Page 26 of Exes Don't

“You saying I’m boring?”

Her gaze locks with mine. “I’d love to find out. Why don’t we set up a time for me to interview you, and then I’ll let you know.”

My hand tightens against her waist. The silky red fabric of her dress feels like fire under my palm, and now that I’ve locked eyes with her, it’s like we’re connected by some sort of electrical current.

Her eyebrows arch in a renewed challenge. “Come on, Bates. It’s one article. Nothing you haven’t done before. Do it for the kids.”

I flinch, and she notices. Her voice lowers and softens. “Think of how many of them look up to you and want to know you better. You’ve always had a heart for them.”

She’s right. She knows it. I know it. I still don’t like it. I still don’t want her to be the one to write the article. I’m trying to figure out how to say that to her in a way that’ll make her listen, but she changes courses.

“You had a slight incident at the golf outing today. Does that sort of thing happen often?”

I grunt in response. I wish she hadn’t seen that. I wish I could say it didn’t happen often. “It was no big deal.”

“Looked like a pretty big deal.”

I laser in on her face. She’s chewing on the inside of her cheek. She’s holding my gaze, and I’m hit all at once with a new thought. Is it possible she’sconcernedabout me? Worried for my safety?

That idea takes root in the center of my heart, and I feel a surge of hope press up against the surface of my chest. Does Rose Kaspercareabout me, after all this time? After she made perfectly clear when she broke my heart that she didn’t? That she never would?

I’m not about to let my guard down. Not yet. But the seed has been planted, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to give Rose some more of my time, to see if I could make it grow.

Does that make me a sucker for punishment? Maybe. But I’m also a guy who’s going to shoot his shot.

Or whatever the football equivalent of that metaphor is.

“I’ve had a couple encounters with that fan before.” I choose my words carefully. “She’s harmless.”

Rose blinks and holds my gaze for an extra beat before glancing out over my shoulder again.

I let that angle of our conversation simmer, bringing us back to the point. “Most of my life is pretty boring, you know. I go to work with the team. Do the tasks my mother needs me to do for Penwick. If you’re desperate for juicy material for your article, you’re going to be sorely disappointed.”

She whips her gaze back to mine. There’s a skeptical crease between her brows. “You’re saying there’s going to be an article? You’ll let me write it?”

I make a show of sighing. “Considering you flew all the way across the country to trail me to this thing, I’m guessing I’m not going to be able to get rid of you. You always were scrappy. I’ll let you hang around—under a couple conditions.”

“What kind of conditions?” she asks, skepticism coloring her tone.

A loose plan takes shape in my mind. I can see it unfolding like one of the plays on my cheat sheet. I’m going to execute it to perfection. “You have to agree to be a gamer.”

“A gamer?”

“Yep, and get a real-deal immersive experience of my life.”

“What does that even mean?” She looks wary.

Good. She should be.

I lean in. “Just that I need you to agree to get up close and personal with all things Anton Bates.”

I’m feeling all too pleased with myself for thinking of this. If she’s going to write an article on me, I’m not going to make it easy on her.

“Is that some sort of innuendo? Because that’s unprofessional and unacceptable.” Her tone is firm, but she won’t meet my gaze, which makes me feel like I have the upper hand. I’ll take it.

“I’m not going to date you again, if that’s what you’re angling for.” She says it in such a direct way that I have to fight not to grimace. “Getting back together is off the table.”

“That’s not what I meant.” I mentally cross my fingers. Because if there’s even a possibility I can be with Rose again, I’m going to take it. The more I talk to her, the more I find myself watering that seed of hope in my chest. My head is telling me there’s no way it’ll work—two seconds ago, Rose literally told me getting back together is not happening. But my heart is reading her body language, the way she’s leaning in to me, and the investment that I can see in her blue gaze when she holds my stare, and it’s screaming,So you’re saying there’s a chance.

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