Page 65 of Hot Receiver

Matt stands behind me, a half-smirk on his gorgeous face. “Sorry about that. But I guess it was one way to get your attention, huh?”

Dammit. One smile, one look, and I’m fucking putty again? What about my new resolve to move forward with my life? To bury the past for good?

“I didn’t know you’d be here tonight,” I blurt suddenly because every other thought is blurred by his mesmerizing smile.

“Yeah, Anna asked me a while back.” His appraising gaze flickers over me, a delicious chill licking the back of my neck.

“I was just talking to her.” I shove my hands into my pockets, balling them into fists as if that’s going to ward off the spell Matt’s unknowingly cast over me. “She’s pretty awesome. Really down to earth and honest.”

He nods, his eyes never leaving my face.

I swallow hard. “You’re not being fair to her.”

Talk about a bucket of cold water drowning out the flames raging between us.

Matt recoils and takes a step backward. Then, he narrows his eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

I flick my eyes left and right and then nod toward an empty spot near the coat room, far enough away from the people moving in and out of the ballroom. Nobody bothers to walk in our direction because it’s hot as hell outside and nobody is checking coats.

When I turn to look at Matt, his eyes blaze.

“What was that supposed to mean?” he says again through clenched teeth.

“It means you’re hurting her. She’s obviously in love with you, and she knows you’re not in the same place. So just be honest and tell her the truth.”

“The truth?” He looks like I just bitch slapped him.

I roll my eyes. “Some version of the truth. At least tell her you’re not on the same page. Let her go so she can find someone who deserves her because you definitely don’t.”

That last bit came out sounding a little harsher than I meant, but then again… maybe it’s because of the pent-up angst that always seems to funnel inside of me like a tornado every time he’s near.

And because I know all too well the devastation he can leave in his wake.

Shock must have a hold on his tongue, so I keep going while I have the chance.

“She’s a good person. Forget your image and what the world’s perception of you might be. After our last game, you don’t need Hollywood. You’re great on your own. You need to be confident in that. Don’t drag someone else into your insecurities, not someone like her who will wind up hurt.”

I put my hand on his arm. “Do the right thing, Matt. Do it for both of you.”

His turbulent gaze fixes on me. “Don’t get involved in my fucking business.”

“It’s my business, too. We both did things behind her back. It was wrong.”

“Don’t lecture me. You have no right to judge,” he growls, stepping closer, his breath hot against my neck.

“Her feelings are at stake, and you don’t seem to give a damn.” About either of us, I think. But I reserve those words. I don’t want to hear them myself, and once they’re out, I can’t swallow them down. My back stiffens. “And to be honest, right now, I like her a hell of a lot better than you.”

I take a step to push past him, but before I can make my escape, he opens the door behind us and shoves me backward, so I stumble inside the dim, musty-smelling room.

“Do you really mean that?” Matt asks, grabbing me by the lapels of my jacket. He fists them tight and pulls me close.

“Yes,” I rasp, my pulse hammering so hard in my throat I almost choke on it. I force myself to ignore his spicy cologned scent and the way his smoldering gaze makes the blood bubble in my veins. “I had a hard time separating what I wanted from what I needed. And what I want isn’t good for me. It wasn’t good for me eight years ago, and it’s even worse now.”

My fingers itch to trace the outline of Matt’s tense jaw, to drag through his thick hair and tug it while I claim his mouth and neck.

He’s what I want.

But he’s not what I need.

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