliff, hoping she’s as curious and as turned on as I am.

Her eyes go to the dance floor, where Dylan is hanging on her new husband, moving side to side to a Justin Bieber song.

“I don’t think Dylan will miss me.” A hint of excitement is in her tone, and my dick responds.

I have a good feeling about this.

“She’s one foot into her honeymoon.”

A soft hand slides into mine, and that dimple appears on her cheek. “I’m game—let’s do it.”

3

Raven

Hendrix does not have a hotel room. He has a penthouse suite with a view across the bay to the barrier islands. It has a small living room, a cute little kitchen, and around the corner, a full, king-sized bed.

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