Page 35 of Cocky Player

“Few do,” he stated so blankly I wanted to rewind our steps like hitting the back button on my remote and ignore that last tent.

He guided me down the street, only loosening his grip on my hand to settle it on my lower back.We were in one of my favorite areas of the market when I realized my mistake.We should have gone the other way.

Oh shit.

“Connor,” I said quietly and turned my back to the upcoming tent.“We need to go.”My hands curled around his biceps and I pushed us backward.“Turn around.”

“What?”He glanced down at me, up straight ahead and swore.“Too late,” he muttered right as Shannon Powell’s voice rang through the air.

“Quinten!What are you doing here?”

“Fuck,” he grumbled and looked down, lifting his sunglasses and peering down at me.It was the first time I’d seen his eyes all morning and they were stunningly beautiful in the bright sun.“I can’t ignore her.”

Obviously.She was the wife of the team’s captain and tight end, Oliver Powell.

“Hand me my flowers and I’ll see you later?”

“She’s coming this way and is smiling so wide at me talking to you it’ll look worse if you disappear.”

“Shit.Okay.We just ran into each other, right?Said hello?”

He laughed softly and put his hand on my waist to turn me around.“We did just run into each other, remember?”

Yeah, but he’d come searching for me.Sort of different.

“Shannon,” he said, right as I heard her come up to him and ask again, “What are you doing here?”

“Why wouldn’t I be at the Farmer’s Market?It’s a beautiful day.”

He smirked, and I almost laughed at his innocent expression.It didn’t fit quite right on him, but nonetheless, he kept a straight face through it all.

“Uh-huh,” Shannon replied.“Sure.”She turned to me and brows arched on her forehead.“Brenna.Lovely to see you again.”

She leaned in and kissed my cheek and I stepped away from Connor so I could return it.“Feels like I just saw you.”

“About an hour ago.”She winked at me and clapped her hands together.“I didn’t know you two knew each other.”

“Had a meeting with Shelly on Friday and met Brenna.Ran into her here.”His tone had gone almost scolding, like he was implying Shannon was foolish for thinking anything else was going on.Of course he would, the hiding still made me conceal a flinch.

This was why being with him wasn’t possible.Too much possibility of being seen.

“Uh-huh, sure,” she said again, and our lie wasn’t believable in the least.Possibly because Connor still had his hand on my back.I wiggled away from him and it didn’t go unnoticed by Shannon who pressed her lips together to keep from laughing.“Well, I should get back to work then.Oliver’s stopping by if you want to keep me company and wait for him?I’m sure he’d love to see you.”

“I see enough of your grumpy husband during the week.”

“The old asshole.”She laughed and threw her head back.“I’m sure you do.Well, then, I’ll see you both later?At a game maybe, Brenna?”

I would have to go to all of the home games now that I lived here and worked for the team.From the little I knew of Shannon, she preferred to watch from her own seats on the fifty-yard line but she occasionally joined my family in our suite.“I’m sure I’ll be seeing you frequently at them.”

“Wonderful.”She squeezed my arm and then stepped back, waving to both of us.“I’ll let you two get back to your day.We’ll catch up later, Brenna, okay?”

“Any time.”

As soon as she turned and headed back to her tent, I hightailed it down the street, frantic.I didn’t have my flowers, but it didn’t matter, Connor was right on my heels, hissing my name so as not to gather too much attention to my completely panicked freak-out.

“Calm down,” he said behind me, laughing.“It’s nothing.”

Calm down.Yeah, hasn’t any man ever figured out that doesn’t work?

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