Page 27 of Falling for Mr. Wright

Sarah choked on the cold air. Before she could decide whether to keep the gossip mill churning, she blurted out, “Oh, we’re not dating.”

“No?” The older woman studied her. “I’m surprised, given the way he looks at you.”

Goose bumps surfaced immediately and had nothing to do with the temperature outside. Sarah rubbed her arms, trying to mask the effect Connie’s comment had had on her.

What was the coach’s wife implying? HowwasRyan looking at her?

She highly doubted Mr. “I Don’t Do Relationships” was looking at her any way except as a friend would. “Sure has gotten chilly out here,” she offered lamely.

The guys finished their conversation. Coach collected Connie, leaving her and Ryan alone. “Sorry about that,” he said, slipping his arm around her shoulders. “I haven’t seen Coach in years.”

She watched the couple stroll back into the gala still consumed with what Connie had revealed, overanalyzing in her head that Ryan’s arm was now around her. That action was a little more than friendly, right?

She decided to test Connie’s hypothesis, tilting her head up.

His smile was the same she’d experienced all the way back to the first day they’d met, when he’d slid into an empty seat next to her in the conference room and offered her a malt ball—sweet with a hint of mischief.

No longing. No look of desire. Connie was wrong. “They’re nice.” She nudged his hip with hers. “I didn’t know you were such a cat lover.”

That got a hearty chuckle as he removed his arm from around her shoulders. “Of course she told youthatstory.”

“I thought it was adorable.” And sexy as hell, but he didn’t need to know that. She sighed and looked out over the football field. “So this is where the legendary Ryan Wright got his start?”

He rocked back on his heels. “I’m not sure how legendary I was, but yes, that’s the infamous football field.”

“Let’s go.” She grabbed his hand and tried to pull him toward the stairs, but he didn’t budge.

“Where?”

“To see it, of course. Unless…” She nodded in the direction of the glass doors. “…you want to go back to table one for coffee and conversation with Mr. and Mrs. McGee?”

“That would be a definite no.” He led her down the stairs and through the entrance of the field.

“Is that where the magic happened?” she asked, wrapping her arms around her. Without the adrenaline from her encounter with Melanie, or the blood-pumping dances they’d shared, her body had cooled rapidly. She shivered, and goose bumps spread across her arms.

“Youarecold.” He removed his suit jacket. “Here, wear this.”

“Thank you.” She let him help slide her arms in. The same sensation that had shot up her back earlier from his touch now radiated down her arms.

She pulled his coat around her, breathing in his fresh, minty cologne that was unmistakably masculine and highly intoxicating. “Wow. I’ve never been on a high school football field before.”

“No?”

“Nope. We only had a basketball team.”

“Were you a cheerleader?”

“Oh, no. I didn’t have time for sports. There were a lot of chores to do on the farm.” She touched her dress, reminding herself she was more than a little out of place at this fancy party. “Didn’t wear a lot of these, either. I feel like a bit of an impostor.”

“I think you look amazing tonight. You should wear dresses to work more often.”

Sarah’s cheeks heated at his compliment. “Maybe I will.”

Note to self: buy a new dress to wear on Monday STAT.

“So…” Ryan touched her arm. “You never told me you grew up on a farm.”

She didn’t tell many people. It wasn’t that she was ashamed, but she wanted her colleagues to see her as a sophisticated city girl, not someone who not that long ago fed goats and shoveled manure. She nodded, shrinking a bit inside his coat. “Small-town America.”

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