Page 78 of Home Game

She froze and nodded, her eyes dropping to the island. “Okay.”

What was going through her mind? She went from stressed to deflated in a heartbeat. I couldn’t seem to get a handle on her or how her mind worked.

“The picture is fine. If Krista is happy then I’m happy. She said to keep up the good work, and that she wants to gift you with a shopping spree for all the free publicity you got us.”

Her head shot up. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“So you’re not mad.”

“About the photo? No. You seem to know what you are doing. I trust you.”

She slowly nodded, processing that. Confusion clouded her face. “So what did you want to talk about?”

I pushed both hands through my wet hair. “Last night.”

Her mouth dropped open in shock and blue eyes met mine. “That’s what you want to talk about?”

How had I become the junior high school girl in this conversation?

“I’m obviously attracted to you but nothing good can come out of that.”

“You mean, if we have sex.”

She might as well have kicked me in the nuts. “Yeah.”

“You think it’s a bad idea?”

No, I think it’s a fucking great idea.

“I don’t have the best track record in that department. And if it gets weird, you’re the one who’d pay.”

“You mean, if I had to leave.”

Jesus. She didn’t hold any punches. “I’d never ask you to leave.”

“So, you want to avoid having to live with someone you slept with after it gets weird?”

“Yeah. Maybe.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Did she have to agree so readily?

“You think so?”

She lifted her good shoulder. “It’s one thing to be living here as a friend, but if we are sleeping together and living together, that would undoubtedly get complicated.”

I let out a long breath. I should feel relief. Why did I feel like taking my hockey stick and smashing it into something hard until big chunks of wood were flying everywhere?

“We don’t want complicated.”

She looked down. “It was nice though. Wasn’t it?”

I wanted to jump over that island and show her how nice it had been. “Yes. I enjoyed it. A lot.”

She smiled a smile that almost took my breath away. “Me too. It might have been in the top five of all my kisses.”

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