Page 90 of Make the Play

“Baby Reynolds,” Reid chants.

“Hey, Corie,” Foster greets her.

“My little sister,” Landry coos.

They’re all making this obvious as hell; it takes everything I have inside me not to show my amusement. My girl will say yes, but we have to play our parts, including me not laughing at my friends as they try to butter her up. Even her brother, who I’m relieved is in on this.

Baker elbows me, and I turn to glare at him. “Greet her,” he says under his breath, nodding toward Corie.

Finally, I lift my gaze, and it collides with hers. “Hey, Corie.” I smile. She smiles back, and everything is right in my world. Regardless of whether this works out or not, she’s still mine—even if I can’t tell them that. Not that it won’t work out. The guys suggesting her was the hardest part, and that’s done. Corie will resist, but she’s going to say yes.

I get a whole weekend with her without lying about where we are or what we’re doing. I’m ready to toss her over my shoulder and hit the road tonight.

“So,” Landry says, clearing his throat.

I shake out of my trance, pulling my eyes from hers to look at my best friend. His brows are furrowed as he turns to look at his sister standing next to him. “Sloane being sick leaves our boy Knox in a pickle,” Landry starts.

“And we thought, who better to help him than baby Reynolds?” Reid chimes in.

“He needs you, Corie,” Baker adds.

“Our boy is desperate. Just look at that face,” Foster tells her. “His girl has plans and won’t budge, and Sloane is an outbreak monkey, and no one wants to get what she’s got.”

I can’t help but chuckle, because if she wasn’t already in, I’m not sure that those lame comments would be enough to convince her. “I’m not desperate,” I tell my friends. “It’s fine if you can’t go. I’ll figure it out,” I tell Corie. The words taste sour coming out of my mouth. Of course, I want her to go. I know this is all a part of the game we’re playing to pull this off so no one suspects, but even saying it bothers me.

“I have to work tomorrow.”

“Surely, you can take the day off,” Baker says before turning to me. “Don’t you have an in with HR? Put on your Beckett charm and get Corie the day off.”

“No,” Corie rushes to answer. “I don’t want any special privileges. What time are you leaving tomorrow?”

“It’s a two-hour drive, so I was thinking ten or so in the morning. We can adjust that to whatever works for your schedule, if you think you can do this,” I tell her.

“I have vacation time because it accrues with each paycheck. Let me….” She pulls her phone out of her back pocket and bites down on her bottom lip as she places her phone to her ear. “Hey, Sally,” she says, walking toward the corner of the room.

She’s already cleared for the day off. So I don’t know who she’s calling; maybe she’s not talking to anyone, but she’s believable.

“Great, thank you so much,” she says loudly, ending the call and returning to the table. “Sally said it was fine. I explained that I had a friend who needed help. She was okay with it.”

“Knox, tell your girl there’s a change of plans, but hell yeah!” Baker cheers.

“All right!” Reid cheers. “Take that, Sara,” he says.

“Sara doesn’t even know about this,” I remind him.

“Yeah, and thanks to baby Reynolds, she never will,” Reid reminds me.

“Are you sure, Corie?” I ask her. “I know this is a lot to ask.”

She shrugs. “I’ll run by Sloane’s and get the dress she bought to wear. We’re close to the same size, and it’ll be fine. That’s what friends are for, right?” she asks, her eyes holding mine.

“Thank you, Corie girl.” My voice is reverent, and I clear my throat. Much more of that and the guys will see right through me. “I’ll be here at ten to pick you up. Everything is low-key casual all weekend.”

“Okay.” She leans over and hugs her brother. “Night.”

“Night, Core,” he says, and then she’s gone.

“Perfect, now that we have that crisis handled, let’s get back to the game,” Foster says.

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